Lois Miriam Wilson (born Lois Freeman; April 8, 1927) is a retired United Church Minister who was the first female

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 1980 to 1982. She was ordained a United Church minister in 1965, her husband having previously been ordained a United Church minister. From 1983 to 1989 she served as co-director of the Ecumenical Forum of Canada and also served as a president of the

Canadian Council of Churches The Canadian Council of Churches (French: ''Conseil canadien des Églises'') is a broad and inclusive ecumenical body, now representing 26 member churches including Anglican; Eastern and Roman Catholic; Evangelical; Free Church; Eastern and Orient ...

(1976-1979) as well as the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...

(1983-1991). A close friend of the noted Canadian novelist Margaret Laurence, she participated in several public forums with Laurence and presided at Laurence's 1986 funeral. Wilson is a graduate of the University of Winnipeg, completing a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree (1947; United College) and a Masters of Divinity (1950). She served in team ministry with her husband in United Church pastoral charges in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

, (’54-’60),

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its populati ...

, (’60-69),

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

(’69-’78) and Kingston (’78-’80). Wilson was a board member of First Place, Hamilton from 1969-1977. Wilson was active in the

Student Christian Movement of Canada The Student Christian Movement of Canada (SCM Canada) is a youth-led ecumenical network of student collectives based in spirituality, issues of social, economic justice, environmental justice, and building autonomous local communities on campuses ...

, as Student President in Manitoba (1944–46) and on the national level, and continues to be active in the

World Student Christian Federation The World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) is a federation of autonomous national Student Christian Movements (SCM) forming the youth and student arm of the global ecumenical movement. The Federation includes Orthodox, Protestant, Catholic, ...

today. From 1967-1968, Wilson was the director of Town Talk, Thunder Bay, an innovative ecumenically sponsored program, utilizing all media, inviting citizens to publicly discuss issues affecting the future of their city. In 1984, she was a commentator for CBC on the Pope's visit to Canada. A Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

, she was the 1985 recipient of the

Pearson Medal of Peace The Pearson Medal of Peace is an award given out annually by the United Nations Association in Canada to recognize an individual Canadian's "contribution to international service". Nominations are made by any Canadian for any Canadian, excluding se ...

. She is also a member of the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is ad ...

and a director of the

Canadian Civil Liberties Association The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA; french: Association Canadienne des Libertés Civiles) is a nonprofit organization in Canada devoted to the defence of civil liberties and constitutional rights.Dominique ClementCase Study: Canadian ...

, who honoured her in 2014 for her public engagement. In 1998 she was appointed to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the ...

upon the recommendation of

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan, Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law gradua ...

. She served in the chamber as an Independent until her retirement in 2002. She has held several other Canadian government appointments, including as a panel member of Environmental Assessment of the Disposal of Nuclear Waste (1989-1997). From 1990 to 2000, she was the

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Lakehead University Lakehead University is a public research university with campuses in Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ontario, Canada. Lakehead University, shortened to 'Lakehead U', is non-denominational and provincially supported. It has undergraduate programs, gradua ...

. She currently serves as Distinguished Minister in Residence at

Emmanuel College, Toronto Emmanuel College is the theological college of Victoria University in the University of Toronto. Affiliated with the United Church of Canada, it is also a member institution of the Toronto School of Theology. The college's principal is HyeRan ...

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. She has four children, twelve grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. She is the author of 9 books including, ''Turning the World Upside Down: A Memoir'' (Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 1989) and ''I Want to Be in That Number - Cool Saints I Have Known'' (Toronto: self-published, 2014). She also wrote the first chapter of ''Transforming the Faiths of our Fathers: Women who Changed American Religion'' (2004), edited by Ann Braude.

References

External links

*
Pearson Medal of Peace - Lois M. Wilson

Lois Miriam Wilson
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Lois 1927 births Living people Canadian clergy Canadian senators from Ontario Canadian university and college chancellors Women members of the Senate of Canada Companions of the Order of Canada Independent Canadian senators Members of the Order of Ontario Members of the United Church of Canada Ministers of the United Church of Canada Moderators of the United Church of Canada Politicians from Toronto Politicians from Winnipeg Women in Ontario politics 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians