United Church apologizes to 2SLGBTQIA+ people in moving service

During a moving worship service on Friday morning at Knox United in downtown Calgary, The United Church of Canada offered a long-awaited apology to 2SLGBTQIA+ people.

“We, The United Church of Canada, express our deepest apologies to all those who have experienced homophobia, transphobia and biphobia within The United Church of Canada,” said Rt. Rev. Carmen Lansdowne, moderator of the United Church to a packed sanctuary. Many attending were sporting small Pride or trans flags.

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The apology was part of the United Church’s 45^th General Council, which is being held in Calgary from Aug. 7 to 11.

Lansdowne went on to say that at times the church’s actions caused “loss of income, harassment, being denied access to church leadership, and threats to personal safety.”

“The church should be a place of sanctuary and belonging for all people. You deserve a church that reflects God’s unconditional and abiding love,” she said.

Lansdowne also said the denomination laments the way homophobia, transphobia and biphobia “have not only hurt individuals but loved ones as well, including friends, families and fellow siblings in Christ.”

After the apology, which was preceded by prayers and singing, there was a ritual blessing of water, which was sprayed on the entire congregation by Lansdowne and Rev. Michael Blair, the general secretary of the United Church, and other volunteers. Then the whole congregation sang a hearty African song expressing joy and determination to never give up.

It was a moment that Very Rev. Jordan Cantwell of Saskatoon had long awaited. “It’s a step in a long journey that will begin to repair some hearts for present and past generations,” the former moderator said in an interview with Broadview. “It took 100 years to get to this point, and it is not the end.”

“We have a ceremony that will work in us and in our church,” she said.

Cantwell has been at the forefront of the gay and lesbian rights movement. While working for a United church in Winnipeg, she was one of the co-plaintiffs in Vogel vs. Canada, the court case that ultimately legalized same-sex marriage in Manitoba.

For Rev. Ruth Noble of Hamilton, the apology to 2SLGBTQIA+ people “is the beginning of a new era that was a long time coming,” she said, adding that she shed a few tears during the ceremony. “At one time, they wouldn’t hire anyone who was 2SLGBTQIA+ — that’s going to change.”

Noble is the executive director of Affirm United, an organization for the support of all gender identities and sexual orientation associated with the United Church.

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She said the apology will inform policies that will make the denomination a church of safety for the queer community. “That’s a real shift. A turning point,” she said.

It was significant to many that this apology to 2SLGBTQIA+ people took place in Alberta, where the province passed legislation in 2024 that requires students under 16 to have their parents’ consent if they want to change their names or pronouns at school.

Another piece of legislation prohibits doctors from treating those under 16 seeking gender-affirming treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy. A court injunction, which paused the restrictions citing Charter concerns, is now under appeal by the Alberta government.

And a third law bans transgender athletes from competing in female amateur sports and requires school and sports organizations to report eligibility complaints.

Just this summer, Alberta’s education minister banned certain books in school libraries deemed too sexually explicit. Critics have said it mainly affects literature on LGBTQIA+ topics.

The United Church authors who were tasked with writing the denomination’s apology — Rev. Michiko Bown-Kai, Rev. Aaron Miechkota, Christine Dolson, Frederick Monteith and Rev. Tricia Gerhard, wrote in notes posted to the General Council website that they “recognize that each person has their unique needs when it comes to healing and for some this apology arrives too late and for others this apology arrives ahead of healing actions by the church that have been longed for.”

“We offer this apology not because we are convinced we have everything figured out but because we refuse to let fear keep us silent nor do we wish for perfectionism to overtake the necessary task of publicly and explicitly addressing the legacy of 2S and LGBTQIA+ oppression and discrimination in The United Church of Canada.”

Rev. Paul Mullen, a retired United Church minister who lives in Calgary, saw the apology as entirely appropriate given the Alberta government’s interference with the rights of transgender children and the removal of books from school libraries.

“I hope through this ceremony, church members take reconciliation seriously,” he said. “Not everyone is supportive, and it is an attitude that is deeply engrained.”

But the people who came to Knox United on Friday morning for the apology prayed, sang and listened to the apology attentively, and then rose up in joy at what they had done.

In the words of Landsdowne: “We hope that you will receive this apology as only one part in a larger story of the work of the church and that you will turn to prayer, worship and fellowship as you receive these words.”

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Gillian Steward is a journalist in Calgary.

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