Manitoba- Saskatchewan Conference Elects New Executive Secretary

Newly elected executive secretary, Christine Bergen (right) and her husband, Joe.

On March 18, 2020, the Board of Directors of the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists voted, due to travel restrictions and health concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, to postpone the 2020 Quinquennial Constituency meeting until April 2021. The board’s very next action was to elect Christine Bergen as the next conference executive secretary, a position that had been vacant since Dec. 31, 2019. Bergen will take up her duties on May 1, 2020.

            Christine Bergen served as the secretary-treasurer of the Newfoundland Seventh-day Adventist Mission from 2010 to 2019. Born and raised in Newfoundland, she moved to Alberta in order to attend an Adventist university (now Burman) and met her husband, Joe Bergen. They have been married for 31 years with two children, Mark and Teresa, as well as a son-in-law, Clinton Wahl.

            Christine has a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan, having graduated in 2010 with great distinction. She has over 20 years of office experience with at least 14 of those years in a supervisory role. She has a great love for people and a strong work ethic. “I am humbled to be asked to serve in this role and excited to be able to use the skills and abilities that God has given me to advance His work,” Bergen said. “May all that I do bring glory and honor unto His name.”

            “We are very happy to welcome Christine to the conference team and are grateful that she and her husband had felt the desire last year to move closer to their children in Saskatoon; that someone of her calibre and experience is available locally and at this opportune moment is truly a great blessing,” said Michael Collins, president of the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Conference.

            The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Nunavut comprises approximately 4019 members; 42 churches, companies, and groups; and four schools. Their mission is to carry out the commission of Christ to lead people to salvation in Jesus, teach them Biblical faith and the Christian lifestyle, equip them to serve their churches and communities with their God-given abilities, and prepare them to meet their soon-coming Lord.