Papa Dan's Pastoral Days

A NEW CHALLENGE The Vernon Alliance Church Parsonage I was now the pastor of a city church with a whole new challenge before me.  All of the members and attendees at Lac La Biche, Hylo, Lousana and Bellgrove combined were farmers except for three families.  In Vernon it was the opposite.  All of the members and attendees at the Vernon Alliance Church worked in the city and only three were farmers. When we began our ministry in Vernon the Sunday morning attendance was around eighty or ninety.  One Sunday morning in July 1964 we  squeaked over one hundred.  That was the first time we exceeded one hundred during my ministry.  We witnessed some gradual growth during our years there, seeing a Sunday morning attendance of around two hundred, when we left.   Dan, in his thirties, preaching at Vernon Alliance Church Prior to our going to Vernon the congregation sold their little building on 27th Street purchasing a one acre pi...

THE FIRST TWO WEEKS   Echoes Of Blessing - CJIB Vernon, BC   Week one went well. I did some unpacking, prepared and recorded about five Echoes Of Blessing   radio broadcasts, preached morning and evening our first Sunday and met several new people.  On Tuesday, September 10th, the beginning of week two, Rev. Jack Schroeder, pastor of the Kelowna Alliance Church , picked me up and we were on our way to Moose Jaw, SK for my first Western Canadian District Conference with the Christian Missionary Alliance. That WCD conference was the last big one.  For years there had been two C&MA districts in Canada, the Eastern & Central Canadian District and the Western Canadian District.   The WCD extended from Vancouver Island to Thunder Bay, ON.  At this conference in Moose Jaw the district was divided.  Beginning January 1st, 1964 the WCD would consist of Brtitish Columbia and Alberta.  Saskatchewan, Manitoba and North Western...

GOOD BYE ALBERTA - HELLO BRITISH COLUMBIA Leona was a brick!  Once we were back in Lousana we started packing.  Within less than two weeks we would be saying "good-bye" to our Lousana and Bellgrove friends.  We had enjoyed our 32 months with these farm folks but we were excited with the new challenge that was now before us. I told you in the previous posting that it was a quick turn around.  Well our farewell Sunday was August 25th, one week after being in Vernon and five days following Leona's discharge from the hospital.  Our earthly belongings were loaded on to a Red Deer area farmer's truck.  That farmer was a member of the Red Deer Alliance Church.   Rev. John Klassen, who was pastor of the Vernon Alliance Church, was moving to Red Deer to be the pastor of the Red Deer Alliance Church.   Since I was moving to Vernon and taking his place that farm truck went from Lousana with our stuff and back to Red Deer with the Klassen's stuff....

A QUICK TURN OF EVENTS I concluded my interim ministry at Mirror Alliance Church the end of July 1963.  Their new pastor began his ministry there in August.  I was now back to where I started in January 1961, pastor of Lousana Gospel Mission and Bellgrove Community Church. Tuesday, August 13th, Rev. McIntyre phoned asking me a couple of questions.  His first question was whether I had any news yet.  He was inquiring as to whether our second child had been born.  My answer was, "No!"  His second question was "Would you be willing to go to Vernon, BC this coming Sunday and be a pastoral candidate?"  That was only five days away but I indicated that I would go.  Well, I guess our unborn child heard Mr. McIntyre's question, because Brian made his entrance into the world the next day, August 14th. The Lacombe Hospital where Dan & Brian were born While Leona was in the Lacombe Hospital, the hospital stay being much longer in t...

A TURNING POINT Rev. Bill Rose, pastor of the Red Deer Alliance Church had befriended me in 1962.  I believe that we first met when our young peoples in Lousana and Bellgrove were invited, a couple of times, to join with the Alliance young people in Red Deer.  I cannot remember the details as to how I reconnected with Roy McIntyre, the C&MA Western Canadian District Superintendent, however Bill Rose took me into Calgary one day to meet Rev. McIntyre.  The two of them interviewed me.  This was the beginning of a turning point in my life and my future ministry. The result of that interview that afternoon in Calgary was that I was asked that day if I would be willing to help out with the Mirror Alliance Church, Mirror, Alberta .   They were without a pastor and had a graduate from Canadian Bible College coming in the summer.  One other thing was that Mr. McIntyre now had me on his list of prospective pastors.   Mirror Alliance Churc...

OUR SUSPICIONS WERE RIGHT In the spring of 1962 we had our suspicions confirmed.  While away for a few days we met a friend who shared with us that he had heard the reason for which we were rejected two years earlier by the West Indies Mission.   Now that we knew why they had made their decision and knowing that it was a falsehood that had been shared with them, we decided to write the mission to see whether they would reconsider us.  They responded by asking us to go to Pennsylvania and meet with the Board of Directors.  A date was set and we arranged our vacation around the appointed day. We set off from Lousana in our Volkswagen Beetle, spending a few days with my folks in Chatham and then off to meet with the board in Homer City, PA.  Upon our arrival at the mission, we were met at the door by the General Director's wife, Mrs. Thompson.  "Oh, no!" she exclaimed, or words to that effect, "You've come the wrong week." Standing in front of ...

PERSONAL MINISTRIES In addition to serving as pastor at Lousana and Bellgrove, I had a couple of ministries outside of the church which I did and was financially responsible for the same.  I never considered myself a writer or author, but Dave Patterson, the Presbyterian minister in Lousana, shared with me that he had contacted the editor of The Delburne Times and inquired whether he would be interested in some articles by pastors.  Delburne was a town of about 500 residents, eight miles north of Lousana.  It was the shopping centre for our area with a bank, hardware, grocery and other stores and services. I gave some thought to the Presbyterian minister's idea and agreed that I would alternate with him,  writing a brief article for the newspaper.  In recalling his articles, I think his column was called The Prairie Pastor.  I named my little write up Nuggets Of Truth.   We both had to buy the space, which was not a great expense, but neverth...

LOUSANA & BELLGROVE Sunday, January 1st, 1961, I preached my first sermon at the Lousana Gospel Mission and Bellgrove Community Church .  The sermon that day was about new beginnings, dealing with Bible characters who had failed and were starting afresh. It was also the first day of the week, the first day of the month, the first day of the year and for me, it was the first day of a new ministry.   Lousana was a hamlet of about 65 people with two grocery stores, a service station, post office and three churches, Anglican, Presbyterian and the Lousana Gospel Mission .  LGM was an independent church, as was Bellgrove Community Church.   LGM was started by Fergus Kirk, the  farmer that invited L.E. Maxwell to teach the Bible to some Three Hills area students back in 1922, ultimately becoming Prairie Bible Institute.    I do not remember or whether I was ever told how BCC was started.  It was ten miles west of Lousana or about two ...