I dissociate myself from public remarks of the new moderator of the United
Church of Canada, Bill
Phipps. He does not believe Jesus was God: headline,
p1, Ottawa Citizen, October 24, 1997. I suggest Phipps attends an Alpha
course, and reads "The Signature of God". Unfortunately, many outside
the United Church will not understand that the moderator is more like
a clerk than a spiritual leader. He should not talk about his
personal beliefs in public, in case people think he speaks for us. He
doesn't speak for me. Helping
the poor and fighting the government is not my idea of the essence of
Christianity. I took part in a conference call with Rev Phipps on
Friday Nov 7, 1997, and attended the debate with him at
Parkdale United in November 1997.
The lectionary for this Sunday Nov 9, 1997 is Mark 12, v 38-44: "Jesus
said, "Watch out for the teachers of the law ..... such men will be
punished." Can it be coincident that this passage was read across
Canada at this time?