statements made by his or her parents during baptism. If the person is unbaptised, the minister baptises the person before the profession of faith. The new member's name is then entered on the official Roll of Members for that congregation. Benefits of membership Only members can be a part of a congregation's board or council, and only members can vote at congregational meetings, although members can vote to extend voting privileges to adherents. Transfer of membership and removal from rolls Although confirmation takes place at the congregational level, the person is a member of the entire United Church of Canada, not just one congregation; therefore membership can be transferred freely from congregation to congregation. A congregation may remove members from its roll for non-attendance. (The Manual suggests an absence of three years, but the congregation is free to set its own period of time) Music The United Church has issued four hymn books: Hymnary (1930) The Hymn Book (jointly with the Anglican Church of Canada) in 1972 Voices United (1996) is the current hymnal, with over 300,000 copies in print. A supplement, More Voices was published in 2006 Nos voix unies (2005), the United Church's first French-language hymnal Criticism from outside the church A. C. Forrest, the editor of the United Church Observer in the 1960s and 1970s (and by extension the United Church itself) came under strong attack from the Canadian Jewish community for frequent editorial espousal of Palestinian rights in Israel, on the West Bank and in Gaza; many within the United Church were also uncomfortable with Forrest's position, though ultimately the church adjudged a plurality of opinion on this (and other matters) as consistent with United Church open-mindedness. The National Post has published several articles critical of the United Church of Canada. (August 19, 2009: "United Church is blind to true suffering"; August 14, 2009: "United Church's uncertain future") An article by Charles Lewis, published on May 14, 2011, set out what Lewis sees as the issues that beset the United Church: the church's "big tent" approach to believers, accepting even atheists as members; and lack of doctrinal orthodoxy. References Further reading Airhart, Phyllis D. A Church with the Soul of a Nation: Making and Remaking the United Church of Canada (MQUP, 2013) excerpt Farris, Allan. The Fathers of 1925: The Tide of Time, edited by John S. Moir, Knox College, 1978 Flatt, Kevin N. After Evangelicalism: