Religious diversity is an unavoidable reality today - and an opportunity, according to the participants of an interfaith seminar held in July at the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Institute at Bossey outside Geneva, Switzerland.

The more radical social and political changes are, the more likely they are to bring out tension amongst social actors. It is in a context such as this - a Living Letters delegation visiting Bolivia in mid July heard - that Bolivian churches struggle to overcome violence in society.

Anna Muinonen is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) programme coordinator for FinnChurchAid, a member of Action by Churches Together (ACT) International providing emergency relief to victims of the long running conflict in the Central African country.

There is much hope in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that the guns will soon fall silent. But the trail of human rights abuses the combatants leave behind compels the churches to intervene.

From the smallest village to the biggest town in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) people are yearning for peace. Church leaders encourage the rebel fighters to disarm.

Dispelling the myth of "a little peaceful country", an international ecumenical Living Letters team visited Uruguay and discovered how violence manifests itself at the levels of family life, the state and youth, and how the churches in this South American country seek to overcome it.

Sister Pina Sandu says that in her Orthodox monastery, in the mountains of Romania, they practise "touristic spirituality". With a resort built up around the monastery, "like it or not" the tourists "hear the bells, hear the services three times a day… They hear, they feel, they know that something is happening." As a result, their curiosity leads them into the yard and into the church – "small, sure steps...

Its population may be dwindling, but the Palestinian village of Taybeh is striving to maintain normality in the midst of conflict, and hope in the midst of oppression.

What do you think about when you hear the word "health"? A doctor with a stethoscope, lab testing tubes, coloured pills? Wrong answer, grassroots health activists say. You should be thinking first of clean drinking water, nutritious food, a safe work environment and essential health care made accessible at the community level. Yes, even in times of influenza A.

As the centennial of a landmark mission event approaches in 2010, a global study process is mobilizing churches, theological institutions and mission bodies around the world.