Lois Wilson (minister)
Lois Wilson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Wilson in 2014 | |
| Moderator of the United Church of Canada | |
| In office 1980–1982 | |
| Preceded by | George M. Tuttle |
| Succeeded by | W. Clarke MacDonald |
| Senator from Toronto, Ontario | |
| In office 1998–2002 | |
| Chancellor of Lakehead University | |
| In office 1990–2000 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lois Miriam Freeman April 8, 1927 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| Died | September 13, 2024 (aged 97) Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse |
Roy Wilson
(m. 1950; died 2005) |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | University of Winnipeg |
Lois Miriam Wilson CC OOnt (née Freeman; April 8, 1927 – September 13, 2024) was a United Church minister who served as the first female Moderator of the United Church of Canada, from 1980 to 1982, and as the first woman president of the World Council of Churches (1983–1991).
Early life and education
[edit]Lois Freeman was born in Winnipeg in 1927.[1] She graduated from the University of Winnipeg, completing a Bachelor of Arts degree (1947; United College) and a Master of Divinity (1950).[1] While attending university, she was active in the Student Christian Movement of Canada, as Student President in Manitoba (1944–46) and on the national level, and remained active later in life in the World Student Christian Federation.[1] Following graduation in 1950, she married Roy Wilson.
Minister
[edit]Wilson was ordained a minister in the United Church of Canada in 1965, her husband Roy having previously been ordained a United Church minister. She served in team ministry with her husband in United Church pastoral charges in Winnipeg, (1954–60), Thunder Bay, (1960–69), Hamilton (1969–78) and Kingston (1978–80).
From 1983 to 1989 she served as co-director of the Ecumenical Forum of Canada and also served as the first woman president of the Canadian Council of Churches (1976–1979) as well as the first woman president of the World Council of Churches (1983–1991).[1]
Public service
[edit]From 1967 to 1968, Wilson was the director of Town Talk, Thunder Bay, an innovative ecumenically sponsored program, utilizing all media, inviting citizens to publicly discuss issues affecting the future of their city. In 1984, she was a commentator for the CBC during the Apostolic Visit of Pope John Paul II to Canada.
From 1990 to 2000, Wilson was the Chancellor of Lakehead University.[2]
In 1998 Wilson was appointed to the Senate of Canada upon the recommendation of then prime minister Jean Chrétien,[1] and served in the chamber as an Independent. In 2000, she led Canada's first parliamentary delegation to North Korea to begin the process of establishing formal diplomatic relations.[1] She retired from the Senate in 2002.
Wilson held several other Canadian government appointments, including as a panel member of Environmental Assessment of the Disposal of Nuclear Waste (1989–1997).
At the time of her death, she was Distinguished Minister in Residence at Emmanuel College at Victoria University in the University of Toronto.
Author
[edit]Wilson was the author of ten books including, Turning the World Upside Down: A Memoir (Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 1989) and I Want to Be in That Number - Cool Saints I Have Known (Toronto: self-published, 2014). She also wrote the first chapter of Transforming the Faiths of our Fathers: Women who Changed American Religion (2004), edited by Ann Braude.[3]
Awards
[edit]Wilson received 14 honorary degrees for her work in human rights, ecumenism, and social justice, including one from the United States.[1] She also received a number of other honours and awards:
- Queen's 25th Anniversary Medal (1977),
- Pearson Peace Medal (1985),
- Officer of the Order of Canada (1984) and Companion of the Order of Canada (2003)
- Order of Ontario (1991)
- Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Award for Christian Unity (2010),
- Heart and Vision Award (2011).
- Wilson was a director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, who honoured her in 2014 for her public engagement.
Personal life
[edit]Roy and Lois Wilson, married in 1950, had four children, twelve grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.[4]
A close friend of the noted Canadian novelist Margaret Laurence, Wilson participated in several public forums with Laurence and presided at Laurence's 1986 funeral.
Wilson died at a Fredericton, New Brunswick, hospital on September 13, 2024, at the age of 97.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h United Church of Canada (September 13, 2024). "Trailblazer Lois Wilson Dies, Age 97". Retrieved September 13, 2024.
- ^ Cathi Arola (December 11, 2003). "Lois Wilson promoted in Order". Archived from the original on September 21, 2004. Retrieved February 11, 2009.
- ^ Table of Contents: Transforming the faiths of our fathers. Catalog.lib.uchicago.edu. ISBN 978-1-4039-6460-1. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
- ^ "Wilson, Lois, 1927- - United Church of Canada Archives".
External links
[edit]- Lois Wilson (minister) – Parliament of Canada biography
- Pearson Medal of Peace - Lois M. Wilson
- Lois Miriam Wilson at The Canadian Encyclopedia
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- 1927 births
- 2024 deaths
- Canadian clergy
- Canadian senators from Ontario
- Chancellors by university and college in Canada
- Women members of the Senate of Canada
- Companions of the Order of Canada
- Independent Canadian senators
- Members of the Order of Ontario
- Members of the United Church of Canada
- Ministers of the United Church of Canada
- Moderators of the United Church of Canada
- Politicians from Toronto
- Politicians from Winnipeg
- Women in Ontario politics
- 21st-century Canadian politicians
- 21st-century Canadian women politicians