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.
1) Enter your search words.
2) Use the filters to refine your search by GC, Document Type, Originating body, or more. You can stack the filters to further refine your search to help find exactly what you’re looking for. Results will update in real-time as you select filters.
3) To find Belief/Policy documents, use the “Topic” filter option.
We believe in a conciliar church rather than a hierarchical church. The decisions entrusted to the executives are at the behest of the courts they serve, and not as independent authoritative bodies.
Much of our current expression is an interpretation of what we believe the gospel would have us do resulting in...
The Executive of the General Council initiated a review of the Offices of Moderator and General Secretary. A final report is submitted to this meeting. Following are proposals arising from the work of the task group.
In the development, adoption and implementation of the Strategic Plan (2021) with its Call and Vision and strategic operation plan, the Executive of the General Council was committed to seeking to reverse the narrative of decline that is so prevalent in the life of the church. There is no doubt that church has lived experience of decline, and the data supports this. The Executive Leaders have committed to foster a climate of data informed decision making and to lead from the future.
In 2022 the Executive of the General Council adopted the strategic operational plan for the work of the General Council Office. One of the six objectives was Strengthening Invitation: Humility and Confidence in Sharing Faith. The objective’s goal was to help to implement effective and connected regional and national strategies that result in growth within existing ministries, and by seeding and sustaining new ministries and communities of faith.
With the enactment of “Remit 4: Funding a New Model” (GC43 2018), the intention was for all pastoral charges to contribute to governance and shared services in a proportional and transparent way. Since the Denominational Assessment was introduced in 2019, six years of experience have shown that the current rate, based on the economic realities of that time, is no longer sufficient to support the full scope of responsibilities mandated by the Manual as of 2019.
In the life cycle of a community of faith, change is natural, and it might happen in a variety of ways, such as “relocating,” “realignments,” “reforming” (all of these are in the Manual as descriptors of congregational lifetime changes - G.1.3), “migrations,” “mergers,” and more.
The Remit and Proposals process was designed to allow for democratic input from the appropriate groups within the denomination so that the decision-making process is upheld with integrity to ensure our identity as a conciliar church and to give voice to all. We have recently witnessed “legal loopholes” allow for prior Remits to be circumvented using the Proposal process.
The United Church of Canada must establish a policy around the use of AI to ensure that technological advancements align with its ethical values, social justice principles, and commitment to inclusivity.
The United Church of Canada (UCC) is facing a significant challenge in maintaining and expanding its membership due to the declining population of congregants and the limited engagement with migrant and refugee communities.