Railway Mission News Spring 2015

news The Railway Mission

Inside…

Spring Edition 2015

All Change for London!

Ruth’s First Year Off-piste Rags to Riches in a Week True Heroes Honoured Meet Trustee Ray Porter Historic Roles for Richard & more…

Up Front Entering London’s St Pancras Station, you notice the incredible detail of Victorian craftsmanship alongside the broad sweep of modernity. Once earmarked for closure and demolition, the station now has a renewed vitality and sense of purpose.

Boutiques, coffee shops, national and international rail services, bronze statues and pianos, along with historic architecture and modern glass, have recreated, not just a station, but a destination.

The Railway Mission, now in its 134th year, also has a long and fascinating history galvanised by a renewed sense of purpose. Founded in a period of massive industrial growth to minister to rail workers (often from within its trackside Mission Halls), our organisation has witnessed the ups and downs of the railway industry.

Ongoing investment in the UK’s rail network, including some of its major hubs, means that huge numbers of people are once again working in, and being served by, the rail industry. As an organisation that seeks to support people on life’s journey, we need to be on hand whenever and wherever we are needed.

From now on, that will include areas of London and the South-East of England previously served by London City Mission railway chaplains, making the Railway Mission the sole provider of rail chaplaincy in the UK—a blessing that excites us enormously!

Cover photo of St Pancras International Station upper level interior by Liam Johnston

Contents 02 Up Front (Cover Article) 03 From the Top 04 Come and Celebrate!

05 Ruth McBean 08 Rags to Riches 10 Ralph’s Story 11 We Need You 12 Photo Opportunity 14 True Heroes Honoured 16 Meet Ray Porter 18 Historic Roles 20 Calendar Success Published by the Railway Mission Photography by Liam Johnston

from the top

All Change for London!

‘Where there is no vision, the people perish’ (Proverbs 29:18b)

Without wishing to sound anthropomorphic, it’s fair to say that new life was breathed into St Pancras Station because people like Sir John Betjeman had vision. He saw more to the station than just a place of transit. He believed it could inspire people to see beyond the status quo, and imagine how things could be.

London City Mission’s re-focusing of its work is similarly inspired, although, in its case, and with very meaningful intent, to specifically reach into the capital’s neediest areas with the gospel’s love. It means LCM’s workplace chaplaincy, including that serving London’s railways, will cease, but that is where the Railway Mission is stepping in... Very excitingly, our partnership with London City Mission is not ending but evolving. As we employ new chaplains for those areas left vacant by London City Mission’s withdrawal, we are extremely grateful for the help and training that their chaplains are providing in the field. And we are also grateful to God, in whom we are trusting for the increased finance needed to sustain our expanding national rail chaplaincy service.

So, next time your train pulls into its final station, and you hear the words, “all change please,” do remember the Railway Mission and the exciting changes we’re facing.

And please pray for those LCM chaplains moving into other areas of ministry, and that our new chaplains will be effective heralds of God’s love. For the Railway Mission, we hold to the words of Isaiah 54:2 (KJV): ‘Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes…’

Liam Johnston (pictured outside Kings Cross—St Pancras) is Executive Director of the Railway Mission

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Pray for us Did you know that we have a team of volunteers who back up everything the chaplains do with prayer?

Complementary Policing Award Congratulations to Chaplains Paul Holloway, Richard Cook and Andrew Hall, who have been nominated for the British Transport Police Complementary Policing Award for outstanding service to the officers and staff in their areas.

Paul and Richard are based in the Liverpool and Manchester areas respectively, whilst Andrew serves in the West Midlands, with an office in Birmingham.

Prayer is a vital, powerful and effective part of our ministry to the rail staff of the UK.

If you would like to be part of this important team, please contact our Administrator, Anne McCulloch, on 0771 897 1919, and she will let you know how you can support the Railway Mission in this way.

Come and celebrate with us… …On Saturday, 18th April, at Calvary Evangelical Church (CECB), 72 Viaduct Road, Brighton, BN1 4ND, as we celebrate over a century of fellowship with CECB, and the sale of our last RM mission building.

During the event, which will start at 2.30pm, we will hear about Elizabeth Gates, an amazing woman who started the railway work in Brighton in 1876. There will be a service followed by refreshments. Just turn up on the day.

…At a summer service of thanksgiving and celebration, being held with London City Mission, to mark their handover of chaplaincy in London and

surrounding areas to the Railway Mission.

