Richard Bott (born 1968) is a minister of the United Church of Canada who served as the 43rd Moderator of that church from 2018 to 2022.

Early life and education

Bott was born in

Marathon, Ontario Marathon is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Thunder Bay District, on the north shore of Lake Superior north of Pukaskwa National Park, in the heart of the Canadian Shield. Geography Personal residences encompass an area st ...

and grew up there. Following graduation from high school, he attended

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

, where he earned his Bachelor of Social Sciences degree in 1990. He then earned his Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree from Queen's University in 1994.

Ministry

Following graduation, Bott was ordained as a minister of the United Church. Over the next 24 years he served at five churches in Ontario and British Columbia. During that time, he earned a Diploma in Stewardship Studies from Queen's Theological College (1996), a Certificate in Dispute Resolution from Laurentian University (1998) and a Doctor of Ministry from Ashland Theological Seminary (2003). In 2000, Bott also became a liturgical writer, publishing articles, prayers and liturgy in a variety of Christian publications.

Moderator

Bott was nominated to be moderator in 2018, and at the 43rd General Council of the church in Oshawa, Ontario, he was elected after five ballots. Following his election, Bott said, "I am excited about the possibilities that are in front of the church and hopeful that we are going to live into them together." During his installation service, Bott spoke of the feeding of the multitude, when a small child offered Jesus five small loaves and two small fish in order to feed a large crowd: "This child offered what they had, knowing that they might stay hungry. The child is us at our best, and the child is the world at its best; when we are ready to offer without having any idea what the end result might be — trusting that what God does with the gift, and with us, will be enough to satisfy the hunger, the hunger of all the world, and more." As all moderators since 1994, Bott was due to serve for three years until his successor was chosen at the 44th General Council of the United Church in August 2021. However due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the General Council was postponed a year, and Bott's term was subsequently extended until then.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bott, Richard Moderators of the United Church of Canada Living people Ministers of the United Church of Canada 1969 births People from Thunder Bay District University of Ottawa alumni Queen's University at Kingston alumni