Jerusalem, the Global Village
When Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem a week before he was crucified, he said it was the fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy (from the prophet Zechariah): "Say to the daughter of Sion, Behold thy King cometh!" While Jesus was not talking about Sion, Alberta, Canada specifically, he was talking about Jerusalem, and in the sense that the New Jerusalem is associated with his second coming, the New Jerusalem is in fact everywhere, including Sion, Alberta, Canada. It is the universal City of Peace. Look at the name Jerusalem. It literally means City of Peace. "Jeru" stands for City, and "Salem" is a variation of the ancient Hebrew salutation "Shalom," meaning Peace. Every church, every denomination, every sect and every religion on earth has its holy cities, its shrines. For the Christian Church it is Rome, the city built on seven hills, and Jerusalem, the universal, eternal city of Peace. For Muslims it's Mecca, and for Jews and modern Christians it's Zion, the City of God. No one knew this better than the Catholic Church's Pope John Paul II. He was the first Pope since St. Peter himself who made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and acknowledged that this is where it all started thousands of years ago! John Paul had it all together! The Church's message to the world is not war and bloodshed, it is Peace and Love. In fact, John Paul extended the olive branch of peace not only to the Jews, he also extended it to Arabs and the entire Islamic world. The Catholic Church wants peace, not war. Love is what it is all about! Today there are probably more Christian Muslims in the world than there are Christian Jews. The ancient war God Jehovah and the Muslim war God Allah are coming together. They are in fact one and the same God. And Jesus Christ's message of Peace and Love means God is not only the God of Christians and Jews, in fact Jesus is the Son of the universal God Allah as well as the son of the great Jehovah. The name "Allah" is strikingly similar to the German word "Alles," meaning everything. In fact Allah, in low German, means all the people. This brings us right up to modern times. In the words of Harry Emerson Fosdick, the modernist Baptist clergyman of New York, God is the divine spark in every human being. Pope John Paul II understood this and he preached it. He was an ecumenist of the highest order. Modern Catholics know the New Jerusalem is everywhere, and no one knows it better than the modern Order of Jesuit Priests. The Jesuits, in fact, are the world's largest and most powerful missionary organization. They are establishing modern universities all over the world. A true Jesuit is a free thinker, and has a deep understanding of the universality of new Jerusalem movements. There's an interesting fictional story making the rounds in religious circles today. It goes something like this: A cardinal comes bursting into the inner sanctum of the Pope in Rome. "Your Grace, Your Grace," he exclaims. "I've got news for you!" "Well, what is it?" the Pope responds. "What's this all about?" The cardinal comes back with: "I've got good news and bad news all at the same time, Your Grace!" "Well, alright, then, let's have the good news first," says the Holy Father. Responds the Cardinal: "Jesus Christ has come back to earth!" "Well, that is good news," replies the Holy Father. "Now let's have the bad news." Cardinal: "He's phoning from Salt Lake City!" The moral of the story is this. Mormons are just another modern sect which have their own Holy City, their New Jerusalem, and this one, like the sacred Jerusalem in the Middle East, is located near a great salt lake. Salt Lake City, Utah! The New Jerusalem. Alberta, Canada, has its own Global Village, the ecumenical coming together of the simple people of the world who believe in Love and Peace. We're marching upward to Zion, the beautiful City of God.
 
The next chapter in this history of the Sion community is about the Sion Rural Electrification Association, which recently amalgamated with the Central Alberta Rural Electrification Association (REA).  Shown above is a photo of the Association's Board of Directors for 2005-2006.  Note particularly Doug Drozd of the Sion area, seen in the centre of the back row, with General Manager Pat Bourne to his right.  Others in the back row, left to right, are Ed Beniuk, Murray Ormberg, Claude Newsham, and (to Doug Drozd's left) Helmut Jantz (also from the Sion area), Frank Olson and Dave Wigmore.  Front row, left to right, are Fred Lyczewski, Dean Chessor, Jim Towle and Willie Moran.  Missing from the photo was Board Member Brian Turnbull.