United Church of Canada General Secretary Nora Sanders is retiring.

She announced in an email newsletter on Tuesday that she would be leaving her role in September 2020.

“I am so grateful to have had this opportunity,” she wrote.

The general secretary is the top administrator of General Council — the denomination’s highest court.

In the position since 2007, Sanders shepherded the United Church through major structural changes that took effect this year. Under her watch, the church moved from four courts to three — Presbyteries were eliminated, and Conferences became Regions, albeit with new boundaries. 

She has also worked with five different church moderators, as she noted in her email. 

Sanders will help the General Council Executive try to balance the church’s 2021 budget before she retires, she wrote, which will involve some tough choices.

“I do not want my successor to have to begin by having to make the difficult decisions.”

Sanders also encouraged church members to think of who might be a good fit to replace her.

“It may be someone quite different from me: none of us have all the pieces, and this person will be serving the church through a new time,” she wrote.

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