John W. Woodside

John William Woodside (26 April 1881 – 9 January 1957) was a minister of the Presbyterian Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada who became the 8th Moderator of the United Church.

Early life John W. Woodside was born in St. Sylvestre West, Quebec to Alexander Woodside and Isabella McKee, immigrants from Northern Ireland. He then moved to Mount Pleasant Church in Vancouver in 1908, and by 1914, was Chair of New Westminster Presbytery.

In 1918, Woodside accepted a call to be the minister of the identically named Chalmers Presbyterian Church in Ottawa, where he remained until 1949. Woodside's own congregation voted 77% to join (651 ayes versus 197 nays).

Since Chalmers United was located in downtown Ottawa, several prominent Canadian politicians were members of Woodside's congregation, including R. B. Bennett, Prime Minister of Canada from 1930–1935.

After stepping down as moderator in 1940, Woodside continued to minister at Chalmers United, and also served as president of the Western Section of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches in 1947.

Woodside retired from ministry in 1949 at the age of 68. Over the next two years, he served as president of the Canadian Council of Churches.

Personal life In 1912, Woodside married Lula Marion Currie (daughter of William Currie, a member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick), and they raised two children, Murray and Marion.