Rev. Sean Smallwood marks 25th ordination anniversary

SHILO, Man. - Rev. Sean Smallwood was ordained on June 6, 1996, and is currently serving as chaplain for the Second Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, a unit garrisoned at CFB Shilo outside of Brandon, Manitoba. In early June 2021, he was with the battalion in Wainwright, Alberta, participating in a two-month training exercise.

Rev. Smallwood shares the following reflections:

Those words mean something against the background of real life. I’m lucky. I’m still here, having the time of my life. If there are any stories worth sharing, it’s that the sick, the poor, the powerless, the dying—and the ‘filthy’ infantry (how I love these guys)—have become my friends.

Tell the men following in our wake that it’s a hard life. Nothing for the fainthearted. Sooner than later, they’ll see the ugly underbelly of the church. Setbacks, pushback, gossip, betrayals from your own team. Wherever there’s something good and orthodox, someone will be there to stomp it out. But the Spirit moves on, renovating the church and the world one sacred act at a time. A pastor is completed in weakness and there are no guarantees. I try not to forget the good ones lost along the way.

Here in the field they gather in small groups at odd hours while choppers roar overhead—or with pellet-like snow whipping sideways so thickly you can barely see a soldier a few feet away. Anyone with a clean uniform or an un-blackened face stands out as a visitor from the Air Force or brigade headquarters. On a good day, our chapel is an ablutions tent with a garbage can as a centerpiece. But still they come. The Spirit works in austerity sometimes better than in abundance.

Thank you for remembering me at the 25-year mark. I think I’ll carry on a bit longer. My cup is full.

Rev. Sean Smallwood