Leo van Doesburg

Hundreds of Christian leaders from 56 countries and Israeli leaders celebrate and pray together for the Peace of Jerusalem at the 1 st Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast. “We are writing a new chapter in the fulfilment of of Isaiah’s prophecies. You are a part of this chapter ” (Yehuda Glick, Rabbi and Knesset Member) Exactly 50 years after the reunification of Jerusalem, between 6-8 June, the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast as well as other related side events took place in Jerusalem. I had the honor to be involved in these events as one of the Founders of the Movement of the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast and also on behalf of the ECPM. The events consisted of an opening meeting in the Israeli Parliament (the Knesset), a reception at the residence of the President of Israel, a lunch for Members of (European) Parliament organized by the ECPM in collaboration with the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus (KCAC) and the Israel Allies Foundation (IAF), a concert with (Jewish) Psalms and Christian...

On November 2nd I was invited to participate in the Latvian National Prayer Breakfast. This year's topic was “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God”. It was an impressive and powerful event, in which politicians and Members of Parliament shared their thoughts about the importance of peace and reconciliation.  Following the Prayer Breakfast, an international discussion was organized on “Peace as a virtue and the process of forming peace in contemporary society”. Speakers included: Inese Libina-Egner, Deputy of the Saeima and Legal advisor to the President, Ilmars Latkovskis and Inga Bite, both Deputies of the Saeima, Pavil Brvers, Bishop of Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia, Miervaldis Krotovs: Chairman of Talsi Regional Municipality, Inga Berzina, Chairman of Kuldiga City Council and Joseph Dustin, founder of organization “Streams of Life” in Latvia and Lithuania. The discussion was moderated by Inese Libina, Deputy of the Saeima. I felt privi...

On the 28th of August, the 1st Moldovan Parliamentarian Prayer Breakfast took place. In total, 10 Members of the Parliament of Moldova from 3 different parties participated (the Moldovan parliament has 101 MPs) as well as an MP from Canada and representatives from the Canadian Christian Embassy. I addressed the participants on be half of the ECPM and expressed the importance of parliamentary prayer groups all over Europe (see my message here ) and read a message from the Ecumenical Prayer Group from the Romanian Parliament addressed to the participants of the 1st Moldovan Prayer Group. It was a good and friendly atmosphere with personal messages based on the love of Jesus and the Holy Scriptures. It was encouraging to see the open and personal message also of the participants and to see that the principles of Jesus unites politicians of different parties. I was impressed by MP Valeriu Ghilețchi (Moldovan MP and member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe) who organ...

It was early morning on 21 September 2011. The hills of Dnipro stand as a symbol of the historical and cultural heritage of Ukraine, while offering a beautiful view of the city of Kiev. Although the sun has already risen, the city is still covered in fog that is slowly disappearing: it looks like Kiev is waking up. An historic event is taking place: the first Ukrainian National Prayer Breakfast and a forum of Christian politicians on “Christian values in a globalized world” are organized today. Are the hills and the waking up of the city not the best symbols you can give to these events? Will there be a waking up of politicians, representatives of religious institutions and churches, NGOs and institutions for a stronger collaboration in order to promote Christian values in the Ukraine? These were questions that occupied my mind when I stood on the hill, watching the city. The fog was soon disappearing.

From 8-10 December, the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate and the Ecumenical Prayer Group of the Romanian Parliament will organize the 5th Romanian Prayer Breakfast. This event will be organized in collaboration with the ECPM, the Bible Society, and the Dutch Reformed Party. The theme will be: "Christian values in politics" and will take place in the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest. Program is as follows: Wednesday, 8 December 2010 18.00 - 19.00 Arrival of the participants 19.00 - 23.00 Cocktail offered by Mrs. Roberta Alma ANASTASE, President of the Chamber of Deputies, in honor of the participants Cultural - Religious Program. Thursday, 9 December 2010 08.00 - 08.30 Arrival of the participants 08.30 - 10.00 Romanian Prayer Breakfast 10.00 - 11.00 Tour in the Palace of Parliament 11.00 - 13.00 Opening debate. „Christian Values in Politics” 13.00 - 14.30 Lunch. 15.00 - 18.00 Resumption of debate. Conclusions. 18.00 - 19.00 Cultural program. 19.30 - 21.00 Dinner. Friday, 10 De...