Two significant events marked 1953. First, Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in June, just a few weeks before our commissioning, and it was the 70th year of The Salvation Army in Canada. Our session, the Heralds, was 70 strong as the territorial commander, Commissioner William Dalziel, wanted to mark this milestone with 70 cadets. We were Operation 70.

It was a typical hot June day in Toronto and my parents came from Niagara Falls, Ont., for this special weekend. One memory that has stayed with me was the excitement of standing on the platform at Massey Hall with 69 other cadets, realizing I would soon be given my first appointment as a pro-lieutenant.

Just a few days before, we knelt at the mercy seat in the training college lecture hall to sign our covenants and commit our lives to serving God in The Salvation Army. On commissioning night, we filed onto the stage row by row to receive our appointments. In those days, they were only revealed after we stepped forward to salute the territorial commander, but every surprise was met with anticipation, knowing we were going where God had planned.

More than 50 years ago, I stood on the platform of Massey Hall, excited about the pageantry of marching under our sessional flag onto the platform to be commissioned as a Salvation Army officer. As a first-generation Salvationist, I felt nervous, excited and overwhelmed with the knowledge of becoming a corps officer. It was at our covenant service, where I knelt to sign my covenant with God and The Salvation Army, that I made a commitment to serve the Lord. During my training and my officership, the song that resonated with me was The Saviour of Men, especially the chorus: “Except I am moved with compassion, how dwelleth thy spirit in me?” God has led me to unmeasurable challenges and worked his will through me in amazing ways. What an honour to serve our Lord.

My husband, Major Ray Harris, and I stood before Commissioner Clarence Wiseman to receive our first appointment. In the previous weeks, there was all kinds of speculation among cadets as to who would go where. In those days, we first heard our appointment announced on the stage of Massey Hall in front of a crowded auditorium. As I remember it, Commissioner Wiseman said, “You are appointed to the Drumheller Corps in the Alberta Division.” I was numb. Where on earth was Drumheller, Alta.? I was so flummoxed that I forgot to salute the commissioner. (I have no memory of this, but Ray remembers it clearly!) We soon discovered where it was and Drumheller became a treasured first appointment.

On June 16, 1984, I stood on the platform of Massey Hall as a cadet of the Servants of God Session, anticipating my ordination, commissioning and sending out to my first appointment as a Salvation Army officer. The energy of the congregation was high, and the anticipation of where my first appointment as a new lieutenant would be weighed heavily on my mind. Yet, this was a solemn and holy occasion. What made the most impact then, and does still to this day, is that God chose me to serve him as an officer in The Salvation Army. My calling to be a Servant of God in community, wherever I found myself, was strong, and the peace in my heart was affirming. I have never lost my sense of calling nor the joy of being in his service.

Our Messengers of God’s Love Session was commissioned in 1997 during a congress in Toronto. General Paul Rader and Commissioner Kay Rader were the guests. I remember some of us cadets joined in an early morning “jog with the General” before the commissioning events. During the service, we spoke in unison to affirm out loud that we were cadets who “know God, know ourselves and know our mission!” These concepts of knowing, being and doing have stayed with me and guided me through my officer service. Likewise, I have endeavoured to prove true the Scripture life-verse that rang out in the congress hall as I walked to the commissioning platform, preparing to commit my life to covenantal service: “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity” (Romans 12:2 PHILLIPS).

There is a moment of silence between the last note of the final song and the buzz of chatter that starts whenever a Salvation Army service concludes; in this case, it was our commissioning service. Time didn’t quite stand still in that pause, but in those brief seconds, I had a keen sense that this was both an ending and a beginning: the end of preparing and the beginning of full-time serving on the journey of Salvation Army officership. This journey would start with travelling far to the south to take up my first appointment at the School for the Blind in Jamaica.

As I stood on the platform in my new uniform, cadet’s bars replaced by captain’s stars, I reflected that the College for Officer Training was never a destination, but rather a checkpoint—like going through customs at the border where they make sure everything is in order before they’ll let you in. The great thing about this journey was that it started with Christ’s invitation to join him on a journey he began and to travel together. It’s been a great adventure!

The entire ordination and commissioning service was a sacred time of consecration and dedication, not only of my life but also of those who are called to God’s service. From the presentation of the Officer’s Covenant and reciting the Declaration of Faith, to kneeling at the mercy seat in prayer, each moment was filled with deep significance. A particularly meaningful moment for me, one that I still vividly recall, was when I stood before our commissioners and became ordained as a minister of the gospel and commissioned as an officer of The Salvation Army. Knowing that I have been called by God for sacred service has given me strength and purpose to fulfil my calling. The portion of Scripture that was chosen specifically for me says, “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). This promise continues to resonate in my heart to this day.

I was ordained and commissioned during the final weekend of the INSPIRE Conference and Congress in 2023. Because it was also a congress, it was spectacular. After many years, we returned to Massey Hall in Toronto. It was a privilege to carry our sessional flag into the auditorium, and my family was proud that I was chosen. It was heartwarming to have my mom there, and amazing that my corps officers from Jamaica travelled to support me. They told me, “We knew you’d end up here, as an officer, when you left for Canada.” My son often says it was so impactful for him to see me walk across the stage and point to the heavens, to give God the glory that I made it to the end. There’s a lot of growth that happens during training. So, to have made it, to have big hope, to have been refined, was just a blessing.

Photos: Courtesy of the Heritage Centre and Salvationist

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