The Moderator of the United Church of Canada is the most senior elected official within the United Church of Canada. They may be a lay person or a member of the Order of Ministry and are elected by commissioners to the General Council - the United Church's highest court - and typically serve for a term of three years. The duties of the Moderator are fourfold. They are responsible for giving leadership, presiding, visiting, and serving as spokesperson for the denomination. The current Moderator is The Right Reverend Jordan Cantwell. She was elected to the office by the 42nd General Council in Corner Brook, Newfoundland on August 13, 2015.
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Role
The Moderator's authority exists by his or her ability to influence the direction of the denomination, rather than any sort of direct power to unilaterally enact changes. Duties of the Moderator include:
History of the Office
Moderators are elected at each General Council; their term of office is therefore defined by the length of time between General Councils. When the United Church of Canada was founded in 1925, General Councils were biannual, giving each moderator a two-year term of office. At the 1994 General Council, the commissioners voted to make General Councils triannual, thus increasing the moderator's term to three years.
Although most moderators have been ordained ministers, this is not a requirement of office—to date, four have been lay persons. If the moderator is ordained, he or she is styled the "Right Reverend" while in office, and the "Very Reverend" after their retirement.
In 2012, Gary Paterson was elected moderator. Paterson was the first homosexual leader of a major Christian denomination. In 2015, the United Church of Canada elected its second gay moderator, Jordan Cantwell.