Is there real potential for visible unity among today's churches, or are cultural and dogmatic differences too great to be overcome? Theodore Gill takes the temperature at a major global gathering looking at these concerns.

It has been well said that peace is not the absence of noise, trouble or hard work – rather it is to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart, says Jill Segger in the first of a series on the Quaker Testimonies.

Seventeen years after the war ended in Mozambique, churches are still collecting and destroying weapons and cleaning up areas of unexploded ordnance so the land can be farmed, says Juan Michel. It shows how hope can be built out of destruction.

The Elders initiative is seeking to bring wisdom and perspective to global issues, says Martin Marty. What they have to take on are not just secular assumptions but ones deeply rooted in mistaken religious ideologies.

Faith and civic groups are engaged in a whole series of campaigns for people and planet, says Niall Cooper. But if politicians are to be held accountable up to and beyond the election, common action is needed in place of competing cacophony.

Following recent action by Africa, a majority of the world's countries have now banned nuclear weapons from their national territory for the first time, says Jonathan Frerichs. The churches have played an important role in this.

Gerrard Winstanley was a ‘true leveller’ in the C17th and a significant theologian, says biblical scholar Chris Rowland. We do well to remember his words and example.

The armed conflict in Angola ended seven years ago, says Juan Michel but the consequences of four decades of war are felt still today. And women seem to be bearing most of the brunt.

Mercy cannot be earned, says Jill Segger. It is not a quid pro quo. It is pure gift and whenever we exercise it, we come closer to the Divine nature. The Ali al-Megrahi case makes us uncomfortable about this - and necessarily so.

The values we are willing to tolerate and those we would like, need to be brought closer together, says Jill Segger. Forgiveness and grace need to be part of the picture if destruction is not to reign.

A joint statement from groups working together in the Church of England

The current situation for Israelis and Palestinians is miserable and stalemated, says Harry Hagopian. But in analysing the role, outlook and prospects for each of the protagonists in the region, he argues that a break with the politics of despair is essential.

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

After a year as an Anglican military chaplain, Ekklesia partner Sande Ramage reflects on her experience and makes some proposals for how the role might be changed

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, says Juan Michel.