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 34th General Council of The United Church of Canada a) recognizes the world-wide significance of the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development (UNCED), which met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1-12 June 1992; and b) urges presbyteries and congregations of The United Church of Canada to raise and maintain awareness of UNCED agreements (The Rio Declaration, The Climate Change Convention, The Biodiversity Convention) for environmental protection and development;
The 34th General Council agrees to a) declare its revulsion at the acts of war and atrocities carried out in the former Yugoslavia and particularly at the attacks on minorities in policies aimed at “ethnic cleansing”; b) through the Moderator, communicate with the faith communities (Orthodox, Muslim, Roman Catholic, and Protestant) of the former Yugoslavia and their counterparts in Canada to express our grief and our support for their efforts to relieve human suffering, to withhold moral legitimacy from war-making, and to bring about reconciliation; c) through the Moderator, express to the World Council of Churches and to the Conference of European Churches our willingness to cooperate in efforts for humanitarian relief, protection of refugees, reconciliation, and rebuilding of “civil society” after the war is over;
Having heard Petition 39 [re: placing abortion in the Criminal Code], it is moved that 1 The Frankford/Batawa Pastoral Charge be encouraged to continue studying the issues and to forward the results of their study to Belleville Presbytery;
The 33rd General Council, through the appropriate division or body, encourages dialogue with other denominations in Canada, the United States and other world communities about the mutual concerns of primary food producers.
WHEREAS as Christians we affirm the sanctity of human life, born or unborn and that life is much more than physical existence; and
WHEREAS The United Church of Canada does not have a clearly defined policy on how persons with pastoral responsibilities within The United Church of Canada should respond to disclosures of child abuse; and WHEREAS many legal jurisdictions in Canada have enacted legislation which requires persons with knowledge of sexual and/or physical abuse of children to report their knowledge to appropriate authorities; and
This 33rd General Council urges that all conferences become aware of current studies of child abuse, such as the Rix Rogers, and that they give consideration to the recommendations directed to the churches in this report and that all conferences be asked to assess the adequacy of abuse counselling in their own boundaries; And that this 33rd General Council speak urgently of the needs to their political representatives urging them to give them priority as needed.
Whereas our God creator call is the responsibility and privilege of stewardship of the land, and Whereas it is the right of those most directly affected to have free participation in decisions that affect their lives and Whereas there has been a steady and intentional erosion of numbers of small family farms THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the 33rd General Council of The United Church of Canada adopt the following statement:
Having heard Petition 37, it is MOVED that the 33rd General Council: Designate and establish one Sunday per year as an AIDS Awareness Sunday; and Direct DMC to give publicity to the British Columbia Kit of Worship Resources for AIDS Awareness.
The 33rd General Council: 1 urges United Churches across Canada to initiate volunteer literacy programs and/or support literacy programs already established;
