Gretta Vosper

Margaret Ann "Gretta" Vosper (born 1958) is an ordained minister of the United Church of Canada who is a self-professed atheist. Her beliefs have caused controversy both within and outside of the United Church. In 2016, following the Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris, her public statement that the belief in a supernatural God promoted hatred led the United Church of Canada to institute an official review of her suitability as a minister. In 2018, that process was discontinued when Vosper and the United Church reached an agreement that left her free to continue as a minister. Her published works include With or Without God: Why The Way We Live is More Important Than What We Believe and Amen: What Prayer Can Mean in a World Beyond Belief.

Early life and education Vosper was born in Kingston, Ontario, the second of four children. As a child, she attended the local United Church but claims that she never strongly believed in the existence of God, although she says her parents sometimes overheard her talking to Jesus, and she once told them that Jesus helped her learn to skate. in Toronto. Over the next few years, she became increasingly aware that her views on God were changing, and she was becoming uncomfortable using traditional United Church liturgy. Her marriage to Kooiman ended as their theological views diverged. The matter was then referred to the church's General Council, initiating an ecclesiastical court hearing that might have led to Vosper being defrocked. Despite the controversy, much of her congregation remained staunchly supportive, and the publicity caused attendance to rise again.

In an interview on CBC's The National, Vosper estimated "it would be at least upwards of 50% of the clergy in the United Church who don't believe in a theistic, supernatural, God". A subsequent survey of 1,353 "United Church ministry personnel" by Richard Bott found that "a majority of the respondents (almost 95%) affirmed a belief in God, with a large number (almost 80%) affirming a belief in a supernatural, theistic God".

In November 2018, before the hearing could take place, Vosper and the United Church reached a settlement that allowed her to continue the work in her ministry, effectively ending the matter. Her lawyer, Julian Falconer, offered this comment: "Both parties took a long look at the cost-benefit at running a heresy trial and whether it was good for anyone (and) the results speak for themselves. They recognized there's a place for Gretta, and that there is no reason to separate the minister and the congregation." The United Church issued a statement that the settlement with Vosper "doesn't alter in any way the belief of The United Church of Canada in God, a God most fully revealed to us as Christians in and through Jesus Christ".

Selected publications