2024 Recipients
Catherine Faith MacLean, DMin, MDiv, BA
Doctor of Divinity
Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean is recognized with the honorary Doctor of Divinity for her many contributions of leadership and service to faith communities across Canada. Dr. MacLean is nationally regarded for her deep intellect, pragmatic spirit, extensive theological knowledge, vocational enthusiasm, and exceptional capacities as a communicator. Her ministerial career with the United Church of Canada spanned nearly 40 years in Toronto, the Maritimes, Yellowknife, Canmore, and Edmonton.
Dr. MacLean hails from the Maritimes, where she was ordained in the Maritime Conference in 1985. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Dalhousie University (Halifax, NS), a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School (Cambridge, MA), and a Doctor of Ministry from McCormick Theological Seminary (Chicago, IL). She is a two-time recipient of grants from the Louisville Foundation, and See Magazine named her as the “Most Passionate Sermonizer” in one of its annual “Best of Edmonton” issues.
Dr. MacLean is particularly known for her skill as a communicator, both oral and written. Her doctoral dissertation at McCormick Theological Seminary focused in the area of preaching, and upon completion, she was awarded the Hunt Prize for Outstanding Doctor of Ministry Thesis. As noted by one of her referees: “Catherine … sees preaching not as the transmission of information or instructions, but as the creation and sustenance of a community of faith. Being together in worship, listening together, and grappling together with ideas not only strengthens the sense of we-ness amongst the congregation, but produces a reservoir of goodwill that will help the community weather times of disagreement and conflict. In her preaching as in her other work, Catherine is very intentional about creating and sustaining the bonds that will transcend conflicts, rather than covering over conflict or pretending it’s not there.” As an expression of her communicative brilliance: one of Dr. MacLean’s sermons was selected for the forthcoming volume, Moments in Time: Sermons from The United Church of Canada 1910–2020 (eds. HyeRan Kim-Craig and Don Schweitzer; United Church of Canada, 2024), which is a collection of homilies that highlight the engagement, impact, and legacy of the United Church on the Canadian religious landscape.
Stemming from her communicative spirit, Dr. MacLean has contributed many writings for the edification of faith communities across Canada. She is co-author (with John H. Young) of Preaching the Big Questions: Doctrine Isn’t Dusty (Toronto: United Church Publishing House, 2015), and author of “The Triune God” (in The Theology of the United Church of Canada; eds. Don Schweitzer, Robert C. Fennell, and Michael Bourgeois; Waterloo: Wilfred Laurier Press, 2019). As a member of the General Council’s Theology and Faith Committee, Dr. MacLean is one of the co-composers of A Song of Faith (United Church of Canada, 2006), and she is also the author of “Hope Shines as the Solitary Star” (Hymn #220, More Voices; Toronto: United Church of Canada, 2007). She has written articles for Touchstone and The Christian Century.
Dr. MacLean is an educator and leader within the landscape of academic theology in Canada. She is a longstanding member of the Canadian Theological Society, and served as President of the Society in 2018–2019. In 2017, Dr. MacLean lectured on diversity at the Peter Lougheed Lectures (Peter Lougheed Leadership College, University of Alberta). She has taught courses at various graduate theological colleges, including St. Stephen’s College, Vancouver School of Theology, and Atlantic School of Theology.
Throughout her career, Dr. MacLean has served the wider church in Canada with intention, care, and duty. She served as a commissioner at two General Councils, is a past chair of the New Ministries Development Team of (what was formerly known as) Edmonton Presbytery, and served on various national committees. In 2018 she was a nominee for Moderator of the United Church of Canada. More recently, she was one of two Canadian delegates at The World Council of Churches meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany in 2022. Dr. MacLean has also been active in the reVITALize conferences that bring clergy and lay people from various denominations and faith traditions together to learn from each other.
Though her national engagement is broad, Dr. MacLean is most appreciated by her beloved faith community of St. Paul’s United in Belgravia (Edmonton), where she served as Senior Minister for 20 years until her retirement in 2023. Dr. MacLean’s justice work in championing diversity in St. Paul’s congregation has been a beacon shining beyond the walls of the building. Under her shepherding, St. Paul’s became known as a safe, welcoming, and nurturing place. More recently, in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Dr. MacLean met the challenges of the lockdowns with calm, compassion, and thoughtfulness. She developed innovative video worship services that were filmed in various locations around Edmonton. As the world closed down, Dr. MacLean ventured out with phone, camera, and tripod in hand, recording reflections and readings in various parts of the city in all sorts of weather conditions. She kept St. Paul’s connected and reassured by bringing the city and its communities into the homes of those worshiping through their computer screens.