wfn.org | BRETHREN CALL FOR RELEASE OF PEACEMAKERS

[COBNews@aol.com]

Date: Dec. 7, 2005
Contact: Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
V: 847/742-5100 F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL: _CoBNews@AOL.Com_ (mailto:CoBNews@AOL.Com)

BRETHREN CALL FOR RELEASE OF KIDNAPED PEACEMAKERS

Dec. 7, 2005 (Elgin, IL) --  Statements calling for the release of the	four
volunteers from Christian Peacemaker Teams who were abducted in Iraq on  Nov.
26 have been issued by On Earth Peace and a group of Church of the
Brethren 
leaders.

Christian Peacemaker Teams also is calling on supporters around the world  to
sign an online petition for the captives' release and to hold prayer
vigils 
on their behalf.

The four men--Tom Fox, Norman Kember, James Loney, and Harmeet Singh
Sooden--are being held by a previously unknown group called Swords of  Righteousness
Brigade, which has threatened to kill the hostages unless all  prisoners
in US
and Iraqi detention centers are released by Dec. 8.

"We call upon all concerned Christians to pray for the release of these  men,
and for their safe return to their families, " said Bob Gross, co-director
of On Earth Peace, in a statement released Dec. 3.

"We join with Christian Peacemaker Teams in calling for an end to the
occupation of Iraq and the violence carried out against its people," Gross
 saild.
He added that "we know the work of CPT and we know that these men are not
spies nor are they involved in religious missionary work. They are working on
behalf of the Iraqi people, especially those suffering from the occupation of
their country." (See _www.brethren.org/genbd/newsline/index.htm_
(http://www.brethren.org/genbd/newsline/index.htm)   for the full statement.)

"We are deeply saddened and brought to a place of clear conviction by the
Nov. 26 kidnaping of four Christian Peacemaker Team members in Iraq," said the
statement from the three Brethren leaders--Ronald Beachley, moderator of the
Church of the Brethren Annual Conference; Stan Noffsinger, general secretary
of  the Church of the Brethren General Board; and Phil Jones, director of the
Brethren Witness/Washington Office.

"It is imperative that we continue to lift in prayer our concern toward
the 
active violence that remains a part of the foreign policy of our nation, and
our  support for the faithful witness of those who seek to serve all humankind
in  nonviolent and peaceful ways," the statement continued. "We lift in prayer
today  those who are captured in the cycle of violence that war brings
whether they be  innocent civilians in the fields of war, the human tools of war as
soldiers,  relief and humanitarian workers, or non-governmental contractors
and support  persons. We pray for the immediate families of those affected by
deep pain and  grief of war...."

The statement went on, "Even as we express concern for our own Christian
peace workers, we acknowledge that over 225 persons have been kidnaped during
this time of war in Iraq, thousands have died on both sides of the fields of
battle, civilian and military. Our prayers are for all persons affected by the
violence of this war." (See _www.brethren.org/genbd/newsline/index.htm_
(http://www.brethren.org/genbd/newsline/index.htm)   for the full statement.)

According to CPT, others calling for release of the men include three  Muslim
detainees in Toronto, Canada--Mahmoud Jaballah, Mohammad Mahjoub, and  Hassan
Almreiâwho said they have been detained without charge for up for five  and a
half years under security certificates by the government of Canada, which
alleges that they are linked to terrorist organizations. They identified Loney
as "one of thousands of people who have been fighting to right this wrong,"
and  said, "This is the same James Loney who has reached out to the families of
the  Abu Ghraib prisoners. It pains our heart to know that a person of this
calibre  is being held captive. We care about his freedom more than we do our
own."

Also leading Palestinians such as Ikram al-Sabri, the head Mufti of
Palestine; Wasif Abu-Yousef, a representative of the National and Islamic Forces  in
Palestine; and the National and Islamic Forces in Hebron, which held a press
conference on Nov. 30, have joined in calling for the peacemakersâ release, as
well as villagers from At-Tuwani, where CPT has had an accompaniment team for
 two years. Among other groups calling for the captives' release was the
World  Council of Churches, which said that the hostages' "prolonged captivity is
not  in anyone's interest and is likely to further embitter and polarize Iraqi
 society, causing anger and frustration" and reiterated its assessment of the
war  on Iraq as being "immoral, illegal, and ill-advised." The National
Council of  Churches called on members to take time in their Sunday worship
services to  offer special prayers for the peacemakers, and invited other religious
communities meeting to "remember our brothers."

Church of the Brethren congregations holding prayer vigils for the four
peacemakers include First Church of the Brethren in Chicago, Ill., which held a
vigil on Dec. 2; and Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren in Elgin,
Ill., 
which plans a candlelight prayer vigil for 7:30-8 p.m. today.

To register a vigil so that others may join from the community, go to
_http://peace.mennolink.org/prayervigils.html_
(http://peace.mennolink.org/prayervigils.html) .  For a list of planned vigils see
_http://peace.mennolink.org/vigillist.html_ (http://peace.mennolink.org/vigillist.html) .

Those wishing to register support for the captured peacemakers are invited
by CPT to sign an online petition. Go to _http://freethecpt.org_
(http://freethecpt.org)  for a petition in English  or to
_http://electroniciraq.net/news/2210.shtml_ (http://electroniciraq.net/news/2210.shtml)   for a petition in
Arabic.

For more information about Christian Peacemaker Teams go to _www.cpt.org_
(http://www.cpt.org) .

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to
continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its faith  in
community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith
traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrates its  300th
anniversary in 2008. It counts about 130,000 members across the United
States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Brazil,
the 
Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nigeria.

# # #

For more information contact:

Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
Director of News Services
Church of the  Brethren General Board
1451 Dundee Ave.
Elgin, IL 60120
847-742-5100  ext. 260
_cbrumbaugh-cayford_gb@brethren.org_
(mailto:cbrumbaugh-cayford_gb@brethren.org)

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