Moderator of the United Church of Canada

The Moderator of the United Church of Canada is the presiding leader of the United Church of Canada, Canada's largest Protestant denomination.

Role

The Moderator's authority exists by his or her ability to influence the direction of the denomination, rather than any sort of direct power to unilaterally enact changes. Duties of the Moderator include:

• giving Leadership ("especially in spiritual things, quickening in the hearts of the people a sense of God as revealed in Christ, and heartening and strengthening the whole United Church")^[1]
• visiting pastoral charges across the country, "giving sympathetic guidance and counsel giving sympathetic guidance and counsel, and reporting to the General Council and its executive".^[1]
• being the primary spokesperson and representative for the United Church^[1]
• presiding at the meetings of the United Church's highest court, the triannual General Council, and chairing meetings of the General Council's Executive and Sub-Executive.^[1]

Election

Moderators are elected at each General Council; their term of office is therefore defined by the length of time between General Councils. When the United Church of Canada was founded in 1925, General Councils were biannual, giving each moderator a two-year term of office. At the 1994 General Council, the commissioners voted to make General Councils triannual, thus increasing the moderator's term to three years.^[2]

Although most moderators have been ordained ministers, this is not a requirement of office—to date, four have been lay persons. If the moderator is ordained, he or she is styled the "Right Reverend" while in office, and the "Very Reverend" after their retirement.

Moderators

In 2012, Gary Paterson was elected moderator. Paterson was the first homosexual leader of a major Christian denomination.^[3] In 2015, the United Church of Canada elected its second gay moderator, Jordan Cantwell.^[3]

List of United Church Moderators

• 1925–1926 George C. Pidgeon
• 1926–1928 James Endicott
• 1928–1930 William T. Gunn
• 1930–1932 Edmund H. Oliver
• 1932–1934 T. Albert Moore
• 1934–1936 Richard Roberts
• 1936–1938 Peter Bryce
• 1938–1940 John W. Woodside
• 1940–1942 Aubrey S. Tuttle
• 1942–1944 John R. P. Sclater
• 1944–1946 Jesse H. Arnup
• 1946–1948 Thomas W. Jones
• 1948–1950 Willard E. Brewing
• 1950–1952 Clarence M. Nicholson
• 1952–1954 Alexander A. Scott
• 1954–1956 George Dorey
• 1956–1958 James S. Thomson
• 1958–1960 Angus J. MacQueen
• 1960–1962 Hugh A. McLeod
• 1962–1964 James R. Mutchmor
• 1964–1966 Ernest M. Howse
• 1966–1968 Wilfred C. Lockhart
• 1968–1971 Robert Baird McClure
• 1971–1972 Arthur B. B. Moore
• 1972–1974 Bruce McLeod
• 1974–1977 Wilbur K. Howard
• 1977–1980 George M. Tuttle
• 1980–1982 Lois M. Wilson
• 1982–1984 W. Clarke MacDonald
• 1984–1986 Robert F. Smith
• 1986–1988 Anne M. Squire
• 1988–1990 Sang Chul Lee
• 1990–1992 Walter H. Farquharson
• 1992–1994 Stan McKay
• 1994–1997 Marion Best
• 1997–2000 Bill Phipps
• 2000–2003 Marion Pardy
• 2003–2006 Peter Short
• 2006–2009 David Giuliano
• 2009–2012 Mardi Tindal
• 2012–2015 Gary Paterson
• 2015–2018 Jordan Cantwell

References

1. "The Manual" (pdf). United Church of Canada. 2013. Retrieved 2012-08-17.
2. "Overview: Historical Timeline". The United Church of Canada. 2010-03-03. Retrieved 2010-03-10.
3. Todd, Douglas. "United Church of Canada elects second gay moderator". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2016-01-25.