The Rt. Rev. Samuel Rose, Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, offered an inspiring sermon for the Ordination and Consecration of Commander (retired) the Ven. Jennifer Gosse-Vingerhoeds as the 11th Bishop Ordinary to the Canadian Armed Forces. He kindly gave Perspective permission to share it in print.
It is a deep honour and joy to be with you in this historic Christ Church Cathedral in the nation’s capital on this Feast of the Holy Cross as we come to consecrate and install Commander the Venerable Jennifer Gosse-Vingerhoeds as the next Bishop Ordinary of the Anglican Military Ordinariate.
I bring greetings from your friends in Christ in the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador.
Jennifer began her ordained ministry in 1997 in the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador. It was my privilege some 25 years ago, to succeed her as an incumbent in the parish of Cartwright, in Labrador. Labrador is the northern part of our diocese. It’s also called the Big Land, or the land God gave Cain. She also served as Archdeacon of Labrador in the Parish of Lake Melville in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
For those who know that vast and beautiful place that is Labrador, serving in ministry there demands resilience and a deep respect for the people who call it home. There are things that we did not learn in seminary: navigating snowmobile trails across frozen seas in the winter and black flies in the summer, chopping wood to heat the rectory. Or transporting the coffins of departed from their homes to the church for a wake with their families and the community.
In Labrador, you learn quickly to adapt to your surroundings by honouring the rhythms of life and death, and to walk gently with people who live close to the land and sea. That kind of formation—practical, humble, and rooted, in authentic community is, I believe and can attest, excellent preparation for the episcopate. Jennifer, Labrador, shaped you with a bishop’s heart long before today’s laying on of hands, for you are already resilient, practical, and closely attuned to the lives of those you serve.
And today, the Church calls you to a new and wider ministry of oversight and care for those who serve our country in uniform, at home, and abroad. What a marvellous thing God has done in calling you! We give thanks to God for the gift of your life, your faith, and your long obedience now offered for this new service.
The readings appointed for Holy Cross Day speak to this moment. In the wilderness, the people of Israel were bitten by serpents and cried out in their distress. God commanded Moses to lift up a bronze serpent on a pole, so that all who looked upon it in faith might live (Numbers 21: 4b-9). Jesus takes up this very image in our Gospel. “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. That whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son (John 3:14-16). Not to condemn, but to save.
The cross, once an instrument of shame and death, becomes for us the ultimate side of healing and hope. Paul reminds us that “the message about the cross is foolish to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). What the world calls weakness, God uses as wisdom, strength. And the psalmist bursts forth in song: “O sing to the Lord a new song, for fe has done marvellous things. His right hand and arm have gained him the victory” (Psalm 98:1).
My friends, this is the heart of our faith and the heart of the ministry to which Jennifer is now called. Those who serve in the Canadian Armed Forces, and the chaplains who walk beside them, know something about being lifted up into places of challenge, sacrifice and uncertainty. They know the cost of service. In the midst of it all, the Church is also called to lift high the cross of Christ, not as a symbol of conquest by force, but as the place where God’s love is poured out for the life of the world.
Like that bronze serpent in the wilderness, the cross stands as God’s strange, yet glorious remedy. Look to it, and live. Look to the One who was lifted up for us and find healing, forgiveness and new life.
Jennifer, today, you are called to be a living sign of Christ lifted up on the cross right in the middle of the Canadian Armed Forces.
As Bishop Ordinary, you will walk alongside chaplains wherever they serve—whether on bases, here in Canada, or deployed far from home. You will oversee chaplains who serve in hierarchical, multifaith, and often operational environments, supporting them as a minister amid the unique pressures of military life. You will comfort those who grieve, walk with those whose faith has been tested, and encourage those who are tired. You will also teach the faith with clarity and guard the integrity of Anglican ministry among those who serve. You will remind every service member and their families that the cross is not a sign of abandonment, but of God drawing near in the darkest of valleys. And in a world that prizes strength, you will show a kind of strength that God makes perfect in our weakness.
That same adaptability, resilience, and deep respect for people who served well in Labrador will serve you well in this new calling. Episcopal ministry, like ministry in Labrador, often requires us to step into situations we did not study in seminary—to walk with people in their joys and sorrows, adapt to new circumstances, and point always to the One who was lifted up for the life of the world.
This ministry is not about worldly power or status. It is cruciform. It is shaped by the cross. It is the way of humble, sacrificial service that Paul describes. It is the way of love that seeks not its own but the good of those entrusted to our care. It is the way of the Risen Christ, who meets us in our storms and says, “Be not afraid, I am with you always.”
