The nights have started to draw in and the warmer evenings are getting fewer but our faithful Street Pastors are still Caring, Listening and Helping in our town every Friday night and our Prayer Pastors are still supporting them on patrol and afterwards in prayer. The other section of our Street Pastor organisation that is very often overlooked is our Management Team. The management team meet regularly to oversee the operation of the patrols, hear about the issues our Street and Prayer Pastors are encountering from the relative co-ordinators, find out more about our latest awareness projects, discuss new guidance from the Ascension Trust, review our finances and discern if we need to make any changes to the way we operate. If you have any relevant skills that you would like to offer to the management team then please contact Linda by e-mail at stratforduponavon@streetpastors.org.uk.

How we’ve Cared, Listened and Helped

Patrols vary from week to week and sometimes even from encounter to encounter. However even on very quiet nights the Street Pastors always feel it was worth being out. Here are some of the quieter encounters that they’ve come across recently.

…as we were passing Zizzis we met a young couple walking down towards Waterside. They greeted us enthusiastically. They asked for lollipops before we began quite a long and interesting conversation. They initially said that they were both feeling depressed but this contrasted with their mood when speaking to us. They were not in a relationship but were good friends. The young man said that he was a carpenter and travelled Europe doing this. The young lady was a teaching assistant working in a special needs school, she said that this was particularly challenging but she enjoyed her role. We enquired of their names which gave rise to a conversation which led to us finding his out mother’s name. He was then shocked to find that one of the SP’s knew his mother and his siblings who attended her cookery and activity classes many years ago. He couldn’t believe that this ‘chance’ conversation could be with someone who knew so much about his family. Photographs were taken to be shared with his parents. Following the lengthy conversation, they both admitted that their spirits had been raised…

…We continued into the Bancroft Gardens and met a man working for the council who was cleaning the rubbish. We praised his good work on the cleaning of the Bancroft Gardens. He was very appreciative of the compliments…

…one of the customers came outside to vape and asked us what Street Pastors were all about and was very complimentary about what we do. He hadn’t seen Street Pastors before but was vaguely aware of Street Angels in Birmingham where he’d come from…

…having missed the chance for a drink at MacDonalds (it was well past 11 pm) we tried the Golden Bee but gave up on that having seen how busy they were. We noticed that the Vintner still had a couple of customers sat in the restaurant so Barry enquired whether we could get a coffee. Hannah and Ruby were very obliging and agreed to let us sit in and have a hot drink…

…we met 3 guys at the bottom of Sheep Street, who were out for the night. They were asking about what we do and why we do what we do. One of them said “you guys do a great job and actions speak louder than words! Your actions say a lot!”…

…we met a family who asked us to take a picture of them outside the birthplace. We discovered that the father was a direct decedent of William Wordsworth which led to a very interesting conversation…

…Crossing back across the canal, we stopped to take a photo for some visitors and chatted to a couple from Cornwall, in Stratford to visit friends. We had a conversation with another visiting couple sitting on the embankment, who were Christians and blessed us as we left…

…We chatted to door staff at All Bar One. They had a private party in full swing till 9pm and were turning away regular customers till then. While there, we were handed a wallet which had been dropped somewhere along the entrance path. We contacted CCTV by phone so as not to draw attention to it and we were advised to take it to Bell Court Security Office and hand it in, which we did. Bell Court Security man said he would hand it to Police in morning if unclaimed. It contained bank cards and ID / Driving Licence. We took a photo of his driving licence in case needed. We also, then verbally advised door staff that we had found it in case they came across someone who had lost it…

…We continued up Sheep Street and a young man shouted “Street Pastors” as we passed the Four Teas Cocktail Bar. We stepped inside and Tom, James and Joe introduced themselves. They were full of enthusiasm for their weekend together and rather loud as a result of the drinks already consumed! Tom and Joe were from Shrewsbury and they were staying with James who lived in Wellesbourne. They showed us on their mobile their planned evening, calling at 21 bars/pubs where they were having a half pint. Four Teas was their 11th venue. They would end the evening at the Caz Bar. They were complimentary as to what we do and we left them with some lollipops and wished them an enjoyable evening…

… En route we found that a Uber car was parked on the pavement between the old BHS store and the rear entrance to M&S. There was glass and detritus on the road from an earlier collision. The Uber vehicle had a dented offside and the rear wheel looked misaligned. A Police car arrived and Ros helped the PC to sweep and remove the glass from the highway. An unmarked Police car also arrived. There was no sign of any other vehicle. The PC was grateful for Ros’ assistance…

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 the teachers and staff as they prepare for a new academic year

Social Media

We are continuing our series of posts on what makes our Street Pastors turn up and patrol our streets in rain, wind and shine.

We continue to use Facebook and X (formally Twitter) to post information about what we do to raise awareness of our presence and also give guidance on how to keep safe when on a night out.

Please follow us and share our posts so that everyone knows what we’re about and where we can be found when needed.

How can I become a Street Pastor?

Street Pastors are practising Christians aged over 18 who feel called to step out onto the streets to be the hands and feet of Christ; and also his eyes, ears and mouth too! What Street Pastors are NOT is preachers or converters. Street Pastors are simply there to Care, Listen and Help all of those out in the night time economy without judgment or condemnation. Street Pastors are also DBS checked and trained through the Ascension Trust, attending several hours of training before becoming a full Street Pastor. Why not come out on patrol as an observer and see what we do?

If you are interested in knowing more, contact our co-ordinator, Linda, by e-mail at stratforduponavon@streetpastors.org.uk.