One of the reasons I came to Alberta is to re-connect with my Dad. I find it funny that when I relate this to people, they react with surprise mixed with a bit of skepticism. Why after all this time would I want to do that? It doesn’t really bother me. I figure there are many fatherless young men out there who still wish for five more minutes with their Dad. I feel I’m lucky to realize that such an opportunity is something a son should never pass up.
This past weekend, I rode shotgun with my father as he embarked on a road trip to visit churches amongst the smaller towns in rural Alberta. While he makes it a point to go to these churches simply to promote solidarity between the local church and the administrative conference, he also loves to meet people and connect with them on a personal level.
What a follows is a brief breakdown of specific places we visited on the trip. It was a lengthy trip so I’ve split this entry into 3 parts. Chapter 1 being the coverage of the Sabbath leg of the trip. Chapter 2 being coverage of the Sunday leg. And Chapter 3 will contain my reflections on the trip.
Strathmore Alberta. (4 hrs away from Red Deer)
I couldn’t help but feel like we were in a western movie as we rolled into the little town of Strathmore. This is town with a main street barely 1 km long with the bank, police station, courthouse, and liquor store all on the same corner.
9 people attended the church service, 2 of them being my Dad and I. And Dad preached and taught Sabbath school with the same enthusiasm that he would had there been three hundred people in attendance. This spoke to me on a deep level.
Calgary Metro Filipino (2 hours backtracking from Strathmore)
We headed back to Calgary to try to catch potluck at the Calgary Metro Filipino church. Alas it was their day of fasting and prayer! The church is made up of young newcomers straight from the Philippines filled with dreams of prosperity. A chance to sponsor their families back in the homeland once they have their affairs in order drives them. Predominantly female caregivers they were already picking up on the North American way of life.
After an AY progam, (yes AY, short for Adventist Youth) we took a twenty minute drive to visit some property that the group was looking to purchase to build a church on. The gentleman who owned the property was a self-employed engineer who fabricates custom construction parts for the contractors around Alberta. He was a Filipino version of West Coast Choppers complete with the tricked out Hummer he purchased to look at to keep him motivated!
Calgary Central (1/5 hr into the city)
This apparently is the largest Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) church in Calgary. We sat through an amazing lecture given by a certain Dr. Barnard who spoke on the benefits of the Vegan Diet. I know what your thinking but this guy’s only nutty attribute was that he was way too smart! I actually enjoyed it and learned a lot.
Immediately following the lecture we proceeded to the gym for a “Town Hall Meeting”. This is when all the administrative heads of the church conference, my Dad included, give reports to the congregation regarding the state of the church in Alberta. Any member of the SDA church in Alberta was welcome and was given the freedom to ask questions regarding these reports.
Pointes Inn (10 minutes from Calgary Central)
After deciding that $150 was a bit steep for one night at a Best Western Dad and I checked in at Pointes Inn at around 11 pm. We were exhausted but hungry and hunted down some grub at the Denny’s across the street.
Both he and I broke every rule we had learned at the health lecture earlier that evening. I ordered the midnight burger special which included a generous serving of season fries and a quarter pound burger served with egg and extra cheese! It was the first time I had eaten meat in 2 weeks. Dad had the same. Well, I figure you have to indulge every now and then.
Then it was off to bed in preparation for an early start on Sunday.
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