“Atheist Minister May Face “Review” by United Church of Canada Leaders Who See Her as a Heretic” - Hemant Mehta
These past weeks have seen conversations bloom in churches, over the airwaves, in the news and across the internet.
“How can it be that an atheist can minister to a
congregation within the United Church?”
These conversations are not new, they have been happening over the past decade as gretta has inspired, provided care, and called us to live according to our values vision.
Our grounding is the interconnectedness of life.
Our response to life is to love.
Our sources for inspiration are diverse.
Our vision is growth.
Our gatherings are mutli-faceted
…and our minister is an atheist
For the first time, a United Church minister is being reviewed on the basis of her beliefs, never mind that she has openly worn these beliefs for more than a decade.
So why now?
Read the article by Hemant Mehta, posted May 27th
We were advised early on Tuesday, June 9th, that Toronto Conference's sub-Executive Committee met and, at the request of gretta's lawyer, agreed to suspend the review process indefinitely pending the decision of an appeal filed in regard to the ruling made by the General Secretary. This does not mean that the review will not take place but it does mean that there is some breathing space and an opportunity for all parties to explore the issues in more depth.