Natchez &8212; Angela Davis knows Tom Fox as a kind, gentle man, in Iraq on a mission of peace.

Fox is among four of Davis&8217; colleagues in a Christian group who were taken hostage last weekend in Iraq. Davis, a Natchez native, is praying for their release.

&8220;We&8217;re all very sad and very shocked,&8221; said Davis, who spent two weeks with Fox and other members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq earlier this year.

CPT trains its aid workers to be prepared for threats, Davis said.

&8220;The threat of danger is very real in Iraq,&8221; she said. &8220;CPT trains everyone to be prepared as much as you can for this type of thing. But it&8217;s a risk worth taking for the cause.&8221;

That cause, Davis said, is working with the Iraqi people to bring peace to the nation.

In May and June, Davis worked with CPT, meeting with Iraqis and various religious leaders to hear their stories. Davis, a 1999 graduate of Natchez High School, is a second year master of divinity student at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Although worried about Fox and the three other members of the Peacemakers team, Davis said she is heartened that so many religious leaders in the Middle East have come forward to speak on behalf of the captives.

&8220;We were hoping once the story got straight about who they are, they would be released,&8221; she said.

Wednesday, a group of influential Sunni clerics called for the release of the hostages, saying they should be granted their freedom as a humanitarian gesture.

Along with Fox, a 54-year-old Quaker and father of two from Virginia, those taken hostage from CPT are:

4Norman Kember, 74, a medical professor from London

4James Loney, 41, a community worker from Toronto

4Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, a Canadian electrical engineer.

4Susanne Osthoff, 43, a German archeologist who is not a member of the Christian Peacemaker Team.

Davis said one of CPT&8217;s biggest missions in Iraq has been to document prison abuses in both U.S. and Iraqi-run prisons.

Davis learned about Christian Peacemaker Teams in 2003, as the United States was gearing up for the war in Iraq.

&8220;I was struggling with what I thought about war and peace, and I couldn&8217;t reconcile it with Jesus&8217; teachings,&8221; Davis said.

CPT offers an alternative to war, she said, which is why she and fellow peace activists can&8217;t believe their colleagues are now in captivity.

But despite the danger, Davis is planning a return trip to Iraq if CPT is still working there next summer.

&8220;Fear is never a reason not to do the work,&8221; she said. &8220;Safety is a concern, but it&8217;s not more important than the work.&8221;

Davis said Christian Peacemaker Teams is asking for prayers that the hostages will be released. And she also has one other request.

&8220;I hope people will understand why people are willing to risk their lives for peace, and take their concerns seriously,&8221; she said.