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Individuals, groups, churches and councils of churches from Kenya to Sweden to the United States to Australia are carrying out hundreds of advocacy actions involving Christians concerned about the Gaza crisis, especially the collective punishment of the people of Gaza, and the need for a just and lasting peace between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples.

Reiterating its call for a ceasefire in Gaza, the World Council of Churches has appealed to Christians everywhere to pray for peace and to advocate with their governments for a just peace in Israel and Palestine.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia has condemned "the violence against Gaza" and called on "governments in the region and abroad" to seek the protection of "those who are at risk [...] on both sides of the border".

Peace is a way of life, says Rev. Dr Geiko Müller-Fahrenholz, and it is the mission of the churches to bring up new generations of Christians to live out God's peace in all aspects of their lives.

They are called Pueblo Nuevo (new town), Bella Flor (beautiful flower), Nueva Esperanza (new hope), El Tesoro (the treasure). Names that clearly show what "humanitarian zones" mean to the people who live there. Hundreds of families displaced by violence in Colombia's rural areas are trying to rebuild their lives in these zones while at the same time demanding the return of their land.

"Enough is enough! The Colombian people want and deserve peace." With this message, members of a Living Letters team began their journey home after visiting this South American country on behalf of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in early December.

"And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)

A peace rally composed of teachers and peace activists was flagged off on 9 December 2008 in Bhubaneshwar, in the Indian state of Orissa, which has recently been the scene of violence against Christians.

Pakistani Christian communities confronted with the presence of the Taliban and Al-Qaida serve their Muslim neighbours in an unfriendly environment.

In Haitian Creole they are called "restaveks" (from French rester avec - to stay with) because they live with a family that is not their own. Rather than foster children, they are like slaves to their host families.