In a world where conflicting national and ethnic aspirations seem more and more often to lead to the violence of repression or of armed revolution, can the churches live out the conviction they have expressed time and again that war is contrary to the will of God? The pervasiveness of violence in its many forms poses challenges to the churches today at all levels from the local to the global. What can churches do together effectively to overcome violence in the home, on the streets, in the media? What resources for non-violent resolution of conflicts can they find in the Bible and their theological traditions? In the context of the World Council of Churches' Programme to Overcome Violence, the author examines the opportunities and difficulties linked with the vocation of non-violence.