CANADA—Members of the Ottawa congregation of the Philadelphia Church of God hosted their fellow Eastern Canadian brethren from February 17–20 during Winterlude, a winter weekend event that has been celebrated annually in the nation’s capital for almost 40 years.

Visitors to the Ottawa congregation included Canada Regional Director Fred Dattolo and his family and several families and singles from the Milton and Montreal congregations. Local members housed visitors and prepared Sabbath meals for them on Friday evening.

“It was such a blessing to host a member of another congregation,” Ottawa member Joanne McCallum said. “We had a wonderful time getting to know each other.”

On Saturday after Church services, approximately 45 brethren reconvened downtown for a buffet meal, then bundled up and walked across the frozen Rideau Canal Skateway to see ice carvings by artists from around the world at Confederation Park.

Local member and pcg French-language translator Tony Chiasson said the part he and his wife enjoyed most about the weekend was “the extra fellowship we had from visitors that we normally don’t see enough of. One highlight was having our hall full of chairs to the maximum capacity at services, which made it feel like a mini-Feast. It was great having Mr. and Mrs. Dattolo visiting us.”

On Sunday, members met for a Mexican lunch at Dows Lake Pavilion. Due to the unseasonably warm temperature of 45 degrees Fahrenheit, the Rideau Canal Skateway closed, as did the Snowflake Kingdom snow slides at Jacques Cartier Park in downtown Gatineau. However, that didn’t stop the group from having an energetic snowball fight or from trying traditional Canadian treats like beavertail pastries and maple syrup taffy on snow. The day finished with a potluck at the home of Kirk and Nichole Macdonald.

Since Monday was Family Day, a national holiday, many local brethren participated in one final Winterlude activity: their first attempt at curling. Curling, which originated in the 1500s, is a sport in which players slide stones on ice toward a target area segmented into four concentric circles. Players feverishly sweep and polish the ice to help the stone travel farther and curl less. The Canadian national curling team is ranked number one in the world.

Greg Bergsma, who organized the curling outing, said, “The opportunity to represent God and His way of sportsmanship and sense of family fun, and also express our gratitude to the volunteers while trying a new sport in the community, was rewarding.”

The Ottawa congregation plans to host during Winterlude again in 2018.