was alive and with them and energizing them to carry forward his ministry. Something very real happened to those people and it has been giving power to the Christian community ever since. But the body that he was crucified with — dying and coming back and walking around the earth and then ascending into heaven in a three-storey universe — that doesn’t make sense. If I have to put it in those terms, it loses its power because it’s not credible to me." Four months after the controversy started, the United Church's General Council executive issued a statement of support for Phipps. Apology for residential schools In October 1998, speaking on behalf of the United Church, Phipps apologized on behalf of the United Church to Canada's indigenous First Nations for abuse in church-run residential schools earlier in the century, saying in part, "To those individuals who were physically, sexually, and mentally abused as students of the Indian Residential Schools in which The United Church of Canada was involved, I offer you our most sincere apology. You did nothing wrong. You were and are the victims of evil acts that cannot under any circumstances be justified or excused." Other initiatives Phipps travelled across Canada to speak to people in an initiative called "Faith and the Economy". He also co-authored Bearing Faithful Witness: United Church–Jewish Relations Today with Rev. Clint Mooney, about the church's relationship with Judaism. Later life and death Following his time as moderator, Phipps returned to ministry at Scarboro United in Calgary. In 2000, he co-founded Faith and the Common Good with Rev. Ted Reeve, an interfaith group dedicated to working together on projects for the common good. Their main initiative became known as "Greening Sacred Spaces." Phipps continued to be a community organizer, hospital chaplain and adult educator. In 2002, Phipps was the New Democratic Party candidate in the Calgary Southwest by-election contested by newly elected Canadian Alliance leader Stephen Harper. Phipps challenged Harper's conservative economic and social views. During the campaign, Harper commented that he "despise[d]" Phipps, and declined to participate in debates with him. In the election, Phipps came in second with just over 20 per cent of the vote. In 2005, Phipps was awarded the Alberta Centennial Medal. Phipps retired from ministry in 2007, but stayed actively involved with community projects. He died on March 4, 2022, at the age of 79. Electoral record References