Ottawa, Canada - The United Church of Canada chose a new moderator after repeated balloting last night, part of general council meetings that also included debate on issues as diverse as violence in the Middle East and bottled water.
The choice of Rev. David Giuliano, a small-town minister with a congregation in Marathon, Ont., on the north shore of Lake Superior east of Thunder Bay, came after multiple ballots that saw his four opponents gradually whittled away.
The winning candidate has served in the upper echelons of the church hierarchy and will become the Right Rev. Giuliano, responsible as moderator for spiritual leadership and representing the church publicly.
He beat out Jim Angus, Patty Evans, Peter Scott and David Swan to replace the Right Rev. Peter Short. But his victory comes at a time when he believes the church is at a threshold in its existence.
"For those of us who've been in the church a long time . . . we love the church and it's hard for us to reconcile our love with the reality that the church needs to consider its future," the new moderator said in an interview from Thunder Bay where the conference was held.
Conceding that attendance was down, he said that it was important for the church to continue reaching out to people at the margins, including native Canadians and ethnic minorities.
Delegates to the conference had decided earlier in the week to delay the vote and keep nominations open for another three days. The move did not produce any more candidates.
Also this week, delegates tackled the contentious issue of whether to suggest that church members punish Israel with their investment dollars. It was the second general council in a row to debate the move, which was opposed by Jewish groups as one-sided.
United Church spokesman Bruce Gregerson said yesterday that the issue had been voted down three years ago. But, with violence continuing, it made its way back onto the agenda this week.
Council participants sought to include broad input on the issue, Mr. Gregerson said. Toronto Rabbi Edward Elkin and Jerusalem Rabbi Jeremy Milgom were among the international guests given status at the council. A prominent Palestinian was also invited but was unable to come because of conflict in the Middle East and his difficulty in getting a travel visa.
Delegates ultimately opted for what they called a "pro-peace investment strategy" that counselled against money going to "non-peaceful" ends.
These include abetting violence against Israeli or Palestinian people, backing those who refuse to recognize the right of Israel to exist and supporting the Israeli occupation and settlement of land seized in 1967.
Canadian Jewish Council president Ed Morgan praised the decision. In a statement he said it showed the church's "understanding that the refusal to recognize the Jewish state is one of the fundamental reasons for the conflict."
Also this week, the general council recommended against church members buying bottled water. The industry is environmentally destructive, delegates decided, and undercuts the "human and spiritual" right to water as a source of life.