Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
William Phipps was born in 1942 in Toronto, Ontario. He earned his B.A. at Victoria College, his LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1965 and his Bachelor of Divinity from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago in 1968. While studying in Chicago he worked for the social activist, Saul Alinsky. Bill Phipps was ordained by Toronto Conference in 1969 and was admitted to the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1970.
He served at Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church in Toronto from 1974-1983, Alberta Northwest Conference as Conference Executive Secretary, 1983-1993 and at Scarboro United Church in Calgary, 1993-2007, from where he took a three-year leave of absence when he was elected Moderator in 1997. In 1998, he issued the second formal apology to the First Nations people for all the sufferings they endured because of the church’s participation in the residential school system.
From 1999-2006 he was International President of the World Conference of Religions for Peace. He has also worked as a poverty lawyer, community organizer, hospital chaplain and adult educator. Rev. Phipps retired from ministry in 2007 but continues to be active in social justice, the defence of Aboriginal rights and peace issues. He is married to Carolyn Pogue, a writer.