On 2 September the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee passed a resolution in recognition that Christian communities in many parts of the world today are the targets of different forms of religiously motivated violence or find themselves under threat and intimidation. The WCC Central Committee resolution:
A.    Challenges its member churches to hear the cries of sisters and brothers in Christ enduring violence, threat and intimidation throughout the world and to give voice to their suffering so that their pain will not be ignored; pray without ceasing and for an end to violence and a restoration of life; engage in acts of costly solidarity such as pastoral visits, generous sharing of financial resources, sending letters of support and consolation and, when possible, offering hospitality and sanctuary to those who are forced to become refugees while at the same time helping to facilitate their repatriation.
B.    Asks its member churches to engage in public witness challenging their own and, when appropriate, other governments to protect the lives of citizens in accordance with international standards of human rights.
E.    Encourages churches in all contexts to demonstrate interfaith sensitivity in their witness, by preaching and teaching against retaliation, honouring the right to religious freedom for all.
F.    Reminds the churches that their witness against anti-Christian violence is made more credible when it is matched by a clear commitment to protect all vulnerable persons and communities regardless of their religious identity.

The WCC Central Committee offered the following prayer as a resource to enable the churches’ engagement with the issue:
Gracious God and Saviour, the friend of all who suffer
And the hope of all who are driven towards despair,
Make us willing and ready to share the violation of those
Who have had the Cross pressed upon them.
May our embrace offer consolation and our voice call forth justice.
And in all circumstances may ours be a ministry not of vengeance,
But reconciliation, through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen