“A challenging conversation” was, in the words of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Ruttel, the one that took place yesterday with the members of the Dutch Council of Churches. The conversation took its cue from “local volunteers”. “The Church is the greatest volunteer organisation in the Netherlands, and these people’s dedication is important now that participation is one of the pillars of society”, a notice posted on the websites of the Churches says. The conversation, which also covered the refugee crisis, resulted in the promise to have another meeting with the Security and Justice Minister, Klaas Dijkhoff, in the future. Dirk Gudde, president of the Council of Churches, gave Rutte “Work and prosperity for tomorrow”, a survey of the socio-economic situation of the country, which the Churches published in July. “In the lives of many people in our country, the Church is essential”, Rutte wrote in his Facebook profile, after the meeting. “The Churches play a key role for the whole of society as well: they take care of relationships between different communities, not only within the congregation but also with those who are outside, regardless of their background. The Churches show that we must take care of each other. This is a real message for our society”. The Catholic Church was represented by the Bishop of Breda, Jan Liesen, and by Suzan Daalmans, deputy president and general secretary of the Bishops Conference, respectively.