Last week my wife and I took the plunge and became Canadian citizens. It was a happy and moving moment for me and strange too. People from 23 other nations shared the moment with us as we all became "Canadian in French" first and then "in English." Watching the solemn moment were our three children who were born here and so became Canadian before us. Two of them speak French much better than me as they have been in French Immersion. I am the son of a man who immigrated to Canada and I am an immigrant to Canada. Now if that does not make sense to you, you should consider that my father immigrated to Canada from Northern Ireland and later to the States, where I was born; thirteen years ago I immigrated to Canada. My father came here seeking a peaceful life and broader opportunities as a budding aeronautical engineer. I came here as a budding spiritual engineer (i.e. as a pastor), seeking to follow Jesus and fulfill his mission with a group of people known then as Gladstone Baptist Church. It took a while to become citizens, well it took us a while to fill out the paper work.
One of the reasons we took the plunge is our "citizen ethic." We believe it is really important for citizens of a nation to become participants in the political process; we wanted to vote. So I’m ready I think. To the leaders at hand I say, "Call an election any time you like, I can vote now."
