4 Commissioned at The URC

Last Sunday the URC in Rother Street held a commissioning service for our four new Street Pastors.  This means they have completed the necessary training to be a full member of a Street Pastor patrol as they care, listen and help in Stratford-upon-Avon on a Friday night.  Simon Burne, a lay preacher and long-time friend of Rother Street URC and also a very experienced Street Pastor, spoke about the difference Street Pastors can make to the night-time economy.  Street Pastors show the face of Christ to everyone they meet, not just the friendly faces but also to the rude or vulnerable or lonely strangers, and how being a Street Pastor can bring joy in of itself.  Our new Street Pastors committed to:

  • Living a Christian lifestyle of integrity, depending on the Holy Spirit to strengthen them
  • Showing Jesus’ love and care to everyone, without regard to class, colour or creed
  • Walking the streets as a public, prayerful presence representing Jesus and his Church to all they meet
  • Working constructively with the police, the local authorities and other agencies involved in serving the night-time economy of Stratford upon Avon
  • Exercise this ministry under the authority of the Street Pastors Initiative and remain accountable to God through it for all they do as a Street Pastors

It was wonderful to see so many Street and Prayer pastors supporting the commissioning and a chance to see everyone altogether again after only meeting in patrol teams for the last 18 months.