The card that Bishop Rose has kept on his desk ever since he received it.
But, Jennifer, the chaplains and people you will now oversee will also care for you as their bishop. Early in my own episcopacy, when I was facing a major challenge, I received a handmade card from a young boy…. And in his handwriting, it simply said,” When you feel alone, God is always with you.” I keep this card on my desk in my office, and I look at it every day. It has helped lift me out of some very dark times. Wesley, a family member of Jennifer’s who is here with us this evening, made that card….Thank you Wesley; I will never forget your kindness and support. And what a beautiful reminder that in the family of the Church, and especially in the closeknit fellowship of the Military Ordinariate, we bear each other’s burdens and lift each other up with the powerful truth of the Gospel.
To the chaplains, in whom the families and all gathered here, your new bishop will need your prayers, your honest counsel, and your love every bit as much as you will need hers. Do not withhold that. Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Now, I want to say that on behalf of a whole church, indeed on behalf of our grateful country, I express our heartfelt thanks to all who serve in the Canadian Armed Forces —the women and men, the chaplains and families—who stand ready in places challenge, sacrifice, and uncertainty. Your willingness to serve, often far from home, is an immense gift to our nation. We see in you the best of courage, duty and commitment. We indeed salute you and thank you for your service,
Dear friends, as we are all too aware, this world is still marked by conflict and division. Yet the cross remains as God’s victory, not a victory of might but of reconciling love. It is the victory that reaches to the ends of the earth, inviting all people to sing a new song. May we, as the people of God, join that song with courage and joy. May we lift high the cross in word and deed, so that others may look upon the One who was lifted up for us and find life.
Jennifer, the God, who called you from Labrador and formed you among the people of the Big Land, will not abandon you now. May the Holy Spirit descend upon you in power this day, granting you wisdom beyond your years and compassion that imitates the heart of Christ, and holy boldness to proclaim the foolishness of the cross in places of great strength. May the power of the cross—that strange and sacred mystery—be your strength and song. And may we all lift high the Cross in our own generation, so that many more may look upon the one who is lifted up for us, and may we find healing, hope, and eternal life. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Lift high the Cross
The Rt. Rev. Samuel Rose, Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, offered an inspiring sermon for the Ordination and Consecration of Commander (retired) the Ven. Jennifer Gosse-Vingerhoeds as the 11th Bishop Ordinary to the Canadian Armed Forces. He kindly gave Perspective permission to share it in print.
It is a deep honour and joy to be with you in this historic Christ Church Cathedral in the nation’s capital on this Feast of the Holy Cross as we come to consecrate and install Commander the Venerable Jennifer Gosse-Vingerhoeds as the next Bishop Ordinary of the Anglican Military Ordinariate.
I bring greetings from your friends in Christ in the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador.
Jennifer began her ordained ministry in 1997 in the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador. It was my privilege some 25 years ago, to succeed her as an incumbent in the parish of Cartwright, in Labrador. Labrador is the northern part of our diocese. It’s also called the Big Land, or the land God gave Cain. She also served as Archdeacon of Labrador in the Parish of Lake Melville in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
For those who know that vast and beautiful place that is Labrador, serving in ministry there demands resilience and a deep respect for the people who call it home. There are things that we did not learn in seminary: navigating snowmobile trails across frozen seas in the winter and black flies in the summer, chopping wood to heat the rectory. Or transporting the coffins of departed from their homes to the church for a wake with their families and the community.
In Labrador, you learn quickly to adapt to your surroundings by honouring the rhythms of life and death, and to walk gently with people who live close to the land and sea. That kind of formation—practical, humble, and rooted, in authentic community is, I believe and can attest, excellent preparation for the episcopate. Jennifer, Labrador, shaped you with a bishop’s heart long before today’s laying on of hands, for you are already resilient, practical, and closely attuned to the lives of those you serve.
And today, the Church calls you to a new and wider ministry of oversight and care for those who serve our country in uniform, at home, and abroad. What a marvellous thing God has done in calling you! We give thanks to God for the gift of your life, your faith, and your long obedience now offered for this new service.
The readings appointed for Holy Cross Day speak to this moment. In the wilderness, the people of Israel were bitten by serpents and cried out in their distress. God commanded Moses to lift up a bronze serpent on a pole, so that all who looked upon it in faith might live (Numbers 21: 4b-9). Jesus takes up this very image in our Gospel. “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. That whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son (John 3:14-16). Not to condemn, but to save.
