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.
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WHEREAS the right to self-determination of the Central American people is threatened by US policy in the region; and WHEREAS the increasing militarization of the region threatens to plunge Central America into a regional war: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
WHEREAS the more than 200,000 Guatemalan refugees living in camps in southern Mexico suffer from a severe lack of material assistance; and WHEREAS there has been very little publicity on this situation and very little international relief for the Guatemalan refugee camps:
THAT the 30th General Council: 1. Request the Division of Ministry, Personnel and Education and the Division of Mission in Canada to encourage all theological colleges and training centres to include peace and disarmament study in the regular and the continuing education curricula;
WHEREAS the development of nuclear and other weapons of mass and indiscriminate destruction compromise Christian discipleship by making it impossible for Christians to fulfil their calling to be neighbour to one another and gardener to the creation; and
WHEREAS the statement of the Minister of Multiculturalism which expresses “regret” over Japanese Canadian injury due to internment and confiscation is inadequate and does not acknowledge wrongdoing; and WHEREAS the recent act of the Minister of Multiculturalism to establish a fund for victims of racism in Canada does not address the specific need for compensation to Japanese Canadians; and
WHEREAS the threat of nuclear war is global and the prevention of nuclear war calls for global collaboration by people of all faiths and commitments; and WHEREAS the Christian gospel is denied in the false apocalypticism of some religious figures and by the despair and passivity of others; and WHEREAS the world is witnessing a renewal of movements that use religion to buttress militarism and war-making:
Our website proclaims: “United Church faith communities welcome people from all backgrounds and orientations—wherever you are in your faith journey.” But as we scan across the country, as we listen to stories of people, of ministers, of communities of faith, it becomes clear that these words are not universally lived out across the vastness of the denomination. There is a disconnect with who we say we are.
WHEREAS the 1983 Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Vancouver called upon all member churches to “intensify their efforts to develop a common witness in a divided world, confronting with renewed vigour the threats to peace and survival and engaging in struggles for justice and human dignity,” and
WHEREAS General Council in 1982, acting on petitions from several conferences, including Hamilton, identified acid rain as a major issue for attention by the church; and The United Church of Canada sponsored a major international consultation on acid rain in January 1984, bringing together representatives of 25 religious bodies from Canada and the United States, and issuing a statement which included specific recommendations for action
The fighting in Afghanistan has continued for more than four years; and the citizens of Afghanistan and its refugees, as well as the citizens of countries receiving refugees, continue to suffer from the war in Afghanistan; and Soviet troops remain in Afghanistan, despite the condemnation of the United Nations, various governments of the world, and non-governmental organizations, including the United Church of Canada;
