goodbye pastor don

Today we say goodbye to a wonderful man of God. Don Cantelon, former pastor of CLA and father of our current pastor Brent Cantelon, passed away November 15th.

Although I didn't know him well, the little I had to do with him showed he was a man of hard work, vision and humor. A few years ago shortly after his book The Day I Burned The Hotel Down came out, I invited him to speak at our Fraser Valley Writer's Group meeting (and had the privilege of introducing him). He shared with us some of the experiences he related in the book. He did actually set a hotel on fire when he was a kid. The book is full of stories about pastoring, and holding tent and camp meetings all around Canada. It's a telling window into the life of a Canadian Pentecostal minister. (Earlier this year, he celebrated 60 years of ministry.)

He wrote a second book - Out of the Closet of Depression. He speaks of his experience with depression in the Canadian Christianity column "Moving through depression, back to the pulpit."

I will miss the sight of him, frail at the end, but still faithfully at the altar each Sunday, praying with any comers.

Pastor Don, you will be missed.