Pacific churches need courage and wisdom to face the legacy of colonialism, migration problems, the downside of tourism, questions of democracy and good governance, the ravages of climate change and geo-political tensions, a gathering of Christians in the region has heard.

Immigrants are the new scapegoats in many modern societies, says a leading Christian figure in the United States. People of faith should be among those seeking a new deal for those displaced and on the move.

Representatives of church bodies associated with the World Council of Churches (WCC) from Africa, Europe and the Middle East are gathering in Brussels, 6-9 July 2007, to seek responses to migration in and between these regions.

Fredrick Nzwili looks at recent global and regional initiatives by the churches to confront the complex political and humanitarian issues underlying current crises around migration - especially in the South.

The impact of global migration on the church and on the most vulnerable is the theme of a 6-8 June 2007 conference in Nairobi, Kenya, oganized by the Global Ecumenical Network on Migration (GEM).

Some 1 billion people will be forced from their homes by 2050 as climate change deepens an already huge global migration crisis, predicts an authoritative new report by Christian Aid - which shows that scapegoating immigrants is the wrong approach.

Baptists from across the country will be travelling to Brighton on Friday (4 May) for the Baptist Assembly, the biggest Baptist event of the year.

A new study from the influential Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life charts the major demographic changes in US religious life, especially the impact of the growing Spanish-speaking population.