As LCM refocuses their work in and around the capital, we will be thanking God for their many years of service on the railways, and will launch the national rail chaplaincy service being run by the Railway Mission. This event will feature several speakers, and will be a great chance to meet our railway chaplains, other staff and Trustees, as well as supporters. Everyone is welcome, so keep an eye on our website, Facebook page and Twitter posts for details of the date and venue. We’d love to see you there!

www.railwaymission.org

Ruth’s first year off-piste

Ruth McBean felt led to leave behind a career in sport and leisure to become Railway Chaplain for the West of Scotland. Rachel Dalby chatted to her about her journey from ski slopes to train tracks, and asked her to reflect on her first year with the Railway Mission.

There are many things I like about Ruth, not least her enthusiasm for life, and the gentleness with which she approaches people. Ruth oozes love and hope—the core values of the Railway Mission—and seeing her at work really fires me up about our charity’s impact in Scotland.

Working alongside two other passionate and hard-working chaplains, Nicola Goncalves and Dereck Grant, Ruth has, over the past year, helped to galvanise the Railway Mission’s service to the rail industry across Scotland.

Sitting in a cosy Glasgow café on a wet afternoon, I asked Ruth what had brought her to the Mission. “It’s a funny thing, really. I had a feeling for years that I should be working in chaplaincy, but felt I didn’t have the right qualifications,” she said, smiling. “My degree is in management, and I’d been working in sport and leisure for over 20 years. Part of my time was spent teaching people to ski. But then, out of the blue, I was made redundant, and I guess that presented me with an opportunity to move in a new direction.

“As a Christian, I look to God for guidance and, after praying about my future, I felt that He wanted me to move into workplace chaplaincy. After some volunteer work, I applied for the job with the Railway Mission, and the rest is history!”

(continued on page six)

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Ruth’s first year off-piste I asked Ruth to recall some of the highs and lows of the past year.

(continued from page five)

being shown round her new patch by colleague Nicola. “We visited a train station where a 13-year-old girl had died “Let me say, first, that I didn’t really on the tracks. As you can imagine, the know what to expect when I took on this staff were in sombre mood, and the girl’s role,” she admitted. “Even with friends and relatives were a lot of life experience, it’s visiting the station to begin not possible to be prepared their grieving process. Nicola “People look to for everything, and I and I chatted with staff and us when they wondered how I’d cope in members of the public on don’t know who certain situations. But there’s the platforms, as they tried else to turn to” a Bible verse from Chapter 2 to make sense of the of the book of Isaiah that I’ve tragedy.

kept thinking about. Verse 3 says: ‘He will teach us His ways and we “The train driver involved was in a state shall walk in His paths.’ This has given of shock, and we visited him at home to me tremendous reassurance, and offer our support. That’s when it dawned reminded me that, as long as I listen to on me just how important the Railway what God wants, He’ll teach me Mission is. People look to us when they everything I need to know.”

don’t know who else to turn to. In their times of despair and hopelessness, we That reassurance proved really handy on can offer comfort and hope.”

Ruth’s first day at work, when she was

their minds. Often, talking about small problems can prevent them from becoming bigger stresses and strains, and I firmly believe that the Mission’s team here in Scotland is making a huge contribution to the wellbeing of rail staff in all areas of the industry.”

Are any two days the same? “No chance!” she laughed. “One minute I’m talking to the Samaritans about how we can work more closely together, and the next I’m being asked to bless some bicycles for a community travel initiative.

It’s certainly a job with variety!”

I asked Ruth what a chaplain could Ruth’s other tasks during the year have possibly say to comfort a driver whose included leading funeral services for rail train had hit someone. “Sometimes staff, speaking at the Armistice Day there’s nothing we can say. Sadly, we event in Glasgow, and don’t have all the answers. organising Christmas carolBut we can be there for “…we can be singing. “These have all people, so they know they’re there for people, been great opportunities for not alone. Often, the best rail staff and members of the so they know thing we can do is listen if public to reflect in a spiritual they’re not they want to talk. We can be way,” she said.

alone…” with them to hear their cries of pain, and when the time’s I asked Ruth if she could right, we can offer a spiritual sum up her role in a single word. “That’s perspective on life’s biggest challenges. impossible! If you think of everything Something we always do is to reassure you’d want in a wise and trusted friend, the train driver that the incident wasn’t then that’s what I try to be to all those their fault.”

who work on the railways in the West of Scotland. Above all, our aim is to During the year, Ruth has worked hard support people in a way that reflects to meet as many rail staff and British God’s goodness and love.”

