A story is breaking out of Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, that a woman pastor with the United Church of Canada may very well have her ordination papers stripped from her, and her congregation taken away because she does not believe in God ... Jesus Christ ... the Holy Spirit ... the Trinity. Nor does she believe in anything surrounding God, such as His Written Word -- the New or Old Testaments -- the Virgin Mary, the Annunciation, and the Incarnation. The virgin birth of Jesus and His redemptive act on the Cross by His Passion, Death and Resurrection, all are missing from her belief structure. Christ's Ascension and the Decent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost are also not a part of her faith dimension.

The Rev. Gretta Vosper was ordained as a United Church of Canada minister in 1993. She holds a masters of divinity degree from Queen's Theological College in Kingston, Ontario. The United Church of Canada's school of religion, which originally had Presbyterian roots, is now one of six seminaries training United Church clergy. Since 1997, this atheist clergywoman has been the minister at West Hill United Church in Scarborough, located in suburban Toronto.

The United Church of Canada (Église unie du Canada) is the largest Protestant denomination in Canada. The latest 2011 Canadian governmental religious affiliation statistics show that the United Church of Canada, with more than two million identified members, has ten million fewer members than the Roman Catholic Church, but one million more members than the Anglican Church of Canada. The currently-being-competed 2016 Canadian census stats are being released in 2017.

The United Church of Canada (UCC) is a mainline Christian denomination, albeit a very "progressive" one, and the UCC has the distinction of being one of the most liberal of the mainstream Protestant churches. The denomination was established in 1925 by the ecumenical merging of the Canadian Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church in Canada, Congregational Churches of Canada and the various Union churches. In 1968, the Evangelical United Brethren Church joined the fold.

UNITED CHURCH DOCTRINE

Although the United Church of Canada baptizes its members, it does not believe baptism is necessary for salvation and the progressive Protestant denomination believes that there are many paths to God and that salvation is possible other than through Jesus Christ. The open-minded Canadian denomination is all embracive and all inclusive and accepts same-sex marriage and supports abortion. The United Church also holds the Bible as a book to be used as "a source of wisdom, personal prayer, and devotion" but that the Holy Writ doesn't necessarily reflect life's real challenges into today's world.

Yet, in 2013, the United Church of Canada officially proclaimed the "primacy of Scripture." The church's doctrines are outlined in the "Twenty Articles of Doctrine," "A New Creed," "A Statement of Faith (1940)" and "A Song of Faith." These United Church formularies are considered to be "subordinate to Scripture."

The Twenty Articles of Doctrine, much like the Anglican Thirty-Nine Articles of Faith, attests that "... our belief in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the primary source and ultimate standard of Christian faith and life. We acknowledge the teaching of the great creeds of the ancient Church. We further maintain our allegiance to the evangelical doctrines of the Reformation ..."

The UCC's Twenty Articles then goes on to outline defined belief in God ... Revelation ... Divine Purpose ... Creation & Providence ... Sin ... Grace ... Jesus Christ ... the Holy Spirit ... Regeneration ... Faith & Repentance ... Justification & Sonship .... Sanctification ... Prayer ... the Law of God ... the Church ... the Sacraments ... Ministry ... Church Order & Fellowship .. Resurrection, Last Judgment & Eternal Life ... Christian Service & Final Triumph ...

Then the 12-point, 1940 Statement of Faith, also specifically highlights the United Church's teachings about the Trinity, Redemption, the Scriptures, Christian Life & Duty, and the Consummation.

The United Church of Canada also makes its profession of faith in what is called "A New Creed" which was originally adopted in 1968 as "A Contemporary Expression of Christian Faith", but the new statement of faith was not meant to replace the more familiar Apostles' and Nicene creeds, but rather to supplement those historic and ancient affirmations of faith. However, most UCC congregations now use A New Creed instead of using the traditional creedal wording. A New Creed is written in inclusive language with an emphasis on the importance of creation to a relationship with God.

"We are not alone, we live in God's world," A New Creed begins. "We believe in God: who has created and is creating, who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh, to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by the Spirit. We trust in God. We are called to be the Church: to celebrate God's presence, to live with respect in Creation, to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil, to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, our judge and our hope. In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God."

In 2006, "A Song of Faith" was added to the United Church's body of faith statements. A Song "seeks to provide a verbal picture of what The United Church of Canada understands its faith to be in the current historical, political, social, and theological context of the early 21st century. It is also a means of ongoing reflection and an invitation for the church to live out its convictions in relation to the world in which we live."

