CPTnet
5 December 2005
CHICAGO/TORONTO: Vigils scheduled on three continents for CPTers missing in
Iraq
Supporters of Jim Loney, Tom Fox, Norman Kember and Harmeet
Sooden--currently being held in Iraq--have organized twenty-four vigils this
week in Canada, the U.S.A., Italy and New Zealand. For the list vigils, go
to http://peace.mennolink.org/vigillist.html. If you have scheduled a
vigil, or are in the process of organizing one please register it at
http://peace.mennolink.org/prayervigils.html so others in your area may
attend.
Below is an account of a vigil organized by the Baptist Peace Fellowship of
North America that took place in Toronto on 4 December 2005:
"I've only met one of them. But I feel connected to them all. Four
fragile, vulnerable brothers in Christ, co-pilgrims on a journey of faith,
whose very faith drew them to a place of chaos and violence and destruction,
that they might provide voices for the voiceless, courageous accompaniment
for the harassed, bodily shields for the endangered. Now, as guests of an
Iraqi group calling itself "the Swords of Righteousness Brigade", they find
themselves voiceless, harassed and endangered.
"These four men are just that-- four men, but they are also so much more.
They are sons, brothers, partners, fathers, uncles, grandfathers,
colleagues, citizens; connected to many souls directly and to a world of
concerned others from diverse nations and religions and ideologies who share
their humanity, pleading for a safe reunion with their loved ones.
"Isn't that what all people deserve? A place of safety, to be with those
they love and by whom they are loved? Isn't that why these four men are in
Iraq?
"I added my small voice to countless others on Sunday afternoon, huddled
with a small group of BPFNA colleagues and an interested bevy of media
representatives from four Toronto/national outlets. We held up pictures of
Harmeet and Norman and Tom and Jim. We lit candles and spoke Jim's words
from a litany he composed as an expression of hope in the face of much
violence. And we sang "Nothing can Trouble," words of defiant, even
desperate hope in the face of these difficult hours. We spoke of
solidarity, of non-violence, of risky peace making, of ideals that no
partisan ideology can ultimately destroy.
"For a few minutes on a cold Toronto afternoon, we held vigil for these four
men, who are connected with all who suffer the indignities, terror, violence
and hatred of war. The vigil continues as we carry these men in our hearts
through the hours and days ahead, and we pray to a merciful God that all
violence would cease: in our world, in our nation, in our communities, in
our homes, in our hearts. "
Bob Paterson-Watt
President, Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) seeks to enlist the whole church in
organized, nonviolent alternatives to war and places teams of trained,
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