Edinburgh Street Pastors annual commissioning service for 2023 was held at Bruntsfield Evangelical Church on the evening of Saturday 29th April. There were over 90 people in attendance at the service and speakers included Don Palmer, Lead Pastor from Central Church, Lezley Marion Cameron, the Depute Lord Provost of the City of Edinburgh Council, Supt Sam Ainslie from Police Scotland Edinburgh Division and Andy Amour,  Edinburgh Street Pastors Coordinator.

Six new street pastors were commissioned that evening. These volunteers have each completed 35 hours of training and have participated in observer and supervised patrols after undergoing thorough reference checks before being allocated to one of seven teams of street pastors who patrol the streets of Edinburgh city centre every Friday night and three Saturday nights of each month. They will be using the love of Jesus together with skills learned during training to listen to, help and care for vulnerable individuals in the night-time economy. The work they will be doing may range from helping find transport home for a stranded girl who is alone and has lost her coat, money and phone after a night out in a club,  to listening to a homeless man in despair and in need of a blanket, gloves and a hot drink. The volunteers will be giving up their time freely because of the love they share for God, for others and for their city.

To watch the video of the service please click on the link below: