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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Inspired by the General Council’s strategic plan, the East Central Ontario Regional Council created its own strategic plan to navigate the challenging context in which it finds itself. The focus on equity, justice and innovation continues to be at the heart of its work. Like so many others, we face challenges finding sufficient ministry personnel, assisting congregations through transitions and anxiety, and navigating a future that is not yet clear. We continue to be a hopeful, engaged regional council with a desire to build the world that God calls us to co-create.
That the authority of the Executive of the General Council is as set out in The Manual.
Authority of the Executive of the General Council That the authority of the Executive of the General Council is as set out in The Manual.
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.
The 44th General Council asked that a principles-based approach to the United Church’s justice work be developed. A set of principles would govern the church’s responses to historic, current, and emerging social justice issues and enable timely and contextual responses.
The 45th General Council Executive (GCE) met online on November 14 and 15, 2025. The two days focused on setting the triennium up for transformative change, with dialogue around the triennium operating budget, the strategic direction and objectives, and affirming the commitment to anti-racism.
“We sing of a church of inspired, resilient and diverse contextual communities of disciples seeking to continue the story of Jesus by embodying Christ’s presence in the world. A church that is present and deeply connected coast to coast - to coast- to coast in rural and urban settings, and in ecumenical and global relationships. A church guided by hope-filled, adaptive and effective ministry leaders, in a denomination that is increasingly multigenerational, multiracial and intercultural.”
Greetings from the board and staff of The United Church of Canada Foundation. We are pleased to be on a new stage in our journey together. The signing of the new relationship and governance agreement in the fall of 2025 marked a special inflection point in our relationship. While staff of both organizations have always worked well together and we have all done our best to ensure we minimized any overlap in work, the clarity this new arrangement brings will benefit us both.
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.
