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 General Council receive the reports, petitions and resolutions listed on the INFO 22 page, with the addition of Resolution #94 and Petition #136 and the deletion of Petition #139, as listed on the Changes page, and take the actions contained therein. Dale Wiggins thanked Virginia Coleman for meeting the request of Saskatchewan Conference Commissioners to provide a replacement accountability report, re-inserting several sentences that had been deleted. nuclear, nuclear energy
Whereas climate change has been identified as a priority environmental issue by the 33rd and 34th General Councils of The United Church of Canada and by the World Council of Churches (January 1994 Central Committee); and
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.
Having heard Petitions 128 & 130, and noted and given careful consideration to the following concerns: a) economic consequences of a phase down of the nuclear industry b) the loss of technology development and necessary materials in the area of nuclear medicine; c) support for the idea of a public review; and
Having considered that not all persons, including dairy farmers, are opposed to the use of the bovine growth hormone known as Bovine Somatotropin (BST); and, WHEREAS the motion proposes action that is in keeping with the ongoing work of The United Church of Canada; and WHEREAS the voice of the Church will serve to balance the presentation made to the government by agribusiness interests; BE IT RESOLVED THAT the 35th General Council of The United Church of Canada:
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;
Life is a gift from God and elicits our respect, awe and reverence. We are one Earth community, one human family and we share one destiny. We cherish and respect the rich diversity of life and celebrate the beauty of the Earth. For us, as members of one family, love and caring are the basis of our relationships with one another and with nature. The Earth community is a sacred trust. 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.
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.
