It's hard to narrow it down to just one person! I would have to pick Rev. Eleanor O'Neill, who was my minister when I was a teenager. She challenged me to think outside of the box; to not assume that the Bible was meant to be taken literally.

Did she also teach you that ballots are not to be taken literally? I don't see that she's on it...

I beleive somegal was answering the question teh nominees were asked--not stating a preference among the nominees

Ah, okay....lol.  I thought she was "narowing it down" to a preferred moderator.

GordW got it right - I was answering the question asked of the moderators. 

Jesus Christ.

How come one of the Moderator nominees doesn't have a picture up?

Rich blessings.

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MC jae

Maybe they feel that how one looks shouldn't influence people?

That's silly Pinga. Of course the way one looks influences people. That's something I'm very thankful to God for.

Rich blessings.

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MC jae

Same person as MC jae:

Jesus Christ

I notice a couple of the candidates mentioned Jesus. That's good to see from folk who are aiming to be the leader of Canada's largest Protestant denomination.

Rich blessings.

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MC jae

I hope that soon they get around to asking more important questions such as what the nominees' backgrounds are, what their theologies are, just why it is they want to be Moderator, why they believe they are uniquely qualified for the position, etc.

I want to decide who to throw my support behind.

Rich blessings.

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MC jae

Actually, i would think part of what is interesting is why others found them worthy.

Yes, I would agree. That's an excellent idea Pinga.

Rich blessings.

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MC jae

Actually Jae, you won't be throwing your support behind any of them.  Only reps of the UCC get to throw their support.

Back to the question at hand - while of course for Christians, Jesus is the big influence, I think many people would interpret this question to who, in their lifetime, has influenced them.   

I would say my mother - a woman of great faith who encouraged me to be curious, to ask questions, and to seek growth and understanding in my life and in my Christian faith.  

If I could have a second choice I think I would say my Sunday School superintendent, who kept the church open in a small isolated community on a seven point charge, so that even through we seldom say a minister, we could go to the church each week, and be exposed to a variety of different teachers from different denominations (including Baptist), and develop our faith.  She is still living, in her 90s now, and still active in the UCC.

I would call out numerous ministers; however, the one would be the person who taught me there was a place for me in the church:  Rev. Elizabeth Macdonald  (with an a, small d -- hope I remembered that right!)

I would shout out leaders at Five Oaks and participants, but, especially, former director Yvonne Stewart who I had the gift of learning from directly and through watching...in small group as well as camp who taught me how to work with people and value the gifts in the community.

Ida Belbin, the wife of Rev. Stan Belbin...she had been a widow for years when I met her, but, I remember her teaching me through Mission & Outreach programs what the church was about...and to focus on the core message and ignore the others, as well as to not stereotype people based on age.  She taught over a cup of tea and was a gift.

Rev. Bert McAvoy.  He was the minister emeritus at our church for years and years.  He taught me about the basics of church and the importance of learning.  He had so much wisdom / knowledge.  I remember his teaching on the importance of the rhythm of the church service, why it was there; how it played.  He taught me about study.  He also taught me about grace.  As the years go by, I recognize and value so much more about that wonderful man.  

Seeler, it seems to me that you can throw your support behind someone without actually being able to vote for them. I won't be attending General Council, and therefore won't be able to vote but I know which candidate I am supporting.

Exactly. Well said somegal. Well said indeed.

Personally I've got it narrowed down now to 3 or 4 of them. Hopefully by next week I'll know just who it is I want as the 41st Moderator of the United Church of Canada.

Rich blessings.

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MC jae

Folks, I am not sure that is a logical or legitmate approach....it totally misses the point of the GC.  It is a time to listen , to come together.   Anyone going with presupposed idea on who to vote for would be doing themselves and their community ahuge disservice

There is a candidate that I have known for a very long time and I believe he or she would be an excellent  moderator, which is why I am supporting him or her. That, of course, is not to say that the other candidates wouldn't be equally good. The interviews and questionnaires are good, however they simply can't replace years of knowing someone and seeing them in action. As someone who won't be at GC, I have no say as to whether he or she will be elected - nor will I be telling anyone who is going about how to vote (hence, I will not share here which candidate he or she is - or even his or her gender), so I don't think I am doing anyone a disservice. 

Hi Pinga,

Not necessarily.

Discernment happens when folk discern.  There is no starting pistol.

