Chaplains keep Cathedral connected to the Military Ordinariate

Military Ordinariate group photo at Christ Church Cathedral
Clergy gathered for the 2023 Anglican Military Ordinariate service at Christ Church Cathedral. (Back row) Commander the Ven. Jennifer Gosse, Anglican Military Ordinariate Bishop Nigel Shaw, LCmdr the Rev. Matthew Squires. (Middle Row) Cpt the Rev. John Funelas, Col the Rev. Canon Lisa Pacarynuk, Canon Ann Bourke (AMO Chancellor), L the Rev. Katherine Walker, LCol the Rev. Mike Gibbons. (Front Row) Cpt the Rev. In Seob Won, Cmdr Natasha Mang (Commanding Officer Personnel Support Services, CFB Ottawa), Major the Rev. Canon Jim McCorriston, LCol the Rev. Canon Judson Bridgewater (AMO chaplain).
By Leigh Anne Williams

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.”

Related stories:

Military chaplains bless parishes and are blessed by them

Chaplains strengthen ties between Parish of the Valley and Garrison Petawawa

 

  • Leigh Anne Williams

    Leigh Anne Williams is the editor of Crosstalk and Perspective. Before coming to the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa, she was a staff writer at the Anglican Journal and the Canadian correspondent for Publishers Weekly. She has also written for TIME Magazine, The Toronto Star and Quill & Quire.

    View all posts [email protected]
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