On June 18, the Canada and Bermuda Territory will commission nine officers in the Messengers of Reconciliation Session and six auxiliary-captains. As these Salvationists prepare to carry out the mission of The Salvation Army as officers, they reflect on their calling, their experience of training during the pandemic and what it means to be a minister of reconciliation in a broken world.
Cadet Janelle Colbourne
A sessional name is a personal and unique gift. At different points of my journey in my training, being a Messenger of Reconciliation has meant different things. The one thing that has remained the same is that I believe our sessional name was meant for “such a time as this.” There are so many issues and events currently happening in our world. So much hate, despair, brokenness and indifference. But God has called all of us to the ministry of reconciliation. And as Messengers of Reconciliation, I believe we are uniquely placed to be able to stand in the gap and spread the love and hope that is only found in Jesus Christ.
Appointed corps officer, Green's Harbour, N.L.
Cadet Jason Brinson
Completing my training as a field-based tailored training cadet over three years has provided a rich experience that combined academic growth and on-the-job experience. Many staff and officers covered me in prayer and mentored me as my training continued. I have learned so much and I am amazed at the support I have had along the way. My prayer is that God will continue to teach me how best to be his servant in a world that desperately needs the Saviour. I hope to share the love of Christ, show the comfort and compassion of the Father and express the calming presence of the Holy Spirit to those I meet.
Cadet Janice Brinson
Serving God as a field-based tailored training cadet in Yellowknife has provided many unique opportunities. I have seen God’s provision as he has carried us through COVID shutdowns and floods. I was serving on the front lines and sharing tears of frustration and joy with program participants and staff amid disaster and watching God’s plan unfold for our ministry in Yellowknife. I have enjoyed every opportunity that has been presented to connect with my session-mates, as well as the Messengers of the Kingdom, Messengers of Grace and the Reflectors of Holiness from a distance. I am blessed to have this group of people as friends and partners in ministry wherever God takes us.
Appointed executive director, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories Resource Centre, and associate corps officer, Yellowknife Corps; and corps officer, Yellowknife Corps, and director of spiritual care, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories Resource Centre.
Cadet Nathanael Hoeft
Growing up as a child of officers showed me the world that is The Salvation Army, and I felt the calling to officership from a young age. Over time I came to understand the totality of the commitment of being an officer—that it was not only something I could do and succeed at as a career, but a complete covenantal way of life. My prayer going forward into ministry as an officer is that God’s presence would guide my life in ways I cannot currently anticipate or imagine. The future is vast, and I pray for the guidance to shine God’s light into the dark corners of our world—the light that is only found in the Creator.
Cadet Jessica Hoeft
For many years I was opposed to the possibility of a calling to officership as it would require moving and leaving my family and home in Winnipeg. It was through corps officers initiating the conversation and asking directly about my thoughts on officership that the seed was planted. I didn’t want to even ponder the idea but the Lord started working to tear down the walls I had erected. Then, during the cadet welcome weekend in 2012, God clearly spoke to me. During a message from then Commissioner Brian Peddle, this passage of Scripture was shared: “The fields are ripe for the harvest, but the workers are few. Who will go?” (see Matthew 9:37-38). It was then that I surrendered my fears, my illusion of control and my temporal treasure for God’s pathway and will.
Appointed corps officers, Williams Lake, B.C.
Cadet Zachary Marshall
Our session will have been the first session to begin and end our training in the COVID-19 pandemic. Our training has been unique, to say the least. After receiving an appointment as corps officers in Thunder Bay, Ont., during our second year at CFOT, the greatest highlight of my training has been attempting to be innovative and creative in how we reach out to our people. We are called to community and this calling can be fulfilled even during lockdown measures! My prayer is that God will continue to work in me so that I can effectively minister to others. My hope is that our session of reconcilers will inspire The Salvation Army to actively engage in reconciliation—to both God and humanity.
Cadet Julia Marshall
I spent several years of my life helping with corps programs, working for camp and volunteering to lead, but I knew God was calling me to give more of myself—I was not called to be an employee or volunteer in the Army alone. After I finished my social work degree, I had plans to work for a while, get married and enter training college a few years down the road. Through the encouragement of those I trust, I was asked, “Why are you waiting?” and I submitted my application as an act of obedience. As I enter this next stage in ministry, I pray that Christ’s love and grace will be evident in my approach to ministry and my relationships with others, and that it will bring God all the glory.
Appointed divisional children and youth secretaries, Maritime Division.
Cadet Tamara Randlesome
The last two years of training have not been what any of us expected, with COVID causing us to miss out on a lot of experiences that normally would have taken place. However, through the broken expectations and loss of opportunities, God has shown up and provided a greater training than we ever could have imagined. I have learned that, through disappointment, God always shows up and refocuses our attention back on him. We don’t have to know all the reasons, but we need to trust that God is always on the move and in control. At CFOT, I found that even in seasons where it feels like you are in the furnace, God is good and he is moulding us to become more like him.
Appointed corps officer, Quesnel, B.C.
Cadet Matthew Rideout
Coming from an accounting background, our sessional name has a special meaning for me. In accounting, “reconciling” is a process of adjustments so that both sides match and are true. God has made the necessary adjustments for all to be saved, to come and know him. What are the adjustments needed in my life to align with the truth of who God is? How can I invite others to enter into this journey of truth, embracing and receiving the God that has redeemed, accepted and embraced them? Reconciliation is to be aligned with the truth. Jesus is the truth.
