Rev. Gretta Vosper: Atheist Minister, Progressive Christian Leader, and Post-Theist Advocate
How did Gretta Vosper become a leading atheist minister in the United Church of Canada and a pioneer of progressive Christianity?
Reverend (Margaret Ann) Gretta Vosper was born July 6, 1958, in Ontario, Canada. She was born the second of four siblings. At age 17 (1975), Vosper left high school early. She grew up in the United Church before questioning its tenets. She enrolled at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, where she studied literature, psychology, and religion.
In the 1980s, she married Bill Ferguson while working in Inuvik. She had a daughter, Hazel. Then, she divorced in 1986. She returned to Kingston as a single mother. She is an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada. She earned a Master of Divinity from Queen’s Theological College, Queen’s University, in 1990. (Upon enrolling in Queen’s Theological College, she legally adopted the name “Gretta.”) She married fellow student Michael Kooiman in 1990. Their son, Izaak, was born in 1991.
Between 1991 and 1993, she served as a junior/team minister, first at United Church in Kingston and then at St. Matthew’s United Church in Toronto.
She was ordained in the United Church of Canada in 1993, affirming her belief in the Trinity in the language of the tradition. She was appointed a minister of West Hill United Church in Toronto in 1997. During a sermon in 2001, she informed the West Hill United congregation of her personal non-theism and rejection of belief in a supernatural God.
In 2003, the Lord’s Prayer was removed from worship services, and attendance at the church dropped from roughly 120 to about 40. She is professionally and personally partnered with Richard Scott Kearns, the music director at West Hill United Church.
In November 2004, she founded the Canadian Centre for Progressive Christianity. The network aimed to connect post-theist and progressive faith communities. Its contact list expanded from a handful of Ontarians to members in six denominations in all Canadian provinces. She published Holy Breath: Prayers for Worship and Reflection, a collection of non-theistic prayers that had been written earlier and first offered as a Christmas Eve gift to her congregation in 2004.
Subsequently, in 2008, she published With or Without God: Why the Way We Live is More Important Than What We Believe, a theological work. In 2009, she was named one of More Magazine’s “Most Compelling Women in Canada.” The same year, she published Another Breath, a collection of non-theistic poetry written between 2004 and 2008. It orients on human responsibility over appeals to God.
In 2010, Vosper and Scott Kearns showcased new progressive liturgical resources at the Common Dreams Conference in Melbourne, Australia. In 2011, Moderator Mardi Thindal praised Vosper for renewing the conversation about the nature of faith in the United Church of Canada. On March 1, 2011, she created the Blue Christmas service. It was entitled “Through Frozen Nights, We Wait” and intended for congregations coping with loss.
On January 7, 2012, she released Amen: What Prayer Can Mean in a World Beyond Belief through HarperCollins. It explored the tradition of prayer apart from supernatural claims. In 2013, she shifted from identifying as a non-theist to openly declaring herself an atheist in solidarity with persecuted Bangladeshi bloggers.
In January 2015, she wrote an open letter to Moderator Gary Paterson. She argued that the United Church’s Charlie Hebdo prayer promoted hatred by invocation of a supernatural God. On August 5–6, 2015, the Canadian Press ran “Atheist Minister Fighting for Her Job.” It was profiled as a heresy trial. The case was described in media as a ‘heresy trial,’ though this may reflect narrative framing rather than an official designation. On November 25, 2015, Toronto Life published “Q&A: Gretta Vosper, the United Church Minister Who Does Not Believe in God.” In 2016, a Toronto Conference reviewed the question: Can an atheist serve as a United Church minister? This review was unprecedented.
On February 21, 2016, the Toronto Star published “Meet the United Church Minister Who Came Out as an Atheist.” In a March 26, 2016 CBC interview, she estimated that 50% of the clergy, at least in the United Church of Canada, do not believe in a supernatural theistic God. However, according to Richard Bott’s survey, about 95% and 80% of United Church ministers believe in God and a supernatural God, respectively.
On September 11, 2016, the Toronto Star published “Flock Sticks with Atheist United Church Minister.” Congregational support existed despite Vosper’s review. In September 2016, a special Toronto Conference committee declared Vosper unsuitable for the continuance of ordained ministry. The Washington Post ran “Can an Atheist Lead a Protestant Church?” It posed Vosper’s case as an inflection for contemporary faith.
Later, in 2016, the case was referred to the United Church’s General Council. This became the basis for a possible heresy hearing. In 2017, Vosper and allies went on a national speaking tour entitled “West Hill Wants to Talk.” The purpose was to build debate and understanding in the denomination. On November 7, 2018, Vosper and the Toronto Conference reached a confidential settlement. Vosper’s lawyer, Julian Falconer, recognized that both sides saw a place for Gretta. There was no need to separate a minister from her congregation.
She was permitted to remain in ministry. Both affirmed the resolution’s mutual benefits. The United Church stated its belief in God and Vosper’s continued service. On July 9, 2020, Vosper delivered “Falling in Love with Being Together Because We Cannot Afford to Fall Apart.” It was part of the Chautauqua Institution’s Interfaith Lecture Series.
She continues to serve on the Board of Governors of Centennial College, the Oasis Network, and as a Director of the Ecumenical Community of Chautauqua. Vosper remains a prominent and provocative figure in progressive Christianity. She is an active creator of post-theist spiritual communities. She is a figurehead of the ongoing debates about belief, ministry, and inclusion in contemporary faith institutions.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen is a Writer and Editor for A Further Inquiry. He is the publisher of In-Sight Publishing (ISBN: 978-1-0692343) and Editor-in-Chief of In-Sight: Interviews (ISSN: 2369-6885). He writes for The Good Men Project, International Policy Digest (ISSN: 2332–9416), The Humanist (Print: ISSN 0018-7399; Online: ISSN 2163-3576), Basic Income Earth Network (UK Registered Charity 1177066), A Further Inquiry, and other media. He is a member in good standing of numerous media organizations.
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