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THEBACHA/FORT SMITH - Gordon Bush serves two higher callings in Fort Smith.

Not only is he the husband of Rev. Ann Bush, the Anglican priest in the community, he is also her partner in serving the congregation of St. John's Anglican Church.

Gordon Bush of Fort Smith is general manager of Northwestern Air Lease Ltd. and a deacon in the Anglican Church. - photo courtesy of Gordon Bush

Ordained a deacon in the church two years ago, Bush says he and his wife are a team in serving the church.

"It's been a great blessing," he said. "We complement each other."

As a deacon, he can do just about anything an ordained priest can do, except perform the communion service on his own.

For example, he can perform baptisms, marriages and burials.

Bush, 65, said he has no plans to take the next step in the church and become a priest.

"But who knows," he said. "God works in mysterious ways."

The St. John's Parish will have the husband and wife team for only another year.

Bush said he and his wife have let their bishop know they plan to leave Fort Smith in the summer of 2010.

"Wherever that leads us, we don't know," he said, adding they will seek other opportunities to serve elsewhere in Canada, England or Africa.

"We're opening us up to see where God wants to take us next," he said.

Bush said he and his wife have enjoyed their time in Fort Smith, where they have lived since 2001, and leaving will be difficult.

"That's going to be a very, very hard thing to do," he said.

Bush said St. John's Church is a beautiful building, particularly following recent renovations, and the parish has wonderful people.

For their last year in Fort Smith, the Bushes will concentrate on mission work in the community to encourage people to attend church, not just the Anglican Church but any church.

Bush is also well known in Fort Smith as general manager of Northwestern Air Lease Ltd. His job is to make sure the scheduled and charter airline operates efficiently when it comes to such things as marketing, personnel issues and developing new routes.

Bush is not a pilot, explaining he believes being a pilot requires a certain gift.

"I put it on a par to playing an instrument," he said.

Bush was born in England, but came to Canada with his family when he was 15, and attended high school in Moose Jaw, Sask., before returning to England with his mother.

When he was 19 he began to train as an air traffic controller at London's Heathrow Airport, where he met his future wife. She had just arrived from Africa and was also training to be an air traffic controller.

Bush worked at Heathrow and another airport in England for seven years. Later, he spent 26 years as a flight dispatcher for Air Canada at Heathrow followed by two years with Virgin Airlines.

His wife was working at a helicopter company while also training to become a priest.

After being ordained, Ann Bush worked as a chaplain in England's prison system and her husband used to help out.

Bush said he saw some amazing things in prison, including the transformation of an angry, tattooed skinhead after a group of people prayed with him.

"It was one of the most moving experiences I've had in my Christian walk," Bush said. He said his wife eventually saw an ad for priests in the Canadian Arctic, and they decided to move North even though their friends and family thought they were crazy. "It was a calling really," he said. "We just felt called to come here."