Transport Police officers as possible – a task that’s taken her into some of Scotland’s remotest areas. “It’s vital,” she said, “that people know I’m here for them, wherever they are, and that they feel able to chat to me about what’s on

Please call Anne, our administrator, on 0771 897 1919 if you would like to help support Railway Mission chaplains like Ruth working across the UK.

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Rags to riches in a week London based Steve Rowe has a not-so-typical few days in the life of a railway chaplain I recently had an exciting and intriguing week, starting with voluntary work with British Transport Police in London, and ending with a huge dressup event in Coventry—a kind of rags to riches story.

On the Monday you’d have seen me, seemingly, at my lowest, as I acted as a stooge for trainee British Transport Police officers on platform two at Euston.

As a Chaplain to British Transport Police in London, it’s good to be able to do some voluntary work with them to get to know some of the officers I serve.

‘hungry and homeless’, and of which I became very protective, along with a cap with a few coins.

In general, the BTP officers were really good at moving me on without too much trouble, and some even offered help. My role wasn’t to resist, but I was able to ask if I could keep my placard and money.

Some officers allowed me to retain my props, but one took the lot, which seemed a bit harsh, and, I heard later, not exactly what should happen. Others let me keep everything, and it was interesting to note how relieved I was to be able to take my ‘stuff’ away with me as I was escorted from the platform.

Stooging means pretending to take on the kind of characters in various scenarios the police might have to deal with in the course of their work.

My role play was as a homeless person begging for money on the station, which is, by law, prohibited. The officers in training had to gently but firmly ask me to leave the premises. A number of different approaches were taken by the officers, and it was interesting to note my own feelings as I was ‘moved on’ by them. I had a placard, which said

It was all part of the role-play and training, so no homeless folk were hurt in the course of the exercise!

Things are looking up!

By the weekend, my circumstances had taken a dramatic turn for the better, as I was part of a group of Chaplains invited to attend the prestigious RailStaff Awards night in Coventry, where we were named among the finalists for the Rail Team of the Year award.

The dress code was either fancy dress as a clown, or, as I originally heard it, black tie, so I arrived with a suit, dress shirt and bow tie. I’d thought that I could appear as Charlie Chaplin and fulfil all requirements in one hit, but I couldn’t quite perfect the walk.

It was a big night, and a whole lot of fun with great food and good company.

Many rail staff did turn up in clown suits, and the circus theme made for a very colourful and entertaining night.

Although we were finalists, we didn’t win the main prize, but it was important to have been recognised by our nominators as worthy to be on the list.

First place was deservedly won by the Dawlish engineering team that put back the sea wall demolished by last winter's storms.

OK, so we don’t build walls, but we try to help put back together broken lives, and our reward is to see people back on their feet.

So, from rags to riches in one week. It may have been role play, but there’s a metaphor for life with God, who is all about taking us from the loss of all things into a secure future with Him.

Clowning Around West Midlands Chaplain Andrew Hall gets into the spirit of the RailStaff Awards night where the Railway Mission was shortlisted in the Rail Team of the Year category.

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A Close Call Ralph Coleman, East Midlands Chaplain The problem of rail suicide was brought home to me on my first day with the Railway Mission, when a colleague and I noticed a man standing on the wrong side of the railings on a bridge over the railway lines. It was obvious to us that he was contemplating jumping from the bridge.

Quickly and calmly we approached him, and persuaded him to step back from the edge. We took him down to the Staff Mess Room, so he was safe and secure while we waited for British Transport Police. Without our intervention, I dread to think what would have happened. It was a close call with a good outcome, but it’s not always this way, and the consequences and impact of these tragic events on those involved can be harrowing.

So it was with a real sense of purpose that I arrived for a Samaritans’ suicide awareness course, where—before taking part in a role-play exercise—we looked at the statistics associated with suicides, learned about body language suicidal people may display, the best ways to approach people who seem in urgent need of help, and how to engage people in conversation. I was very glad to discover that there are specific steps that anyone who has been trained can take to lessen the likelihood of an individual taking their own life.

WAYS TO GIVE Standing Order A Standing Order through your bank is one of the easiest ways to support us with regular giving

Gift Aid For UK taxpayers, don’t forget that by completing one of our Gift Aid forms we can claim an additional 25% of your gift amount from the Government

Online railwaymission.org/giving

Mail office@railwaychaplain.net Administrator The Railway Mission Room 66 Rugby Railway Station Warwickshire CV21 3LA Anne McCulloch

0771 897 1919

We can’t do it without you!

