Warminster's Street Pastors get going tonight!
By wp_alistair | Friday, October 21, 2011, 12:36
Street Pastors (an initiative spearheaded by the Ascension Trust) are operating in many towns and cities around the UK and have seen the number of night-time incidents fall. In Wiltshire there are already successful schemes operating in Trowbridge, Salisbury and Swindon, and in recent weeks, Street Pastors has started in Chippenham. From Friday 21st October 2011 Street Pastors will be on the streets of Warminster every Friday night from 10pm until 4am.
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Warminster Street Pastors hit the streets every Friday night
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Warminster Street Pastors in Training
Warminster Street Pastors are local Christian volunteers who have a concern for their community and have committed to a training programme provided by the Ascension Trust covering many subjects including listening skills, police, drugs & alcohol awareness. They will be on the streets of Warminster in teams of four or five on Friday nights providing a friendly face, as well as practical help and a listening ear. The kinds of things they get involved with include chatting and listening to revellers on the streets, handing out bottles of water or lollipops, and probably what Street Pastors are most well known for; providing flip-flops for bare footed young ladies who are carrying their uncomfortable shoes! They also pick up bottles and sweep up broken glass from the street as they go.
On Friday 21st October at 8.00pm at Warminster Baptist Church, at our Commissioning Service, twenty-one Street Pastors will be presented with their caps and will go out on the streets straight after the service until 10pm.
Warminsterpeople.co.uk wish them all well and the best of luck for their first night on the streets - hope it isn't too cold! If you bump into them them this evening, do be nice and say "Hello"!
More information about Warminster Street Pastors can be found on the Street Pastors website here or on our Facebook page
For further information, contact:
Ali Hunter – Warminster Street Pastors Co-ordinator
01985 212219
warminster@streetpastors.org.uk
Comments
They survived! Helen Stevens of the Street Pastors initiative explains how the first foray onto Warminster's streets went:
"All the Street Pastors had a great night last night; it was wonderful to finally be commissioned for this ministry after it being so long in preparation in planning. Police Inspector Lindsey Winter spoke at our Commissioning Service and said that the Police are fully behind what we're doing and are proud of us for stepping out to look after our community and make the streets a safer place.
The 21 Pastors who went out for an hour on the streets straight after our commissioning really enjoyed it; I think they all would have stayed out for the whole night if they could!
There were 5 of us who covered the shift until about 3.15am and we were really well received by everyone we spoke to.
The pub landlords and landladies, takeaway owners, shop owners and security staff gave us a wonderful welcome on the streets and we had lots of offers to make us tea and coffee. The security staff had told us they were asked for their opinions on us starting this initiative in Warminster and that they thought it was a great idea. The Police came to chat to us in the early hours, looking much colder than we were in our very warm Street Pastors jackets!
Lots of the ladies enjoying their night out told us they felt safer knowing that we were looking out for them. We gave out loads of lollies (we clearly under-estimated demand!) and a few pairs of flip flops. We chatted to lots of young people in the park throughout the night. We picked up quite a few bottles from the streets and swept up some broken ones. We even walked one young lady back to her home in the early hours.
Quite a few people out in the town had heard of the Street Pastors initiative already and seen it in other towns and cities and told us stories of how Street Pastors had helped them in the past.
It was wonderful to be able to be there for everyone. We're very much looking forward to being out again every Friday!"
By wp_alistair at 18:26 on 22/10/11
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