Officially it is now summer, but as I write this I’m not yet convinced! The teams have however, shed their winter layers and are venturing out in caps instead of beanies and rain jackets instead of big warm coats. The one thing that doesn’t change, come rain or shine, is our Street Pastor’s determination to be there when someone needs caring for, listening to or helping out on a Friday evening. Our Prayer Pastors also faithfully keep their prayers flowing over the team on patrol and our town, in particular all the venues and staff, CCTV staff, emergency service personal and our town leaders.
How we’ve Cared, Listened and Helped
An interesting bit of caring and helping from the reports to share with you this time:
At about 22:30 there was a call on the radio reporting 3 girls on a trolley heading towards the Bancroft. We were concerned that either the girls or the trolley would end up in the river, so we went to investigate. We found the trolley and the girls, who told us they were aged between 13-16, and we managed to swap the trolley for some lollipops! After speaking with CCTV we left the trolley in a suitable place. As we went past the entrance of Wetherspoons, we spotted the girls trying to get in, fortunately the door staff refused them entry. We heard on the radio that they were causing a bit of nuisance somewhere else. We carried on walking around and it didn’t take long for us to encounter the girls again, they were hiding under one of the tables in Rother Street Market, as soon as they saw us, they ran off towards Henley Street. We carried on walking around and soon we met with the girls at the top of Henley Street, at first, they ran off, but soon came back and chatted. We were concerned that it was very late for teenagers to be out and we tried to persuade them to go home, but they said it wasn’t time to go home yet. We left them at the top of Henley Street and phoned CCTV again to give them an update, they thanked us for our assistance and said they would keep an eye on the girls.
As well as helping and caring for people we also have many quick conversations with those we meet whilst out on the streets. One of the recurring questions is, “what are you up to?”, here is a recent selection from the reports:
- We spotted a party of French students who were here to visit Stratford: we chatted with them and told them about Street Pastors. After our chat, we gave them all a lollipop and wished them a good school trip. We were very impressed with their grasp of English!
- We decided to take a break in MacDonalds. Inside a teenage lad came up to us and enquired what we did as Street Pastors. We gave him a brief outline of our role. On hearing that we did what we did on a purely voluntary basis he gave us a memorable quote – “you’re f***ing amazing”.
- Two men from America spoke to us and asked what we did. He said there was something similar in New York where they work in the underground/subways to support the homeless and vulnerable. They thanked us for what we were doing.
- We stopped and chatted to a lady who was visiting from Nottingham and she enquired about Street Pastors and said she was very pleased to know we were here.
We also get a lot of support from venues and businesses in town:
- We continued on to Avon Lounge. We were talking to the security when the owner came out and offered us a free coffee which we gratefully accepted (it was very cold!)
- We called in to Corte Campana to say hello to the proprietors. They were closing up and offered us a box of pizza. We took this and hoped that we could find someone on the street to give it to. We were fortunate to find two sat on the pavement close to the Tesco Express in Bridge Street. They were extremely grateful for the free pizza.
- We proceed up Sheep St and were stopped by the new manager from The Garden Tea Room who advised us that he had taken over and was now working in Stratford: he invited us to a free coffee next time.
- We headed up Ely Street and chatted to the door staff outside The Keys. One of them had been working at Cadbury’s and insisted on giving us a handful of mini Cadbury Twirls. Inside, there was a male singer performing “Fly me to the Moon” with backing track to a nearly empty room. We waved to him through the window and he came outside, still singing with his microphone and Rob joined in an impromptu duet with him.
Prayer Points:
- For the teams out on Friday evenings Caring, Listening and Helping
- For more Street Pastors to join the team enabling the patrol rota to be filled without over commitment of individuals
- For our management team in carrying out their responsibilities of leadership
- For all who are struggling with the cost of living
Our Social Media
We are continuing our series of posts on what keeps our Prayer Pastors awake and praying late into the night. Please follow us and share our posts.
Prayer Pastors
Prayer is important to us, and our Prayer Pastors are a vital part of what we do. Prayer Pastors stay in contact with the Street Pastor team on patrol, respond to specific needs and situations that arise, pray for protection and divine appointments and see answers to their prayers.
A Prayer Pastor is someone who is a Christian and is part of a local church; has a desire to make a difference through prayer in the city/town they live in; willing to invest in the lives of others; willing to undertake some training.
If you are interested in knowing more, contact our co-ordinator, Linda, by e-mail at stratforduponavon@streetpastors.org.uk.
“She asked about our faith and what we were doing (as SPs), then asked to be prayed over, which Rob did, and she was grateful for our friendly chat with her.”