Taiwan Church News
3881 Edition
13 ~ 19 July, 2026
Obituary
Campaigning for Taiwan’s Human Rights and Social Justice, Rev Dr Edgar File Remembered in Celebration of Life
Reported by Tseng Jun-bor
On June 20, about 80 family, friends and partners from Taiwan gathered in Lonsdale, a small village in eastern Ontario, Canada, to hold a memorial service – Celebration of Life – for Rev Dr Edgar (“Ed”) File, a pastor of the United Church of Canada (UCCan). Ed, nick-named as a “Love Taiwan” pastor, peacefully passed away at an age of 94 on 13 February 2026.
The service was held at the Women’s Institute, which was built of limestone in 1872, close to the Salmon River where Ed and his wife Donna Loft lives near. Ed’s ashes and memorial objects were showcased in memorial room, with an indigenous Tayal woven fabric spread over the table to witness his deep commitment to Taiwan.
Ed’s Taiwanese partners attending the service included Mrs Sophia Guo, widow of late professor Albert Lin; Nicholas, son of Sophia; Mrs Lin Bih-ling, wife of Mr Leo Yi-sheh, former general secretary of the World Federation of Taiwanese Associations(WFTA) and etc. The service was hosted by Melanie, the eldest daughter of Ed. Family members of each generations, Ed’s old friends from York University and Mrs Sophia Guo all took the stage to share their memories of Ed.
In his tribute speech, Rev Michael Stainton, president of the Taiwan Human Rights Association in Canada (THRAC), pointed out that Ed practiced the liberation of education from the teachings of Pedagogy of the Oppressed, which published in the 1960s, and further transformed these theories to develop a simple and systematic training program, i.e. the educational courses for “Canadian Urban Training” (CUT) and the “Urban-Rural Mission” (URM). He indicated that these training courses made influential impacts in Taiwan and around the world, helping many disadvantaged groups to organize, operate and fight for social justice.
The memorial service ended with everyone drinking Guinness Stout, which was Ed’s favorite drink during his lifetime. The attendants were also given a fridge magnet stamping a photo of Ed’s cheering posture with Guinness Stout.
Ed was born at Port Arthur, now Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada in 1931. He earned a BA from the University of Toronto, an MDiv from St Andrews University in Scotland, and a PhD from Boston University. He then served as a professor at Atkinson College of York University for more than 25 years.
In addition to his academic research, Ed passionately engaged in social justice movement. In 1965, as a young UCCan(United Church of Canada) pastor, he participated in the renown civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery in the United States. During his ministerial service of Robertson Memorial United Church at Winnipeg, he founded the first local institute for the rehabilitated with his colleagues. For decades Ed campaigned for the rights of the indigenous peoples around the world, assisted WCC(World Council of Churches) in its urban and rural mission (URM) movement, and promoted the method of CUT(Canadian Urban Training) in Toronto to help solve the problem of urban poverty.
From 1982 on, Ed enthusiastically worked with his best friend – Dr Albert Lin – to promote the Taiwan URM movement for more than 30 years. He frequently held training courses with his wife, Donna, flying between Canada and Taiwan to crusade for the universal principles of democracy and human rights. Ed won the first round of “Albert Lin Human Rights Award” from THRAC in 2014, which is said to be Ed’s mostly treasured honor with pride.
Ed has a great passion in sailing and sports for years. He once served as the captain of the two-masted schooner, Valhalla, leading many people to enjoy sailing among the Toronto Islands. He is survived by five children, two stepdaughters, 15 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
Translated by Peter Wolfe
