Gary J. Paterson (born 1949) was the

Moderator of the United Church of Canada The Moderator of the United Church of Canada is the most senior elected official within the United Church of Canada. He or she may be a lay person or a member of the Order of Ministry and is elected to a three-year term by commissioners attend ...

from 2012 to 2015. He was the first openly gay person to take the post since the church was formed in 1925 and the first in the world to lead a major Christian denomination.

Early life and education

Paterson was born in

Whitehorse, Yukon Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale area ...

in 1949, and as an "

army brat A military brat (colloquial or military slang) is a child of serving or retired military personnel. Military brats are associated with a unique subcultureDavid C. Pollock, Ruth E. van Reken. ''Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds'', Revis ...

", lived in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

before his family settled in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. He earned two degrees in English literature and became a sessional lecturer at

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

Ministry

Paterson studied theology in Boston and the

Vancouver School of Theology The Vancouver School of Theology is a ecumenical divinity school located on the campus of and formally affiliated with the University of British Columbia. VST is called to educate and form thoughtful, engaged and generous Christian leaders. Fac ...

before being ordained by the

United Church of Canada The United Church of Canada (french: link=no, Église unie du Canada) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholi ...

in 1977. He served as minister at several rural and urban churches, became a staff member of the British Columbia Conference of the United Church, then served as minister at three churches in Vancouver: Ryerson United Church, First United Church, and his current church, St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church, where he is Lead Minister.

Moderator

Paterson was nominated to be Moderator in 2012, and at the 41st General Council of the church, he was elected to the position on August 16, 2012, after six ballots, and was installed as Moderator two days later. In an interview following his election, Paterson acknowledged that the United Church faced many challenges, but while in office, he hoped to bring inspiration and hope during times of change.

Honours and personal life

Paterson received an honorary doctorate from the Vancouver School of Theology in 2012. Paterson lives in Vancouver with his spouse,

Tim Stevenson Tim Stevenson (born 1945) is a Canadian politician and United Church minister. He served as councillor on the Vancouver City Council, 2002 to 2018 as a member of Vision Vancouver. He was a founding member of Vision Vancouver. Background Ste ...

, a Vancouver city councillor who, in 1992, was the first openly gay person to be ordained by the United Church. Paterson has three children from a previous marriage.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paterson, Gary Moderators of the United Church of Canada 1949 births Living people Canadian LGBT people LGBT Protestant clergy People from Vancouver People from Whitehorse Gay men Ministers of the United Church of Canada