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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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).
WHEREAS we read in Genesis (Gen 1.1) ‘In the beginning God created’ and; WHEREAS throughout scripture we hear an underlying theme of reverence for life and; WHEREAS in our creed we affirm that ‘We are called to live with respect in Creation’ and;
In the face of the recent upsurge of attacks against Jewish people and property in Canada and around the world, The United Church of Canada reiterates its absolute condemnation of all acts of antisemitism. Antisemitism is an attack on the dignity and worth of people. Such acts and attitudes attempt to obliterate the truth that all people are made in the image of God. Keywords: Israel, Palestine, occupied, territories, peace, antisemitism, settlements
Animal to human organ and tissue transplantation poses significant risks both to transplant patients and to society at large – including the possibility of new diseases crossing the species barrier and causing future epidemics Keywords: Organ Transplants, Xenotransplantation, Organ Donation
Over the past five years, members of the Roman Catholic/United Church Dialogue of Canada have been involved in a careful study of the use of the Trinitarian formula in baptism. With the publication of this Report, In Whose Name? The Baptismal Formula in Contemporary Culture, we would like to invite other members of our two churches, ecumenical partners, and theological colleagues to join the dialogue. Some suggestions for study of the Report are outlined in Appendix E. Responses may be sent to either the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Commission for Ecumenism or the United Church’s Committee on Inter-Church and Inter-Faith Relations.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the 36th General Council: Call upon the Government of Canada to renew its commitment and support for a national medicare program based on the five fundamental principles of the Canadian Health Act: universality, accessibility, portability, comprehensiveness, and public administration.
The Canadian health care system is under severe pressure (for example, reductions in federal transfer payments to support provincial health care programmes, cutbacks in hospital budgets and in community services, layoffs to hospital and other health care system personnel, the threat of user fees, and the potential of a two-tiered system). In response to this pressure and sparked by a sense of urgency, Unit IV of the Division of Mission in Canada established a Health Task Group in 1991 to engage the church in a process of education, animation and policy formation.
WHEREAS health reform is taking place in many provinces in Canada; and WHEREAS this process is having major impacts on the church’s service to senior citizens and especially on nursing homes and homes for the aged;
The 34th General Council agrees to 1. request the Division of Mission in Canada to educate congregations, presbyteries, and conferences that it is every child’s right to have the best nutrition and nurture available, and that it is the right of every woman who is involved in a nursing relationship to continue as a full participant in religious, economic, political, and social life; and
The 34th General Council strongly encourages the Division of Mission in Canada to create and/or identify the tools and guidelines for AIDS ministry in consultation with HIV-infected people and people presently engaged in this ministry.
