The Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Pretoria hosted a conference with reflections from Africa on the theme of the upcoming 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC): ‘Christ’s Love Moves the World to Reconciliation and Unity’, which will be held in Karlsruhe, Germany, in August 2022. A total of seventeen papers were delivered by scholars from Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Africa.

The topics discussed under this theme deal with some of the pressing issues the church in Africa is grappling with on a daily basis. However, these issues are not limited to Africa but extend to other continents. The conference papers focussed on topics like: neighbourly love, racism, xenophobia, COVID-19, corruption, transformation, human trafficking through “baby factories”, and the Muslim faith. We also had three well-known keynote speakers informing and challenging the conference with their presentations.

The first keynote speaker was Prof Piet Meiring, emeritus at the University of Pretoria and co-chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The title of his paper was: ‘Reconciliation in South Africa: Women’s voices at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)’. During his presentation, he shared some of the stories the women of South Africa told at the TRC. The question was asked, did it make a difference for these women to tell their stories? His answer was, “They were heard”. Someone was prepared to listen, and in many instances this led to healing and, in some cases, reconciliation. He encouraged the conference to create ‘safe spaces’ in and through the church in Africa where people can tell their stories.

The second keynote speaker was Prof Isabel Phiri from the WCC. The theme of her paper was: ‘Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity: A challenge for Africa’. From her involvement with the WCC, she gave the conference some important insights into the working and function of the WCC. She elaborated on the 11^th Assembly ahead of us and shared some of the issues at hand that will influence the discussions at the next assembly meeting. But her focus was on the church in Africa and the reasons why it does not feature as prominently as it should in the WCC.

Prof Jerry Pillay, Dean of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Pretoria, closed the conference as the third keynote speaker. His paper was titled: ‘For God so loved the world: Efforts at reconciliation and unity’. He focussed on the quest for reconciliation and unity in examining the biblical imperative to love God and neighbour. What does reconciliation and unity mean for the witness of the church today in the midst of brokenness, pain and injustice? To explore some guidelines for churches to live God’s love in a broken world, he drew on Reformed confessions from the African soil, such as the Belhar and Accra Confessions.

It was a privilege to host this conference in preparation of the 11^th Assembly meeting of the WCC at the University of Pretoria, and the organisers would like to thank all of the participants for their invaluable contributions.