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Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada

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Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada
ClassificationProtestant
OrientationAdventist
PolityModified presbyterian polity
PresidentMark Johnson
RegionCanada
FounderJoseph Bates, James White, Ellen G. White, J. N. Andrews
OriginMay 21, 1863
Battle Creek, Michigan
Aid organizationAdventist Development and Relief Agency
Other name(s)Adventist church, SDA (informal), SDACC
See also: North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada (SDACC) is organized as a subentity of the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists (SDA).

The Adventist presence in Canada dates back to the early and mid-1800s and the Millerite movement. William Miller, Joshua Himes, and Josiah Litch all helped build the Millerlite cause on Canadian soil.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church became an organized Canadian entity in the late 1870s starting in Quebec. By the first decade of the 1900s, the church had its roots down all across the continent. Today, all of Canada and the French possessions of St. Pierre and Miquelon comprise the official territory of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada.

Its administrative units are the British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba-Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, and Maritime Conferences and the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Newfoundland and Labrador. The 2011 Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook lists 356 churches and a membership of 61,468.[1]

Adventist enterprises include worship services in local congregations, annual regional "camp meetings", a world session every five years, the publishing of tracts and journals, lengthy evangelistic meetings, and the operation of schools, medical facilities, and humanitarian enterprises.

Early History

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Millerites in Canada

The Seventh-day Adventist Church developed from the Millerite movement of the 1830s and 1940s. William Miller traveled in response to invitations. This led him to the Eastern Townships of Quebec. Miller, Joshua Himes, and Josiah Litch all visited Canada. Miller's sister lived in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.[2] Josiah Litch lived in that district and led in Millerite activities there. Canada became an integral part of their activities. The interest in Miller's teachings was extensive in the Canadas and the Maritimes.[3] Under the leadership of Josiah Litch, the first Millerite camp meeting took place in Canada, at Hadley, Quebec.

Sabbatarian Adventists

After the disappointment of October 22, 1844, Millerites developed into several divergent groups. The Sabbatarian group led by the Whites, Joseph Bates and others sought out the scattered Millerites and presented their Sabbath understanding to them. In the early 1850s Joseph Bates and Hiram Edson traveled along the northern shore of Lake Ontario trudging through knee-deep snow seeking out the Millerites. Thirty years later, the Adventist presence in Canada was still in its nascent stage. The first Seventh-day Adventist church in Canada was at South Stukely. It organized on September 30, 1877,[4] with 16 members.[5] Fifteen years later and Adventists formally organized the Canadian Union Conference following which the Canadian church began to grow.

1901-1907

In the year 1901, the Seventh-day Adventist Church introduced new mid-level administrative units called "Union Conferences". These union conferences took over much of the oversight of the local conferences from the General Conference Committee. On the East coast of the United States, the Eastern Union Conference was created. The first session of this union conference took place between November 27 and December 5, 1901, at South Lancaster, Massachusetts.[6]

During this end of year session, a number of meetings were held with members of the General Conference Committee along with representatives from Canada. The purpose of the meetings was to organize a Canadian Union Conference. By vote, all present were constituted a committee of the whole for the transaction of business. On motion of Professor Prescott, it was voted to proceed with the organization of a Canadian Union Conference. A constitution was established. Even though the new entity was called "The Canadian Union Conference", the territory included was only that of Eastern Canada, i.e. Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes and Newfoundland. They agreed that their work would go into effect on January 1, 1902 if two thirds of the Canadian churches agreed.[7]

Early in 1902, at the organizational meeting for the Pacific Union Conference, it was recommended that the believers in British Columbia be organized into their own separate conference within the Pacific Union.[8]

1907-1932

Eastern Canadian Union Conference

On New Year's Day, 1915, W. C. White, the son of Ellen G. White, visited at the Eastern Canada headquarters in Oshawa, Ontario. He stayed for several days. He spoke four times, three of which were at Buena Vista Academy (now Kingsway College). The students enjoyed his stories about his mother and her gift of prophecy.

