Jeff Rock

The Reverend
Jeff Rock
The Reverend Jeff Rock
Born	1983 or 1984; Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Education	McGill University
Religion	Christian
Church	Metropolitan Community Church (2017-2023); United Church of Canada
Congregations served	Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto

Jeff Rock (born 1983 or 1984)^[1] is a Canadian clergyman, who succeeded Brent Hawkes as the pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto in fall 2017.^[2]

Born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario, he came out as gay in high school.^[3] He studied microbiology and immunology at McGill University, initially with the career goal of becoming an HIV/AIDS researcher, although he decided during his studies that he instead wanted to become a minister.^[3] After completing his seminary studies, he became the pastor of Gaetz Memorial United Church in Red Deer, Alberta,^[4] where he worked with organizations such as the Central Alberta AIDS Network, the local Truth and Reconcilaition Commission, the Urban Aboriginal Voices Society and the Red Deer Interfaith Network.^[2] He ran as a Liberal Party of Canada candidate for the electoral district of Red Deer—Lacombe in the 2015 election, against incumbent MP Blaine Calkins.^[1]

He gave his first sermon to Toronto's MCC congregation on July 9, 2017, at a service dedicated to the memory of former Toronto City Councillor Pam McConnell.^[1] He officially succeeded Hawkes on October 1.^[1] Resigned from his position on January 18, 2023 after a two month leave of absence.^{[citation needed]}

Electoral record

v t e 2015 Canadian federal election: Red Deer—Lacombe
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Blaine Calkins	43,599	70.71	-6.72	$75,006.35
	Liberal	Jeff Rock	9,235	14.98	+11.41	$16,605.92
	New Democratic	Doug Hart	7,055	11.44	-2.85	$5,541.40
	Green	Les Kuzyk	1,773	2.88	-1.84	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			61,662	100.00		$224,841.10
Total rejected ballots			176	0.28	–
Turnout			61,838	71.40	–
Eligible voters			86,609
	Conservative hold		Swing		-9.07
Source: Elections Canada^[5]^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Rock moves on to take up new ministry in Toronto". Red Deer Advocate, July 14, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Rev. Jeff Rock to lead Toronto LGBTQ congregation" Archived 2017-07-19 at the Wayback Machine. RDNews Now, July 13, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Meet Jeff Rock, the scientist who became a Toronto pastor". The Globe and Mail, July 14, 2017.
^ "Local church embraces LGBTQ community". Red Deer Advocate, March 24, 2017.
^ "October 19, 2015 Election Results — Red Deer—Lacombe (Validated results)". Elections Canada. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
^ "Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2020-02-02.

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[moveson-1] "Rock moves on to take up new ministry in Toronto". Red Deer Advocate, July 14, 2017.

[rdnews-2] "Rev. Jeff Rock to lead Toronto LGBTQ congregation" Archived 2017-07-19 at the Wayback Machine. RDNews Now, July 13, 2017.

[globe-3] "Meet Jeff Rock, the scientist who became a Toronto pastor". The Globe and Mail, July 14, 2017.

[embraces-4] "Local church embraces LGBTQ community". Red Deer Advocate, March 24, 2017.

[5] "October 19, 2015 Election Results — Red Deer—Lacombe (Validated results)". Elections Canada. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.

[6] "Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2020-02-02.

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