The Canada and Bermuda Territory celebrated the ordination and commissioning of the Keepers of the Covenant this past weekend, gathering for joyful praise, grateful prayer and powerful moments of testimony. After years of spiritual formation, ministry training and discernment, cadets and auxiliary-captains stepped forward into officership surrounded by family, friends, colleagues and leaders.

The weekend focused on what it means to be a keeper of the covenant—not just for the newly commissioned session, but for each Salvation Army officer who has taken the sacred oath before them and for Salvationists and soldiers who have made the decision to give their lives and hearts to the Lord.

A Sacred Oath

The festivities began on Saturday afternoon for the commissioning and ordination service at Mississauga Community Church, Ont. The Canadian Staff Songsters (CSS), led by Songster Leader Cathie Koehnen, and the Canadian Staff Band (CSB), led by Bandmaster Andrew Burditt, opened the service with a soulful prelude.

“We gather as God’s people to witness the ordination and commissioning of the Keepers of the Covenant in the Canada and Bermuda Territory. Today is not simply a formal occasion; it’s a sacred moment of worship and testimony,” said Lt-Colonel Shona Pike, assistant training principal, in greeting. She welcomed Commissioners Lee and Debbie Graves, territorial leaders; Colonel Margaret McLeod, chief secretary; former territorial leaders; College for Officer Training (CFOT) faculty; and retired international leaders, General Brian and Commissioner Rosalie Peddle and General Linda Bond.

Also present were cadets of the Proclaimers of Transformation Session, and officers of the Messengers of the Kingdom and Messengers of Grace sessions.

The CSB opened the service, leading the congregation in O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing, followed by a prayer by Lt-Colonel Keith Pike, secretary for business administration.

Then, as the CSS sang My Covenant, the Keepers of the Covenant entered the sanctuary, led by Cadet Alberto Theola, sessional flagbearer. Each cadet and auxiliary-captain was greeted on the platform by Commissioners Graves, sharing a Salvation Army salute in grateful thanks and acknowledgment to the Lord.

Major Deana Zelinsky, training principal, welcomed the session.

“We gather to recognize what has been accomplished but also to acknowledge what God has done and what he is about to do in the lives of the Keepers of the Covenant,” said Major Zelinsky. “Over these past years, these cadets and auxiliary-captains have been formed through spiritual development, practical study, practical ministry, and a life in community, both in the places they serve and at CFOT. They have been encouraged, mentored, stretched and refined. They have been assessed not only in knowledge and skill, but in character, calling, spiritual maturity, leadership and commitment to Christ’s mission.”

In a sacred and emotional expression of commitment, Aux-Captain Arthur Heathcote, Aux-Captain Florence Yau and Cadet Theola stood to recite the Officer’s Covenant in French and English. Then, all five Keepers of the Covenant presented their Affirmation of Faith in unison, led by Colonel McLeod.

The cadets and auxiliary-captains stood before Commissioners Graves for their ordination, each receiving a Scripture verse chosen for them by their training officers and territorial leaders.

Honouring Service

In a short video, General Peddle reflected on the COVID years, and the sessions ordained and commissioned under pandemic restrictions. The Messengers of the Kingdom and the Messengers of Grace celebrated their commissionings in socially distant live-streamed services and have since been engaging in active ministry in their respective appointments.

The video also recognized the Army’s response to the pandemic, and honoured and thanked the leaders who shepherded the territory through it, including Commissioners Floyd and Tracey Tidd, then territorial leaders.

“As we welcome the Keepers of the Covenant, we also applaud the Messengers of the Kingdom and the Messengers of Grace,” said General Peddle. “We honour the cadets who are now captains. We honour the hope that they have shared, the lives they’ve touched, and the people they’ve led to Christ since their virtual ordination in 2020 and 2021. We honour the leaders who brought us through difficult and uncertain times with determined faithfulness.

“We praise the one who is with us and helping us through it all,” he continued. “Let’s take God’s presence with us as we move forward together in this territory.”

