La Crete Christian Fellowship Church - La Crete, Alberta.

Fall 2023 marked the 50th anniversary of La Crete Christian Fellowship. To mark this occasion, a planning committee organized a celebration weekend. October 14–15, 2023, we opened the doors to visitors and regular attendees to give all glory, honour and praise to our faithful Almighty God!

The weekend began with a time of fellowship over coffee and cookies. It was beautiful to see old friends and acquaintances reuniting and reminiscing together, sharing stories of bygone years while looking through pages of old photo directories.

Of many memories shared, one stood out. The night before we had our first service in our new building, Menno Hamm realized there was no pulpit for his brother, Elmer, to preach from. So, Menno went home and built one out of leftover building materials, with a cross on the front. He wasn’t overly impressed by his project, but it would have to do. He told the small congregation they’d use that pulpit “for now” and a better one would be built someday. Fifty years later, the pulpit stands unchanged, still used by a new congregation in that building. Pastor Elmer’s son, Stan Hamm, got to stand behind the pulpit his uncle built, and his father stood behind, to share the Word of God. What a special moment!

At the Saturday evening service, we learned of our humble beginnings: having the first congregational meeting in the basement of someone’s home, experiencing resistance and opposition, and slowly getting started with regular services. Again and again, we heard expressions of thanksgiving for the faithfulness of God, his unchanging character, and his bountiful blessings.

Stan Hamm then shared from the book of Nehemiah about God’s call to rebuild the wall. Nehemiah faced opposition and resistance; yet many people from all walks of life came together to do the work of the Lord. While the people were rebuilding the wall, God was rebuilding his people.

On Sunday morning, we enjoyed a service of music, a slide show of photos from over the years, and messages from three speakers: Stan Hamm (son of our first pastor Elmer Hamm), Peter Fehr (former youth pastor), and Russell Peters (current senior pastor). Each spoke of a different aspect of church life. Stan reminisced about the very beginning. EMC contacted his father Elmer to come start an English-speaking church in La Crete, Alberta. So, he moved to a tiny little place that wasn’t marked on any map yet!

Peter Fehr shared about the growth of the church. As a youth pastor, it was in the ordinary, day-to-day happenings that he could see God at work: coffee visits, one-on-one conversations, lunches in different homes after Sunday service.

Russell Peters concluded by looking to the future. We know where we came from, we know how we’ve grown, so now what? Decades ago, a seed was planted. Many willing workers watered and cared for that planted seed. Only God could make it grow. We need to carry on in faith.

Our celebration weekend came to a close with a fellowship lunch, where more life stories were shared around tables and over many cups of coffee.