Reverend Gretta Vosper
The liberal orthodoxy of the United Church is about to face a rather critical test. The church’s Toronto Conference will review the fitness of Rev. Gretta Vosper to continue in her position as the pastor of West Hill United Church, or indeed as an ordained minister of the church. The issue: Rev Vosper is an atheist who is advancing changes which essentially deconstruct the most fundamental Christian beliefs. Rev. Vosper has been uneasy for some time with even the most widely accepted of practices. In 2008 there was a revolt of about 100 congregants when Rev Vosper did away with the Lord’s Prayer. The West Hill congregation is said by some sources to be about 80 persons. This year Gretta Vosper wrote an open letter to the church’s spiritual leader pointing out that belief in God can motivate bad things — a reference to the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris. She is quoted by the Canadian Press as saying that “if we are going to continue to use language that suggests we get our moral authority from a supernatural source, any group that says that can trump any humanistic endeavor.” It is an interesting analysis of terrorism. The reverend is not quoted on how the denial of United Church beliefs would help it, or any civilized body, which is confronted by homicidal terrorists. Now the church has decided it must review the fitness of Rev. Vosper to continue in her role. Nora Sanders, general secretary of the church’s General Council issued a ruling in May laying out a review process that could ultimately lead to Rev. Vosper’s defrocking. Essentially, Sanders said, the review should determine whether Vosper was being faithful to her ordination vows, which included affirming a belief in “God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” In the past, other ministers have asked Rev. Vosper to “do the right thing” and take her campaign to a different platform by resigning from the church.
