Remit 6: Declaration of Church Doctrine

The memorandum below was sent by General Secretary Nora Sanders to sessions (or their equivalents) of United Church congregations and to presbyteries on June 10, 2011:

Greetings from the General Council Office and in the name of Jesus.

One the most significant debates at the 40th General Council concerned the nature of doctrine in The United Church of Canada. In response to a proposal concerning the status of the Twenty Articles of Faith, the Council approved overwhelmingly the alternative motion you will see in the enclosed study document. It proposes adding to the Doctrine Section of the Basis of Union, in addition to the Twenty Articles, three other United Church expressions of faith; the 1940 Statement of Faith, the New Creed and A Song of Faith.

The study document, developed by four theological leaders of our church, is provided under the requirements for a Category Three Remit. While it has been available on the United Church web page since January 2010 we are sending it now to encourage you to plan for its use in the fall or winter as preparation for your formal vote on the Remit. Your response is due by June 15, 2012.

Remit 6 is in three parts. On my advice, the General Council Executive determined that each statement of faith would be dealt with separately. In other words, you are being asked to vote on the addition of each of the three statements individually as to whether they should be added to the formal Doctrine of the church.

In order for each statement to be approved, a majority of Sessions (or their equivalents) eligible to vote and a majority of Presbyteries eligible to vote must vote yes. This means that a failure to vote is the same as a negative vote.

Thank you for your careful consideration of this remit. Whatever the outcome, I believe Remit 6 affirms the importance of doctrine, or what we believe, as an integral part of the life and witness of The United Church of Canada.

  • Last Updated: Thursday, May 3, 2012 9:04 AM PST