Appointed corps officer, Living Hope Community Church of The Salvation Army, Winnipeg.
Aux-Captain Carlos Galvez
Through CFOT, I have had the privilege of meeting officers who have helped us in our journey. Having had wonderful experiences of serving the Lord, they have encouraged me not to give up, no matter what is going on, and to continue firmly proclaiming the gospel of Jesus; to work and build his people up wherever he has me serving him. Every one of them has been such an inspiration to me and will continue to be a blessing. I pray that I will always be submissive to God’s voice and be obedient to the One who saved me and called me from darkness into his marvelous light.
Aux-Captain Eva Galvez
In the last few years of training in the auxiliary-captain program, I have served with my husband at three different corps, meeting people of all ages and backgrounds. We’ve had the opportunity to be with people in the lowest points in their lives. In our present appointment, I thank God for the blessing of serving with our family, sharing God’s Word, love and compassion and celebrating victories with people. There is nothing better in life than to live for Jesus and be used by him to be the transformation in this world for the glory of God. No matter the challenges that come my way, I will never stop sharing with others the marvelous miracles God has done in my life.
Continuing appointment as corps officers, White Rock Church and Community Ministries, B.C.
Aux-Captain Jamie Anstey
Some years ago, I attended a candidates’ seminar in St. John's, N.L., and came to realize that God had placed a calling for ministry on my life. Beginning in 2005, I worked with the Army’s community and family services in Grand Falls-Windsor, N.L., and I loved the ministry of working with others and “Giving Hope Today” to those who needed it most. Yet after 14 years, I knew that this chapter in my life was ending and I needed to continue ministry through another avenue. In May 2019, my wife, Lana, was reaccepted into the ministry and appointed to the Labrador West Corps, N.L. Before long I realized that the calling God placed on my life many years ago had never left me. I am thankful for the opportunity to serve God in this way and look forward to many years of service for his kingdom.
Continuing appointment as corps officer, Labrador West Corps, Labrador City, N.L.
Aux-Captain Linda Kean
I grew up in The Salvation Army and was heavily involved in corps activities. But when I hit my teenage years, I began to step away from the church and, eventually, I was gone. I always heard God speaking to me, telling me that I was his and he had a plan, but I ignored him. After hitting my own personal rock bottom, I came back to God and the Army, and eventually married an officer. I promised to follow him wherever God sent him but would not become an officer myself. Finally, I listened to God’s voice and told my husband, “I want to be an auxiliary-captain.” I had never felt such a peace. I’m afraid that I am not enough, but I trust in God; if he has called me, he will provide me with the tools to carry out this mission.
Continuing appointment as corps officer, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, N.L.
Aux-Captain Guan-Ming Parker Shieh
In 2012, I had the unexpected opportunity to meet an officer with the Southmount Corps in Vancouver and was subsequently invited to start an evangelical ministry for Mandarin-speaking residents in the area. Thus began my journey into the wonderful ministries of The Salvation Army, and what an inspiring adventure it has been since then. After becoming a soldier and serving in several ministries within the Army, I heeded the call of God to take the next step into the role of auxiliary-captain, to further serve the community. As I begin my next chapter in The Salvation Army, I look forward with great hope to continuing the mission of the Army and marching forward under the guidance of our Lord.
Continuing appointment as assistant ministry director, Southmount Citadel, Vancouver.
Aux-Captain Robbie Donaldson
I was called to be a soldier in The Salvation Army in 2016, and later that year began to study for a certificate in chaplaincy and spiritual care at Booth University College. Studying alongside my cohort, most of whom were officers, heightened my desire to become an officer—I felt that God was calling me loud and clear. Though it seemed I might be too old for officership, I was not dissuaded and continued to pray, “Here I am, Lord, send me.” And God did. I first became an employee and later an auxiliary-captain. My calling is to serve those who need Jesus the most in order to change their lives.
Appointed corps officer, Temiskaming Community Church, New Liskeard, Ont.
Principal's Commendation
On behalf of the staff of the College for Officer Training (CFOT), it is my privilege to present these cadets and auxiliary-captains to be commissioned and ordained as officers in the Canada and Bermuda Territory. I commend these individuals to you with the firm conviction that they have experienced the wonderful reconciling work of God in their lives. God has reconciled them to himself through Jesus Christ and has further given them the ministry of reconciliation (see 2 Corinthians 5:18).
During their training, these cadets and auxiliary-captains have developed in character and competency through spiritual formation, theological formation and practical mission and ministry training. They are equipped to be mobilized to share hope wherever there is hardship, building communities that are just and know the love of Jesus.
These cadets and auxiliary-captains are convinced of their calling. And, because of the reconciliation with God they have personally experienced, they now commit, by God’s power, to prove themselves as worthy officers, loving Jesus and serving him supremely all their days. I am confident, as these newly commissioned officers continue to learn, gain experience and grow into the fullness of their calling, that the power of God and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ will be upon them.
It has been a joy to journey with these individuals during their time of training. The CFOT staff now release these new officers to the ministry of reconciliation—working to bring people into right relationship with God and each other through the saving work and power of Jesus Christ.
Major Andrew Morgan
CFOT Principal
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Congratulations to u all God Bless u all