100 days of captivity for Christian peacemakers marked with vigils
-06/03/06
Prayers we
100 days of captivity for Christian peacemakers marked with vigils
-06/03/06
Prayers were said throughout the country this weekend to mark 100 days since Briton Norman Kember, and his three colleagues, were taken hostage in Iraq.
Up to 100 people held a silent vigil in Trafalgar Square in London to pray for the safe release of the 74-year-old peace activist and his fellow captives.
During the hour-long vigil prayers were said and candles were lit to remember Mr Kember, who was kidnapped with three others during a mission, by a group demanding the release of Iraqi prisoners.
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A body calling itself the Swords of Righteousness Brigade claimed to be holding the men, who were abducted in Baghdad on November 26 last year.
Rev Alan Betteridge, president of the Baptist Peace Fellowship, who has been a friend of Mr Kember’s for over 40 years, said churches throughout the UK had been asked to open their doors this weekend to allow people to pray for the hostages.
“It has been a weekend for prayer but also raising awareness of the situation because there is no news from Baghdad and so it’s easy to forget the hostages,” he said.
Mr Kember of Pinner, north London, American Tom Fox, 54, and Canadians James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, had travelled to Iraq as a “gesture of solidarity” as part of international peace group Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT).
Related Comment
The hostages were last seen earlier this year in a short videotape broadcast on Arabic television station Al-Jazeera.
The 55-second film clip, which is dated January 21, is the first concrete evidence the four are alive since a previous video was released on December 7.
The Swords of Righteousness said this was the last chance for US and Iraqi authorities to release all Iraqi prisoners or the four would be killed.
100 days of captivity for Christian peacemakers marked with vigils
-06/03/06
Prayers were said throughout the country this weekend to mark 100 days since Briton Norman Kember, and his three colleagues, were taken hostage in Iraq.
Up to 100 people held a silent vigil in Trafalgar Square in London to pray for the safe release of the 74-year-old peace activist and his fellow captives.
During the hour-long vigil prayers were said and candles were lit to remember Mr Kember, who was kidnapped with three others during a mission, by a group demanding the release of Iraqi prisoners.
Related Articles
A body calling itself the Swords of Righteousness Brigade claimed to be holding the men, who were abducted in Baghdad on November 26 last year.
Rev Alan Betteridge, president of the Baptist Peace Fellowship, who has been a friend of Mr Kember’s for over 40 years, said churches throughout the UK had been asked to open their doors this weekend to allow people to pray for the hostages.
“It has been a weekend for prayer but also raising awareness of the situation because there is no news from Baghdad and so it’s easy to forget the hostages,” he said.
Mr Kember of Pinner, north London, American Tom Fox, 54, and Canadians James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, had travelled to Iraq as a “gesture of solidarity” as part of international peace group Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT).
Related Comment
The hostages were last seen earlier this year in a short videotape broadcast on Arabic television station Al-Jazeera.
The 55-second film clip, which is dated January 21, is the first concrete evidence the four are alive since a previous video was released on December 7.
The Swords of Righteousness said this was the last chance for US and Iraqi authorities to release all Iraqi prisoners or the four would be killed.