Christian faith, Croydon, Croydon Council, Health & Safety, London boroughs,
Thursday 18th August 2011
Faced with destruction and damage on the street outside their church, Pastor Caleb of UCKG’s HelpCentre on London Road, Croydon his wife Ana Paula, and nine younger members of the congregation set about an immediate clean-up following last week’s riots.
Starting right outside the HelpCentre, they spent the entire day sweeping the street from end to end, picking up litter and clearing broken glass and rubbish. Some of them put aside their normal day’s work to be exemplary citizens, while those who were on vacation from college and university willingly gave up their leisure.
Unbeknown to the UCKG team, their church’s community outreach department was also in contact with Croydon Council offering volunteers for the clean-up. Unlike Hackney and Enfield where the councils were unable to accept similar offers for Health & Safety reasons, Croydon council welcomed the help.
When council officials arrived on site and found the UCKG HelpCentre members cleaning, they immediately supplied a range of equipment to make the work easier.
Pavola Cabral of the UCKG HelpCentre’s community outreach department said: “Our volunteers were delighted when the officials handed out excellent quality work gloves, litter picks, trolleys for the collection of rubbish and plenty of black bags.
“The council made sure that our members did not attempt to tackle any areas that were potentially too delicate or dangerous, in the interests of health and safety. We still got a lot of work done, to everyone’s satisfaction, and are pleased to have contributed to the return to normal life.”
The UCKG HelpCentre is a fast-growing Pentecostal church with branches in many of the parts of the UK that were affected by the riots and looting of the past week, including Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol and a number of London boroughs.
Anyone who is still troubled in any way about these events is most welcome to call our 24 hour helpline – 020 7686 6000 – which is serviced by a team of fully trained pastors and volunteers or contact their local* pastors. Every branch is manned by two pastors, who provide support and help to all-comers from a Christian point of view.
ENDS
Note to editors
UCKG is a Christian church and registered charity that offers a range of practical support activities alongside spiritual support and comfort. It reached the UK in 1995 and has gone from strength to strength, providing support and spreading the Christian faith. There are 39 UCKG HelpCentre branches in England and Wales.
*Click here for a full list of HelpCentres
For further information please contact the UCKG HelpCentre Press Officer via e-mail on press@uckgnew.org or call 020 7686 6033.
