A very different attitude to life was that of those young
people who after this July's Summermadness International festival
in the King's Hall, Belfast, went out as Streetreach to areas
of Belfast to do what they could to help people by doing menial
tasks for them and to show them Christianity in action. The
areas were Ballysillan, Tiger's Bay, New Lodge, Forthspring,
Lower Shankill, Ballymacarrett, Sydenham, Ballymurphy, Lower
Falls, Sandy Row, Holy Land, Willowfield, Beersbridge and
Lenadoon. They did a tidy up in the City Cemetery, the resting
place of many ordinary and extraordinary people but little
used by Protestants nowadays for obvious reasons. We commend
these young people, 700 of them, from the whole of Northern
Ireland, the Republic and countries near and far, who showed
us again that while youngsters are often the cause of trouble
in our society and are constantly in the news for their criminalities,
there are very many who deserve publicity for their good,
selfless behaviour, by appreciative people. We congratulate
and thank the organisers and leaders of Streetreach and those
who provided hospitality for them. Many were ladies of the
churches and a supermarket which donated bread and other necessaries
for meals for the several days of the Streetreach. We are
reminded "To do good and distribute, forget not, for
with such sacrifice God is well pleased."
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