A Christian preacher has divided opinion after she stood up on a train and began quoting verses from the New Testament – to passengers sitting in the designated quiet zone.
The young woman, named as ‘Tessy’ on her X account, posted footage of herself preaching to the public for ‘the first time’ on a train believed to be operated by Avanti West Coast.
Wearing a beige coat, she can be seen getting up from her seat and politely apologising to everyone before sharing ‘a very brief word’.
She can be heard saying: ‘Hello everyone, I know this is a quiet zone so I’m just going to take two minutes.
‘I just want to tell you that Jesus loves you and he came to die for you. And he says: “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.”
‘If you haven’t accepted Jesus into your life today you can call him and say Jesus, I want you in my life. And he will come. He will come into your heart, he will fill your heart with love.’
The woman then thanked everyone and said ‘that is all I want to share with you’ before taking her seat again.
At no point did anyone else on the carriage interrupt her speech, although another female passenger sitting nearby looked at the woman before turning away.
A Christian preacher has divided opinion after she stood up on a train and began quoting verses from the New Testament – to passengers sitting in the designated quiet zone
At no point did anyone else on the carriage interrupt her speech, although another female passenger sitting nearby looked at the woman before turning away
A video posted to the preacher’s X account has already garnered more than 7.7million views and 2,400 comments.
Many were swift to praise her for her ‘bravery’, ‘courage’ and for being ‘truly inspiring’.
One wrote: ‘More grace, more passion, more boldness in Jesus name’.
Another said: ‘Quiet zone section and you still stood up to share the gospel! Truly inspiring! This gospel of the Kingdom, must be preached EVERYWHERE….That’s our driving force!’
A third shut down negative comments against her for preaching in a quiet carriage.
‘Christians are not allowed to preach the gospel in Muslim countries, yet some Christians in the comments are angry that she is telling people Jesus loves them in a supposedly Christian country,’ the X user wrote.
‘On these same British trains, you see drunkards shouting, beggars going from carriage to carriage asking for money, football hooligans singing, etc, but you’re angry that she’s telling people Jesus loves them?’
But the incident has divided opinion because she spoke out while in the quiet zone of the train.
The young woman, named as ‘Tessy’ on her X account, posted footage of herself preaching to the public for ‘the first time’ on a train believed to be operated by Avanti West Coast
The footage divided opinion over whether the preacher was a ‘inspiration’ or ‘irritation’
One wrote dryly: ‘You can’t win the heart of people because you’ve already irritated them. They are in the quiet zone for a reason.’
Another begged her ‘don’t ever do this again’ and said she had achieved ‘nothing except constituting a nuisance.’
A third wrote: ‘Faith is personal; disrespecting others’ peace isn’t holy—it’s performative.’
One other user said her actions had amounted to ‘religious extremism’.
On the Avanti West Coast website, a section dedicated to ‘Quiet Coaches’ on the service’s Pendolino trains describes the area as a place where passengers can sit ‘without being disturbed’.
The site states: ‘Need a quiet break away from the bustle of train travel? On our Pendolino trains, you’ll find our designated Quiet Coaches in Coach A.
‘Here, you can unwind, catch up on work or enjoy a rest without being disturbed.’
Daily Mail approached Avanti West Coast, but the company declined to comment.
