Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands is greeted by a Roma participant from eastern Europe at the conference in Doorn. Photo: Jaap de Jager

The Dutch queen was the guest of honor at a conference seeking to take on the legacy of the World Council of Churches' (WCC) historic anti-racism efforts.

The June 14-17 conference "Churches Against Racism" in Doorn near Utrecht in the Netherlands marked the 40th anniversary of the Notting Hill conference which laid the ground for the WCC Program to Combat Racism (PCR).

The PCR contributed to the struggles to end apartheid in South Africa and has inspired and supported indigenous people in different parts of the world, oppressed groups in Australia, New Zealand, North and South America, as well as the Dalit communities in India.

"In the Netherlands, where many people have family ties with South Africa, most of the churches strongly supported the PCR efforts against apartheid as they realized that the call for justice corresponded with the call of the gospel," said Rev. Klaas van der Kamp, general secretary of the Council of Churches in the Netherlands.

40 years later, the Council of Churches in the Netherlands decided to host another anti-racism conference, because, as van der Kamp puts it, "we realize that the struggle for inclusion still continues".

"We believe that this is a moment where we are invited by God to commit ourselves to be instruments of change in the church and the wider society," was part of the statement read in the presence of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands during the closing worship service.

"We believe God is calling members of the church to action with and on behalf of the marginalized, the poor and the many who face exclusion," the message continued.

"The global economic crisis, climate change and systemic exclusion - generating desperation and increased migration", are described as the elements of a "three-fold crisis" creating a need and an opportunity for change.

The participants looked at the problems faced by migrants and minority groups such as the Roma in Europe, at discrimination based on the colour of one's skin, at the disregard for land rights of indigenous peoples and at Dalits being treated as "untouchables" in India.

The Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson, the UCC's minister for racial justice, attended the conference. In anticipation of the meeting, Thompson said the international nature of the dialog was important for UCC participation. "We do this work in community with other communions and as part of the World Council of Churches," she said. "It's a positive move for all of us to be present and to come out speaking to the world regarding racial justice."

Some fifty church leaders, activists and theologians attended the international conference which was organized by the WCC in cooperation with the Council of Churches in the Netherlands, the association of migrant churches in the Netherlands SKIN, the missionary and diaconal agency KerkinActie, the interchurch organization for development cooperation ICCO and the ecumenical advocacy group Oikos.

Full text of the message

Sermon preached at the closing worship service

WCC work on just and inclusive communities