May 24, 2013

August 17, 2012


United Church of Canada Elects First Gay Leader

In a move that I’m sure surprised absolutely no one in the Frozen North, the UCC elected a gay moderator today, the first among major North American denominations. According to the Ottawa Sun:

The United Church of Canada has elected an openly gay pastor as its new leader.

Rev. Dr. Gary Paterson of St. Andrew’s Wesley Church in Vancouver was voted in Thursday at the church’s 41st general council, taking place this week in Ottawa.

He was chosen on the sixth ballot of an election that lasted more than eight hours and included 15 nominees.

Paterson, a minister for more than 35 years, becomes the first openly gay leader of a major Christian denomination.

“What some denominations or some parts of the world see as a huge dilemma and a problem has not within our immediate community been seen in that way at all,” the moderator-elect said.

His partner, Tim Stevenson, was the first openly gay person to be ordained by the church 20 years ago.

Alternative headline: “United Church of Christ and Episcopal Church hit hardest, wanted to be first.”

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6 comments

“within our immediate community”

heh

[1] Posted by Timothy Fountain on 8-17-2012 at 02:13 PM · [top]

Everything I know about that group, I’ve just now learned from Wikipedia. Here’s a choice selection from there:

In 2006, the 39th General Council approved the use of a generous bequest to start up “Emerging Spirit”, a promotional campaign aimed at drawing 30- to 40-year-olds into a conversation about faith. As part of this campaign, “Emerging Spirit” used controversial magazine advertisements featuring, among other images, a bobble-head Jesus, a marriage cake with two grooms holding hands, Jesus sitting on Santa’s chair in a mall, and a can of whipped cream with the caption “How much fun can sex be before it’s a sin?”

[2] Posted by Ralph on 8-17-2012 at 05:55 PM · [top]

I suppose one good example out of four is better than none out of four, no?

[3] Posted by dpeirce on 8-17-2012 at 06:01 PM · [top]

Please define “major North American denomination”

From Wikipedia-

“According to United Church statistics for 2008, there are about 525,000 members[3] and 2.8 million adherents.[4] About 200,000 people attend services in 3,362 pastoral charges on a regular basis”

I have no idea what an “adherent” is.  Perhaps that is the number of hits their page on Wikipedia gets in a year, in which case, I just inadvertently became one.  Apparently though, adherents are people who are so close to the church that they never go.  200,000 “attend regularly,” but I am inclined to think that if “regularly” meant “every Sunday”, it would say that.  So I am guessing equivalent ASA is probably more like 125-150,000- anybody know?

[4] Posted by tjmcmahon on 8-17-2012 at 07:37 PM · [top]

I have no idea what the ASA currently is Canada wide but according to an article in our local paper the United Church (or, as some have called it, the Untied Church) is closing on average one church per week and has closed 400 in the last decade.  See http://www.therecord.com/opinion/editorial/article/760986—a-church-is-more-than-a-building

[5] Posted by Ross Gill on 8-17-2012 at 07:57 PM · [top]

Hmmm…could a merger between the United Church of Canada and TEC be on the horizon?  They have much in common - declining membership, churches closing…general weirdness…

[6] Posted by B. Hunter on 8-20-2012 at 12:40 PM · [top]

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