The Moderator of the United Church of Canada, the Right Reverend Gary Paterson visited Third Avenue United Church June 16.
He brought greetings from the United Church of Canada, congratulating the congregation for their devotion to workshop and mission in the community and wished them well in their future endeavours. He was in the province to attend a conference in Saskatoon and was visiting a number of churches throughout the province.
Right Rev. Paterson preached the sermon in which he challenged the congregation to take a stand against the wrongs in society.
At the brunch afterward, he gave a brief talk about the state of the church today. There are an increasing number of people in Canada who have no church-based faith and many of the newcomers to Canada are non-Christians. He answered questions from those present who had concerns about the changes and challenges in modern society.
Ken Holliday, chairman of the church board, presented the Right Rev. Paterson with a DVD of the PowerPoint presentation showing the history of the church building, the ministry, music, administrative and cleaning staff, the choirs, Sunday school, ladies' groups (WMS and UCW) and men's groups (AOTS) and the general life and work of the congregation through the years.
The presentation had been shown June 9 as part of a special celebratory service during the church's celebration, "A Century of Mission and Service," marking the presence of the original church building in North Battleford. The June 8 and 9 event brought people together from various parts of the province including former ministry personnel, choir directors and musicians, as well as those who had affiliated themselves with Third Avenue through the years.
During the month of July, Third Avenue United Church will hold their regular Sunday services at 10:30 a.m. and, in August, the services will be at Battleford United Church.
