Travelling mission sparks un-Christian welcome
A CAMP of more than 60 gypsy and traveller caravans has come to 'spread the love of Jesus'.
The camp, on a field off Leeds Road in White Lee, is part of the Light and Life evangelical mission, which aims to bring Christianity to the local gypsy and traveller community.
The caravans are parked up around two tents, a larger one for regular church meetings, and a smaller one for the children's Bible club.
The camp travels around the country holding services and encouraging people to go along and join in.
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Pastor Jackie Boyd said the group always rented fields from local farmers for the week, and the camp would move on to the next location at the weekend.
He said: "We are on a mission to reach travellers in this area. We are people who have come to a conscious decision late in our lives to follow Jesus Christ.
"The mission started 50 years ago in France and now has churches in 44 countries, including 1,000 in Spain. The people we meet are very responsive.
"Four weeks ago we were in Newark and while we were there, 60 adults made a commitment to Jesus Christ."
But people living near the site have expressed concerns over the camp, citing noise from the tent and fears over the state of the field once the camp has moved on.
A spokesman for the local neighbourhood policing team said they had received a number of calls regarding the activity at the site and officers were making extra patrols and monitoring the area.
So the News visited the site to take a look around and speak to the field's temporary inhabitants.
Mr Boyd said he was sympathetic to the concerns of local people and encouraged them to visit.
He said: "I understand when people see a lot of gypsy caravans, they are afraid. With the scare tactics of the national press they think they're going to get invaded.
"Gypsy is an ethnic minority of people who come originally from Egypt. We are a race of people with a culture, traditions and language. We don't chose to live this way, it is who we are.
"Most of the people here on this site work. I have been paying taxes as long as I can remember.
"We would like to invite local people to come and meet us at our gospel meetings every evening at 7.30pm. Everyone's welcome. We also have Bible studies in the afternoons and prayer meetings at 10.30pm. If anyone's not sure what we're doing, please come along and have a listen."
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Weather for Batley
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
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Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
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