A Song, which fleshes out A New Creed, calls God a mystery that is love and that He seeks relationship in that love. It calls God "one and triune" and says that God is Creator, Mother and Source of Life. Jesus is referred to as Redeemer, Friend and Living Word, while the Spirit is named as the Sustainer, Comforter and Bond of Love.

A Song goes on to describe Jesus as a "Jew who was born to a woman in poverty in a time of social upheaval and political oppression" and who knew human joy and sorrow.

The Spirit is called "faithful and untameable" and who "challenges us to celebrate the holy not only in what is familiar, but also in that which seems foreign."

ATHEIST CHRISTIAN MINISTER

Ms. Vosper apparently doesn't believe in any of her denomination's stated doctrinal confessions of faith, but she is quick to zero in on the social justice aspects of A New Creed, which calls for church members "to live with respect in Creation, to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil ..."

In response to questions put to her by the Interview Committee of the Toronto Conference's Ministry Personnel Review Board, she stated that she does not believe in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but does believe in love, truth, courage, justice, and compassion, which she calls "non-doctrinal things."

Now Ms. Vosper is locking horns with her own progressive Christian denomination over her lack of faith in God. She has been hauled before the Toronto Conference Interview Committee to answer pointed questions about her faith, or lack thereof, in a Supreme Being and to see if she is spiritually fit to be able to hold "responsibility for faith formation, Christian education and worship" within the United Church of Canada.

Ms. Vosper's atheism first came to light in 2015, when her Conference (similar to a diocese) received letters and e-mails about a woman pastor who is a self-proclaimed atheist who openly states she does not believe in Jesus, nor does she accept the authority of Scripture. Questions were being asked: Can the United Church of Canada have an atheist minister? ... What's an atheist doing in the pulpit of a Christian church? ... Does the United Church have any credibility left, if they leave the likes of Gretta Vosper in the pulpit?

In 2015, the ball started rolling. That April, the Conference started the process by which it can discern its concerns about a clergyperson who seemingly no longer believes in the canons -- called The Basis of Union -- of the church when it comes to the doctrinal confession of ministers of that denomination.

When Ms. Vosper was ordained, she was asked various questions based on A New Creed and the Basis of Union 11.3: " ... do you believe in God who created and is creating, who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh, to reconcile and make new, and who works in us and others by the Holy Spirit? and Do you believe that God is calling you to the ordained ministry of Word, Sacrament and Pastoral Care and do you accept this call? and Will you, with Christ's people, be faithful in prayer and in the study of Scripture, that you may know the mind of Christ? and Will you endeavor to teach and preach the Word of God and to administer the sacraments, that the reconciling love of Christ may be known and received? and Will you be faithful in the pastoral care of all whom you are called to serve, laboring together with them to build up the household of God?"

After reading the answers that Ms. Vosper gave and, as a result of an interview with her, the United Church of Canada Toronto Conference Interview Committee determined that the ordained United Church of Christ female minister "does not believe in a Trinitarian God. Instead, by 'god/God', she means what is created between people in relationships, but does not exist separate from us, and the construct is not divine. Ms. Vosper does not use the word 'God', because its use is a barrier to some people. She does not believe that Jesus was divine. He is not the Son of God. Jesus is not her Saviour. Ms. Vosper no longer calls herself a Christian. She does not believe that there is a Holy Spirit. Ms. Vosper does not believe that there is a God who calls anyone to ministry. Ms. Vosper does not administer sacraments. She does not consider scripture to be the primary source, but merely one source of information amongst many. She is no longer in essential agreement with the statement of doctrine of The United Church of Canada. Instead, Ms. Vosper said that her theology has evolved beyond the doctrine of the United Church."

EVOLUTION OF AN ATHIEST

Ms. Vosper told The Guardian of London that when she was asked questions at her 1993 ordination, she answered "Yes", but that she was merely "speaking metaphorically."

By 2008 the "Christian minister" was calling herself first a "non-theist" and then a "theological non-realist." Now she doesn't even speak metaphorically and, since 2013, she identifies herself as an atheist because she now fully "rejects a belief in a theist God."

She explained that the transformation of her belief system comes as a result of the United Church's emphasis on critical thinking.

"I'm a product of the United Church," she told The Guardian. "It taught me to critique the Bible as a human construction ...This means everything that it says is up for grabs, including God."