During his visit, he gave counsel to the leaders regarding how to extend Adventism in Eastern Canada. He urged them to start church work in new places immediately because the "the last days are closing in upon us." He said that ministers should be sent into new areas and that the lay people should take care of the existing churches. He also cited recent counsels from his mother calling on families to enter new areas as self-supporting missionaries.[9]

Western Canadian Union Conference

In 1907, A. G. Daniells, President of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, visited the western Canadian provinces. His visit gave him a new interest in the cause of the church there and its potential for future development. He announced the need to organize these provinces into a "western Canadian Union Conference" so that Canadian Adventists could wholly manage and support the work in Canada. "This will give them courage, good cheer, and strength," he wrote. He further noted that, "for a time it will need assistance from the States, but now is the time to give it. Let us remember western Canada in our prayers and gifts."[10]

Canadian Union Conference

The Great Depression affected the church as well as the larger society. Several steps were taken to manage the church's finances during this time.[11] The 1931 General Conference's annual council recommended that the two Canadian union conferences be merged into one for all of Canada and Newfoundland. Delegates representing these two organizations met on May 24, 1932 in Winnipeg. The president of the General Conference, C. H. Watson, and the president of the North American division, J. L. McEIhaney, were present. The delegates decided to merge the two unions.[12] At this same session it was recommended that the Manitoba and Saskatchewan conferences be merged into one and that the Ontario and St. Lawrence conferences also be merged.[11]

The Role of Door to Door Book Sellers

The distribution of Seventh-day Adventist publications helped build the denomination in Canada. Most often, the colporteur, or book-sellers, led the way. They have been noted for their persistence despite hardships.[13]

Relation to Labour Unions

Carlyle B. Haynes led in the denominations war commission and after the war was given the task of managinng problems that arose regarding membership in labour unions.[14]

Canadian Bill of Rights

In the late 1800s Seventh-day Adventists strongly advocated the separation of church and state. Their interest in freedom of religion arose out of legislation prohibiting labour on Sunday. In the early 1900s, several of their members were arrested for working on Sunday.

After the second world war, Canadian interest in human rights grew into a prominent political movement. John G. Diefenbaker advocated for a Canadian Bill of Rights. He had provided legal representation for Adventists organizations on the prairies. Adventists considered him a friend. Lawyer Darren L. Michaels led the Canadian SDA Church to add their voice to those advocating for the passage of a Canadian Bill of Rights.[15] Michaels reported the issues involved to Adventist via their church paper, the Canadian Union Messenger.

Membership Statistics

Canadian Seventh-day Adventist Membership by Decades

The Presidents

(after Eastern and Western Union Conferences were merged)

  • M. N. Campbell, 1932–1936
  • W. B. Ochs, 1936–1943
  • H. L. Rudy, 1943–1950
  • W. A. Nelson, 1950–1962
  • James W. Bothe, 1962–1973
  • L. L. Reile, 1973–1981
  • James W. Wilson, 1981–1989
  • Douglas D. Devnich, 1989–1993
  • Orville Parchment, 1994–2001
  • Daniel R. Jackson, 2002–2010
  • Mark A. Johnson, 2010-

National Organizations

Canadian Adventist Messenger

Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA)

Canadian University College

Kingsway College

VOAR - Voice of Adventist Radio

Christian Record Services

It Is Written Canada

Voice of Prophecy

Local Conferences

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada comprises seven smaller subdivisions of "local Conferences".

Newfoundland

The SDA Church built radio station VOAC in 1933 and changed its name to VOAR in 1938. [16]

Maritimes

The Maritime Conference organized in 1902.[17]

Quebec

In 1880, the Quebec Conference organized.[17]

Ontario

In 1890, the Ontario Conference organized.[17]

Manitoba-Saskatchewan

The Manitoba Conference organized in 1903.[17]

The Saskatchewan Conference organized in 1912.[17]

Alberta

Adventists first came to Alberta in 1895. They were colporteurs Thomas Astleford and George W. Sowler. Sowler was the field agent for Manitoba and the Northwest, which included Alberta.[18] Astleford and Sowler both sold "Bible Readings".[19] Astleford left Winnipeg and went to Edmonton. Sowler stopped off at Calgary and started work there. Sowler sold about two hundred copies of Bible Readings in Calgary. He also sold books to the ranchers from Calgary to Fort MacLeod from the Bow River to the foothills. He worked in Edmonton and Fort Saskatchewan and the mountain towns as far as Revelstoke. Eastward, he worked along the main line of the C.P.R. to Port Arthur.[20]

Thomas Astleford began in the Edmonton. He then sold books in the towns along the railroad to the south. His work led to the first converts in the province; Gustave Litke of Leduc and Dr. Menzel and his family, of Stony Plain. Litke shared his new faith with his German friends. In response to their request, H. J. Dirksen was sent from Manitoba. Dirksen led in the organizing of a church at Leduc on May 14, 1898, the first SDA church in the Northwest Territories.[21]

