Bill Phipps

Phipps was elected to the post of Moderator at the 36th General Council of the United Church in August 1997. Shortly after being installed, Phipps was interviewed by many journalists and newspapers, including the editorial board of the Ottawa Citizen. The subsequent editorial published by the Citizen, which criticized his views on the ordination of gays, economic justice for the poor, and especially his theological views, ignited nation-wide controversy, During the interview, Phipps had questioned the Resurrection of Jesus as a scientific fact, added he was undecided on the question of the afterlife, and "I don't believe Jesus was God."[3] Although several contemporary theologians and scholars were surprised by the fierce backlash, saying that Phipps' theological views were not considered radical,[2] the controversy resulted in discussions and debates in United Church congregations across the country.[2] As the Globe & Mail noted in his obituary, "Some called him saint; others, a heretic."[1] In an interview with Maclean's, Phipps further explained his views on the Resurrection of Jesus, saying, "There’s no question that Jesus’ followers [...] believed with all their being that Jesus was alive and with them and energizing them to carry forward his ministry. Something very real happened to those people and it has been giving power to the Christian community ever since. But the body that he was crucified with — dying and coming back and walking around the earth and then ascending into heaven in a three-storey universe — that doesn’t make sense. If I have to put it in those terms, it loses its power because it’s not credible to me."[2]

Four months after the controversy started, the United Church's General Council executive issued a statement of support for Phipps.[2]

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."[4]

Phipps travelled across Canada to speak to people in an initiative called "Faith and the Economy".[5] He also co-authored Bearing Faithful Witness: United Church–Jewish Relations Today with Rev. Clint Mooney, about the church's relationship with Judaism.[1]