Peter B. Short (born July 22, 1948) is an ordained minister and was the 38th

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 2003 until 2006. He was elected Moderator at the denomination's meeting of the 38th General Council in

Wolfville Wolfville is a Canadian town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, located about northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax Regional Municipality, Halifax. The town is home to Acadia University and Landmark East School. The tow ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Early life and career

Short was born in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between To ...

and grew up in

Arnprior Arnprior is a town in Renfrew County, in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. It is located west of Downtown Ottawa, at the confluence of the Madawaska River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley. Arnprior has experienced sig ...

and Braeside, Ontario. In 1978, he graduated from Emmanuel College, and was ordained by the Maritime Conference of 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 ...

. He subsequently served as minister to a number of congregations in eastern and northern

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Short was elected as Moderator at the 38th General Council of the United Church in August 2003. Shortly after his election, he said, "Our identity as The United Church of Canada is not in our denomination, and has never been in our denomination. Our identity is in following Jesus Christ and crossing boundaries that divide people, that alienate people and that condemn people, until we stand on common ground and there is a place at the table for all." As Moderator he strove to "turn on the lights of our mission work, the critical work for justice, peace and reconciliation". Following the passage of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

legislation by the Canadian federal government in June 2005, Short noted in a pastoral letter to all congregations of the United Church that the topic was deeply divisive. But he urged church members to not simply be for or against the issue. "This would be a bad time to be carried off by the songs of victory or by the laments of resentment. Beneath the louder music of public ideologies there is a gospel invitation that is being sounded, an invitation to a great banquet. And 'blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the Kingdom of God.'"

Personal

Short is married to Susan Crawford. They have four children.

References

1948 births Living people Moderators of the United Church of Canada People from Kingston, Ontario Canadian people of British descent Ministers of the United Church of Canada {{Canada-clergy-stub