Following a prayer by Commissioner Tracey Tidd, Commissioner Rosalie Peddle introduced the next congregational song, Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus. The Keepers of the Covenant and the Proclaimers of Transformation then exited the sanctuary behind their sessional flags as the congregation sang and clapped.

A Lifelong Commitment

During a brief musical interlude, a timbrel brigade from London Citadel, Ont., marched to the front of the sanctuary accompanied by the staff band’s Jubilee! The performance was colourful and energetic, with flying timbrel ribbons boasting the red, yellow and blue of The Salvation Army.

The timbrels then lined the aisles to help welcome the sessions back into the sanctuary. The Proclaimers of Transformation walked to the front followed by officers of the Messengers of the Kingdom and the Messengers of Grace sessions with their respective families and children. In an atmosphere of celebration, officers who had been commissioned and ordained virtually had the chance to experience their commissioning march and salute in person.

Finally, the congregation cheered as the Keepers of the Covenant marched into the sanctuary as newly commissioned lieutenants and a captain. They saluted the territorial leaders on the platform and Salvationists, friends and loved ones applauded. Each lieutenant and captain then stood before Commissioners Graves to receive their appointments.

Lt-Colonel Roxanne Jennings, territorial secretary for personnel, took a moment to recognize the service and ministry of the Messengers of the Kingdom and the Messengers of Grace, and to reflect on what it means to be called by God.

“You’re here today because God called you—not to a role, not to a position, not to a program; he called you by name, and you said yes,” said Lt-Colonel Jennings. “Your covenant promises are not burdens; they are privileges—guiding commitments that keep officership grounded, faithful and positioned toward God’s purposes. We know officership is not limited to a single role or appointment, it is a lifelong response to God’s call—lived wherever you’re sent, among whomever you serve and sustained in grace alone.”

Go In Faith

NEON, led by Simon Gough, provided music for the service, leading the congregation in energetic worship to House of the Lord, followed by a prayerful rendition of Holy Forever.

Newly commissioned Lieutenant Mariciel Nuyda read from Psalm 89, and Commissioner Lee Graves stood to thank Major Zelinsky as she prepares to take on a new appointment as director of international development for the Canada and Bermuda Territory. He then gave the message, reflecting on his own experience training as a Salvation Army officer.

“We are asking you to carry a heavy mantle and to assume a weighty responsibility as you go forward to be Keepers of the Covenant. But you don’t bear that alone, because we bear that with you,” said Commissioner Graves in his sermon. “Every individual who has said yes to the Lord Jesus Christ, who has accepted him on bended knee and is part of the family of God, assumes that mantle. In a sense, every one of us are keepers of the covenant that God has placed on our lives.

“It is a divine burden, and it is an anointed privilege to be the custodian of the greatest story ever told …. It’s the keeper of the covenant’s responsibility to tell the story,” he continued, quoting the words of the hymn, O Jesus, I Have Promised. “Many of us, in covenant before God, have made this promise: ‘O Jesus, I have promised to serve thee to the end. Be thou forever near me, my master and my friend. I shall not fear the battle if thou art by my side, nor wander from the pathway if thou wilt be my guide.’ ”

As the congregation sang All That I Am, Commissioner Graves invited the Keepers of the Covenant to kneel at the mercy seat in prayer. Families, friends, colleagues and officers joined to pray God’s blessing over them as they prepare to embark on their new journeys as Salvation Army officers.

After a time of prayer, accepted candidate Elizabeth Borgela shared a testimony about her own calling—reluctant at first, she now eagerly anticipates the journey toward officership and the ministry opportunities that will unfold as part of God’s plan for her life.

In closing, Major Carson Decker, territorial candidates secretary, offered a prayer for candidates, and Lt-Colonel Les Marshall, territorial secretary for mission, introduced the congregational song, Storm the Forts of Darkness. Bandmaster Burditt led the CSB in the familiar tune, joined by the clapping of the crowd.

