Page 14 - Presbyterian Connection

Connection
RECOGNITIONS
Recognizing Capt. Bonnie Mason
14
PRESBYTERIAN
SPRING 2023
presbyterian.ca
By the Rev. Lara Scholey, Interfaith Committee on Canadian Military Chaplaincy
Navy Captain Bonita Mason didn’t know she was going to serve as a chaplain in the Canadian Armed Forces when she grew up in Pic- tou County, N.S., attending Bar- ney’s River Presbyterian Church. Ordained as a minister in the PCC in 1998, she served George- town Presbyterian Church and Riverfield Presbyterian Church in Quebec. It was while she was serving in these congregations that she had a conversation with a Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) chaplain at a funeral and began to feel called in that direction. She became the first female chaplain in the PCC when she joined the military in August 2001.
She served in Halifax with the Royal Canadian Navy Fleet, and
was later deployed with the HMCS Fredericton to the Persian Gulf and received the South Asian Medal. While posted to Base Borden in Ontario, she spent two years as a Canadian Forces Chaplain School instructor, and later became a course director. After being pro- moted to the rank of Lieutenant- Commander in July 2008, she was posted to 17 Wing in Winnipeg, Man.,wheresheservedasSenior Wing Chaplain. During this time, shewasalsodeployedwiththe Joint Task Force Afghanistan and the Task Force Kandahar, receiv- ing the General Campaign Star. In July 2011, she served as chaplain at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), and also as the OUTCAN Staff Canadian Forces Senior Chaplain at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado. In July 2013, during her service with NO- RAD, she was awarded the Deputy
Commander of NORAD commen- dation and promoted to the rank of Commander. Following this, she was posted to Halifax, N.S., and Longue-Pointe, Que.
In 2018, she was posted to the Office of the Chaplain General in Ottawa, Ont., where she presently serves. Three years later, in 2021, she was promoted to Captain Navy/Capt. (N). Today, Bonnie is oneofthehighest-rankingfemale chaplains in the Royal Canadian ChaplainService(RCChS)ofthe Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). She is the highest ranking chaplain in the PCC.
Bonnie was also the first woman to lead the National War Memorial Service in Ottawa in prayer on Re- membrance Day of 2021. As said in the Globe and Mail that year, “Royal Canadian Navy Captain Bonita Mason called for Canada to stand against ‘anything that op-
poses inclusion or wholeness, whether in our own hearts or the actions of others, so that we might be strengthened in our shared val- ues and service to Canada.’”
When she spoke at St. Columba by-the-Lake Presbyterian Church in Pointe-Claire, Que., for Remem- brance Sunday of that same year, Bonnie’s down-to-ear th way of speaking brought to life the many waystheSpiritispresentinthe work of Armed Forces chaplains tospirituallycareforpeopleofdi- verse or no faith traditions.
Presently, she is Chief of Staff and Director of Chaplaincy Stra- tegic Support to the Office of the Chaplain General. As of Febru- ary, she will be living in Rome for five months, training with NATO military leaders and senior public servants from around the world, as she, with three other Canadian military members, completes the
Tomstown Presbyterian Church.
was constructed just north of the original log church in 1928.
Early years saw congregation members sitting on chairs rather than pews, and a box stove burn- ing in a central location to provide warmth. Oil lamps were also avail- able when needed.
Many families had little, but that molded them, and also molded the community and the church, Walk- er points out. The people of the area came together at that church because they were a community, she explained.
The church’s stained-glass windows were installed during the years of the Second World War, often in memoriam.
Electric lights, church pews, and electric heat followed in the years ahead. Wide cement steps at the front of the church, and then a full basement were added to the small but solid building which stands today.
Both Scott and Walker reflect fondly on names from the past of individuals who worked hard to build the church and help area families.
Royal Canadian Navy Captain Bonita Mason
seniorstrategiccourseattheNATO Defense College, which is intended toprepareColonels/Capts(N)for more senior roles in the CAF.
The PCC currently has 12 Re- serve Force chaplains and 12 Regular Force chaplains serving in the CAF, including three female Re- serve Force chaplains and four fe- male Regular Force chaplains. We give thanks for all the many ways these faithful servants, like Bonnie, journey with military members and spiritually care for all.
Scott, who is the clerk of Ses- sion for the church, commented of the church records, “It is neat to go back in those old books and read little things.” For example, in earlier years, when times were hard, there were Sundays when the entire congregation could give nothing more than $1.50 in total.
Times are hard again, and while confidence was always expressed in the past that things would im- prove for the church, there is un- certainty now, although there are still small glimmers of hope.
While community dinners have not yet restar ted, the church base- ment is used for craft meetings, and the annual roads board meet- ing. Last summer a wedding took place at the church, Scott noted with pleasure. It is also available for rentals.
Monthly services take place on the third Sunday of the month at 10 a.m. and are adapted to involve the children, said Scott.
Scott and her husband Brian live close by, and volunteer to maintain the property.
“We don’t know how long we’re going to last with what we have right now,” she said, but she and Walker continue to maintain their outreach programs, trying to help members of the community who have experienced difficulties.
She said she knows people care about the church. “Hopefully we have a presence in the community, and I know we do because when people see you they say ‘how’s the church doing?’”
Tomstown Church Approaching 120th Anniversary
Kathy Scott (left) and Colleen Walker (right) take turns leading the month- ly meetings at the Tomstown Presby- terian Church. They try to involve the children in the services, including Colbie Cooper (centre). PHOTO CREDIT DARLENE WROE
By Darlene Wroe, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter in New Liskeard, Ont. Printed courtesy of the Temiskaming Speaker
Tomstown Presbyterian Church in Tomstown, Ingram Township, Ont., will be celebrating 120 years this summer.
The small country church features an amber light filtered through stained-glass windows, cushioned pews, and ar tifacts rep- resenting the community through
the years.
Two determined women lead
a concer ted effor t to keep the church going, but with only a handful of people attending the monthly meetings, its future is un- cer tain.
The pandemic has also hindered activities such as community din- ners that helped provide income for the church.
The church is one of the last of the original country churches in Northeastern Ontario that is still operating.
Kathy Scott, who is a lifetime member of the church, and Col- leen Walker, who grew up in the area, left, then returned again in 2003, are lay ministers and elders of the church.
They both see the church as not just a church, but the centre of the community throughout the past 120 years.
Tomstown was once a thriving community. Situated on the shore of the Blanche River, the commu- nity had a hotel, a general store, a post office and a sawmill. Settlers coming up the river on steamboats
would disembark in Tomstown be- fore the arrival of the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway to Englehar t.
Henry Thomas was an original settler and became owner of the land where Tomstown now stands. According to stories, when he first arrived in the community, he made use of a cabin that the owner had named Uncle Tom’s Cabin. That was the inspiration for the name of Tomstown.
When the decision was made that the community should have a church, Thomas donated the land for it. The original log church was constructed in 1902 and dedicat- ed on July 5, 1903.
Area families came together and formed friendships and partner- ships through the church. Wed- dings, baptisms, funerals, special occasions and the weekly ser- vices drew people together, and whenever tragedies occurred, the church always had an outreach program to offer assistance for the affected family.
The church building grew over the years, and the current building