A trio of American-born, PhD-toting candidates are in the running for moderator of the 2010 General Assembly. Ballots were sent to presbyteries in December and votes will be tallied on April 1. The new moderator will be installed at assembly, which begins June 6 in Sydney, N.S.
Rev. Dr. Patricia Dutcher-Walls is dean of students and professor of Hebrew Bible at the Vancouver School of Theology and the author of three books. She was born in New Jersey and ordained by the PC(USA), but joined the Canadian church in 1995 to become a professor at Knox College, Toronto, where she taught for nine years. She is convener of the Hummingbird Ministries Council with the Presbytery of Westminster, and has a CV peppered with committees and academic papers, lectures and Bible studies that have taken her coast to coast.
“Teaching is really part of who I am,” she said, noting that it paired well with her passion for the Bible. “Calvin had a good term for it: being a ‘doctor of the church.’ It sounds a little highfalutin’ but that’s what I’ve felt my vocation is. I understand teaching both in the context of a theological college and also the church at large.”
She says it is that kind of passion and experience she hopes to carry with her should the church chose her to be moderator. “Maybe I’ll suggest to churches, in addition to an anniversary sermon, we start out with a Bible study,” she said with a laugh.
Rev. Dr. Jonathan Dent is a California native who has ministered in congregations across the country, from St. John’s — where he serves at St. David’s — to Armstrong, B.C. He has been clerk in Kootenay, Kamloops and Newfoundland presbyteries, and served six-year terms on the church doctrine committee and Assembly Council. In his undergraduate days, Dent studied linguistics and religion as he considered three future careers: Bible translation, teaching and his chosen vocation, pastoral ministry.
“In terms of the national church, my passion is for seeing the church come back to focus on vitality and ministry and the planting of churches,” he said. “We need to listen to God and refocus our energies as we listen together and help each other hear what God is saying. We need to be looking at other denominations and what they’re doing. We have a lot to learn from the full spectrum of Christian expression across the board: conservative, liberal, evangelical, charismatic, everyone.”
Rev. Dr. Herb Gale hails from North Carolina, but headed north to complete his education at the Toronto School of Theology. He ministered for several years in Stouffville and then in Guelph, Ont., alongside his wife, Rev. Dr. Shirley Gale, until she was forced to resign for health reasons. In 2004, he became associate secretary of Planned Giving, a role that he sees as an extension of his call to strengthen local congregations. He has served on the national worship committee, stewardship advisory committee and planning teams for Stewards by Design conferences since their inception in 1999.
“I’m interested in the next generation, in children and young people, and would like to see a clearer strategy for how to reach that group,” he said. “My master of theology degree was in the area of spirituality, so helping to forge a living faith would be important for me.”
He suggested he would also try to restore hope to congregations and presbyteries that have fallen into a “survival mindset.”
“Many congregations have given up dreaming because they don’t see a future for themselves,” he said. “But I think planned giving can really put wheels under those dreams. It provides a new source of money to do some creative things.”
