Commissioning - Call to prayer for the Reflectors of Holiness
Commissioning - Call to prayer for the Reflectors of Holiness
15 November 2022
Captain Kylie Herring, Senior Training Officer at Eva Burrows College, has called on Salvos around the Australia Territory to pray for the four cadets on the verge of being commissioned.
For the first time since 2019, Commissioning in Australia will be celebrated in person, as well as online. Commissioning will look a little different this year with the celebration service for the Ordination, Commissioning and Sending out being held in four locations in four states.
You are invited to attend the Commissioning of the Reflectors of Holiness and Messengers of Reconciliation at the venues, dates, and times listed below:
Friday 25 November
Cadet David Bruford – 7pm (AEDT) at Launceston Corps, Tasmania, led by Commissioner Robert Donaldson.
Cadet Shaun Featherston – 7.30pm (AEDT) Brimbank City Corps, Melbourne, led by Commissioner Janine Donaldson
Sunday 27 November
Cadet Peter Hardy – 10.30am (AEDT) Blacktown Corps, Sydney, led by Commissioner Robert Donaldson.
Cadet Kirsten Wood – 10am (AWST) Perth Fortress Corps, Western Australia, led by Commissioner Janine Donaldson.
CALL TO PRAYER
In Officer Formation Stream (OFS), staff and cadets alike have commenced a countdown to Commissioning. Those being commissioned – Shaun Featherston, Kirsten Wood, Peter Hardy and David Bruford – are preparing themselves for a sacred event: the making of a covenant that will mark the conclusion of their officer formation journey and their entry into the vocation of officership.
The signing of the covenant marks entry into a deeply spiritual relationship with God for sacred service of a specific nature. To be ordained and commissioned as a Salvation Army Officer, the following covenant is made:
Called by God to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as an officer of The Salvation Army, I bind myself to him in this solemn Covenant:
To love, trust and serve him supremely all my days,
To live to win souls and make their salvation the first purpose of my life,
To care for the poor, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, love the unloved, and befriend those who have no friends,
To maintain the doctrines and principles of The Salvation Army, and, by God’s grace, to prove myself a worthy officer.
As Australia’s officer formation staff team, our hope and prayer is that the journey of formation each of our cadets has taken over the period of their training, which has seen them engage with the three spheres of formation (personal and spiritual, mission and ministry, education and theological), and work towards integrating their learning into their ministry and leadership practice, has prepared each of them to step with confidence into these significant and sacred moments.
We trust that they are ready and willing to make these solemn promises.
Our Covenant Service is the first of our Commissioning events and will take place in person at Eva Burrows College, Melbourne, on Thursday 24 November. This ceremony will be an intimate session for our cadets and their spouses, alongside Officer Formation staff and territorial leaders.
We ask you to cover our cadets with your prayers over the coming weeks.
Comments
May God Almighty who has called his servants cause them to be like Christ Jesus in their Ordinary daily living to reflect the Holiness of God. Praying for each one of them.