On Monday, June 2nd, I signed a six year contract to serve in the Regular Force as a chaplain, the end of a discernment process that's lasted for over a year. My patient and resigned wife, Kay, took this picture of me signing the contract at the Canadian Forces Recruiting Centre in London.
Since I had already taken the oath to enlist in the CF as a reservist, there was no
additional oath or affirmation, just a bunch of signatures. Perhaps the most ominous part was the signature agreeing that my service could be extended beyond the contract date in the event of a national emergency (code for a world war or similar catastrophe) which, however unlikely, is a sobering prospect. It was also higly meaningful to sign these papers knowing that two brothers, my father, and paternal grandfather have in their lives also gone through this process and made these promises.
Kay and I celebrated by taking a bunch of books to a used bookstore - lo and behold they took a bunch, but did we take cash? No, God help us, with a move coming up, we took $100 in credit. Spending this credit will give us something to do while we have to be out of the house for a showing, and it will give me something to read when I have to go out to CFB Greenwood ahead of Kay, which looks increasingly likely.
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