12 Facts About Bill Phipps

William Frederick Allen Phipps was a Canadian ordained minister of the United Church of Canada, lawyer and social activist.

Bill Phipps served as the 36th Moderator of the United Church of Canada from 1997 to 2000, and engendered controversy for expressing support for gay ordination and not believing in a physical Resurrection of Jesus.

Bill Phipps was born in Toronto, the son of Cora Stinson and Reginald Bill Phipps.

Bill Phipps graduated from Osgoode Law School in 1965, but felt a call to ministry rather than the law, and enrolled at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago.

Bill Phipps was ordained by the United Church of Canada in 1969, and became the minister first of Thorncliffe United Church, and then Trinity-St Paul's United Church.

Bill Phipps was elected to the post of Moderator at the 36th General Council of the United Church in August 1997.

Shortly after being installed, Bill Phipps was interviewed by many journalists and newspapers, including the editorial board of the Ottawa Citizen.

Bill Phipps travelled across Canada to speak to people in an initiative called "Faith and the Economy".

Bill Phipps continued to be a community organizer, hospital chaplain and adult educator.

In 2002, Bill Phipps was the New Democratic Party candidate in the Calgary Southwest by-election contested by newly elected Canadian Alliance leader Stephen Harper.

Bill Phipps retired from ministry in 2007, but stayed actively involved with community projects.

Bill Phipps died on March 4,2022, at the age of 79.