 A moment with your Mission Centre President, by Shannon McAdam.
As our Mission Centre Conference approaches, we know you might have some last-minute questions! Here’s a Q&A from your Mission Centre President Team to make sure you’re ready, whether you’re attending in person or online: Is it too late to come to Edmonton? Not too late! You can still REGISTER HERE. Where can I find the documents for the business meeting? You can find those in our CONFERENCE HUB. How do I get the link to join on Zoom? You’ll find the links to participate live in selected events in our CONFERENCE HUB. Will every event be on Zoom? No, some events will only be available in-person in Edmonton. You’ll know if a session is online if it has the “JOIN ONLINE SESSION” link in the Conference Hub. Do I have to be a delegate to vote? No, anyone who is a member in Canada West can have voice and vote in our conference business meeting. I have another question that isn’t answered here, who should I ask? You can email any member of our Mission Centre President team, or our conference coordinator, Debra.  The Express Program for our 2024 Mission Centre Conference is now available on our Conference Hub. On this page, you’ll find all the relevant information about the event. Please take a moment to review the schedule and important documents ahead of time, including the business meeting agenda and financial report.
Did you know that this Mission Conference marks our 20th Anniversary as a Mission Centre? Watch for special celebration moments throughout the conference weekend! For those attending in person, don’t miss our Ask Me Anything table, featuring a variety of hosts throughout the weekend:
Our Canada West Mission Conference takes place September 27-29. Join us in person at the Edmonton Congregation or online via Zoom. If you haven’t registered yet, please use the link below. We can't wait to see you next weekend! If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to contact Debra Donohue at [email protected].  A Moment with your Mission Centre President By Becky Middleton, Canada West Mission co-president. A few days ago Stassi Cramm outlined some possible changes to World church leadership if her call to Prophet/President is approved at the next World Conference, in 2025. While these changes are positive and exciting, change in general is often hard to process. It seems we just get familiar with how things are and a change happens again. As the adage states: “the only constant in life is change.” Change is all around us, changing seasons, changing weather patterns, changing time ( well for some of us anyway), changing health, lifestyle - you get the picture! There are some changes coming with our approach to the One Canada mission too. As with Stassi's announcement, the changes will have many positive outcomes that may seem unfamiliar at first. We envision a future of positives–working together as one Canada with one mission–continuing to share our vision of Christ at work in our communities resulting in positive change!   Do you remember when Mission Conference was held in person? Check out the throwback photo below from Saskatoon in 2015! Well, we’re excited to announce that this year, we’re back in person and hope to see as many of you as possible in Edmonton. While you’re welcome to join us online, nothing beats the energy of gathering together face-to-face. Here are some of the exciting highlights you can look forward to in Edmonton:
For those planning to attend in person from out of town, here are some accommodation suggestions: Four Points By Sheraton (the closest to the church) 7230 Argyll Rd NW, Edmonton, AB T6C 4A6 Phone: +1-780-465-7931 ($118 to $133 /night for the conference weekend - plus taxes and fees. Seniors and AAA/CAA discounts available.) Ramada Hotel 5359 Calgary Trail NW, Edmonton, AB T6H 4J9 Phone: +1-780-434-3431 ($97 per night for the conference weekend - plus taxes and fees. Total for 2 nights of $270.) Travelodge by Wyndham Edmonton South 10320 45th Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T6H 5K3 Phone: +1-780-436-9770 ($79 to $118 / per night plus taxes and fees for the conference weekend. Totals for 2 nights $218 to $324.) The church’s address is 6919 83 Street NW, Edmonton, T6C 2Y1 (Phone: 780-469-7510) If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me – I’ll be there too! Looking forward to seeing you in Edmonton, Debra [email protected]  2015 CANADA WEST MISSION CONFERENCE, SASKATOON, SK  By: Kat Goheen Canada West Mission Centre Co-President
“Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow” This hymn lyric is our theme for Mission Conference 2024. We have learned that to have true hope we must face our realities; that’s why “strength” goes hand in hand with hope! One way to experience strength is to know our truth and to share authentically with others and we want to learn that together. Leandro Palacios will lead us in a session on Friday night on how to share our stories in different ways. Edith Wallace will show, and tell, us how she expresses herself on Saturday night. We look forward to Vonda DenBoer’s message Sunday morning. When we tell our truth, we witness to others how creative and redemptive God is in our lives, just as we are. We show our values. We connect with others in a deeper way. We open ourselves to transformational change. I’m excited to be in Edmonton for this next stage of the journey at the end of this month and pray that you are too!  By: Stephen Thompson Canada West Mission Centre Historian