If Commissioners have read the profiles of the Moderator hopefuls they have more than enough information to begin the process of discerning and at this point in time their discernment might lead them to think that candidate X is the candidate that the Holy Spirit is leading GC-41 to select.

Of course, the wind blowing as it does means that what the Spirit tells me at this moment about candidate X might change if I feel that the Church is in need of candidate Y.

As far as pre-vote support goes.  That sounds more like a popularity contest.

The reality is that every nominee for the position of Moderator comes offering their unique mix of gifts to the Church and every gift offered is a gift needed somewhere.  It may just not be in the Moderator's office at this point in time.

If there is somebody we would not support then the problem may be less the nominee's and more our own.

Whomever GC-41 selects as Moderator for the coming triennium will be facing very high expectations and subject to constant criticism from various corners of the Church.  That person will most definitely need our support.

As a Commissioner at GC 40 I prayed constantly on this issue from the time I was selected as Commissioner until the final ballot was counted.  Our current Moderator was not the individual that the Spirit suggeted to me.  Which is not a knock against Mardi, it is a testament to the incredible offering that each nominee makes.

Eventually, on the final ballot I did discern that of those remaining Mardi was best placed.  That is not me saying the rest where unacceptable or incompetent because nothing could be further from the truth.

I have heard, through my experience in the Church some of the nominees for Moderator speak.  All bring a wealth of experience and gifts to the table.  I'm not supporting any one candidate and I have worked with alongside several.  I will continue to hold each up until they have either been eliminated or elected and whomever GC-41 selects will be my Moderator and I will support them as faithfully as I would serve any other.

I'm not expecting any to call me up and say, "John want to be a part of my support team." simply because while I know serveral we are not close enough for me to think I would be sought out for that particular role.  And yet, to any who asked I would offer every gift and skill that might be a help.

Grace and peace to you.

John

I think a presupposed idea on who might make a good moderator is normal and reasonable.    Presupposing who you are actually going to select on the ballot is the disservice.

Fair enough Pinga. 

I will say that I will be supportive of whomever General Council chooses to be moderator. 

Something I learned recently is that there are 3 openly gay candidates and that if any of them are chosen, it would be the first time that any major Christian denomination has been led by an openly gay individual. I think that's pretty interesting.

Hi Somegalfromcan,

I think this statement needs further qualification if it is going to be held to be true.

Gene Robinson is a Bishop in the Episcopalian Church in the United States of America.  True, he isn't the Archbishop of Cantebury, Bishop is still a very high ecclesial office and Gene has not hidden the fact that he is gay.

Admittedly I don't keep track of individuals who have held high Church office to know of any others.  I respect the office and trust that any individual holding it has had their leadership abilities seriously vetted along the way.

Grace and peace to you.

John

Hi Pinga,

Again, not necessarily.

To be quite honest I heard nothing from any of the candidates at GC-40 which influenced my voting.

I did hear stuff which affirmed for me why I wouldn't vote for some and to be clear what I heard didn't lead me to doubt their gifts for service or their sincerity.  It affirmed earlier discernment which said, "Not this office, not this time."

It wasn't until the candidate I had discerned was dropped from the ballot that I changed my vote.  And to be honest, the time spent in discerning that choice was much less than in deciding my first choice.

I don't believe I rendered a disservice to the Church in voting that way. 

My initial discernment wasn't shared by the majority of Commissioners.  It isn't about being right or wrong.  It is about discerning who should lead at a point in time.

Arguably even Peter and the remaining 10 jumped the gun when looking for Judas' replacement.  So the majority discerning something is not a slam dunk that the Holy Spirit wanted the same thing.  We always put that spin on things. 

The truth is most nominated are equal to the task.  And everyone chosen is capable of making as many mistakes as all those passed over.

We all hope we don't get reminders.

Grace and peace to you.

John

Revjohn, we are going to disagree on this one.

If you know 3/ 10 or even 9/10 of the nominees, and after reading the bio's you think you know who you will vote for, then you are doing a disservice.

1.  It does not give the opportunity to listen to all the ones you don't know

2.  It does not allow to hear the conversations of others in table group for what the church needs or their wisdom re the candidates.

3. It does not allow for the spirit to move you.

Knowing who you will vote for before you arrive at GC, is to me a disservice to the church.

Hi Pinga,

I'm okay with that.

