God's moment for Ambassadors of Holiness
T
he eighth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks was an auspicious date on which to hold the public welcome of the Ambassadors of Holiness. Yet the significance of the session name provided powerful metaphors throughout the event held at Chicago's Salvation Army Mayfair Community Church.
The returning Prayer Warriors session of cadets entered the chapel to a stirring rendition of "America the Beautiful" by the Chicago Staff Band (CSB) under Bandmaster William Himes. An arrangement of joyous praise choruses followed and was met with thunderous applause from the full house.
Lt. Colonel Dawn Heatwole, territorial candidates' secretary, welcomed the new cadets and expressed her gratitude to all those who've influenced these future officers.
She shared troubling research that revealed Christians' lifestyles are virtually indistinguishable from non-Christians' (regarding gambling, divorce and abortion rates), emphasizing how critical it is to live holy lives to reflect Christ to a fallen world.
"Our world needs Ambassadors of Holiness," Dawn proclaimed before the new cadets entered by divisional groupings accompanied by their corps officers and divisional candidates' secretaries. Eight divisions sent 23 cadets this year.
Commissioner E. Sue Swanson, territorial president of women's ministries, interviewed Cadet Rebecca Kean, the youngest child of Majors James and Paulette Frye. Rebecca's four older siblings are also officers. Also called to officership, Rebecca was determined to ignore it (see "Get Connected" for the rest of the story)!
In the session flag presentation, Major Paul Fleeman, training principal, likened his recent excitement of finally stepping through the gates of Wrigley Field to that of a cadet finally entering the College for Officer Training (CFOT). Sitting happily in the stands, he noticed flags of current baseball teams around the rim of the stadium; a lower tier of flags bore retired jersey numbers.
Major Paula Fleeman, director of campus services, said the CFOT also has flags: current session flags in the chapel; session flags of living officers in Booth lecture hall, and retired session flags in the entry hall.
"These clouds of witnesses represent the commitment of one generation to another," she continued. "From this moment, you are charged to be Ambassadors of Holiness-present your witness." Rebecca Barringer was named session flagbearer, a lifetime appointment.
The CSB provided a fitting offertory by Bandmaster Himes, Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness from the suite, To the Chief Musician.
In his message, Territorial Commander Commissioner Barry C. Swanson extracted three nuggets of truth from 2 Corinthians 5:16-6:2-we have God's message, we are the messenger, and this is God's moment.
The altar response was prolonged as people responded to God's moment. Lt. Colonel Dawn Heatwole declared of the kneeling crowd, "There's no greater joy than this as an officer."