Bill Phipps

William "Bill" Phipps (born 1942), an ordained minister of the United Church of Canada, lawyer and social activist, was the 36th Moderator of the United Church of Canada from 1997 to 2000.

Phipps trained as a lawyer but in 1968, he felt called to ordained ministry. He studied theology at Chicago's McCormick Theological Seminary and was ordained in 1969. From 1974 to 1983, he was minister at Trinity-St. Paul's United Church in Toronto. He then moved to Alberta to work in church administration.

Phipps was elected to the post of Moderator at the 36th General Council of the United Church in August 1997. Only a short time after his installation, he ignited widespread controversy inside and outside the church when, in an interview with the Ottawa Citizen editorial board, he questioned the resurrection of Jesus as a scientific fact, said he was undecided on the question of the afterlife, and "I don't believe Jesus was God."

In October 1998, speaking on behalf of the United Church, Phipps apologized on behalf of the United Church to Canada's indigenous First Nations for abuse in church-run residential schools earlier in the century, saying in part, "To those individuals who were physically, sexually, and mentally abused as students of the Indian Residential Schools in which The United Church of Canada was involved, I offer you our most sincere apology. You did nothing wrong. You were and are the victims of evil acts that cannot under any circumstances be justified or excused."

Following his time as moderator, Phipps was a community organizer, hospital chaplain and adult educator, and from 1993 till his retirement in 2007, he was minister at Scarboro United Church in Calgary.

In 2002, Phipps was the New Democratic Party candidate in the Calgary Southwest by-election contested by newly elected Canadian Alliance leader Stephen Harper. Phipps challenged Harper's conservative economic and social views.During the campaign, Harper commented that he "despise[d]" Phipps, and declined to participate in debates with him. In the election, Phipps came in second with just over 20 per cent of the vote.

In 2005, Phipps was awarded the Alberta Centennial Medal.

Electoral Record