Heiltsuk woman, DTES advocate elected leader of United Church of Canada

At their general council this weekend, church representatives elected the Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne, Kwisa'lakw, to serve as the church's 44th moderator. (United Church of Canada)

A Vancouver-based Indigenous minister will serve as the spiritual leader of the United Church of Canada for the next three years.

At their general council this weekend, church representatives elected the Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne, Kwisa'lakw, to serve as the church's 44th moderator.

The 47-year-old is a member of the Heiltsuk First Nation. Born in Alert Bay, B.C., she has been "a lifelong member" of the United Church and was ordained in 2007, according to a statement from the church.

Lansdowne has been the executive director of the First United Church Community Ministry Society, which offers support and services to residents of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, for the last five years. A statement from the society says she intends to return to First United once her term as moderator is over.

"She embodies the deep spirituality, bold discipleship, and daring justice to which the church aspires," said the Rev. Michael Blair, the United Church's general secretary, in the statement.

Lansdowne is the second Indigenous person to be elected moderator, following the Very Rev. Stan McKay, who held the position from 1992 to 1994. Lansdowne was unopposed in the moderator election.

In the statement, Lansdowne summarized her vision for the church's future as follows:

“To build new connections and rebuild old ones. To work towards social change that sees a world cared for, and human dignity honoured. To walk together every day in repentance and reconciliation. To march and fight and change unjust systems together. To pray together. To sing together. To discern together.”