While workplace chaplaincy in some sectors of business has been in decline, the Railway Mission has seen demand for its services grow, and our chaplains are busier than ever.

Our work has continued to be blessed, including through the financial support of thousands of individuals nationwide, some of whom are serving or retired railway workers or their relatives, while others are Christians who understand the urgent need for the love and hope of the gospel to be taken into rail employees’ lives.

Thanks to practical support from some of the train companies, we have almost zero overheads, which means that almost every penny gifted to us goes straight to the heart of our work—paying for chaplains to provide pastoral and spiritual support to tens of thousands of railway workers, including British Transport Police Officers.

Now, as we fill the gaps left by London City Mission’s withdrawal of its railway chaplains, we must prayerfully plan our future. Our monthly wage bill – modest in comparison to our chaplains’ workloads and willingness to work beyond their paid hours—is rising as we step up to answer God’s call in more geographical areas.

But God is good! He has made provision to us, through a contribution from London City Mission, for additional chaplains’ wages for a limited period. I believe that He is giving us time to find additional, regular income so that we can continue with this new and important work.

On behalf of the Railway Mission, I want to express my deepest, heartfelt thanks to those of you who support our work, either through prayer or finance, and, as we plan for the future of our charity's railway chaplaincy across the UK, ask that you please consider how you may help us further.

One way you could support us is through continued prayer, so why not contact Anne in our Rugby office to receive our weekly prayer points by email? Another way to help is by donating on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis. This spreads the cost for yourself, and enables us to plan for the future because we know we’ll have a steady income stream that we can rely on.

Thank you so much!

Liam Johnston, Executive Director

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Are you a professional or hobby photographer?

We’re looking for excellent quality, high resolution colour photos featuring trains for our 2016 calendar. Our preference is for landscape-oriented shots taken in recognisable locations. Seasonal scenes are especially welcome. If you’d like us to consider publishing one of your photos (no fees would be paid by the Mission, but photographers’ names would be printed), then please email office@railwaychaplain.net for more details.

touching people's lives Relatives comforted by calendar image

Family members of a woman who died of Motor Neurone Disease have thanked the Mission for the comfort they received when they looked through the 2014 calendar.

The woman’s sister, Grace, received a copy of the calendar while at work in a railway signal box, and noticed a familiar figure standing on a station platform in the August picture. Contacting Alvey and Towers Transport Picture Library, who supplied the picture, the family were told that it had been taken at Brighton Railway Station—a place the deceased woman, Christine, would have travelled through in her role as an Ofsted Inspector.

Emma Rowen of Alvey and Towers, said: “The woman, who we now know was called Christine, was facing away from the camera, but the family are certain that it’s her. We publish literally hundreds of images throughout the year in various publications, and I've often wondered how many people spot themselves, or people they know, in some of them.”

Christine’s daughter, Dianne, said: “Mum travelled by train regularly, but sadly passed away in 2011. She had to give up work in the November prior to her death, and so this is one of the last pictures that was taken of her. We’ve all taken great comfort from seeing her in the calendar.”

Train operator multiplies Mission gift

Anne McCulloch, our administrator, writes…

‘Imagine our surprise when we heard that a hamper we’d given to staff at Virgin Trains to say thanks for their support had been raffled to raise money for the Railway Mission.

Liam, our Executive Director, and his wife, Rita, put the hamper together using luxury foods and drinks, which Liam then took to Virgin’s Birmingham headquarters.

A few days later, we received an email from Phil Bearpark, Virgin Trains’ Executive Director for Operations and Projects, to say that they were sending us £102.’

Thanks, Virgin Trains staff !

Two Virgin trains pass at speed through Milton Keynes (photo Steve Rowe)

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Great Train Robbery

True Heroes Honoured The courage of two railway workers who were beaten by thugs during the Great Train Robbery has been acknowledged at a ceremony at Crewe Station involving Railway Mission chaplain Richard Cook.

Train enthusiast Mr Pete Waterman (pictured above) spoke of the bravery shown by driver Jack Mills and co-driver David Whitby when robbers boarded their overnight Glasgow Central to London Euston mail train in August, 1963.

That particular train had been targeted because its High Value Packages Coach

was carrying larger quantities of money and registered mail as the result of a Scottish Bank Holiday.

The late Mr Mills was badly hurt by the robbers, ending his career, and the late Mr Whitby never felt able to talk about his experiences at the hands of the gang.

Mr Waterman helped Nancy Barkley, Mr Whitby’s sister (also pictured, above), to unveil a wall plaque on Platform 12, close to where the two men had clocked-on for work on that terrible day over half a century ago.

