WCC COMMEMORATES THE LEGACY OF BALDWIN SJOLLEMA

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is commemorating Baldwin Sjollema, who passed away from heart failure at his home in Geneva, Switzerland, at the age of 97 on September 6.

Among his numerous accomplishments, Sjollema is renowned for becoming the first director of the newly established WCC Programme to Combat Racism in 1970, which granted funds to southern African liberation movements, including the African National Congress. In total, more than $12 million was distributed for anti-racism efforts globally.

The Programme to Combat Racism advocated for divestment from South Africa and the closure of bank accounts from banks supporting the apartheid regime. The WCC set an example by closing its accounts with three major European banks involved in reinforcing the apartheid system, urging economic disengagement from racist institutions as a means of nonviolent action to overcome apartheid. Many churches followed the WCC’s example after intense debates in their synods and general councils.

Sjollema led the Programme to Combat Racism from its inception, always maintaining that Christians were called to live out their faith through action.

Continuing the Legacy

WCC General Secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay extended his condolences to Sjollema’s loved ones and the entire WCC family.

“Just a few weeks ago, when we gathered with WCC retirees, Baldwin shared a message in which he said: ‘We can never achieve justice and peace ourselves. We can only receive them from God as a gift. But at the same time, God’s gift is humanity’s task.’”

Pillay urged the WCC fellowship and all people of goodwill to carry forward this task by honoring the legacy and messages of Baldwin Sjollema.

“Baldwin’s legacy provides the inspiration and wisdom we need to address today’s precarious world situation,” said Pillay. “He challenged structures, authority, and power in ways that changed the world. May we strive to do the same.”

WCC Moderator Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm reflected that Sjollema embodied the Christian conviction that racism is a sin against God and humanity. “This conviction is fundamental to the work of the WCC,” he said. “Baldwin Sjollema was one of the most influential and impressive proponents of this conviction in the WCC’s history.”

Bedford-Strohm added that Sjollema played a crucial role in helping to dismantle a racist regime in South Africa. “We see the traces of his blessed work even today,” he said.

WCC President from North America, Rev. Dr Angelique Keturah Walker-Smith, expressed gratitude for Sjollema’s legacy.

“We thank God for his powerful legacy, which serves as a testament to bold courage and love for one’s neighbor,” said Walker-Smith. “This led to voices and actions of hope denouncing the scourge of racism—voices and actions that have benefited us all. May we too exhibit a bold courage of radical love that results in positive change for all of us today.”

Former WCC Acting General Secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca noted that Sjollema left a legacy for future generations. “He was a board member of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey for many years and contributed his expertise to the academic development of Bossey, returning annually as a guest lecturer for our students.”

Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser, former WCC General Secretary, described Sjollema as a man of profound faith and unwavering commitment to justice. “Baldwin’s deep convictions were rooted in the belief that true Christian faith must be expressed through tangible action,” he said. “His leadership in the programme extended far beyond words; it was about transforming the world, dismantling oppressive structures, and liberating those bound by injustice.”

Raiser also remembered Sjollema as a courageous individual. “He took stands that were often unpopular, knowing the price that could come with challenging the powerful forces that upheld injustice,” he said. “Yet, his life was a testament to the power of faith-driven action.”

Rev. Dr Odair Pedroso Mateus, who retired as Director of the WCC's Commission on Faith and Order at the end of 2022, reflected on Sjollema’s deep involvement in the ecumenical struggle against apartheid.

“Through the ecumenical struggle against apartheid, to which Baldwin was profoundly associated, the Reformed family of churches declared that apartheid is a sin and its theological justification is heresy. The WCC came to a deeper understanding of unity as God’s gift in Christ and our task as churches, namely that the search for communion in apostolic faith, sacramental life, and ministry is inseparable from the gospel-based conviction that racism is incompatible with legitimate diversity, as Faith and Order would later state in its document ‘The Church: Towards a Common Vision,’” said Mateus.

‘Not as One Person’

In 2004, Sjollema received the Oliver Tambo Order from South African President Thabo Mbeki, recognizing his commitment to the South African liberation movement and his particular struggle against apartheid.

The decision to honor Sjollema was a formal acknowledgment of South Africa’s recognition of the WCC’s efforts to support the liberation movement in South and southern Africa. At that time, Sjollema himself noted that millions of people were engaged in the struggle against apartheid worldwide. “We made a small contribution to the overall struggle which was fought primarily by the people of South Africa themselves,” he said.

Later that year, the WCC also honored Sjollema with a special ceremony and plaque in Geneva.

Accepting the WCC plaque, Sjollema said, “This is not something we did as one person but as a team.”

Nevertheless, “the end of official apartheid in South Africa does not mean the end of racism,” warned then-WCC General Secretary Sam Kobia at the Geneva ceremony. “Racism is still very much alive.”

Pauline Webb, vice-moderator of the WCC central committee at the time, stated, “Racism isn’t just about attitude. It’s about who holds the power.”

Years later, in 2019, during an Ecumenical Strategic Forum convened by the WCC, Sjollema was among religious leaders who examined the painful history of racism and also posed difficult questions about how churches might be accountable for racism today.

“We seek to forget rather than to remember,” said Sjollema. “There is no doubt that the issues of refugees and asylum, hospitality to and solidarity with people of different races, religions, cultures, and sexual identities are part and parcel of the racism and discrimination today.”

Sjollema grew up in Rotterdam, Netherlands, during World War II and then embarked on a lifetime of international work for the WCC and the International Labour Organisation, particularly in the field of racial justice.

In 2004, he was honored with the Order of the Companions of Oliver R. Tambo by the Government of South Africa.

He graduated in Sociology from the University of Utrecht, Netherlands.

From 1953-56, he assisted Dutch Indonesians emigrating to the USA, working for Dutch Inter-Church Aid in Utrecht, Netherlands.

During 1957-58, he was in charge of the Vienna, Austria, Refugee Office of the WCC, assisting refugees from the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.

From 1958-1981, he worked at the WCC headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, first as Executive Secretary of the WCC Migration Secretariat, where he worked from 1958-1969, before becoming the first Director of the WCC Programme to Combat Racism.

In 1982, Sjollema left the WCC to direct the International Labour Office Anti-Apartheid Programme.

In 1990, Nelson Mandela, shortly after his release from prison, visited the WCC headquarters and addressed the entire staff to express his special gratitude for the WCC’s solidarity with the people of South Africa during the most difficult years of their struggle for freedom.

The WCC became part of a worldwide movement resisting apartheid, striving for racial justice. To achieve this goal, significant resistance had to be overcome within the churches, hindered by theological traditions and historical prejudices.

In his book “Never Bow to Racism—A Personal Account of the Ecumenical Struggle,” published by the WCC in 2015, Sjollema wrote: “We must say no to the destruction of life, to injustice, and the misuse of power. We have learned that resistance is a way of life. We will have to find new forms of resistance as we engage in hard and sometimes hopeless tasks. Resistance must continue as long as there is a threat to humanity, violence against human life. To resist is, first and foremost, to keep the fragile flame of life alive. It is not necessarily something heroic or secret, an underground movement. What matters most when we are faithful to the gospel is the liberation of people and the defense of values, without which life is not possible. The responsibility of human beings for each other extends to all humanity throughout time.”

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, in his endorsement of the book, wrote: “We owe a great deal to Baldwin Sjollema’s dedication and unwavering opposition to injustice. His life story recalls the heroism and tragedies that accompanied that work of solidarity and social change. I invite readers to hear his story and to share his deep commitment never to bow to racism.”