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46 Ambassadors of Holiness graduate from the College for Officer Training
By Bob Docter
Climaxing two years of education and training at the Western Territory’s College for Officer Training (CFOT) at Crestmont, the Ambassadors of Holiness session of Salvation Army cadets, 46 strong, marched through the college’s rose garden June 10 to receive academic degrees and certificates of completion—the initial event of a busy weekend.
Joined by the Friends of Christ session, to be commissioned in 2012, the commencement ceremony began with the session song, words by Lt. Colonel Diane O’Brien and music by Duncan Sutton.
Following a prayer of dedication by Director of Curriculum Major Brian Jones, Crestmont Council Chairman William Flinn brought greetings and Commissioner Carolyn Knaggs, territorial president of women’s ministries, read 2 Corinthians 4:4-16.
Lt. Col. Richard Munn, principal of the International College for Officers—special guest for the weekend with Lt. Col. Janet Munn—spoke pointedly to the cadets on this passage and urged them to “recognize the unique, God-ordained privilege to speak life into people through the ministry of preaching.”
He began by issuing a subtle warning—that if we “remove the weekly rhythm of worship and the public reading of scripture…the community has simply another service club. It is into such a cadence that our esteemed cadets are about to march.” He urged them to “set the pace…be the servant that lights the way.”
Preaching is a “key part of that weekly worship-scripture tandem,” Munn said. The tension between what blind’s the minds of unbelievers and what illuminates God “is present in the weekly gathering of a congregation.” His plea to all soldiers and church attendees: “to treasure, nurture and esteem the regular proclamation of the gospel from the pulpit, lectern and music stand. It is a light that illumines the path ahead.”
