Major Susan van Duinen, the first female married officer to be appointed as divisional commander in the Canada and Bermuda Territory (Manitoba and Northwest Ontario Division), was installed by Commissioners William and Marilyn Francis September 14, 2007, to a capacity crowd at Heritage Park Temple in Winnipeg.

This territory is among the first in the Army world to have a married woman officer serving as divisional commander, and as Commissioner Francis noted during the installation it is not tokenism, just wait.

Among those expressing congratulations and affirmations of support was Bishop Elaine Sauer of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada; Mr. Murray Bonk, chair of the Citizens Advisory Board in Winnipeg; Ms Stacy Ingram, representing the youth of the division; and Major Wilson Perrin, representing the officers.

Major Dirk van Duinen was installed as the Divisional Secretary for Program in the division. The divisional commander’s role in the van Duinen family has been reversed as Dirk was the divisional commander of the south division in Germany from 1991 to 1994 before returning to Canada. During the leading of the closing song, Dirk took the opportunity to express how proud he was of his wife, how assured he was of her good leadership in the division, and of his faithful following her lead in his role in the division.

Major Susan van Duinen spoke eloquently and passionately of the division’s need to focus on fulfilling The Salvation Army’s mission to build the Kingdom of God. She ardently proclaimed that too often we have behaved as though our faith was private. It is not, but rather we take our faith in the love and grace of God to those whom we engage in ministry.