Garrison Petawawa is located in the town of Petawawa. The Anglican churches in the Petawawa Pembroke area are All Saints Petawawa and St. George’s Alice.
Since his ordination to the priesthood last year, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Squires became an Anglican chaplain and said he has had the honour to preside at services in both churches. “The communities there have been a true blessing to me in my introduction to Anglican ministry,” he said.
“We are very fortunate in the Parish of the Valley and in the Deanery of the Northwest that we are able to regularly call upon military chaplains based in Petawawa and elsewhere to offer Sunday supply and holiday coverage — it’s a huge gift to our local Anglican community,” the Rev. Matthew Brown told Perspective.
Captain Claire Bramma, who is now a unit chaplain for the base in Kingston, Ont., completed a two-year internship with Parish of the Valley in June.
“Having the Rev. Claire Bramma appointed to the Parish of the Valley for two years as assistant curate while she prepared for military chaplaincy helped the historic ties between our parish and our local military community grow even stronger,” said Brown.
Reflecting on some of the highlights from her time in the parish, Bramma said the experience was encouraging for her own faith journey. “I was encouraged by the people of the parish, who really demonstrated their faithfulness and their … courage to grow and learn as churches and as a wider parish,” noting that the concept of an area parish is still relatively new.
Secondly, she said, “I really felt privileged to work alongside the other three full-time members plus the honorary assistant. I found that helped me to see different priestly styles,” she said, adding that the teamwork was good preparation for working with a team of chaplains.
Lastly, she said she was grateful for the chance to practice core pastoral skills. Much of that “learning happened in people’s homes and at the hospital bedside,” she said. It was good to “to see how much people’s faith translated into community service and loving neighbours.”
Lieutenant-Colonel the Rev. Canon Judson Bridgewater served as a chaplain in Petawawa until last year. He is now working in Toronto but commutes back on the weekends as his family stayed in Petawawa when he was transferred. He remains connected and active in the Petawawa community.
Bridgewater initiated the Godly Play program in Petawawa and has continued supporting it by teaching at least once a month. He recounts how God came close to him and he came close to God when he took an introductory course in 2011. He became an accredited trainer in 2015.
After moving to Petawawa in 2017, he introduced Godly Play during the children’s time in worship services. Then the story telling was gradually introduced to the Sunday school. The chapel invested in Godly Play aids and supported a couple of workshops to train adults and teenagers in the process. During the pandemic, Bridgewater pivoted by teaching the program online, which enabled non church-going families to become involved.
Several of the children and adults he trained have decided to become baptized or confirmed, and some are now teaching and running the Godly play program in Petawawa. This carries over to the Parish of the Valley as at least one of the trainings done in Petawawa included members of the Parish of the Valley Sunday school team. This year, he also did a workshop at All Saints Westboro in Ottawa.
—with files from Leigh Anne Williams
Related reading:
Military chaplains bless parishes and are blessed by them
Chaplains keep Cathedral connected to the Military Ordinariate
Advent and Christmas in a time of war: the Four Last Things