This Library contains documents from all recent United Church governance meetings, including General Council and its Executive. It also includes “Our Beliefs Explained” official policy documents dating back several decades. If you can't find something you think should be included, contact gcbusiness@united-church.ca.
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The current process used to appoint the General Council Executive is not congruent with the will of The United Church of Canada as tested by the 40th General Council, nor the current Basis of Union as modified subsequent to the 41st General Council. This challenge was compounded when, in the opening session of GC45, The Moderator ruled on a point of order in such a way as to contradict the Basis of Union and a Remit authorized by the 40th General Council and ratified by the 41st General Council. The process used to determine the makeup of the General Council Executive needs to abide by the Basis of Union and the Bylaws of The United Church of Canada by using a transparent election process or modifying the definition by remit.
Since at least 2010, the Manual has stated that ministry personnel not in a call or appointment in a pastoral charge, community of faith, paid accountable ministry, or recognized ministry must be in “formal association” with a pastoral charge/community of faith in order to carry out the “functions of ministry.”
We believe in a conciliar church rather than a hierarchical church. The decisions entrusted to the executives are at the behest of the courts they serve, and not as independent authoritative bodies.
Much of our current expression is an interpretation of what we believe the gospel would have us do resulting in...
The Executive of the General Council initiated a review of the Offices of Moderator and General Secretary. A final report is submitted to this meeting. Following are proposals arising from the work of the task group.
In the development, adoption and implementation of the Strategic Plan (2021) with its Call and Vision and strategic operation plan, the Executive of the General Council was committed to seeking to reverse the narrative of decline that is so prevalent in the life of the church. There is no doubt that church has lived experience of decline, and the data supports this. The Executive Leaders have committed to foster a climate of data informed decision making and to lead from the future.
In 2022 the Executive of the General Council adopted the strategic operational plan for the work of the General Council Office. One of the six objectives was Strengthening Invitation: Humility and Confidence in Sharing Faith. The objective’s goal was to help to implement effective and connected regional and national strategies that result in growth within existing ministries, and by seeding and sustaining new ministries and communities of faith.
With the enactment of “Remit 4: Funding a New Model” (GC43 2018), the intention was for all pastoral charges to contribute to governance and shared services in a proportional and transparent way. Since the Denominational Assessment was introduced in 2019, six years of experience have shown that the current rate, based on the economic realities of that time, is no longer sufficient to support the full scope of responsibilities mandated by the Manual as of 2019.
In the life cycle of a community of faith, change is natural, and it might happen in a variety of ways, such as “relocating,” “realignments,” “reforming” (all of these are in the Manual as descriptors of congregational lifetime changes - G.1.3), “migrations,” “mergers,” and more.
