United Church Observer
Encyclopedia
The United Church Observer is a Canadian denominational magazine, reporting on national and international issues of faith, justice, ethics, daily living and pop culture. Although it was the official publication of The United Church of Canada
for 60 years, it is now a financially and editorially independent corporation. It has a paid circulation of 60,000 copies distributed by subscription and newsstand sales. This represents a decline of 80% from the 1980s, when it had a paid circulation of over 300,000, and mirrors the wider decline in attendance and membership in The United Church of Canada.
as the editor, the publication was regarded as a major voice in the life of a growing country: as today, it commented not only on matters of religion in Canada but education and political affairs. Ryerson went on to serve in government and is credited with founding the public school system in Upper Canada
.
When the United Church of Canada
was formed in 1925, Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregationalist publications, including The Christian Guardian, merged into The New Outlook. By 1939, though, the publication was renamed The United Church Observer. The Observer has had only five changes in editorial leadership: Rev. A.J. Wilson (1939–55); Rev. Al Forrest (1955–79); Hugh McCullum (1980–90); Muriel Duncan (1990–2006); and the current editor, David Wilson.
Since 1986, The Observer has been independently incorporated, which sets it apart from other major North American denominational publications. Although the magazine sets its own editorial policies, it maintains a healthy relationship with the United Church of Canada. Observer Editor David Wilson once said: “In the same way that the United Church of Canada is part of the Canadian identity, an independent Observer is inextricably part of the United Church identity — one of those unique features of the United Church that Canadians admire, whether they’re in the pews or on the sidelines.”
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...
for 60 years, it is now a financially and editorially independent corporation. It has a paid circulation of 60,000 copies distributed by subscription and newsstand sales. This represents a decline of 80% from the 1980s, when it had a paid circulation of over 300,000, and mirrors the wider decline in attendance and membership in The United Church of Canada.
History
Founded in 1829, The Observer is the oldest continuously published magazine in North America and the second oldest in the English speaking world. Begun as a weekly Methodist newspaper, The Christian Guardian, with educator and political activist Egerton RyersonEgerton Ryerson
Adolphus Egerton Ryerson was a Methodist minister, educator, politician, and public education advocate in early Ontario, Canada...
as the editor, the publication was regarded as a major voice in the life of a growing country: as today, it commented not only on matters of religion in Canada but education and political affairs. Ryerson went on to serve in government and is credited with founding the public school system in Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
.
When the United Church of Canada
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...
was formed in 1925, Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregationalist publications, including The Christian Guardian, merged into The New Outlook. By 1939, though, the publication was renamed The United Church Observer. The Observer has had only five changes in editorial leadership: Rev. A.J. Wilson (1939–55); Rev. Al Forrest (1955–79); Hugh McCullum (1980–90); Muriel Duncan (1990–2006); and the current editor, David Wilson.
Since 1986, The Observer has been independently incorporated, which sets it apart from other major North American denominational publications. Although the magazine sets its own editorial policies, it maintains a healthy relationship with the United Church of Canada. Observer Editor David Wilson once said: “In the same way that the United Church of Canada is part of the Canadian identity, an independent Observer is inextricably part of the United Church identity — one of those unique features of the United Church that Canadians admire, whether they’re in the pews or on the sidelines.”