Moderator of the United Church of Canada
Encyclopedia
The Moderator of the United Church of Canada is the presiding leader of the United Church of Canada
, Canada
's largest Protestant denomination. The church is highly decentralized and non-dogma
tic and the moderator has only limited power. The moderator
presides over the meeting of the court, thus the moderator is the chairperson, and is understood to be a member of the court acting primus inter pares
. Sitting moderators are styled the "Right Reverend" if they are ordained clergy (since the election of Robert McClure, a medical doctor, in 1968, moderators have not necessarily been clergy) and the "Very Reverend" after their retirement, in keeping with the practice of the pre-Church Union Presbyterian Church in Canada.
Moderators are elected at the church's triannual General Councils. The current moderator is Mardi Tindal
.
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's largest Protestant denomination. The church is highly decentralized and non-dogma
Dogma
Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...
tic and the moderator has only limited power. The moderator
Moderator of the General Assembly
The Moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a presbyterian or reformed church. Kirk Sessions and Presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator....
presides over the meeting of the court, thus the moderator is the chairperson, and is understood to be a member of the court acting primus inter pares
Primus inter pares
Primus inter pares is Latin phrase describing the most senior person of a group sharing the same rank or office.When not used in reference to a specific title, it may indicate that the person so described is formally equal, but looked upon as an authority of special importance by their peers...
. Sitting moderators are styled the "Right Reverend" if they are ordained clergy (since the election of Robert McClure, a medical doctor, in 1968, moderators have not necessarily been clergy) and the "Very Reverend" after their retirement, in keeping with the practice of the pre-Church Union Presbyterian Church in Canada.
Moderators are elected at the church's triannual General Councils. The current moderator is Mardi Tindal
Mardi Tindal
Mardi Tindal is the current Moderator of the United Church of Canada, only the fourth layperson to take the post since the church was formed in 1925...
.
List of United Church Moderators
- 1925 - 1926 George C. PidgeonGeorge C. PidgeonThe Very Reverend George Campbell Pidgeon was a minister first in the Presbyterian Church in Canada and then in The United Church of Canada, as well as the last Moderator of the Presbyterian Church before amalgamation, and the first Moderator of the newly formed United Church of Canada...
- 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 BrycePeter BryceDr. Peter Bryce was an official of the Ontario Health Department , Canada. He released his famous book in 1922 titled The Story of a National Crime: Being a Record of the Health Conditions of the Indians of Canada from 1904 to 1921, which exposed genocide of the aboriginals in Canada.Bryce was...
- 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. ThomsonJames S. ThomsonJames Sutherland Thomson was a Canadian academic, President of the University of Saskatchewan, and Moderator of the United Church of Canada.-Biography:...
- 1958 - 1960 Angus J. MacQueen
- 1960 - 1962 Hugh A. McLeod
- 1962 - 1964 James R. Mutchmor
- 1964 - 1968 Ernest M. HowseErnest M. HowseThe Very Rev. Ernest M. Howse was the 21st Moderator of the United Church of Canada from 1964 to 1968. Howse was born in Newfoundland and studied in both Canada and Scotland before becoming the pastor of Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church in California. He returned to Canada in 1935 to become the...
- 1966 - 1968 Wilfred C. LockhartWilfred LockhartWilfred Cornett Lockhart was a Canadian minister and academic administrator. He was the first President of the University of Winnipeg from 1967 to 1971 and was Moderator of the United Church of Canada from 1966 to 1968.Born in Dundalk, Ontario, Lockhart was educated at the University of Toronto...
- 1968 - 1971 Robert Baird McClureRobert Baird McClureRobert Baird McClure, was a Canadian physician, medical missionary, and the 23rd Moderator of the United Church of Canada from 1968 to 1971....
- 1971 - 1972 Arthur B. B. Moore
- 1972 - 1974 Bruce McLeodBruce McLeodThe Very Reverend N. Bruce McLeod is a former Moderator of the United Church of Canada . He has a doctorate in preaching from Union Theological Seminary in New York....
- 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. FarquharsonWalter H. FarquharsonThe Very Rev. Walter Henry Farquharson was Moderator of the United Church of Canada from 1990-1992. Born near Rosetown, Saskatchewan, he was educated at the University of Saskatchewan and St Andrew's College in the University of Saskatchewan...
- 1992 - 1994 Stan McKay
- 1994 - 1997 Marion BestMarion BestDr. Marion Best was the 36th Moderator of the United Church of Canada from 1994-1997. Best succeeded Stan McKay as the spiritual leader and chief officer of the church....
- 1997 - 2000 Bill PhippsBill PhippsWilliam "Bill" Phipps is a Canadian church leader and social justice activist. He was Moderator of the United Church of Canada from 1997 to 2000.-Early life and ministry:...
- 2000 - 2003 Marion PardyMarion PardyThe Very Reverend Dr. Marion Pardy was the 37th Moderator of the United Church of Canada .Pardy was born May 9, 1942 in Gander, Newfoundland and in 1961 she left Gander to work at Albert College in Belleville, Ontario. She went there to complete entrance requirements at night school for Covenant...
- 2003 - 2006 Peter Short
- 2006 - 2009 David GiulianoDavid GiulianoThe Very Reverend David Giuliano , was the Moderator of the United Church of Canada from 2006 to 2009.Giuliano grew up in Windsor, Ontario, in his words, "a descendant of deeply faithful Southern Ontario Quakers, born-again Baptists, and Italian-American immigrant Catholics." While in high school,...
- 2009 - present Mardi TindalMardi TindalMardi Tindal is the current Moderator of the United Church of Canada, only the fourth layperson to take the post since the church was formed in 1925...