About Christine - Christine Boyle, OneCity

Christine is a United Church Minister, community organizer and communications specialist, born and raised on unceded Coast Salish territory in Vancouver, BC. She is passionate about tackling inequality, contributing to climate justice, and deepening democratic engagement.

Christine spent four years supporting progressive local governance and leading strategic communications at the Columbia Institute’s Centre for Civic Governance. She organized training conferences for progressive local leaders in BC, Saskatchewan and Ontario, and supported the research and development of innovative municipal policy solutions. During that time she also supported the development of GreenJobs BC, bringing together environmental, labour, and community leaders to advocate for a just transition.

Prior to that work, Christine was on staff at First United Church in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, doing programming and community outreach. She also spend five years at Grandview/ ?Uuqinak’uuh Elementary School, directing the Afterschool Program, coordinating the School and Community Garden, and supporting children and families.

As a high school and university student in Vancouver she worked at Moores Bakery in Kerrisdale, coached and refereed youth soccer, taught cycling with Pedalheads, was elected to UBC’s AMS student government, campaigned to protect the UBC Farm, and organized events around Amnesty International’s Stolen Sisters report. As an adult she’s volunteered with California’s Prop-8 Marriage Equality campaign, coordinated SFU’s Interfaith Institute for Justice, Peace and Social Movements, sat on the board of the First United Housing Society, helped launch the Heartwood Community Café, co-chaired the board of the InterSpiritual Centre, and volunteered on numerous local, provincial and federal election campaigns. She is a founding member of OneCity Vancouver.

Christine also created Spirited Social Change, an initiative aimed at engaging people across generations to explore the intersections between faith, spirituality, and our work for a better world. Through that work she was part of initiating and leading The Self Care Project, and Fossil Free Faith.

Christine spearheaded national efforts within the United Church to divest the church’s funds from fossil fuels. In 2015 she traveled to the Vatican for events around the release of Laudato Si, Pope Francis’ encyclical on climate change and the economy, and later that year was a civil society delegate to the COP21 Climate Summit in Paris.

Christine joined the team at Canadian Memorial United Church and Centre for Peace as Minister of Community Life in January 2016, and was ordained a Minister in the United Church in 2017.

She has an BSc in Urban Agriculture and First Nations Studies from UBC, and an MA in Religious Leadership for Social Change from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.

Christine has lived in Vancouver nearly all her life. She graduated from Point Grey Mini School and has lived in neighbourhoods across the city. She moved to Grandview-Woodlands 13 years ago and lives with her partner and two kids.