In Officer Formation Stream ( OFS ) – staff and cadets alike have commenced a countdown to Commissioning. Those being commissioned – Vikki Song, David Delany, Edward and Beola Conteh and Leeanne Pattison, are preparing themselves for a sacred event – the making of a covenant which 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. 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.
Our hope and prayer is that the journey of formation each of our cadets have taken over the period of their training has prepared each of them to step with confidence into these significant and sacred moments. 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 practise.
Our Covenant Service is the first of our Commissioning events and will take place in person at Eva Burrows College, Melbourne Campus on Thursday 23rd of November.
We ask you to cover our cadets with your prayers over the coming weeks.