Showing posts with label Oadby and Wigston Borough Council. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oadby and Wigston Borough Council. Show all posts

Thursday, 11 October 2012

HELPERS GET HANDY AS PART OF SEWA DAY

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Helpers get handy as part of Sewa Day
Dozens of volunteers from Buddhist, Hindu, Jain and Sikh communities teamed up for a day of service to the community.
The came together with the St Philip's Centre in Evington, Leicester, to mark Sewa Day and helped clean up Fludes Lane, in Oadby, on Sunday.
The 40 volunteers cleared the area – a walk-through from the A6 to a group of houses – of litter and planted flower bulbs to spruce it up.
Rupa Kanabar, from Oadby, said: "Material things and money alone cannot bring groups together, so our project, as well as caring for the environemnt, aims to create inter faith understanding and friendships."
Riaz Ravat, deputy director at St Philip's Centre, said: "Sewa Day is a special time of the year when Buddhist, Hindu, Jain and Sikh communities work collectively for the good of all.
"These communities have a rich tradition of carrying out Sewa every day of the year, but Sewa Day is an event which co-ordinates charity efforts across the globe.
"We are delighted to be involved yet again in this important initiative."
Oadby and Wigston Borough Council provided jackets and equipment for the clean-up.

Friday, 27 July 2012

VANDALS PAINT OFFENSIVE SLOGANS ON WIGSTON CHURCH WALLS

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Vandals paint offensive slogans on Wigston church walls
Vandals have daubed anti-religious slogans over a church and community centre.
Officials at Central Avenue Christian Church, in Wigston, discovered the crude messages yesterday and its minister and volunteers spent the day trying to wash the graffiti off the walls using a high-pressure hose.
The slogans were painted on the front and side walls of the building in 9in-high letters.
Minister the Rev Alan Robinson, said: "The slogans were not very nice stuff, but we don't believe they were particularly aimed at our church, they were more against the Church in general.
"There are an awful lot of people who don't believe in God and don't think anyone else should either.
"I don't know how long it will take to get rid of.
"A police officer who came to investigate was going to ask if Oadby and Wigston Borough Council could help us remove it using its equipment.
"The police are very concerned and they took away a lid from the tin of paint which had been left behind.
"It's the first time we've had any problems such as this since we bought the building in about 1990.
"We demolished most of the building and rebuilt it as a church and community centre using voluntary labour."
From Monday to Friday, Central Avenue Community Link works with the church to operate a day centre for people with learning difficulties.
Mr Robinson said: "We help about 30 people aged from 25 to 50 and above with handicrafts, outings and computers.
"We are still running – this won't stop us.
"We're just about to start a drop-in centre on Tuesdays for anyone of any age who is lonely – because there is so much loneliness in the community.
"We have about 30 members but we are very active and very much involved with the community.
"We do more in the community than a lot of the larger churches."
Mr Robinson, who is one of two ministers at the church, said: "Whoever has done this hasn't just attacked the church, they've attacked the hub of the community as well."
A Leicestershire Police spokeswoman said: "Offensive words were painted on to the wall in Central Avenue some time between 6.50pm yesterday and 7.10am today.
"Anyone with any information about the incident or who may be responsible is asked to contact us."
The police can contacted on 101 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111