Calgary minister falls off ballot for next moderator of United Church of Canada
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Pentland was nominated this year as a candidate from Chinook Winds and if elected, would have been the first Calgary minister to ascend to the role since Bill Phipps in 1997.
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Pentland's name was removed from the ballot following a second round of voting at the United Church's 45th annual General Council in Calgary on Saturday. The Council continues until Aug. 11 when the next moderator will be installed.
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Voting for the new moderator began Friday, with the five nominees narrowed to three by Saturday morning.
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The third round of voting will commence Saturday evening, wherein voters will choose between Dr. Samuel v. Dansokho from Quebec and Dr. Kimberly Health of Ontario.
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Members from all across Canada packed the pews, leaned on bannisters, and crowded upper balconies. A pride flag hung on a pole above the congregation.
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The apology, several years in the making, came in the form of a full church service. Leaders of the church spoke formally, sang their acceptance in call and response with the crowd, read from scripture in four different languages, and prayed for changes in the hearts of Alberta lawmakers.
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Calgary Herald
3 days ago
- Calgary Herald
Calgary minister falls off ballot for next moderator of United Church of Canada
Calgary minister John Pentland fell short in his bid to become the next moderator of the United Church of Canada. Article content Pentland was nominated this year as a candidate from Chinook Winds and if elected, would have been the first Calgary minister to ascend to the role since Bill Phipps in 1997. Article content Article content Pentland's name was removed from the ballot following a second round of voting at the United Church's 45th annual General Council in Calgary on Saturday. The Council continues until Aug. 11 when the next moderator will be installed. Article content Article content Voting for the new moderator began Friday, with the five nominees narrowed to three by Saturday morning. Article content Article content The third round of voting will commence Saturday evening, wherein voters will choose between Dr. Samuel v. Dansokho from Quebec and Dr. Kimberly Health of Ontario. Article content Members from all across Canada packed the pews, leaned on bannisters, and crowded upper balconies. A pride flag hung on a pole above the congregation. Article content The apology, several years in the making, came in the form of a full church service. Leaders of the church spoke formally, sang their acceptance in call and response with the crowd, read from scripture in four different languages, and prayed for changes in the hearts of Alberta lawmakers. Article content
Calgary Herald
4 days ago
- Calgary Herald
United Church calls on provincial government, 'while we worship together, trans bodies are being broken'
Clergy members donned rainbow vestments alongside their classic white collars Friday morning, as hundreds of United Church members gathered in downtown Calgary to issue a formal apology to the LBGTQ+ community. Article content Members from all across Canada packed the pews, leaned on bannisters, and crowded upper balconies. A pride flag hung on a pole above the congregation. Article content Article content Article content The apology, several years in the making, came in the form of a full church service. Leaders of the church spoke formally, sang their acceptance in call and response with the crowd, read from scripture in four different languages, and prayed for changes in the hearts of Alberta lawmakers. Article content Article content The formal apology was a segment of the United Church's General Council, an event inviting members of the church from across Canada to come together every three years. Commissioners from the 16 regional councils are brought to vote on important church matters: budgets, official stances on Palestine, and formal apologies like this one. Article content United Church Moderator Rev. Carmen Lansdowne spoke the officially composed apology, one of her last acts in the position before a new moderator is elected this weekend. Article content Article content 'We, the United Church of Canada, express our deepest apologies to all those, who have experienced homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia within the United Church of Canada,' Lansdowne said. Article content 'We are sorry,' replied the congregation, in unison. Article content Lansdowne went on to describe overt examples of this discrimination, 'such as loss of income, harassment, being denied access to church leadership, and threats to personal safety.' She further made clear that complacency in the face of discrimination was just as relevant as those more explicit examples. Article content The service was conducted in a variety of different languages, without pausing to translate back into one or the other. Sermons and speeches alternated between English and French. Two readings of scripture were spoken solely in Japanese. The last song of the service, titled Bambalela, alternated between English, French, and Zulu. Article content One piece of scripture was read entirely though sign language, displayed to the crowd through a slideshow on televisions, while the room was otherwise quiet. Article content The formal apology had been in progress for several years. United Church General Secretary Rev. Michael Blair said that the discussion first began in 2009. A decade later, a report 'indicated that a formal apology be made,' he said. 'In 2023, the general council committed to offering an apology to the 2S and LGBTQIA+ community.' Article content After the composed apology, the service culminated with several prayers. The Lord's Prayer, prayers espousing heartbreak and sorrow 'for what we never had, and all that our lives and the church could have been,' and prayers directly aimed at the Alberta provincial government. Article content 'We pray for a healing and changing of hearts of those in power, who would enact laws here in Alberta to deny the gender affirming care, that puts trans youth at risk,' the speaker said. Article content Article content Last year, the Alberta government passed legislation that sought to ban doctors from providing treatment such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy to those under the age of 16 and enacted a total ban on gender-reassignment surgery for minors in the province. Article content In June, an injunction was granted against the rule changes around health care in the province. On July 25, the government appealed that injunction. Article content 'We pray for freedom for school libraries and teachers to provide the books for children in their care without government interference,' they said. 'We pray for the freedom for trans girls to play the sport of their choice.
National Post
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Michael Higgins: The United Church's abhorrent excuses for October 7
It is loathsome when anyone describes the butchery that happened in Israel on October 7 as an act of 'resistance,' but it is particularly troubling when it comes from people within the United Church of Canada. Article content Such hateful rhetoric can be found in a proposal that will be considered by the church's general council meeting, which starts Thursday. It begins by stating that 'the Gaza genocide is the most recent and most severe expression of the colonialist oppression of the state of Israel upon the Palestinian people.' Article content Article content Article content 'The Palestinians have, from time to time, resisted their oppression by significant use of deadly force,' it continues. 'The largest and most recent expression of this resistance was the October 7th raid into Israeli kibbutzim located along the Gaza border.' Article content Article content How odious to describe the massacre of 1,200 people, including innocent civilians at a music festival, along with mass rape, as an act of resistance. This is the language of terrorists. Article content The proposal goes on to call for a permanent ceasefire, along with other recommendations, but not once does it call for the release of hostages. It is one of seven anti-Israel/pro-Palestinian items on the general council agenda. Other conflicts, such as the one in Sudan, where tens of thousands have died and millions have been displaced, get no mention at all. In an emailed statement to the National Post, Rev. Carmen Lansdowne, the church's moderator and spiritual leader, said proposals to the general council came from various sources and all, or none, could pass. Article content Article content 'The United Church of Canada consistently condemns all acts of violence by all parties in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,' Lansdowne said. She added that the church had called on the government to secure a ceasefire, ensure the delivery of aid, achieve the release of 'captives, both Israeli and Palestinian,' as well as impose an arms embargo on Israel and end 'Israel's military occupation and annexation of Palestine.' Article content 'There is space, without being antisemitic, for legitimate critique of the current situation in Israel and Palestine that aligns with international law and human rights, and with the legitimate security concerns of the State of Israel,' Lansdowne said. Article content Legitimate critique is one thing, but the proposals are, unfortunately, part of a disturbing pattern from the United Church, which bills itself as the largest Protestant denomination in Canada, ministering to 800,000 people. Article content In a panel discussion in May 2024, Lansdowne echoed a similar point to the 'resistance' proposal when she suggested that Israel had no right to resist the murderous rampages of Hamas. Instead, it had to show restraint.
