Our Dutch member Kerk in Actie is getting ready to commemorate the 125th National Diaconia Day on the 7th of November under the motto “Together, we are not alone“. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the event will take place online and will include lectures, discussions, pre-recorded content and music.
In the morning, Ms. Clara Sies from “Food Bank Netherlands” will discuss how deacons can help ensure that food banks are no longer needed in the future. After her, Wilbert van Saane from Kerk in Actie will update the participants on the situation in Beirut three months after the devastating explosion and will talk about his work with Christian theology students in the Middle East. The morning session will close with two musical performances.
The afternoon programme includes webinars on various topics which consist of pre-recorded videos followed by an online discussions with deacons and speakers. The topics available are:
- Diaconate in times of corona (led by Kerk in Actie consultant Annemarieke Voorsluijs)
- Being intercultural church (led by Rev. Judith van den Berg-Meelis, pastor of the Protestant community of Roermond)
- Find the prosperity of your neighborhood (led by Marten van der Meulen)
- Visiting the mosque (led by Mostafa Hilali and Martijn van Laar)
- Loneliness (led by Hanna Wapenaar, street pastor in Amsterdam)
- The role of diaconate in the future of the church (led by Wilma Wolswinkel from pioneering place De Haven in Utrecht’s Kanaleneiland district)
- Deployment of the diaconal power (led by the Federation of Diaconies)
- Diaconal cooperation in the region and campaigns (led by Iwan Dekker, fundraiser Kerk in Actie)
- How do you break the taboo on debt? (led by Tom Kolsters from SchuldHulpMaatje)
- Green churches (led by Matty van Leijenhorst)
For more information, please visit our member’s website.