Issue 2001 #2
Diamonds to Receive:
The Joy of Service
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Anniversary Overview
The anniversary for Western Tract Mission was held at
Westgate Alliance Church on Sunday April 1st. Upon entering
the hall a huge banner was displayed on the back wall of
the platform with the words "Still spreading the Word" with the
date of WTM inception up to the present day. The walls were
decorated with streamers and balloons in the colours of the
mission being green and white. Circular tables occupied the
centre of the hall in preparation for the luncheon. Board
members, staff and volunteers did all of the preparations.
Our host was Acting Director, Arnold Stobbe, who opened
in a prayer. The Benson's and "Daystar Praise" began the
festivities with a couple of songs. Persons giving reports from the
individual departments were as follows: Personal and General
Mailing by Myrtle Butte, Impact Canada by Helen Klassen, Bible
Correspondence by the new kid on the block Don Wilde,
Scripture Signs by Arnold Stobbe.
Reverend Harold Lutzer was our guest speaker for the
afternoon session and he spoke from Psalm 107. All
received a handout of this Psalm and were asked to read in
unison. The passage was divided into five parts and after the
recitation Rev. Lutzer gave comments. He also shared his
experiences during the 1971 Revival in Saskatoon and area.
Following these events and just before the meal, those in
attendance were given opportunity to socialize with others and to
walk around and visit the displays set up at the back of the hall.
Displays included Western Tract Mission, Scripture Signs,
Impact Canada, Mission to the Hutterites and Personal and
General Mailing.
One long time member who was unable to attend was Jake
Hoeppner of Winnipeg, MB. Some came to the anniversary from
Alberta. One of these was Ruth Magnus from Three Hills, AB.
Ruth was a former office worker who shared with us her
experiences from her past with WTM. It was a delight to hear
how Ruth worked out of the Rice's home where the WTM office
was located before moving to 33rd St. here in Saskatoon.
The Benson's provided more music at the beginning of the
second part of the anniversary festivities. Sara Unruh, another
new member to WTM, read Scripture and then Rick Harbidge
gave a report on their ministry to the Hutterites. Beryl, his wife,
sang a couple of songs. What a pleasant surprise to hear her sing.
Dave Ginther reported on his project "Unreached Communities
Research". This is an effort to find out which communities in
Saskatchewan do not have an evangelical witness. Ruth
Friesen gave a report on WTM Website. We were given a
sample recording of another new project for the mission called
"Tell-A-Story." This is a pre-recorded story that may be heard
over the telephone as a means of reaching those who have never
heard the gospel message.
Our guest speaker for the evening was Dr. Bruce Pringle.
Bruce is also a member of the Board of Reference for WTM. His
talk consisted of a challenge to the Board, Staff and Volunteers
of Western Tract from the acrostic "POW." This spells out
Praise, Obedience and the Word.
The final event on the agenda was Gratitude and Prayer
under the theme of "Press Toward The Mark" This was given by
Archie Loewen, Dave Ginther, Ruth Friesen, Elmer Peters and
Don Wilde.
We would like to thank all those who are part of WTM as
Board Members, Office Workers, Volunteers, Tract Distributors
or just members of the mission. Your inputs whether in prayer or
finances are greatly appreciated. Now that we have passed the
60th anniversary let us focus on new goals for the future with
God's help. We continue to seek more volunteers to assist with
positions as committee members, volunteers in all areas and
contacts for our Bible correspondence Courses.
Respectfully submitted by
Don Wilde.
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