Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne, United Church Moderator

               The Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne, United Church Moderator elect

 When I heard a few months ago that there was only one nominee for Moderator of the United Church at this year's General Council I figured it was a sign of the times. While we aren't giving up hope for our denomination, many of our assumptions about how we live and work together have changed. The position of Moderator, essentially our spiritual leader, once drew a number of capable nominees and lively discussion around who was best suited to the position. 

Yesterday General Council elected Rev. Carmen Lansdowne and we are fortunate -- blessed -- that the sole candidate in 2022 will be a capable leader, well suited to our time. It seems providential that on the same weekend Pope Francis arrives in Canada to apologize for the shameful reality of Residential Schools  the United Church has chosen an Indigenous person for this important role. I was a commissioner to General Council in 1992 when the United Church elected the Reverend Stan McKay as the first, and until now, only Indigenous person to lead a Canadian denomination. Thirty years later, the Rev. Lansdowne is the first woman. We can ask the Creator to give Carmen wisdom and courage as she guides us in the next few years. 

 Here is the CBC news item from yesterday about the election. I'm glad there is some coverage amidst the media focus om the pope's visit. 

A minister in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside has become the first Indigenous woman to lead a religious denomination in Canada.

On Saturday, the United Church of Canada elected Rev. Carmen Lansdowne as its new moderator. The position makes her the institution's spiritual leader and public representative, while policies and doctrine are overseen by a general council.

The Heiltsuk (Haíɫzaqv) Nation member, also known as Kwisa'lakw, helms First United in the Downtown Eastside. It offers food, housing and showers to low-income residents."Our safety nets are not adequately responding to their needs," Lansdowne said in an interview.

Churches should be "speaking truth to power" on issues like poverty, housing, Indigenous rights, and climate change, crises that "play out" tragically in the Downtown Eastside, she said. "But they're issues that affect all Canadians. I think the church should have something to say."