Lieutenant-Colonel the Ven. Michelle Staples and Lieutenant the Rev. Katherine Walker both serve as honorary assistants at the cathedral, which is the Canadian Cathedral for the Anglican Military Ordinariate. The walls of cathedral’s Chapel of Reconciliation are lined with the flags of the Canadian Armed Forces and many military units, proclaiming that it is their home cathedral in Canada. Each year, there is a special service with the Bishop Ordinary and chaplains at the cathedral.
Dean Beth Bretzlaff said that LCol Staples (retired) and L Walker’s presence at the cathedral is important in that context. “Having both a retired member of the Forces and a current serving member of the Forces means that we stay well connected to the Military Ordinariate. They bring home the concerns, the issues, the pastoral care, the work that they do around the world,” she said, adding that work gives chaplains broad experience and understanding that means they can also “help us interpret difficult world events in a theologically sound manner.”
They represent all the people that are keeping our country safe and free,” said the dean, noting that means the chaplains are “not just serving the Anglicans in the Forces, they’re serving all the people in the Forces, so that is an interfaith and an ecumenical outreach as well.”
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