Great Train Robbery Earlier in the ceremony, attended by both men’s family and friends, a DB Schenker Class 90 Loco was named after Mr Mills, with MP Edward Timpson pulling open a curtain to reveal the name plate. Mr Timpson then presented Ian Mills, Jack Mills’ grandson, with an identical nameplate.

Dedicating the plaques in front of the crowd, Railway Mission Chaplain Richard Cook said: “It’s important that we remember these very, very special people—our friends, our colleagues, Jack and David.” He later added that the ceremony had been a way of bringing long-overdue recognition, closure and peace for the men’s relatives.

He said: “People working in the railway industry have always felt that the criminals responsible for the robbery were wrongly portrayed as ‘heroes’— modern-day Robin Hoods worthy of public admiration. But many people’s lives were ruined as the result of the robbery. Finally, now, we can all say that due recognition has been given to the victims.”

Crewe Councillor Dorothy Flude, who had called for a lasting tribute to the men while attending last year’s Great Train Robbery 50th anniversary service, said the crime was an important part of the town’s history. “People usually don’t realise, when they think of the Great

Train Robbery, that these two men never recovered from their physical and mental ordeal. They were our town’s sons, our railway family’s brothers, and we must never, ever, forget them.”

After the ceremony, Mrs Barkley said that she and her family were very grateful for the Railway Mission’s help in staging the event. “The support that Richard’s shown to us is greatly appreciated,” she said. “I was about 17 when the robbery happened, but I still remember clearly that my brother, David, didn’t want to talk about it afterwards.

He loved his job, and never wanted to let anyone down.

“I remember the agony that we all went through, especially our Mum, as the result of David’s suffering. Our thanks go to Richard for helping to bring us some comfort.”

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Mission expands as chaplains are needed ‘more than ever’ Ray, you and the Mission go way back, don’t you?

I was born into the Railway Mission 71 years ago. My father served as a chaplain (formerly known as a ‘missioner’) from about 1920 to 1970, so my birth was announced in The Railway Signal—then the magazine of the Railway Mission. After my parents’ death, my contact with the Mission lessened until 2013, when I heard that there was a need for Trustees. I jumped at the chance to join the Board.

How are you feeling about the imminent growth of our work, as the result of London City Mission handing over their railway chaplaincy areas to the Railway Mission?

It’s hugely exciting that all rail chaplaincies will be part of the Railway Mission from the Spring, but it does present us with an organisational and financial challenge. We’ll be able to look at the whole country, and develop appropriate ways of working. We’ll also have new chaplains bringing different skills and personalities into the team. I think it’s also exciting that this will release LCM to focus its work on parts of London where there’s little Christian presence or witness. But we’ll have to plan our resources very carefully, and

Ray Porter Interviewed by Rachel Dalby look to God to provide sustained funding for this additional work.

Is the UK’s need for railway chaplains as strong as ever?

As the rail industry seeks to be more efficient and profitable, it’s too easy for people to be forgotten! We’re also living in a society where people are seen as individuals rather than as part of a community. Many people have no support network that they can look to in times of difficulty. Besides having the ‘normal’ issues of life to contend with, such as sickness, bereavement and family breakups, rail staff also have to face traumas at work, such as suicides and aggression. So I think rail chaplains are needed more than ever.

Railway Mission Trustee Ray Porter is certainly not afraid of new challenges. In the Nineties he and his wife toured China by train…without knowing a word of Chinese! But how does Ray feel about the changes ahead for the Railway Mission, as we seek to expand our coverage across London and the South-East of England? Here, he gives us an insight into his love for the Mission, and his hopes for its future.

How will additional chaplains, to cover London and the South-East, be paid for?

Initially, London City Mission will provide a significant contribution towards us employing additional chaplains for these areas. We’re very grateful to LCM for its financial and spiritual goodwill. However, we must work hard to ensure that we increase our monthly income level to sustain this additional coverage.

How do you see your role with the Railway Mission, and how does that relate to your own background?

My main contribution is probably in the area of pastoral issues, and links with other Christian organisations. My own life has been a mixture of church ministry and academic work, but has also included portering at Liverpool Street, working in the BR Blandford Square offices, and being a bus conductor.

After a short time as a Baptist minister, I served as a missionary in Indonesia with the Overseas Missionary Fellowship.

