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New Commandery of Simon
Peter in Ottawa
By Chevalier
Wm. L. Upper
It was a sunny May 22nd in Ottawa at Canadian Forces Uplands Chapel,
where six men and four women took the oath to “fight from this day
forward to be a defender of the kingdom of Christ” said Ronald
Matthewman, our Canadian Grand Prior. With those words the New
Priory of Simon-Peter was invested into the Order. Traveling from
Windsor Grand Prior Ronald was accompanied by Chev. Ted Knight, GOTJ
who along with our own Grand Prior Matthew Gasaenbeek lll, GOTJ,
Chevalier George McNeillie lll, UE, GOTJ, and Rev. Dame Nola Crewe,
GOTJ conducted the Investiture Ceremony. With great pride, our
offering to the new Priory was their Bible, presented by Rev. Dame
Nola.
St. James Priory contingency was simpleminded with Dame Dai
Gaasenbeek, DCTJ, Major Chev. Edward Denbeigh, KTJ Dame Joan
Peters, DCTJ and Chev. William Upper, KTJ. Simon-Peter’s expansion
to the Canadian Priory comes at an expense to our Priory in that
Chev. Joseph Peters KTJ, Chev. Alan Williams, KCTJ, OStJ, CD, Dame
Raquel Fragoso Peters, DTJ, and Maj. The Rev. Canon Chev. Eric
Reynolds KTJ are all moving over to Simon-Peter Priory.
In addressing the banquet that followed the Investiture, Grand Prior
Ronald remarked on the development of Templar movement in Canada and
in so doing read a letter from Rear Admiral Carey offering his
congratulations to the new Priory. The establishment of this Priory
has been an aspiration of the Grand Prior for a number of years as
he envisions a missing link to our Nation’s Capital has now been
filled. In a very brief speech, the Grand Prior reminded the
gathering of the 2010 Convent in Toronto, and desired that many
Knights 7 Dames from the new Priory would attend to get to know the
wider scope of The Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of
Jerusalem on the World Stage.
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