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Dr Jurjen Zeilstra is a historian and theologian. His biography “Visser 't Hooft, 1900-1985 Living for the Unity of the Church” served as a dissertation in the humanities at the Amsterdam Free University in order to receive the degree of Ph.D. in 2018. Willem Visser 't Hooft led the World Council of Churches (WCC) during its formative stages. Below, Dr Zeilstra reflects on what it was like to study the life of Visser 't Hooft.

Africa is of huge concern around the novel coronavirus pandemic for the World Health Organization (WHO), but the continent’s churches have been preparing for the silent and lethal virus for some time.

In a letter to its European sister organizations, the Council of Churches in the Netherlands reiterated its call to the Dutch government to honour the call from the European Committee regarding the relocation of vulnerable and unaccompanied children from Greek refugee camps. The letter also urges European sister organizations to appeal to their governments to exercise the same human compassion.

Hope, solidarity and a spirit of service are recurring themes in Easter messages received by the World Council of Churches from many of its member churches and partners.

A group of churches from Germany’s west inspired by the quest for justice and peace presented an ecumenical exhibition showing how “Peace takes a different way” at the World Council of Churches in Geneva.

Women in Liberia participated in the Thursdays in Black campaign by staging a peaceful demonstration in the streets of Margibi County against the growing waves of violence against women and girls.

In advance of the Liberia Council of Churches (LCC) assembly, its members reflected on the economic and spiritual challenges in the nation last week.

On 21 September, an event unfolded in Liberia to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the WCC. Held in conjunction with other civil society organizations observing the International Day of Peace in Monrovia, people gathered for a ceremony and a parade.

The African continent bears witness to the tragic consequences of the manipulation of religion to incite violence. Yet it is also the home of untold instances of the power of religious leaders and actors to exert a positive influence, said panellists at an international meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, today.

The 13th International General Assembly of the Church of the Lord (Prayer Fellowship) was held in the Bantama area of Kumasi, Ghana from 9 to 16 November.

Hopes and aspirations for peace were expressed on 20 September at the Peace Palace in the Netherlands, site of a “Walk of Peace” held on the second day of the International Week of Peace. The event was organized by the Council of Churches in the Netherlands and PAX, a Dutch peace organization, in cooperation with local churches in The Hague.

In view of the current refugee crisis, European churches are being encouraged to deepen their efforts in receiving, supporting and protecting refugees who arrive in the region. This call was made in a letter issued jointly by the WCC, the Conference of European Churches and the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe.

Prayers and action undertaken by the Liberian Council of Churches during the Ebola outbreak of 2014-2015 will be honoured by the Liberian government with distinction of “Commander, Order of the Star of Africa”.

United Nations leaders and the WCC have agreed that the international community and faith leaders need to cooperate more on working to fight the scourge of the deadly Ebola virus.

To respond to the Ebola crisis in West Africa, which has taken more than 3,000 lives, the WCC brought to the table representatives of Christian aid organizations and United Nations agencies to learn from each other and to escalate their efforts.

A set of recommendations advocating the rights of stateless persons was presented by a World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation at the First Global Forum on Statelessness organized by the UNHCR and Tilburg University in The Hague, Netherlands.

To give visibility to the voices of stateless people in our society as well as to strategize together in how to support protection of their rights, a consultation was held by church organizations in Den Dolder, the Netherlands, in preparation of the UNHCR First Global Forum on Statelessness to be held from 15 to 17 September in The Hague.

The World Council of Churches has expressed a “deep and shared concern” to its member churches in West Africa over reports concerning “the Ebola crisis and its devastating impact on the lives of men, women and children living in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria.”

“Blessed are the peace makers” is the proclamation in Matthew 5:9. Today the WCC 10th Assembly featured Leymah Gbowee as one of the key speakers at the Peace Plenary, which featured stories, images and signs of hope from God leading toward justice and peace.