Stamford Street Pastor Commissioning

Meeting old friends has been one of the great experiences of travelling this year. Here I am in Stamford with Rev Helen and Rev Andy Fyall. Andy is the Superintendent of the Stamford Circuit where I had been asked to preach at the Commissioning service of the new Stamford Street Pastor Project. Being a Street Pastor myself and a member of our Newcastle Street Pastor management committee I was delighted to be invited.

‘Street Pastors’ is an ecumenical project of the Ascension Trust which trains Christian men and women to go out onto the streets of our City/Town Centres to offer unconditional Christian love and support to anyone who may need it. Street Pastors work in teams of four, (sometimes they split into twos) from 10pm to 4am a minimum of once a month, on the streets, visiting the pubs and clubs and working in partnership with club staff and the Police.
A ‘Street Pastor’ is not there to preach, or to give out Bibles, but to offer a level of kindness and support. Many city centres throughout the country have appreciated the impact of ‘Street Pastors’ which has significantly reduced crime in the areas it has been present.

For more information visit www.streetpastors.co.uk.

Here are the wonderful newly commissioned Street Pastors of the Stamford Street Pastor Project.

Street Pastors insist on ecumenical collaboration, the clergy below are all directly involved in the Stamford Street Pastor Project (from left to right).

Captain Margaret Walford -Salvation Army

Rev Jane Campbell - United Reformed Church
Rev David Oxtoby - Church of England
Adam Bradley - Pastor Free Church
Rev Mark Warrick - Church of England

Participating in Street Pastors also requires engagement with the Police and Local Authority and together with the Church (several different churches) this is described as the Urban Trinity. Partnership and collaboration are seen as vital to the success of the Street Pastor initiative and it was great to see the Police and Local Authority represented alongside the local MP Nick Boles.

Cllr David Brailsford, Mayor of Stamford and Sgt Emma Crisp with Rev Andy Fyall.