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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Declare our willingness to support and participate in the World Council of Churches' proposed week for International Church Action for Peace in Palestine and Israel focusing on the Holy Land and provide educational material and worship resources.
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 38th General Council in 2003 approved for study across the church a proposed statement and study document, That We May Know Each Other, on the relationship of the United Church to Islam. People of the United Church have responded thoughtfully and prayerfully to the study document and to the proposed policy statement. This statement encompasses that response and seeks to be a faithful expression of our understanding of United Church–Muslim relations.
When the 38th General Council-the highest decision-making body of The United Church of Canada-decided in 2003 to ask the federal government to recognize same-sex marriage in the marriage legislation, it was acting on a lengthy history of earlier actions. The purpose of this paper is to describe the United Church's historical and theological understanding of marriage.
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.
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.
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;
That having read the “Building Toward Right Relationships” document that the Executive of the General Council affirm and adopt the six principles identified in the document as the principles that will guide The United Church of Canada at this point in its journey in its work to repair the harm done by the Residential Schools system in building right relations with Aboriginal people, and in any negotiations with government with respect to resolving the legacy of Indian Residential Schools and that we refer the information from table groups to the Residential Schools Steering Committee for their consideration.
Having heard Petition 66, therefore be it resolved that the 38th General Council find a way, on our behalf, to express our sincere regret to these women and express our sorrow for the loss of their leadership to the church.
AN ALTERNATE LOGISTICS ARRANGEMENT: As an alternate arrangement to that discussed under the previous three headings, an arrangement of production might be worked out with an organization such as Kairos where each interested denomination would give a guarantee of purchasing a certain number of copies of the materials.
