Gretta Vosper

This is the world in which I, and millions like me, live. Designed. Built. Regulated. Every bit of it is under the scrutiny of neighbours first, and local legislators later, should the need arise.

When I was young, had anyone suggested that I spend most of my life being “a minister,” I’d have smirked, thought about it, and then laughed right out loud.

The RBC’s meeting wasn’t, apparently, about the conversations that could be had at the TCC. To avoid any unexpected conversations, in fact, the bank blocked access to the meeting to any but shareholders, a practice that, I’ve been told, is relatively new.

    It has been so hard to watch the events unfolding in Gaza and not fall into the ease of a hardline

How are we supposed to cope with the despair that sets in when our known world is stolen and an invading, oppressive regime steps in?

As International Women’s Day rolled around, that simmering sense of anger came to the surface. It flowed out, however, not in the murky waters of a pity pool, but in a torrent of stories of women all around the world and the challenges they face on a regular, often daily, basis. I set my own concerns aside and wrote for them, my own difficulties of little consequence in the face of what it is other women do every single day. In the light of their strength, our own can be renewed.

Earlier this week, I read that Spain has ruled cigarette manufacturers responsible for the cost of cigarette butt clean-up. I was SOOOOO excited about that; completely over the top!

“Can you explain how you can be an atheist and a United Church minister?"

I am not comfortable with calling myself an Atheist since that often implies belief in no life after biological death. How do you define an Atheist? 

I am an Anglican, but having accepted the concept of a non-theistic God, I feel uncomfortable attending church with all its outdated forms of worship. To leave the church, however, is to lose my "church family" and the human contact, as well as my part in the church's ministries, all essential to the expression of God's love.

The question is how can we get the conservatives to accept the idea that we are responsible? Jesus showed us what to do. How can we get them to accept that now it is up to us to do it?

When we realized because of COVID19 we couldn’t sing together, we refused to give up the use of music in our Gatherings; it is just too important. So we turned to the only source of music we thought could offer the same experience even if it didn’t involve singing along: YouTube.

In an article I posted to Facebook shortly after reading, that tells us the oceans are heating up at a rate equal to five Hiroshima bombs being dropped into them every second. No. I did not want to learn that this week, but I did.

One of the reasons I wanted to reread his book was to see if I could get a different viewpoint on being a Christian within the “church.” I am still flummoxed as to why Bishop Spong is a Christian. He appears to be more of a humanist (non-capitalized).

Just as the term “believer” means very different things to those who use it, so do to does the word “atheist” include a wide set of definitions.

The human race seems to need rituals. Christmas, Easter, Baptisms and Eucharist/Communion are times and events that attract the most people to the church and corporate worship. Yet these same rituals are the ones where the theistic God is most evident and reinforced. How can we address this paradox?

How does a progressive Christian exist with no Christian community of support even from clergy who certainly do discuss modernized theology? It certainly is a lonely vigil. 

Why won’t intelligent clergy step up to the pulpit and tell the truth at least about the many Biblical things that can be explained with mechanisms known in the last 2000 years? (e.g Darwinism, radio carbon dating, our world is not earth centred, and earth is round not flat!)

Would it be fair for me to promote the notion that you - a self-declared atheist leading a United Church of Canada congregation - and your church are generally promoting humanist values as well as providing the community benefits that churches normally provide?

Many of my peers use the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) because it is the updated version of the classic Revised Standard Version (RSV) upon which many of us grew up. Published in 1989, the editors recognized that much misunderstanding had entered into the interpretation of the text because English is inherently biased toward the masculine. In order to mitigate such abuse of the text, all references to humanity are gender-neutral. So it is really one of the better “inclusive language” texts despite it continuing to provide exclusively male language in references to God. At the very least, I would recommend that you not read anything that hasn’t managed to get to a place of gender neutrality with respect to humanity.

If, as you say, the stories of Jesus' miraculous birth are pious legends, what are the implications for staging a children's Christmas pageant in a small suburban church?

Whether the person engaged in the act of prayer believes in a supernatural deity or force or the benevolence of the universe, we are the only answer we’ve got to the challenges facing our world. Some will work toward solutions compelled by the god in whom they believe. Others will work toward solutions compelled by theirs own sense of compassion and responsibility. Goodness comes into the world through our own hands, voices, and actions.

If you were the moderator of the United Church of Canada with no restrictions... what would the church look like? What do you see as the perfect/ideal United Church of Canada?

I don't think an atheist does need God. My colleagues who identify as non-theists or post-theists or panentheists need the word ‘god’, but not the traditional understanding. They need the word because, as the late scholar Marcus Borg believed, if we lose our exclusive Christian language, we will lose Christianity.