Marion Pardy (born May 9, 1942), a

diaconal minister A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

and author, was the 37th

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 2000 to 2003.

Early life

Pardy was born in Gander, Newfoundland. In 1961, at age 19, she moved to

Belleville, Ontario Belleville is a city in Ontario, Canada situated on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, located at the mouth of the Moira River and on the Bay of Quinte. Belleville is between Ottawa and Toronto, along the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. Its populat ...

to work at Albert College, as well as to complete entrance requirements at night school for Covenant College 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, ...

(now the Centre for Christian Studies).

Vocation

In 1968 she was designated as a deaconess at Gower Street United Church in St. John's Newfoundland, and ordained as a diaconal minister. Pardy pursued and received

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 year ...

and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

degrees from

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

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 anch ...

. Her MA thesis, "Models of Biblical Authority", was published in 1988 by Harper and Row Publishers as ''Teaching Children the Bible''. She received her Doctor of Ministry degree from

Boston University School of Theology Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH) is the oldest theological seminary of American Methodism and the founding school of Boston University, the largest private research university in New England. It is one of thirteen theological school ...

in 1997. For her thesis, ''Biblical Understanding in the Local Congregation'', she examined how to narrow the gap between theological education and biblical education in the congregation.

Moderator

In 2000, Pardy was nominated to be Moderator, and in August of that year, she was elected for a three-year term at the 37th General Council, becoming the first diaconal minister to become Moderator. Asked about the challenges facing the United Church, Pardy responded, "We live in a changing church and in a changing world. Our challenge is to seek God in the midst of change, to be daring enough to implement and critique change, knowing that we will make mistakes but also recognizing that 'stagnation unto death' is worse."

After her term as moderator

Following her term as Moderator, she represented the United Church on the Governing Board of the Canadian Council of Churches, where she served as Vice-President from 2004 until she stepped down in 2009. In 2013, the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador awarded Pardy a Queen’s Jubilee Medal in recognition of her contributions to the community.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pardy, Marion 1942 births Boston University School of Theology alumni Living people Ministers of the United Church of Canada Moderators of the United Church of Canada People from Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador Women Protestant religious leaders