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.
1) Enter your search words.
2) Use the filters to refine your search by GC, Document Type, Originating body, or more. You can stack the filters to further refine your search to help find exactly what you’re looking for. Results will update in real-time as you select filters.
3) To find Belief/Policy documents, use the “Topic” filter option.
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.
At its November, 2013, meeting, the General Council Executive directed the Theology and Inter-Church Inter-Faith Committee “to research and devise a position paper regarding adoption and create a United Church of Canada statement on adoption.”
With Medical Assistance in Dying now legal in Canada, people participating in United Church of Canada communities of faith are faced with their loved ones choosing such assistance in dying, or considering this option themselves, and with health care professionals in their communities who are discerning their response to this option. How can the church support people challenged with such a decision? How can the church prepare people for end-of-life decision-making?
That the Executive of the General Council: 1. receive the report of the Theology and Inter-Church Inter-Faith Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying 2. adopt the report as an official statement of the United Church on the subject of Medical Assistance in Dying.
That the 42nd General Council (2015): Direct the Executive of the General Council to promote existing resources for congregations and other ministries to understand alternatives to the “first past the post” electoral system in Canada.
The 42nd General Council (2015) direct the General Secretary, General Council to: a) contact the Prime Minister, the party leaders and appropriate ministers calling on them to eliminate solitary confinement; b) contact the Prime Minister, the party leaders and appropriate ministers calling on them to: • Provide better training of staff regarding mental health issues of offenders; • Schedule mental health assessments and development of treatment strategies; • Ensure transfer of inmates prone to injuring themselves to treatment centres; • Ensure that there is adequate oversight of prison conditions. • Work more closely with the John Howard Society, the Elizabeth Fry Society, and the Canadian Mental Health Association in developing better strategies for treatment and training. • Work more closely with the interfaith chaplaincies.
Individually and in community, we do everything through the lenses of our cultures: there is no such thing as a culture-free perspective. Our experiences and understandings are shaped by our cultures. Since we cannot capture the complexity of God through our limited cultural understandings, our understanding of God is limited when we see this God through only one dominant cultural perspective. Instead, our understandings of God and our scriptures can be deepened when we come together, as disciples of Jesus Christ, in all of our differences and diversities to acknowledge intercultural reality and richness.
Our commitment to becoming an intercultural church is grounded in commitments that the United Church has already made; it is another step in the continuing journey to be a transformative, justice-seeking, equitable church where there is the full participation of all. Our intercultural commitment is also rooted theologically and biblically in what it means to be the church – to be the church is to be an intercultural community that honours difference.
The Permanent Committee, Programs for Mission and Ministry proposes that the Executive of General Council: 1) Receive the report “Intercultural Ministries: Living into Transformation”; 2) Forward it and the following proposal to the 41st General Council for decision.
Declare that in matters respecting doctrine, worship, membership and governance, The United Church of Canada is opposed to discrimination against any person on the basis of age, ancestry, colour, disability, ethnic origin, gender identity, language, marital status, place of origin, race, sexual orientation, socio-economic status or any other basis by which a person is devalued