I hope you have enjoyed your summer. I took a somewhat longer “sabbatical” from this column than I had intended when I finished the last article in May. So – like everything else in September - let’s get going again... Elsewhere in this week’s Weekly Wire you will find information about the upcoming Mission Centre Conference scheduled for September 27 to 29, and being hosted in Edmonton. This conference will mark the 20th anniversary of the FIRST Canada West Mission Conference, held September 3 to 6, 2004, and hosted by the Calgary Community of Christ. Here are some interesting notes about that conference. Although this was the first in-person conference, there had been a “tele-conference” – yes, by telephone conference call (no Zoom or other computer conferencing tools were yet available!) - held December 7, 2003, to do the initial set-up of this new thing called a mission centre. Darrell Belrose was sustained as our first Mission Centre President on the recommendation of the church’s Human Resources Committee. Similarly, Bob Hodgson was sustained as our first Mission Centre Financial Officer. Authorization to set up a bank account was given, and signing authorities were approved. A budget of $119,000 in expenditures was approved for 2004 – not including $490,000 being contributed for World Church Ministers’ salaries (including Darrell and Bob and other staff persons yet to be hired). Congregational “assessments” were also approved so that each congregation, in a proportion mostly based on membership, contributed to that total budget for 2004. Thirty-four people “attended” that teleconference, consisting mainly of current congregational Pastors, Financial Officers, and District Presidents and Financial Officers from the four about-to-be disbanded districts (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba). Moving now to the September conference... It was held on Labour Day weekend. This had been the practice of the Alberta and Saskatchewan Districts, as part of the Northern Plains and Prairie Provinces Region, to hold their annual “Institute” that weekend. (I do not know what had been the practice of the former jurisdictions that BC and Manitoba had been a part of. I invite anyone who knows to enlighten me!) It continued to be held on that weekend for many years until very recently. Guest ministry for the conference was “headlined” by President Grant McMurray, along with Apostle Mary Jacks Dynes, and Bishop of Canada Jim Poirier. A total of 122 delegates (of a possible 155) attended, representing 19 congregations and missions. A full weekend of activities and meetings were scheduled from Friday evening to just after noon on Monday. At the business meeting held Saturday afternoon decisions were made concerning: • sustaining the MC President (Darrell Belrose) and MC Financial Officer (Bob Hodgson) for the next year; • sustaining other MC volunteers (Sandy Woynarski as Recorder; Mable Levitt as Historian; and persons to serve on the MC Advisory Council) • support of two calls to the office of Evangelist: Tom Beer and Charles Lester • approval of the 2005 mission centre budget • approval of the Samish Island Campground Bylaws • approval of a process for managing “Fees and Donations for Camping Programs.” (which has been a continuing and ongoing discussion ever since!) The schedule for the weekend included a number of specified “visiting” times as parts of breaks and meals as well as discussion groups. This was the first time that members from British Columbia and from Manitoba had met with members from Alberta and Saskatchewan (who already were familiar with each other due to the previous regional alignment). It was an enjoyable time spent getting to know each other. Those relationships have continued to grow and become stronger over the last 20 years. We look forward to getting together yet again in Edmonton at the end of September. Thanks for reading!  By: Shannon McAdam Canada West Mission Centre Co-President
Our MCP Team can't wait to see you in person in Edmonton for our conference! Here are a few reasons why we are excited: Gwyn: Fall is settling in and it’s time to sit down together and have a nice hot beverage and a great conversation about the BRIGHT HOPE that I see in our future! I’ll save a seat for you in Edmonton. Kat: I’m looking forward to time spent together at Mission Conference, especially sharing a hymnal during singing and visiting in the lunch line. We’ve been so creative with our online experiences, but now it’s time to embrace one another! Becky: I’m looking forward to connecting at our fall conference in Edmonton. It’s good to get together on zoom, it’s fantastic if you can make it in person. Hope to see you there! Shannon: I cannot wait to look out into the congregation in Edmonton and see your beautiful faces that radiate the love and care you have for our community. And there's nothing like sharing a meal together and chatting about things we'd probably never talk about on Zoom! So join us in Edmonton September 27-29!  Edith Wallace will be our special musical guest at Mission Conference in Edmonton Saturday September 28th. The last time Edith performed for us in Edmonton was in 2019.
You can find more about Edith on Facebook, and her YouTube chonnel. Don't forget to visit the Conference Hub to register and find updates about our weekend together. We want everyone to be able to join us for the conference. If the registration fee presents any difficulty, please reach out to Debra Donohue, our Conference Manager, for assistance. [email protected] |
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