After a spell of further study, I lectured at Belfast Bible College until recalled by OMF to be Director of the UK’s East Region. In 2005 I became Director of World Mission Studies at Oak Hill College, London. Oh, and I also became an Anglican minister along the way. I currently serve on the Boards of a few other Christian organisations, including being Chair of Global Connections – a network of many churches and mission agencies (including the Railway Mission).

You know, it’s really great to repay something of what I gained from the Railway Mission in my early years. It’s so exciting to hear of people not only being helped by our chaplains, but also led into a living relationship with Jesus Christ. The Railway Mission’s expansion to cover the whole of the UK means that we’ll have more opportunities than ever to take God’s love into people’s lives. These are very exciting times!

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Historic Roles for Richard Thousands of Lancashire Troops travelling to Manchester for review by Lord Kitchener, March 1915 (catalogue reference RAIL 343/753 and Yorkshire Railway (3) ) National Archives staff, amounting to around a quarter of the total employed on the railways Throughout the recent redevelopment of in those areas, went to fight in the First Manchester Victoria Station into a major World War. Over 1,400 of them never transport interchange, architects and returned. And that was why, with a tear developers have worked carefully to in his eye, Richard Cook talked about preserve its major historic features, the great honour he’d felt in including its war memorials, station rededicating one of the war memorials mosaics, wall map, and the familiar at Manchester Victoria Station. glass and iron canopy that runs the

length of the station façade.

During the war, the station, which opened in 1844, was the headquarters of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.

As a major hub for soldiers leaving for the continent, three separate war memorials were subsequently erected to those who had fought and lost their lives. One of the memorials, a bronze plaque, was put at the Soldiers’ Gate – so named because it was the entrance to the platform for those boarding the troop trains.

Manchester Victoria Station as it will be.

Photo source: Network Rail

The £44m redevelopment of Manchester Victoria Station led to the Railway Mission’s Richard Cook taking on some interesting duties. First, he was asked to rededicate one of the station’s war memorials, and then he was called to conduct a service at the reburial of human remains excavated from beneath the platforms. Rachel Dalby met Richard, railway chaplain for the North-West, to find out more.

Nearing the end of the project, it was felt that a special service should be held to rededicate the Soldier’s Gate memorial.

And Richard, who worked for many years on the railways before becoming our railway chaplain for the North-West, was asked to lead the ceremony.

“It was a real privilege to be there,” said Richard. “We remembered the brave and gallant men who passed through those platform gates on their way to the horrors of war. The ceremony was made all the more poignant by the presence of a group of re-enactors, who were dressed as First World War soldiers. Seeing them really brought it all home to us.”

A few weeks later, Richard was back in the spotlight as the result of the redevelopment work. But this time he was five miles away at the Southern Cemetery in Chorlton, praying over human remains removed from beneath Manchester Victoria Station’s platforms.

Richard (pictured at the graveside) said: “Hundreds of families—many of them victims of the Victorian cholera epidemics—are believed to be buried

under the station. That’s not surprising, considering that the station was built on Walker’s Croft, once a 19th Century church and graveyard linked to a nearby Victorian workhouse.

“Network Rail had to take great care throughout the excavations, and ensure that any remains found were handled with respect. Screens were built to prevent passengers seeing the graves being disturbed, and everything that was discovered was placed in coffins and taken for reburial at the Southern Cemetery. At the short service at the graves, I thanked God for the lives of those people, and for the lives of all those who worked on the recent Manchester Victoria Station project.”

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Calendar Success More than 39,000 Railway Mission calendars were given to people across the UK’s rail network over New Year.

From our office and through our chaplains, copies went to rail industry employees, including station staff, contractors, office workers and BTP officers in their areas.

Chaplain Andrew Hall distributed around 4,000 calendars in the West Midlands, clocking up over 800 miles by train and 100 by car.

“The Mission’s been producing a calendar for many years, and people really look forward to its arrival,” he said, “which is giving me a good excuse to touch base with folks, and remind them that I’m here if they ever want to talk.”

The calendar features photos of trains, inspirational Bible verses, and information on how people can contact us. “A marvellous way of getting God’s word into offices, mess rooms, signal boxes and people’s homes,” said Andrew.

Worth the Cost The Mission’s Executive Director, Liam Johnston, said, “It cost around £25,000 to produce this year’s calendar, a price well worth paying to reach over 39,000 people.

“We’re very grateful for the donations people have sent us towards this important part of our work.”

Plans are now under way for the 2016 edition and, with the recent expansion of our work into London and surrounding areas, Liam expects to be ordering a record number of calendars.

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Chaplain Steve Rowe gives away a calendar

0771 897 1919