Beatrice Groth is drawn to a different kind of busker on the streets of Stratford.
As commuters of various cultures stream from Straford station, I find myself drawn to a solitary busker. The dictionary says that the word busker might come from the Spanish word buscar, meaning to look for or seek. And in my converstaion with Alan Marshall, he tells me that the journey that brought him here began with a search for truth after a period of addiction when he was in the music business. Now he is a pastor of the Church of Christ in Barking, and sings songs in Stratford to raise money for charity.
Among his Barking congregation are Filipinos, Caribbeans, Chinese, Indians and Pakistans, some of whom he tells me have converted from other religions.
But Alan’s attitude to different religions is tolerant and inclusive. Commenting on the variety of people who walk past us, he says that we should respect each other, and criticises the press for taking a biased western view of everything they report. He briefly mentions the Hebdo affair, and says that freedom should not mean the freedom to offend others.
Alan, who was born in Lahore to Irish and Belgian Catholic parents, grew up in Karachi before completing his education in the UK. But he became caught up in ‘some unhealthy habits’ during his years in the music business. Eventually he turned to the Bible, which he studied for 14 years before becoming ordained as an Evangelist in 1986.
Alan is now 68, and has no plans to stop busking. ‘Beatrice, this is what I enjoy doing,’ he said, ‘and I will be doing for the rest of my life’.
Beatrice Groth is Rising East‘s Communities Editor.