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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That the 39th General Council 2006: 1) Receive for information the report "Water: Life before Profit". 2) Direct that the report inform the purpose statement(s) to be developed by this General Council. 3) Affirm its conviction that water is a sacred gift that connects all life. Its value to the common good must take priority over commercial interests. Privatization turns a common good into a commodity, depriving those who cannot pay and further threatening local ecosystems.
That the 39th General Council 2006: Through the General Secretary, General Council, firmly call upon our federal government to declare water as a human right, support municipalities in keeping water in public control, and resist any attempts by the United States to increase exports of Canadian fresh water under the energy proportional sharing provisions of NAFTA.
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.
The 36th General Council (1997) authorized this document for study in The United Church of Canada. People of the United Church responded thoughtfully and prayerfully to the study document and the proposed policy statement. The final policy statement encompasses that response and seeks to be a faithful expression of our understanding of United Church–Jewish relations. It was overwhelmingly and enthusiastically approved at the 38th General Council in 2003.
WHEREAS "the needs of the poor have priority over the wants of the rich" because "the way our society treats the poor and oppressed is, for us, a test of God's redeeming presence and of human justice" (30th General Council); and WHEREAS "we must ensure that advances in biotechnology respect the integrity of creation, and that such advances do not give power to the few at the expense of the many" (31st General Council); and WHEREAS "we are one Earth community, one human family and we share one destiny" and "we recognize God's call to live in harmony with this total community, to draw on the Earth's sustenance responsibly, and to care for it that all may benefit equitably now and in the future" (34th General Council); and
WHEREAS we are called "to live with respect in creation" (A New Creed), "taking care that our actions do not seriously harm the greater web of life" (38th General Council 2003); and WHEREAS "systems for approving, regulating, and monitoring genetically modified (GM) foods should clearly embody the precautionary principle" (38th General Council 2003); and WHEREAS "the process of approving, regulating, and monitoring GM foods should be based on the principles of independence, transparency, accountability, and participation" (38th General Council 2003); and Genetically Modified Foods, food crops, GM food
I. THE THEME: 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. Realizing that both churches were addressing issues around past failings, and involvement in sinful action, current demands for forgiveness, and the search for reconciliation, we agreed to study this reality further. The concrete events we had in mind were a) the Demand of Pardon expressed by John Paul II in the year 2000 for past faults committed by members of the Roman Catholic Church, b) the United Church of Canada’s response to past antisemitic behaviour; and c) the reactions of both churches to the Indian Residential School issue in Canada, including official apologies.
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 36th General Council (1997) requested that an exploration of the relationship between The United Church of Canada and Islam be undertaken. This proposed statement is accompanied by a document entitled That We May Know Each Other, which is intended for study and discussion, to aid individuals and congregations in this process of exploration. The Committee on Inter-Church and Inter-Faith Relations invites comments on the following component parts of a proposed statement to be brought before the 39th General Council (2006).
A Petition requesting the United Church of Canada develop a position on human Cloning
We are called to live with respect in creation, taking care that our actions do not seriously harm the greater web of life of which humans are a part. The precautionary principle is an important practical way of embodying this attitude of respect. Because of this: Systems for approving, regulating, and monitoring Genetically Modified foods should clearly embody and practice the precautionary principle.
