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Gretta

proud to be a member of the united church of canada

The following is an excerpt from my speech, The Perfect Storm, given at CCPC’s conference, Christianity: The Story Evolves, this week in Halifax.  There are many other things that make me proud of the church of my heritage, but this brief synopsis got the point across.  It was, of course, a prelude to a significant “But, ….” which I’ll post another time.

Crest_2012
]1 The United Church amended its crest in 2012 to recognize Aboriginal churches that were part of union in 1925 but never recognized.
I am proud to be a member of The United Church of Canada.  Nowhere else in the world would I be tolerated.  That may seem like an incredible thing and I get emails letting me know how incredible it is on a fairly regular basis.  But the truth of the matter is that I am proud to be a member and a leader in The United Church of Canada because there are whole segments of the population that are also tolerated in leadership positions within this church. Divorced people, women, gay, lesbian, transgender people. In other denominations, too many of the world’s people are seen only as mission fields, as potential candidates for conversion or volunteers with no official title. I am proud to be a member of The United Church of Canada because we ordained women over 75 years ago and the Roman Catholic Church hasn’t yet figured out how to do that.  I am proud to be a member of The United Church of Canada because we ordained married women in the 1960s, and affirmed a woman’s right to an abortion in the 1970s and because we decided to forgive and move on when divorce fractured a clergy marriage. All that was done decades ago yet evangelical denominations around the world continue to consider divorce and abortion so sinful that they exclude from leadership those whose lives have had to reconcile such devastations, naming them as unfit for ministry – volunteer or otherwise. I am proud to be a member of The United Church of Canada because, in the 1980s, it embraced the leadership being offered by our LGBTQ sisters and brothers; twenty five years later, the Anglican Communion continues to obfuscate on decisions related to sexuality either because it might be against God’s will or because it might be objected to by the fastest growing group within its bounds – the African Church. And I am proud of The United Church of Canada now as it struggles with the new definitions of Christianity that you are placing on the table and with which you continue to invite it to engage.

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  1. Thanks so much for this clarification! I was under the impression that The Very Rev. The Honourable Lois Wilson was the first married woman to be ordained. Now I’m even more proud of the UCC!

  2. Just to clarify that married women were ordained in the United Church of Canada back in the 1940’s as my mother-in-law, Margaret Butler, was the first ‘married’ woman to do so. She was married to my father-in-law, Arthur Melvin Butler. His obituary is as follows:

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    Home Obituaries & Death Notices Arthur Butler
    Arthur Butler
    Published:Oct 09, 2009

    Event Date:Oct 08, 2009
    Classified Type: Obituaries & Death Notices
    Location: Oshawa
    Arthur Butler
    BUTLER, the Reverend Arthur Melvin Butler – Mel, as he was known to his friends passed away peacefully at Lakeridge Health Centre (Oshawa) on Friday, October 2nd in his 89th year– Mel was born in 1920 in Montreal– He was recently recognized as an ordained minister of the United Church of Canada for 60 years– In 1944, he married Margaret Florence Millen, a fellow theology student at McGill University, who became the fi rst married woman to be ordained in the United Church– Together they had three children, Michael (Ajax), Eric (Toronto), Alison (Ipswich, England), seven grandchildren, Gregory, Lorri-Anne, Holly, Jennie, Mandy, Alexander, Anna, and one great grandchild, Grace– Mel served 40 years of ministry, mainly in Ontario and in retirement as a voluntary associate at Kingsview United Church, Oshawa, the family church of his dear friend, Margaret Pellow– In his work he tried to foster the spirit of friendship and caring within the church and community– He expressed this in many ways, including work as a hospital chaplain, and for a brief time living with his family at the Woodcrest Bruderhof Community in New York– In due course as a minister of religion, he was asked to prepare and conduct services of an international and ecumenical nature at Cambridge and Oxford Universities in England and Madrid, Spain– Mel's interests in family as well as church and community, led him to join genealogical societies– He was a founding member and vice-president of the Butler society, centered in Kilkenny, Ireland where he became a respected and authoritative voice in Canadian history– He has published several papers on this subject and was a frequent resource for many who were researching their own family history– His greatest joy came from his interest and love for his family who will lovingly remember him for his kind and gentle spirit– Mel also leaves behind many friends met through his Kiwanis club, through his ministry and through his historical research– More recently Mel has been a resident of Centennial Retirement Home in Oshawa where he continued to express a friendly spirit to his fellow residents– He will be greatly missed by those who knew him– Resting at OSHAWA FUNERAL HOME, 847 King St– West, Oshawa, (905-721-1234) where the family will receive guests on Tuesday, October 6th, 7:00 – 9:00 pm– Funeral services will be held at KINGSVIEW UNITED CHURCH, 505 Adelaide Ave– East, Oshawa, on Wednesday, October 7th, at 11:00 am– Cremation and interment will take place at a later date– In lieu of fl owers, contributions to the United Church Mission and Services Fund would be appreciated–

    Sorry this is so long. Kind regards, Chris (PS FYI, I am not in the list of people mentioned above as I am divorced)