“What God has promised, he will accomplish. So, as we step into the world that often feels uncertain, we do not go in fear, but in faith,” said Lt-Colonel Marshall in benediction. “The God whose faithfulness endures throughout every generation goes before us, walks beside us and remains with us.”

The CSB and the London Citadel timbrels closed the service with a cheerful postlude as the platform party exited the sanctuary, followed by Canada and Bermuda’s newest officers.

Keeping the Covenant

The celebrations continued Sunday morning at territorial headquarters in Toronto where officers and loved ones gathered for a family service and Silver Star luncheon.

Colonel McLeod welcomed attendees, including retired international leaders, current and former territorial leaders, representatives from CFOT and officers from across the territory. On behalf of territorial leadership, Colonel McLeod thanked Major Zelinsky and CFOT staff for their work in preparation for the commissioning weekend events.

Lt-Colonel Shona Pike called the chapel to worship, singing To God Be the Glory and How Great Is Our God. As the piano continued to play, she invited those in the audience to speak out in prayer and grateful thanks to God for his many favours. Throughout the room, people thanked the Lord for the gift of his Son, for the eternity he has prepared for his people, and for life abundant.

Captain Rebecca Hewson, corps officer at Victoria Citadel and a Messenger of Grace, shared her testimony of God’s work in her life and ministry. Captain Chad Cole, mission and ministry formation co-ordinator, CFOT, led worship with Blessed Be Your Name and Goodness of God, and Commissioner Lee Graves offered a prayer.

Lieutenant Nuyda, representative speaker for the Keepers of the Covenant, reflected on her session and the people she trained with, who hail from different countries across the globe, but whose God-led journeys have brought them to Canada and Bermuda to be ordained and commissioned. She also spoke about her Silver Star recipients—individuals who have sowed the seeds of ministry in her, and whose presence and grace have guided her toward a Iife lived for God.

“The Order of the Silver Star was established by Evangeline Booth to recognize mothers who had given a son or daughter to full-time officership in The Salvation Army. The Army viewed this as a significant sacrifice and contribution to God’s work, deserving special recognition,” explained Commissioner Debbie Graves. “Changed to the Fellowship of the Silver Star, it has now broadened in many territories to include fathers, guardians and others who have played a significant role in supporting a candidate’s call to officership.”

Each of the Keepers of the Covenant went out into the audience to give their Silver Star recipient a gift and ceremonial pin to thank them for their role as a spiritual mentor.

Captains Emily and Kyron Newbury, corps officers at Rainbow Country Church, Parry Sound, Ont., and Messengers of the Kingdom, gave a special musical selection, performing Take My Life (I Am Yours). Eden and Emma Thompson, children of Messengers of Grace Captains Amanda and Jeremy Thompson, read from John 15.

The message came from Lieutenant Steve Yau, who is appointed to Richmond Corps, B.C., where he has served during his training. He reflected on his path to officership and trust in God’s timing. For more than 30 years serving at their former church, Lieutenants Florence and Steve Yau were met with closed doors to ministry, despite feeling the call so deeply. What seemed like unfairness at the time was God’s divine plan for their lives, one that led them to The Salvation Army.

“Keeping the covenant is so easy when everything is going right—when you agree with everything God is doing and when you see the destination he’s bringing you to,” Lieutenant Yau said. “It’s only when you go uphill, when there are decisions you don’t agree with, when you can’t see God’s promises being fulfilled, when you can’t see the end, that it’s easy to quit. But you have a choice. You can be a keeper of the covenant, or you can quit.

“God uses these pressure points to drive us to our knees,” he continued. “And in prayer, I met God.”

In the final moments of the commissioning and ordination weekend, the congregation sang All That I Am and I’ll Stand for Christ.

The service was followed by a luncheon in honour of the Silver Star recipients, and fellowship time with colleagues and loved ones. The newly commissioned captain and lieutenants left the weekend with hearts full, energized for mission and the journey ahead as Salvation Army officers.

Photos: Steve Nelson