Bill Phipps
Bill Phipps | |
---|---|
36th Moderator of the United Church of Canada | |
![]() Phipps speaking at an interfaith prayer vigil on September 14, 2001 | |
Church | United Church of Canada |
Elected | August 1997 |
Predecessor | Marion Best |
Successor | Marion Pardy |
Orders | |
Ordination | 1969 |
Personal details | |
Born | 1942 (age 78–79) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Alma mater | McCormick Theological Seminary |
William Phipps (born 1942), an ordained minister of the United Church of Canada, lawyer and social activist, was the 36th Moderator of the United Church of Canada from 1997 to 2000.
Early life and ministry[]
Phipps trained as a lawyer but in 1968, he felt called to ordained ministry. He studied theology at Chicago's McCormick Theological Seminary and was ordained in 1969. From 1974 to 1983, he was minister at Trinity-St. Paul's United Church in Toronto. He then moved to Alberta to work in church administration.
Moderator of the United Church of Canada[]
Phipps was elected to the post of Moderator at the 36th General Council of the United Church in August 1997. Only a short time after his installation, he ignited widespread controversy inside and outside the church when, in an interview with the Ottawa Citizen editorial board, he questioned the resurrection of Jesus as a scientific fact, said he was undecided on the question of the afterlife, and "I don't believe Jesus was God."[1]
In October 1998, speaking on behalf of the United Church, Phipps apologized on behalf of the United Church to Canada's indigenous First Nations for abuse in church-run residential schools earlier in the century, saying in part, "To those individuals who were physically, sexually, and mentally abused as students of the Indian Residential Schools in which The United Church of Canada was involved, I offer you our most sincere apology. You did nothing wrong. You were and are the victims of evil acts that cannot under any circumstances be justified or excused."[2]
Later career[]
Following his time as moderator, Phipps was a community organizer, hospital chaplain and adult educator,[3] and from 1993 until his retirement in 2007, he was minister at Scarboro United Church in Calgary.
In 2002, Phipps was the New Democratic Party candidate in the Calgary Southwest by-election contested by newly elected Canadian Alliance leader Stephen Harper. Phipps challenged Harper's conservative economic and social views. During the campaign, Harper commented that he "despise[d]" Phipps,[4] and declined to participate in debates with him. In the election, Phipps came in second with just over 20 per cent of the vote.
In 2005, Phipps was awarded the Alberta Centennial Medal.[5]
Electoral record[]
hide Canadian federal by-election, May 13, 2002: Calgary Southwest Resignation of Preston Manning | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures | ||||
Alliance | Stephen Harper | 13,200 | 71.66 | $58,959.16 | ||||
New Democratic | Bill Phipps | 3,813 | 20.70 | $34,789.77 | ||||
Green | James S. Kohut | 660 | 3.58 | $2,750.80 | ||||
Independent | Gordon Barrett | 428 | 2.32 | $3,329.34 | ||||
Christian Heritage | Ron Gray | 320 | 1.74 | $27,772.78 | ||||
Total valid votes | 18,421 | 100.00 | ||||||
Total rejected ballots | 98 | |||||||
Turnout | 18,519 | 23.05 | ||||||
Electors on the lists | 80,360 |
References[]
- ^ Mansfield, Robert N. (2003). Everything I Learned About Theology I Did Not Get From Sunday School. Xulon Press. p. 106. ISBN 1-591603-55-2.
- ^ "Apology to Former Students of United Church Indian Residential Schools, and to Their Families and Communities (1998)". United Church Social Policy Positions. United Church of Canada. October 1998. Archived from the original on 2015-08-11. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
- ^ "Rev. Bill Phipps". Consortium for Peace Studies. University of Calgary. Archived from the original on 2015-09-04. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
- ^ Simpson, Jeffrey (2002-05-07). "He makes Harper think uncharitable thoughts". Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved 2015-08-24.<
- ^ "Centennial Medal Recipients" (PDF). The Alberta Gazette. Government of Alberta. 2006-05-15. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
- 1942 births
- Living people
- Canadian activists
- Canadian clergy
- Lawyers in Ontario
- Moderators of the United Church of Canada
- New Democratic Party candidates for the Canadian House of Commons
- Clergy from Toronto
- University of Toronto alumni
- Ministers of the United Church of Canada