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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In The United Church of Canada, we see ourselves as a church rooted in justice and equality with a vision of Deep Spirituality, Bold Discipleship, and Daring Justice. Our roots flow from the social gospel tradition of bringing Christian responsibility to public influence. In many ways, we have been a model of equality. We were the first denomination to grant ordination to women and commissioning and ordination to people who are openly 2SLGBTQIA+. United Church ministry personnel come from different walks of life and many cultural backgrounds. And while our history includes the running of Indian Residential Schools, we have apologized, made reparation, and continue to work toward reconciliation.
We, the Iridesce Working Group, offer the following recommendations to the General Secretary for action in response to the Final Report of Iridesce: The Living Apology Project.
The United Church of Canada has had a long history of challenging itself to examine issues that have allowed it to explore how it might respect, support, encourage, and engage the gifts of all of its members in the life and work of the whole Church.
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.
These words from A Song of Faith represent the most recent articulation of the ecclesiology of The United Church of Canada. Ecclesiology can be defined as theological reflection on the nature and mission of the church – “a statement about where Christians are in the world, who 41st General Council 2012 Ottawa, Ontario For Information they sit with, and what they affirm and challenge.”
