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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In 2012, The United Church of Canada created the Comprehensive Review Task Group, later renamed the Comprehensive Renewal (CR) Task Group, which set a course for structural change. In 2015, the Task Group report, including recommendations, was presented to the 42nd General Council. After a number of revisions, incorporating feedback from across the church, the General Council approved the Comprehensive Renewal process and authorized a series of remits to seek the approval of the wider church of the revised recommendations. All remits were approved by wide margins. The recommendations included an evaluation process. The nature of the evaluation was further shaped by the Executive of General Council in March 2018. At that point, the decisions taken in 2015 had been endorsed by the church and were awaiting final enactment.
Food insecurity remains one of the most pressing global challenges, deeply affecting health, education, and economic development. In 2024, 304 million people faced acute food insecurity according to the UN World Food Programme, with the number of people experiencing severe hunger globally rising to 783 million-an increase of 122 million since before the COVID-19 pandemic. The main drivers include conflict, climate-related disasters (such as El Niño and La Niña), and economic shocks like sanctions and hyperinflation. These factors have intensified, particularly in countries already vulnerable due to prolonged wars and successive natural disasters.
The United Property Resource Corporation (UPRC) works with communities of faith, regional councils and other United Church of Canada entities to assist them in making informed decisions about their real estate assets and where possible to repurpose underutilized church spaces to serve broader community needs.
Western Ontario Waterways Regional Council (WOWRC) stretches from Grand Bend and Glen Morris in the South to Tobermory and Wyevale in the north and forms part of a Tri-Regional Council sharing staff and resources with Antler River Watershed and Horseshoe Falls Regional Councils in South Western Ontario. Since the last meeting of General Council, we undertook an evaluation of the effectiveness of our Tri-Regional Councils Governance and Staffing Models. Together, as a Regional Council we took time to engage with this evaluation in order to strengthen the work of the Regional Council in our stated purpose of “Supporting, Connecting, and Transforming”.
The first Central Committee meeting following the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th General Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany, in 2022 took place from June 21 to 27, 2023, at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. In addition to the 150 Central Committee members and eight presidents elected in Karlsruhe, advisors and youth advisors from the member churches of the World Council of Churches, as well as ecumenical partners and churches that are not members of the WCC, also participated.
The Manual of The United Church of Canada, 2021 edition, effective March 1, 2021.
We believe God is calling The United Church of Canada to deepen its racial justice work by making a clear and unequivocal commitment to becoming an anti-racist denomination. God’s Spirit continues to move in this time, and calls people in the church to respond to ongoing manifestations of racial injustice in church and in society.
The United Church of Canada has had a long history of challenging itself to examine issues that have allowed it to explore how it might respect, support, encourage, and engage the gifts of all of its members in the life and work of the whole Church.
In the months since the 2017 United Church report on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) was adopted challenges to the legislation governing MAID have arisen, focussed on: access to MAID for those suffering mental illness; the use of advance directives; and the age at which MAID should be permitted. This statement offers guidance on these issues for people in the United Church engaged in discussion around end-of-life decisions.
Consistent with the previous report, the Theology and Inter-Church Inter-Faith Committee again seeks a reasoned position that accords with our tradition and views the issues through the lens of the previous report, which emphasizes that a decision for MAID must be the result of a free and informed choice.
