By David Bacon
SURREY, British Columbia--Although Feast attendance was down about 30 percent compared to last year, reports from the seven Canadian sites showed a potpourri of worship activities, musical guests, seminars and community outreach.
Many longtime members said this was their most rewarding Feast, and some expressed sorrow that so many were unable to attend.
Festivalgoers joined the host Penticton congregation in collecting items for a food bank which, without government funding, serves up to 500 needy families.
Other Feast highlights included a worship service led by teens and two educational tours to wineries during the height of the grape crush.
Guest speaker Bill Hall of the national office in Surrey gave two seminars on the Book of Revelation.
More than 300 sang praises to God at a Saturday night worship service with a theme God's Kingdom Alive.
Members from almost every Canadian province and 15 states enjoyed the Feast here. Opening night was devoted to 45 minutes of singing praises to God, led by an octet.
Newspaper ads and family contacts attracted guests from the community to services and events.
Contemporary Christian recording artist Steve Bell shared his ministry of song, and the Sisters of the Holy Rock--a lively and humorous choir of about 40 women and men dressed as nuns--performed to an enthusiastic crowd.
Milt Stegall, a pass receiver for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, spoke to the teens. Milt, a speaker for the Christian group Athletes in Action, shared his faith and conducted a question and answer session.
Brethren gave more than $1,000 to Youth Without Shelter, which provides emergency shelter for young people, and more than $1,500 to Etobicoke General Hospital for pediatric stethoscopes, which can detect abnormalities in premature infants.
Focus on the Family (founded by James Dobson) joined the group Saturday, setting up an information booth and showing its work.
Sermons touched members in a more meaningful way than ever, and several renewed their commitment to Christ. Others said the depth of the messages made this time of fellowship with God a turning point in their lives.
Maritimers love music, so it's only natural that the Feast here was music-filled.
A band from the Mennonite Church in Moncton, New Brunswick, performed at the youth service.
On Sunday, worship leader Jim Noseworthy, a blind member, led the congregation in a rendition of "Let It Begin With Me."
Members had a brunch for the French Catholic Church, which meets at the French school where the Halifax congregation also conducts its services. Language and religious barriers were breached, as some were surprised to meet neighbors and work colleagues.
St. John's celebrated the 500th anniversary of the landing of John Cabot in 1497. The meeting hall dazzled the eye with its dramatic ocean backdrop. The weather was spectacular: the city had its greatest rainfall in 40 years.
Penticton, British Columbia 600
Edmonton, Alberta 805
Winnipeg, Manitoba 552
Toronto, Ontario 980
Granby, Quebec 259
Halifax, Nova Scotia 267
St. John's, Newfoundland 75
Nov. 18, 1997, WN, page 7
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