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An international consultation on Muslim-Christian relations ended with a "call for the formation of a joint working group which can be mobilized whenever a crisis threatens to arise in which Christians and Muslims find themselves in conflict" today in Geneva, Switzerland.

Christian and Muslim leaders and scholars meeting at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, site of the World Council of Churches (WCC) central offices today issued a joint statement of condemnation for the criminal attack on the Sayidat al-Nejat Church in Baghdad this past Sunday, 31 October.

The World Council of Churches general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, has condemned the "criminal act of terror" Sunday in Baghdad, Iraq, when gunmen took hostages in the Sayidat al-Nejat Church. The death toll from the hostage standoff rose to some 58 people on Monday, including priests, women and children and Iraqi security forces who conducted a raid to end the siege.

High-ranking Muslim and Christian leaders as well as renowned scholars and interfaith practitioners, representing various Islamic and Christians organizations, will gather 1-4 November at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva for an international consultation on Christian and Muslim concerns.

At the 50th meeting since its foundation in 1946, the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) decided to refocus, establishing four thematic working groups, in order better to respond to the needs of the member churches.

The Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, reflected on the theme "Peace on Earth" at the closing service of prayer at this year's United Nations Advocacy Week, held in Geneva from 27 September to 1 October.

A World Council of Churches’ Living Letters team recently visited the Northern Territory of Australia visiting the communities of Galiwink’u, Mapuru, Wadeye, Hermannsburg, Amoonguna, Mount Nancy Town Camps.

“We pray for Africa, especially for Somalia, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo where violence and suffering are a tragic reality,” was the prayer from Nairobi at an International Day of Prayer for Peace event sponsored by the All-Africa Conference of Churches.

This year’s International Day of Prayer for Peace, 21 September, features African churches working to build peace within and between diverse communities. The WCC invites Christians and churches to observe the day with prayers and liturgies and to give special attention to peace projects in Africa.

A Living Letters team travelling on behalf of the WCC was welcomed to Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia by a Larrakia elder and regional church leaders.