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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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
Receive the report of the Adoption Task Group concerning United Church run maternity homes, and Direct 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. Give consideration to other denominational statements on adoption and to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
WHEREAS the Nuremberg Tribunal identified a war of aggression as a crime against humanity, calling it “the supreme international crime, differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole,” and in so doing specifically rejected arguments designed to justify a pre-emptive military attack;
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.
Those involved in research, writing and producing an Educational Document "Water! Water! Water!" for use throughout The United Church of Canada by its members and others.
That the 38th General Council receive the following resolutions and petitions and take the actions contained therein: Petitions 64, 65, 68, 76, and 90.
That, having heard Petition #42, the 38th General Council request the United Nations through UNESCO: 1. to declare that heritage seeds are protected as a world heritage; 2. to take the necessary steps to invalidate all patents on such seeds; 3. to see that reparation is made for harm caused by such patents to the peoples whose seeds have been pirated.
Viable alternatives exist to xenotransplantation - both in the immediate and long-term - that could more effectively address the shortage of organs and tissues for transplant with significantly fewer risks and costs Keywords: Organ Transplants, Xenotransplantation, Organ Donation
