FAQ 21. What is Ekklesia's relationship to Christian Peacemaker Teams?

We enjoy good relations, common values and an association with Christian Peacemaker Teams in the UK through our membership of the Root and Branch network. But we have no institutional or financial ties.

Ekklesia coordinated the November 2006 London press conference for former Iraq CPT hostages Jim Loney, Harmeet Singh Sooden and Norman Kember. Our coverage of the hostage crisis (November 2005 – March 2006) was probably the most extensive of any single news outlet. We produced briefings to correct some of the misinformation that got into the media at the time, and we factually challenged the then head of the British army’s suggestion of ingratitude on the part of the captors towards those who helped secure their release.

We hugely value the work of CPT in violence reduction and conflict transformation. We hope to continue to work with them on a cooperative but independent basis.

The forthcoming book on responses to the Iraq hostage crisis includes a chapter written jointly by Ekklesia co-director Simon Barrow and consultant Tim Nafziger.

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