It was a poignant occasion for Canon Thomas Nisbett when he passed on his ceremonial red sash to his son Tom Nisbett as he was ordained a deacon at the Christ Church Cathedral in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

“Tommy took it in his stride,” said the elder Nisbett, who turns 90 this October.

“It’s something he always looked forward to. He was happy in the business world but he was ready to give up that and go wholeheartedly in the ministry.”

For Tom Nisbett, being presented by his father at Sunday’s ceremony was the culmination of a long climb in the Anglican Church: he has been chaplain for nine years at the hospital in Moncton.

However, his senior management position at Malley Industries was also dear to his heart for many years — until Reverend Nisbett came to the conclusion that it was time to take the plunge.

“You can’t take a journey like this without a supportive spouse,” he said of his wife, Colleen Carroll-Nisbett.

“Basically, I quit my job 2½ years ago. I came home one day and said, ‘Colleen, I think it’s time.’ She said, ‘What took you so long?’ So I jumped in where probably angels fear to tread.”

That included going back to school at the age of 54, and in May Rev Nisbett completed a Master of Divinity degree at the Atlantic School of Theology.

His daughter, the award-winning singer Chelsea Amber, sang at her father’s ordination, and guests from Bermuda included former United Bermuda Party minister Yvette Swan, who is an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada, with her husband Malcolm.

Rev Nisbett’s other daughter, Erin, unable to attend for work reasons, “can be there next when I go from transitional deacon to priest”, he said. For Rev Nisbett, the next step will be his assigned parish at the behest of Bishop David Edwards: Waterford and St Marks, where he will assist until being sent to a parish of his own.

Asked if his father had passed on any words of wisdom, Rev Nisbett said: “His advice has always been and continues to be to remember Jesus Christ in everything you do, and to be yourself, and it will all work out.”

Cousin Debbie-Kay Martin, who also attended, said: “It was wonderful — nothing in this world could replace watching father and son passing the baton.

“I’m very proud of my cousin — all I can say is, ‘well done’.

“Like father, like son.”