Day 6--Election of Moderator, Celebrating Partners and Open Space
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| Gary Paterson responds to the announcement of his election as Moderator. |
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| This was a day to hear from and celebrate our global, ecumenical and multifaith partners. We began the day hearing from our partners who have been our guests during General Council. |
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| Closing worship, comedian Ann Hines returned, putting on her Baptist personna, leading us in her new lyrics to "Morning Has Broken". |
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| Thursday evening we traveled by bus to Ottawa Presbytery "Voices Unite" service in song at Dominion Chalmers United Church. Mass choir from the presbytery in this huge, gorgeous church--large crowd and the sound of the singing filled the space. |
Gary Paterson Elected Moderator
Posted on: August 16, 2012 - 21:13 by Kevin Cox
The rest of this article can be found at this link:
Elected as Moderator--Gary Paterson
A
Vancouver-based minister who describes himself as a passionate preacher
and poet, the Rev. Dr. Gary Paterson was elected Moderator of The United
Church of Canada by the 41st General Council on August 16, 2012.
Paterson becomes the first openly gay leader of a major Christian
denomination. At a news conference following his election, he rejoiced
that his sexual orientation has been a non-issue.
“One of the most wonderful things for is me that in the time of
discerning and in the time of writing responses to people, it’s actually
been a non-issue, and I would suspect that is the primary news story,” said Paterson, who was joined at the news conference by his partner, Tim Stevenson.
“What some denominations or some parts of the world see as a huge
dilemma and a problem has not within our immediate community been seen
in that way at all,” said the Moderator-elect.
