Prayer vigils will take place across the UK on the 4th and 5th March to mark 100 days since British hostage Norman Kember was abducted in Iraq along with three other members of a Christian Peacemakers Team.
As a symbol of renewed hope, hundreds of paper doves will be made for an inter-faith gathering at 3pm on Sunday in London’s Trafalgar Square.The kidnappers, operating under the title ‘The Swords of Righteous Brigades’, have previously set a number of deadlines in December 2005 calling for the US to release all its Iraqi prisoners. However, each time the deadlines passed without any further word.
Earlier this year, Jan. 28th, video footage was screened on Aljazeera television, showing the four Christian Peacemakers: Norman Kember, Tom Fox, Harmeet Singh Sooden and James Loney.
The Baptist Peace Fellowship has instigated the chain of vigils across many towns and cities in the UK, hoping for unity in prayer for the four missing Christians.
Briton, Norman Kember was involved both in the Baptist Peace Fellowship and in Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR), an international network of religious pacifists and with Pax Christi.
This week, Kember’s wife released a new statement saying: “Norman has always been involved in peace-making activities ever since he chose to do hospital work instead of national service. He went with a peace team to support those who were suffering in Iraq. On 26 November he and Tom, James and Harmeet were taken as hostages. Two videos have been shown and two dead-lines have passed.”She told how the period since her husband’s abduction had been highly traumatic, but also added, “We have been wonderfully supported by our friends, by church people of all denominations, by people of other faiths, including Muslims and by hundreds of well-wishers worldwide. I'd like to thank everyone who is taking the time and trouble to pray and to send cards, letters and flowers.”
An Open Letter written in support of the missing men and signed by many Muslims and Christians said: ‘We long for true peace to be restored to the people of Iraq and we ask our government to do all it can to secure this peace. This must include:
- clear condemnation of detention without charge and the abuse of prisoners
- accountability on the part of all UK military personnel for their treatment of prisoners and of the Iraqi people
- work with the Iraqi authorities to ensure that the highest United Nations human rights standards of treatment and due process for detainees are met.’
Details of the prayer vigils can be found by clicking HERE
