This Library contains documents from all recent United Church governance meetings, including General Council and its Executive. It will also soon include “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.
Helpful topics
The 36th General Council (1997) authorized this document for study in The United Church of Canada. People of the United Church responded thoughtfully and prayerfully to the study document and the proposed policy statement. The final policy statement encompasses that response and seeks to be a faithful expression of our understanding of United Church–Jewish relations. It was overwhelmingly and enthusiastically approved at the 38th General Council in 2003.
WHEREAS "the needs of the poor have priority over the wants of the rich" because "the way our society treats the poor and oppressed is, for us, a test of God's redeeming presence and of human justice" (30th General Council); and WHEREAS "we must ensure that advances in biotechnology respect the integrity of creation, and that such advances do not give power to the few at the expense of the many" (31st General Council); and WHEREAS "we are one Earth community, one human family and we share one destiny" and "we recognize God's call to live in harmony with this total community, to draw on the Earth's sustenance responsibly, and to care for it that all may benefit equitably now and in the future" (34th General Council); and
WHEREAS we are called "to live with respect in creation" (A New Creed), "taking care that our actions do not seriously harm the greater web of life" (38th General Council 2003); and WHEREAS "systems for approving, regulating, and monitoring genetically modified (GM) foods should clearly embody the precautionary principle" (38th General Council 2003); and WHEREAS "the process of approving, regulating, and monitoring GM foods should be based on the principles of independence, transparency, accountability, and participation" (38th General Council 2003); and Genetically Modified Foods, food crops, GM food
I. THE THEME: Following a fruitful discussion of Trinitarian language at baptism, the Canadian Roman Catholic/United Church of Canada Dialogue sought another topic of mutual interest and lively concern. Realizing that both churches were addressing issues around past failings, and involvement in sinful action, current demands for forgiveness, and the search for reconciliation, we agreed to study this reality further. The concrete events we had in mind were a) the Demand of Pardon expressed by John Paul II in the year 2000 for past faults committed by members of the Roman Catholic Church, b) the United Church of Canada’s response to past antisemitic behaviour; and c) the reactions of both churches to the Indian Residential School issue in Canada, including official apologies.
The United Church of Canada is called continually in all courts of the church to bear witness to Jesus Christ in the midst of our neighbours and in the world. In accordance with that call, the 36th General Council (1997) requested that an exploration of the relationship between The United Church of Canada and Islam be undertaken. This proposed statement is accompanied by a document entitled That We May Know Each Other, which is intended for study and discussion, to aid individuals and congregations in this process of exploration. The Committee on Inter-Church and Inter-Faith Relations invites comments on the following component parts of a proposed statement to be brought before the 39th General Council (2006).
In August 2000, the 37th General Council of The United Church of Canada overturned a policy that had been on its books since 1960 which stated that homosexuality is a sin. It reaffirmed that human sexual orientations and gender identities (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and heterosexual) are gifts from God, calling them “a part of the marvellous diversity of creation.” This resource was developed by the Justice, Global, and Ecumenical Relations Unit of The United Church of Canada, in response to this and other resolutions of the 37th and 38th General Council which called on the church to work for the civil recognition of same-sex partnerships, and to recognize them in church documentation and services of blessing, and for the recognition of them in federal marriage legislation.
Receive the report of the Adoption Task Group concerning United Church run maternity homes, and Direct the Theology and Inter-Church, Inter-Faith Committee to research and devise a position paper regarding adoption and create a United Church of Canada statement on adoption. Give consideration to other denominational statements on adoption and to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
the Executive of General Council has affirmed its conviction that “a necessary step towards true peace in the region will be through the implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions specifically 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and UN General Assembly Resolution 194 (1948) and that these resolutions require … the withdrawal of Israel from the West Bank and Gaza including settlements
WHEREAS the Nuremberg Tribunal identified a war of aggression as a crime against humanity, calling it “the supreme international crime, differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole,” and in so doing specifically rejected arguments designed to justify a pre-emptive military attack;
Having received the correspondence from Maritime Conference, and the notice of motion of Pawis/Mabee from this fall 2003 meeting of the Executive of the General Council, and recognizing that it is seven years since the release of the Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, that a letter be written to the Government of Canada urging them to act on the recommendation of the report calling for a public inquiry on residential schools and that this matter be referred to the General Secretary for action.