Unsuprisingly I disagree with this as well.  The disservice, IMO, would be not putting any thought into who you would vote for at all or deciding I'll vote for the nominee from my Presbytery or Conference because they are the only ones I do know.

Being open to be convinced to vote another way is good.  Not being convinced isn't automatically bad.

Factually untrue.  It may prejudice what I hear it doesn't prevent me from listening.

Again, factually untrue.  As above it will prejudice what I hear, it does not prevent me from listening.

The fact that we include names with the Moderator bios and pictures already prejudices what Commissioners will hear.  You and MC jae already had the conversation about pictures.

Suppose things ran a little differently and when we got to Moderator elections we did not include names or pictures but simply assigned each nomination a number based on when the nomination crossed some desk at the General Council office?  What if we refused to give the nominees time on the floor to tickle our ears with the appropriate buzz-words?  And what if we never, ever heard anything directly from the nominees themselves?

What if the only thing the Commissioners had to go on was the testimony of those who nominated an individual for the office?

Typically when we in the Church are talking about the Holy Spirit we capitalize it.    So this is me capitalizing (as in taking opportunity) of the literal hole in your position.

Which Spirit is supposed to be moving us?

Is the Holy Spirit the same as our sense of justice?

Is the Holy Spirit the same as our sense of where the Church should be socially?

Is the Holy Spirit the same as what makes us comfortable?

Is the Holy Spirit the same as what makes us uncomfortable?

At certain points it can be any, all or even none of the above.

That is fair that "to you" it is a disservice to the church.  It is equally fair that "to me" it is not.  Particularly since when you and I sat as Commissioners we brought our best understandings to the task of selecting a Moderator.

Because we are different people, from different experiences we no doubt had different understandings of where the Church was, what the Church needed and who best could give the Church what it needed at the time.

I doubt that the approach of either one of us would qualify as "clowning around" or "taking the responsibility too lightly."

Our different ways represent two different ways and very little more.

It also needs to be said that knowing a nominee doesn't mean that you are automatically predisposed to view them in a positive light.  That actually was one of my biggest issues in discernment at GC-40.

I remained open to hear something that would change my mind.  At the end of the day that something never materialized.

Grace and peace to you.

John

Interesting:  not a single comment from any of the candidates.  I realize it is time I started looking at their profiles.  I don't know who most of the candidates are, though a classmate is one of them.

I know 2 .

Here is good news. I have chosen who I will support to be the 41st Moderator of the United Church of Canada.

Watch for my special announcement tomorrow.

Rich blessings.

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MC jae

jAE, i DON.T THINK ANYONE CARES WHO YOU HAVE CHOSEN BECAUSE YOU WILL SPEND THE NEXT FEW YEARS BASHING THEM. SHAME!!!

oops sorry I didnt mean to yell.

crazyheart, I understand why you might say that I will bash the 41st Moderator. I have certainly made comments about Moderators before.

Please be fair though.

Out of the 40 UCCanada Moderators there have been, I have only stated disagreement with the theology of 1 of them, and criticized a single action of 1 other. When it comes to the former, I feel called as a Christian to uphold the truth of the resurrection of Christ.

Rich blessings.

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MC jae

Tomorrow I will let you all know who I support as President of Egypt.    Not that I expect anyone to care.

Rich blessings.

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MC jae

You tickled my funny bone with this post, Seeler!!!

Love it too

Is there something in your genetic makeup that requires you to be a tool? No one cares who you support, Jae. You know that, but you insist on dredging up your dissatisfaction with the UCCan through conversations about their moderator. Far from scoring any points against the UCCan, you just look like an idiot.

It's rather something in my personality chansen.

As an ENTP I enjoy going against the grain. That I have no real place in supporting someone for Moderator of a different denomination than my own just makes me want to support one all the more.

I should really find a healthier outlet for this aspect of my personality than acting like an idiot on an internet BBS. My apologies everyone.

Rich blessings.

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MC jae

But you're not "going against the grain" - you've just taken up nit-picking and being socially inept as your hobbies.

That being the case chansen it's a sign that I have too much stress and not enough balance in my life. I'm taking a break from this place. Later and sincerely thank you for your frankness.

Rich blessings.

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MC jae

I know you're absolutely capable of being a cool guy to talk to, but lately, you're just not. Thanks for not taking my comments in stride.