Up until 1903, the work of the Adventist church in Alberta was administered as part of the Manitoba Mission. Beginning in 1901, the Adventist Church reorganized itself to include union conferences. The Northern Union Conference, established in 1902, managed the work of the Adventist church in Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.[22] In 1906, the Alberta Mission was organized into the Alberta Conference.[17] The newly organized Alberta Conference consisted of about 180 members.[23] A year later, the Western Canadian Union Conference was formed. It comprised the conferences of British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba and the Saskatchewan Mission.[24] (See the map)

British Columbia

The British Columbia conference organized in 1902.[17]

Endnotes

  1. ^ Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada. Seventh-day Adventist Online Yearbook Retrieved July 14, 2011
  2. ^ Fortin (1997)
  3. ^ Monteith & Graham 1983, p. 12
  4. ^ Willis 2000, p. 18
  5. ^ Monteith & Graham 1983, p. 29
  6. ^ Daniells, A. G. (December 24, 1901). "Eastern Union Conference" (PDF). Review and Herald. 78 (52). Battle Creek, Michigan: Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association: 11, 12. Retrieved July 10, 2011. Daniells mentions that the co-founder of the SDA Church, Ellen G. White, was present at this gathering in Massachusetts. He also mentions that the name of the union conference was changed to the Atlantic Union Conference.
  7. ^ Daniells, A. G.; Ford, I. A. (December 17, 1901). "Organization of the Canadian Union Conference" (PDF). Review and Herald. 78 (51). Battle Creek, Michigan: Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association: 12, 13. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  8. ^ Jones, Alonzo T. (April 1, 1902). "The Pacific Union Conference" (PDF). Review and Herald. 79 (13). Battle Creek, MI: Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association: 10. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  9. ^ Campbell, M. N. (January 12, 1915). "Elder W. C. White's Visit" (PDF). Eastern Canadian Messenger. 15 (2). Oshawa, ON: Eastern Canadian Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists: 4. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
  10. ^ McVagh, C. F. (April 15, 1918). "Western Canadian Union Conference". General Conference Bulletin, Thirty-Ninth Session. 8 (12). Mountain View, CA: The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists: 18, 19. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
  11. ^ a b Reiner, D.E. (June 14, 1932). "Manitoba & W. Ontario Conference, Uniting of Conferences" (PDF). Western Canadian Tidings. 22 (24). College Heights, AB: The Canadian Junior College Press for the Western Canadian Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists: 5–7. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
  12. ^ Campbell, M.N. (June 14, 1932). "Canada United!" (PDF). Western Canadian Tidings. 22 (24). College Heights, AB: The Canadian Junior College Press for the Western Canadian Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists: 1, 2. Retrieved 2011-. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  13. ^ Campbell, R. G. (July 21, 1047). "Heroes for God in Canada" (PDF). Australasian Record. 51 (29). Warburton, Victoria, Australia: Signs Publishing Co.: 3. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
  14. ^ http://www.adventistarchives.org/docs/AAR/AAR19540222-V58-08__B/index.djvu?djvuopts&page=16 As individual cases of difficulty arose in various parts of the United States and Canada, negotiations have been carried on with hundreds of local unions, most of which have agreed to our suggestions re- garding withdrawal of our church mem- bers from all membership in labour unions on certain conditions. At the present time one thousand five hundred local labour unions in the United States and Canada have entered into agreement with us. What we have agreed to includes complete separation from labour union membership.
  15. ^ Michael, Darren L. Canadian Bill of Rights Brief. Canadian Union Messenger, January 21, 1959, Volume 28 Issue 2, p. 1
  16. ^ Webb, Jeffrey A. (2008). The voice of Newfoundland: a social history of the Broadcasting Corporation of Newfoundland, 1939-1949. Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press. pp. 20–23. ISBN 978-0-8020-9820-7.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g Land, p. 54
  18. ^ Review and Herald, August 10, p. 14
  19. ^ Bible Readings for the Home Circle 1888
  20. ^ Western Canadian Tidings. Pioneer Colporteurs in Western Canada. Vol. 8 Calgary, Alberta, December 4, 1918 No. 23 p. 5
  21. ^ Sudds, D. R. Colporteurs Were First in Alberta. Canadian Union Messenger, October 19, 1966, p. 11
  22. ^ Yearbook of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination, 1907, p. 47
  23. ^ Statistical Report of Seventh-day Adventist Conferences, Missions, and Institutions For the Year Ending December 31, 1906, p. 2
  24. ^ Yearbook of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination, 1908, p. 88

See also

References

Books
Journals

Further reading

Regional Conferences

National Organizations

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