When asked by the Interview Committee if she believed in God, she answered: "IF by 'God' ... you expressly mean the Trinitarian God ... then, no, I do not."

The 58-year-old minister told the 23-member Interview Committee that when she was ordained, she made a commitment to the United Church of Canada and not to Jesus Christ.

Through the years, Ms. Vosper has, one by one, jettisoned traditional Christian beliefs. She has quit praying, reading the Bible as the Word of God, no longer celebrates the Sacraments, and preaches about creation and social morality along with love, kindness and human connection, without the word "God" ever passing her lips.

"There is not one mention of God during the 70-minute service at Toronto's West Hill United Church. Bibles are nowhere to be seen. The large steel cross -- one of the few remaining religious symbols in this church -- is hidden behind a cascade of rainbow streamers," writes Ashifa Kassam for the Guardian of London. "Stripped of God and the Bible, services here are light on religious doctrine and instead emphasize moral teachings."

The Guardian reports that for West Hill's minister, "references to God and Jesus became talk of love and compassion and prayer was replaced with community sharing time." Even the Lord's Prayer was jettisoned from the Sunday service in 2008.

Ms. Vosper is a published author. She has penned two books -- "With or Without God: Why The Way We Live Is More Important Than What We Believe" and "Amen: What Prayer Can Mean In A World Beyond Belief." In 2004, she became the foundress of the Canadian Centre for Progressive Christianity, which is dedicated to promoting Progressive Christianity and encouraging "spiritual thought relevant to contemporary needs." The organization is also described as being in the "forefront of progressive thought in the international church."

As the minister at West Hill Church, she does not call her Sunday service "worship", but refers to it as a "gathering." She also does not refer to the exercise of prayer, but rather calls it "community sharing" and Communion is merely a "communal sharing of juice and bread" served alongside of a common meal. Baptism is also just a ritualistic way for parents to instill the characteristics and qualities they want in their child. She notes that her "baptism" would not be recognized by the World Council of Churches.

THE COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATION

After learning about the clergywoman's "theology," the Toronto Conference Interview Committee concluded in a 19 to 4 vote that the United Church minister is "not suitable to continue in ordained ministry because she does not believe in God, Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit. Ms. Vosper does not recognize the primacy of scripture, she will not conduct the sacraments, and she is no longer in essential agreement with the statement of doctrine of The United Church of Canada."

"Although The United Church of Canada is a big tent, welcoming a diversity of theological beliefs," the Interview Committee wrote in its 39-page report, "Ms. Vosper is so far from centre of what holds us together as a UNITED church that we have concluded that she is not suitable to continue as an ordained minister in our Church."

The Committee also determined that due to Ms. Vosper's strong and unequivocal unchristian belief system, she would not be a good candidate for remedial retraining.

"The Committee concluded that remediation to enable Ms. Vosper to remain as an ordained minister in The United Church of Canada, would not be productive," the Interview Committee wrote on September 7th, stating that it recommends the Rev. Gretta Vosper be placed on the Church's Discontinued Service List for disciplinary reasons. This action is tantamount to being deposed. She would lose her sacred orders, her ministry and her church livelihood.

The Interview Committee does not have the final say so in Ms. Vosper's case. Its recommendations are sent up the line to Sub-Executive Committee of Toronto Conference to consider whether to place the name of Vosper's name on the Discontinued Service List, then that decision can be reviewed by a formal hearing before the UCC General Council, which is the United Church's highest legislative court.

The Sub-Executive Committee meeting is slated for Sept.15. During the morning, Ms. Vosper and members of her congregation will have a opportunity to defend her ministry and challenge the Interview Committee's findings. During the afternoon, the eight-member Sub-Executive Committee are to decide her fate, taking into account the Interview Committee's recommendations and Ms. Vosper's own pleading, coupled with the supportive testimony on her behalf by members of her parish.

The slender, stylishly dressed Ms. Vosper, who has short, cropped graying hair and wears large-framed glasses, is disappointed in the Interview Committee's finding and recommendations. She complains that the Interview Committee only asked about theological questions and didn't consider her social justice accomplishments. Her parish administration, community outreach, leadership style, and pastoral care abilities were not examined.

"The majority report said nothing about ethos and spoke exclusively to theological belief. A very sad day for the UCC," Vosper told the Toronto Star. "My sadness is for the many clergy and members and individuals currently studying for leadership in the UCC who are now also being told they need to keep quiet about their true beliefs or risk censure."

Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular contributor to VirtueOnline