Commissioning 2025 – upholding our Keepers of the Covenant

The three cadets of the 2024-25 Keepers of the Covenant session 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 Salvation Army officership. The cadets to be commissioned at Parramatta Corps (NSW) on Sunday 23 November are Jonathan Abdulai, Soonsun Kwon and Jose Porcia.

(From left) Cadets Jonathan Abdulai, Soonsun Kwon and Jose Porcia.

BY CAPTAIN KYLIE HERRING

In Officer Formation Stream (OFS), staff and cadets alike have commenced a countdown to Commissioning.

Our Keepers of the Covenant 2024-25 are preparing for a sacred event – the making of a covenant that will mark the end 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.

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.

It is our hope and prayer that the journey of formation each of our cadets has taken during their training has prepared them to step into these significant and sacred moments with confidence.

During their formation, our cadets have engaged with the three spheres of formation – personal and spiritual, mission and ministry, education and theological – and have demonstrated their commitment to integrating their learning into their ministry and leadership practice.

Covenant Day is the first of our official Commissioning events and will take place in person at Stanmore House in Sydney on Saturday 22 November.

We ask you to cover our cadets with your prayers over the coming weeks.

Four auxiliary-lieutenants will also be commissioned over the next few weeks.

Aux-Lieuts Amanda and Matthew Pethybridge will be commissioned at Parramatta Corps on Sunday 23 November, and Aux-Lieuts Belinda and David Dobbie will be commissioned in Mackay (Qld) on Sunday 7 December.

The Commissioning events will be livestreamed. The link to the Parramatta service is here

*Captain Kylie Herring is Leader - Officer Formation/Senior Training Officer - Eva Burrows College