The United Church of Canada has elected the Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne, Kwisa’lakw(opens in a new tab) 47, as its 44th Moderator. She will be the church’s spiritual leader for the next three years.

Ordained in 2007, the Rev. Dr. Lansdowne is only the second Indigenous person to be elected Moderator, following the Very Rev. Stan McKay, who served as Moderator 1992‒1994. A member of the Heiltsuk First Nation, she was born in Alert Bay, British Columbia, and has been a lifelong member of the United Church. She is committed to an Indigenous way of being in the world.

In articulating her vision for The United Church of Canada, the Rev. Dr. Lansdowne speaks of a church committed: “To build new connections and rebuild old ones. To work towards social change that sees a world cared for, and human dignity honoured. To walk together every day in repentance and reconciliation. To march and fight and change unjust systems together. To pray together. To sing together. To discern together.”

The Rev. Dr. Lansdowne holds a PhD from Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. In addition to her theological contributions as a writer and speaker, she has served the church in a variety of roles locally, nationally, and with the World Council of Churches. As Moderator, she will be on leave from her position as Executive Director of First United Church Community Ministry Society, which serves the people of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.