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.
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WHEREAS the United Church of Canada is committed to the stewardship of creation as expressed in Genesis 1:29-31; and WHEREAS The United Church of Canada and the government of Canada recognize the right of native peoples to self-determination as expressed in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights; and
SUPPORT all efforts to discourage smoking in work places, public buildings and all forms of public transportation, and ask local congregations to encourage and support such efforts in their communities;
The United Church of Canada has a record of standing alongside aboriginal people in their struggle for human rights, dignity and land entitlement; Key words: Constitution, Justice, Aboriginal, First Nations, Native Indian
WHEREAS the 29th General Council, August 1982, agreed to: 1. Acknowledge its lack of persistence of behalf of Japanese Canadians injured through internment; 2. Urge the government of Canada to make speedy restitution and honourable compensation to Japanese Canadians so injured, that justice may be done and be seen to be done, and that this wound in our Canadian life may be healed; and
WHEREAS the recent rash of killing of police officers has resulted in renewed calls for the return of capital punishment in Canada; and WHEREAS we sympathize deeply with the hurt of families and colleagues of the victims of such crime; and WHEREAS we believe that the taking of another life is not a faithful way to respond to that hurt; and WHEREAS we believe that such taking of human life by the state as punishment has a brutalizing effect on society; and
The termination of the boycott was reported, and the action of the Division in October 1984 communicated. The Executive of General Council agreed to: 1 ENDORSE the International Nestle Boycott Committee (INBC) to terminate the current boycott of Nestle; 2 CELEBRATE the success of this seven-year campaign to change a major multinational company’s aggressive practices in marketing infant formula in the Third World, which contributed to severe malnutrition for many infants;
WE AFFIRM that our sexuality is a gift of God. In its life-enhancing, non-exploitive forms it is a primary way of relating to ourselves and to one another, and is the way God has chosen to continue the human race. We acknowledge that human sexuality, like all other aspects of human nature is affected and distorted by human sinfulness. We recognize the ambiguity of human nature and therefore of human sexuality. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)
WHEREAS General Council in 1982, acting on petitions from several conferences, including Hamilton, identified acid rain as a major issue for attention by the church; and The United Church of Canada sponsored a major international consultation on acid rain in January 1984, bringing together representatives of 25 religious bodies from Canada and the United States, and issuing a statement which included specific recommendations for action
The fighting in Afghanistan has continued for more than four years; and the citizens of Afghanistan and its refugees, as well as the citizens of countries receiving refugees, continue to suffer from the war in Afghanistan; and Soviet troops remain in Afghanistan, despite the condemnation of the United Nations, various governments of the world, and non-governmental organizations, including the United Church of Canada;
Biblical calls to address injustice, inhumanity and racism compel us to reach out to oppressed sisters and brothers in South Africa, and call us to confront systems of repression and evil. Keywords: South Africa, Racism, Discrimination, Racial Justice, Globalization, Ethical, Investment, Economic, Community Development