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Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada
Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada
Classification	Protestant
Orientation	Adventist
Polity	Modified presbyterian polity
President	Mark Johnson
Region	Canada
Founder	Joseph Bates, James White, Ellen G. White, J. N. Andrews
Origin	May 21, 1863 ; Battle Creek, Michigan
Aid organization	Adventist Development and Relief Agency
Other name(s)	Adventist church, SDA (informal), SDACC

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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. Canada and the French possessions of St. Pierre and Miquelon comprise its territory. 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] Adventists enterprises include worship services in local congregations, annual regional "camp meetings", the publishing of tracts and journals, lengthy evangelistic meetings, and the operation of schools, medical facilities, and humanitarian enterprises.

Early History

Millerites in Canada

William Miller traveled in response to invitations. This led him to the Eastern Townships of Quebec.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church developed from the Millerite movement of the 1830s and 40s. William Miller, Joshua Himes, and Josiah Litch all visited Canada. Miller's sister lived in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. 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. ^[2] Under the leadership of Josiah Litch, the first Millerite camp meeting took place in Canada, at Hadley, Quebec.

After 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 the Sabbath 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. Twenty more years and Adventists formally organized the Canadian Union Conference following which the Canadian church began to grow.

The First Organized Seventh-day Adventist Congregation

The first Seventh-day Adventist church in Canada was at South Stukely. It organized on September 30, 1877, ^[3] with 16 members. ^[4]

1901-1913

In the year 1901, the Seventh-day Adventist Church introduced new mid-level administrative units they 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. ^[5] 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. Members of the General Conference Committee present included A. G. Daniells, W. C. White, W. W. Prescott, S. N. Haskell, H. W. Cottrell, I. H. Evans, and Frederick Griggs. The representatives from Canada were J. W. Collie, S. A. Farnsworth, G. E. Langdon, H. J. Farman, I. A. Ford, James Hannah, and W. R. Andrews. Canadian representative I. A. Ford was elected Secretary of the meeting. 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. They agreed that their work would go into effect on January 1, 1902 if two thirds of the Canadian churches agreed. ^[6]

1914-1932

1932-1952

The depression affected denominational finances. In 1932, the General Conference leadership advised that some of the Canadian conferences consolidate. The Ontario and Quebec confences became the Ontario-Quebec Conference. Manitoba and Saskatchewan merged into one administrative entitiy, the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Conference.

1952-1980

1980-2011

General Conference Session, Toronto, 2000

Statistics

Canadian SDA Membership reported for:

1901. 885
1911. 1951
1921. 5072
1931. 6631
1941. 9275
1951. 11675
1961. 14969
1971. 19307
1981. 31398
1991. 40047
2001. 49632
2011. 61468

The Presidents

W. H. Thurston, 1901-1909
William Guthrie, 1909-1912
M. N. Campbell, 1912-1917

Eastern Canadian Union

A. V. Olsen, 1917-1920
F. W. Stray, 1920-1924
Charles F. McVagh, 1924-1928
W. C. Moffett, 1928-1932

Western Canadian Union

Canadian Union Conference

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

Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA)

Canadian University College

Kingsway College

VOAR

Christian Record Services

It Is Written Canada

Began in...

1982, Feyerabend becomes new Associate Speaker for It Is Written ^[7]

1995, Henry Feyerabend becomes speaker for It Is Written Canada.

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. ^[8]

Maritimes

The Maritime Conference organized in 1902. ^[9]

Quebec

In 1880, the Quebec Conference organized. ^[9]

Ontario

In 1890, the Ontario Conference organized. ^[9]

Branson Hospital

Heritage Green

Six Nations SDA Church, earlier the Iroquois church and the Kenyengeh church ^[10] IROQUOIS, KENYENGEH, AND LYNDEN. by B. B. Noftsger

Sister Belle Johnson has begun a church school at the Iroquois church, and is doing all she can to keep up the interest.

Manitoba-Saskatchewan

The Manitoba Conference organized in 1903. ^[9]

The Saskatchewan Conference organized in 1912. ^[9]

Battleford Academy

The story of Mary Neufeld and women in ministry.

Mary graduated from Battleford Academy in 1925. She was in charge of the Conference's Sabbath School work and would preach in the churches.

http://books.google.ca/books?id=tJqDo447Sl8C&pg=PA79&dq=Saskatchewan+adventist+history&hl=en&ei=1wIdTsPnMYTb0QHajJX9Bw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

Woman's Place Seventh Day Adventist Women in Church and Society Rosa Taylor Banks Review and Herald Pub Assoc, 1992 - Religion

Sunnyside Adventist Care Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan ^[11]

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.^[12] Astleford and Sowler both sold "Bible Readings".^[13] 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.^[14]

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.^[15]

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.^[16] In 1906, the Alberta Mission was organized into the Alberta Conference. ^[9] The newly organized Alberta Conference consisted of about 180 members.^[17] A year later, the Western Canadian Union Conference was formed. It comprised the conferences of British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba and the Saskatchewan Mission.^[18] (See the map)

The Hobema Reserve. To meet the needs of the Hobema Reserve, the Alberta Conference recently (1983) employed Basil VanDieman, who, while teaching public school, had been ministering to a small native church on the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, Canada. But in this time of economic challenge when most confer- ences are forced to reduce their working forces, denominational salaries for full-time native workers will be very limited. ^[19]

British Columbia

The British Columbia conference organized in 1902. ^[9]

Cariboo Adventist Academy, Williams Lake

Okanagon Academy

Fraser Valley Academy

Fountain View Academy (independent)

The Church's Relationship to Government

Society status as a denomination

Education

Ontario and private schools other than Roman Catholic

Newfoundland, parochial schools and constitutional change

Status of private schools across Canada

Freedom of Religion

Sunday Closing Legislation

Sabbath Observance and Employment

Labour Unions

Health Care