“Sometimes the ordinary Christians in the pew are confused or even hostile to refugees who are often of a different race and color. The backlash is not something that is happening ‘out there’. It is also happening in the communities where most of us live,” said the WCC General Secretary Samuel Kobia.
Speaking at the opening service for a “Churches against Racism” conference here, Kobia said that people in “Christian” nations should welcome those of other faiths. “For churches and Christians in the Netherlands and across this world, reaching out to the strangers in our midst or advocating with the government in an increasingly difficult climate is not easy,” noted Kobia.
The WCC general secretary spoke one week after the anti-immigration Netherlands’ Party for Freedom led by Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, who has been accused of being a racist by his opponents, won four seats in the European Parliament, making it the party with the second-largest representation from his country.
“For churches and Christians in the Netherlands and across this world, reaching out to the strangers in our midst or advocating with the government in an increasingly difficult climate is not easy,” said the WCC general secretary, who is a Methodist from Kenya.
The service this week marked the 40th anniversary of the WCC’s Program to Combat Racism, the German Protestant news agency epd noted. This program assisted the victims of racial discrimination in different parts of the world, most prominently in South Africa under the apartheid regime.
The Dutch monarch, Queen Beatrix, is expected to attend a closing service of the gathering on June 17.
