Richard Bott (born 1968) is a minister of the

United Church of Canada The United Church of Canada (UCC; ) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholic Church in Canada. The United Chu ...

who served as the 43rd Moderator of that church from 2018 to 2022.

Early life and education

Bott was born in Marathon, Ontario and grew up there. Following his graduation from high school, he attended

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

, where he earned his Bachelor of Social Sciences degree in 1990. He then earned his Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree from Queen's University in 1994.

Ministry

Following his graduation, Bott was ordained as a minister of the United Church. Over the next 24 years he served at five churches in Ontario and British Columbia. During that time, he earned a Diploma in Stewardship Studies from Queen's Theological College (1996), a Certificate in Dispute Resolution from

Laurentian University Laurentian University (), officially Laurentian University of Sudbury, is a mid-sized Bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public university in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, incorporated on March 28, 1960. Laurentian offers a variety of undergr ...

(1998) and a Doctor of Ministry from Ashland Theological Seminary (2003). In 2000, Bott also became a liturgical writer, publishing articles, prayers and liturgy in a variety of Christian publications.

Moderator

Bott was nominated to be moderator in 2018, and at the 43rd General Council of the church in

Oshawa Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the Greater Toronto Area and of the Golden Horseshoe. It ...

, Ontario, he was elected after five ballots. Following his election, Bott said, "I am excited about the possibilities that are in front of the church and hopeful that we are going to live into them together." During his installation service, Bott spoke of the

feeding of the multitude In Christianity, feeding the multitude comprises two separate miracles of Jesus, reported in the Gospels, in which Jesus used modest resources to feed thousands of followers who had gathered to see him heal the sick. The first miracle, the "Fee ...

, when a small child offered Jesus five small loaves and two small fish in order to feed a large crowd: "This child offered what they had, knowing that they might stay hungry. The child is us at our best, and the child is the world at its best; when we are ready to offer without having any idea what the end result might be — trusting that what God does with the gift, and with us, will be enough to satisfy the hunger, the hunger of all the world, and more." As all moderators since 1994, Bott was due to serve for three years until his successor was chosen at the 44th General Council of the United Church in August 2021. However due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the General Council was postponed a year, and Bott's term was subsequently extended until then.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bott, Richard Moderators of the United Church of Canada Living people Ministers of the United Church of Canada 1969 births People from Thunder Bay District University of Ottawa alumni Queen's University at Kingston alumni