The cross, once an instrument of shame and death, becomes for us the ultimate side of healing and hope. Paul reminds us that “the message about the cross is foolish to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). What the world calls weakness, God uses as wisdom, strength. And the psalmist bursts forth in song: “O sing to the Lord a new song, for fe has done marvellous things. His right hand and arm have gained him the victory” (Psalm 98:1).
My friends, this is the heart of our faith and the heart of the ministry to which Jennifer is now called. Those who serve in the Canadian Armed Forces, and the chaplains who walk beside them, know something about being lifted up into places of challenge, sacrifice and uncertainty. They know the cost of service. In the midst of it all, the Church is also called to lift high the cross of Christ, not as a symbol of conquest by force, but as the place where God’s love is poured out for the life of the world.
Like that bronze serpent in the wilderness, the cross stands as God’s strange, yet glorious remedy. Look to it, and live. Look to the One who was lifted up for us and find healing, forgiveness and new life.
Jennifer, today, you are called to be a living sign of Christ lifted up on the cross right in the middle of the Canadian Armed Forces.
As Bishop Ordinary, you will walk alongside chaplains wherever they serve—whether on bases, here in Canada, or deployed far from home. You will oversee chaplains who serve in hierarchical, multifaith, and often operational environments, supporting them as a minister amid the unique pressures of military life. You will comfort those who grieve, walk with those whose faith has been tested, and encourage those who are tired. You will also teach the faith with clarity and guard the integrity of Anglican ministry among those who serve. You will remind every service member and their families that the cross is not a sign of abandonment, but of God drawing near in the darkest of valleys. And in a world that prizes strength, you will show a kind of strength that God makes perfect in our weakness.
That same adaptability, resilience, and deep respect for people who served well in Labrador will serve you well in this new calling. Episcopal ministry, like ministry in Labrador, often requires us to step into situations we did not study in seminary—to walk with people in their joys and sorrows, adapt to new circumstances, and point always to the One who was lifted up for the life of the world.
This ministry is not about worldly power or status. It is cruciform. It is shaped by the cross. It is the way of humble, sacrificial service that Paul describes. It is the way of love that seeks not its own but the good of those entrusted to our care. It is the way of the Risen Christ, who meets us in our storms and says, “Be not afraid, I am with you always.”
But, Jennifer, the chaplains and people you will now oversee will also care for you as their bishop. Early in my own episcopacy, when I was facing a major challenge, I received a handmade card from a young boy…. And in his handwriting, it simply said,” When you feel alone, God is always with you.” I keep this card on my desk in my office, and I look at it every day. It has helped lift me out of some very dark times. Wesley, a family member of Jennifer’s who is here with us this evening, made that card….Thank you Wesley; I will never forget your kindness and support. And what a beautiful reminder that in the family of the Church, and especially in the closeknit fellowship of the Military Ordinariate, we bear each other’s burdens and lift each other up with the powerful truth of the Gospel.
To the chaplains, in whom the families and all gathered here, your new bishop will need your prayers, your honest counsel, and your love every bit as much as you will need hers. Do not withhold that. Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Now, I want to say that on behalf of a whole church, indeed on behalf of our grateful country, I express our heartfelt thanks to all who serve in the Canadian Armed Forces —the women and men, the chaplains and families—who stand ready in places challenge, sacrifice, and uncertainty. Your willingness to serve, often far from home, is an immense gift to our nation. We see in you the best of courage, duty and commitment. We indeed salute you and thank you for your service,
Dear friends, as we are all too aware, this world is still marked by conflict and division. Yet the cross remains as God’s victory, not a victory of might but of reconciling love. It is the victory that reaches to the ends of the earth, inviting all people to sing a new song. May we, as the people of God, join that song with courage and joy. May we lift high the cross in word and deed, so that others may look upon the One who was lifted up for us and find life.
Jennifer, the God, who called you from Labrador and formed you among the people of the Big Land, will not abandon you now. May the Holy Spirit descend upon you in power this day, granting you wisdom beyond your years and compassion that imitates the heart of Christ, and holy boldness to proclaim the foolishness of the cross in places of great strength. May the power of the cross—that strange and sacred mystery—be your strength and song. And may we all lift high the Cross in our own generation, so that many more may look upon the one who is lifted up for us, and may we find healing, hope, and eternal life. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Rt. Rev. Samuel Rose is Bishop of the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador
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