GRAVESEND STREET PASTORS  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 09

 

Have you ever attended a Christian service in a pub?  It sounds strange, I know, and whilst I am aware of pub-based Alpha courses and Bible studies, I certainly have never attended a service in a pub! Last Wednesday 16th September was certainly a night to remember! The Commissioning of Gravesend Street Pastors was a night when The Pembroke in King St, was almost filled to capacity with in the region of 200 Christians, Police, Council representatives and folk from other arenas too.  It was a night when the rafters almost shook with praise to God through the singing of well-known hymns – a night of witness to the pub’s staff and clients and a night when Gravesend’s first 20 Street Pastors were commissioned and received their caps.  It is believed to be the first Commissioning ever to have taken place in a pub. (Aberdeen beat us by doing theirs in a nightclub!).  One person told me that it was near enough to their idea of heaven – a pint in one hand, football on the television and singing Cwm Rhondda at the top of their voice!

 

The DJ stand was transformed into a pulpit, adorned with flowers and banners announcing the event and from here the event was led by Reverends Andrew Lindley, Chair of Churches Together in Gravesham and Michael Fanstone, Chair of Gravesend Street Pastors.  Following the lusty singing of “To God be the Glory” and the story of the Good Samaritan from the Message translation, greetings of support for the new Street Pastors’ project were given by Chief Inspector Phil Painter of Kent Police, Councillor John Cubitt on behalf of Gravesend’s Community Safety team, the Deputy Mayor, Councillor William Lambert MBE and Mr Adam Holloway MP, who made a sudden appearance, having given apologies that he would be in Afghanistan.  The Director of Ascension Trust, Mr Les Isaac, gave an encouraging and amusing address with some anecdotes of encounters he had had with people out on the streets at night and then the Street Pastors were given their caps, having made promises about they way in which they would serve the project,  a very special moment indeed.

 

After a time of refreshments and catching up with family and friends, the Street Pastors gathered together with Les, for a few words, a prayer and then they were led out in full uniform for the first time on to Gravesend’s streets.  Being a Wednesday night, they were uncertain what to expect, but it seemed that those they encountered asked who they were and thought that this would be a very welcome addition to making Gravesend’s streets safer for the public.

 

On Friday 18th September most of the Street Pastors gathered at the Methodist Church for prayer at 10.30pm, upheld by a number of folk willing to join the prayer teams.  They set out at 11pm in four teams taking different routes and soon engaged in conversations with door staff, clients of pubs and taxi drivers.  They were accompanied by a reporter from the Gravesend Messenger, observing and photographing.  A number of girls gratefully received pairs of flip flops, no longer able to walk in their stilettos.  After a break for hot drinks at base, the teams went out again, assisting people rather the worse for wear to taxis and responding to alerts to minor incidents from the G-safe radio from Gravesend’s CCTV control room.  The finale was to respond to an argument following a fight in a nightclub and being able to step in and help to separate and calm people until the Police arrived, which made the Street Pastors feel they had really arrived!  Back at base at 2.45am there was a final debriefing and prayers, before returning home, on a real high and with heads buzzing.  Praise to God that all had gone well!

 

I am pleased to be able to report that we currently have two potential prayer co-ordinators, a real answer to prayer, and that the response for the prayer teams has been good, with 30 offers to pray at base on a Friday night and a number of others willing to pray from home.  More would still be welcomed, as would names of anyone who would like to train as a Street Pastor in the next training round, or offers of help with IT technical support (perhaps by phone), publicity and particularly with fundraising – whether an event or applying for grant funding.  Please contact me for more information.

Anne Jenkins – Gravesend Street Pastors Co-ordinator 01474 568498 (Monday & Thursday) or 07807 451427 (leave a message) or e-mail coord.gravesendstreetpastors@yahoo.com  

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The first nine weeks  

Twenty volunteers successfully completed a comprehensive formal training programme and were commissioned as Street Pastors (SP) at a commissioning event held at the Pembroke Pub, King Street , Gravesend on Wednesday 16th September. The event was well supported, those attending including Rev. Les Isaac (founder of the national SP initiative), the Deputy Mayor of Gravesham, Cllr John Cubitt and other senior representatives of the Council, and senior police officers.

The following two Friday nights/Saturday mornings saw SPs out en masse, before we moved into the regular pattern of a team of four SPs patrolling each week from 2nd October 2009. Therefore, at the time of writing, SPs have been out for nine consecutive weeks.

Our typical pattern of activity each Friday night/Saturday morning to date is:

·         SPs collect G-Safe radio from CCCTV control and assemble at around 22:30 at ‘base’ for preparation and prayer (‘base’ is as the Methodist Church near the clock tower in Milton Road )

·         Commence patrolling at 23:00. A prayer and support team is at ‘base’ throughout, has the G-Safe radio and communicates with the SP via mobile phone.

·         Patrol returns to base for 20-30 minute break around 00:15.

·         Continue patrolling until town is mostly empty and most pubs/clubs are closed (typically some time between 03:00 and 04:00, depending on weather, etc). Disperse after returning radio.

SPs generally patrol the area of the town centre bounded by Darnley Road/Bath Street , the Civic Centre/Lord Street , Milton Place, and the River Thames. There are no fixed routes but SPs aim to get to all of the main pubs and clubs within this area at least once and usually twice.    

SPs attempt to greet everyone they encounter and then engage in conversation with those who respond. This includes for example door staff and taxi drivers as well as those out to enjoy the nightlife. Typical opening questions to SPs are “Who are you?”, “What do you do?”, and “How much do you get paid?”! To date the response after we have explained what SPs is all about has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive, and many have commented to the effect that this is a “good thing for Gravesend ”. We are being to establish relationships with ‘regulars’ encountered on a weekly basis, with some SPs how being greeted like long lost friends!

 It is of course still ‘early days’ in terms of trying to assess any overall impacts which the initiative may have had. However, our weekly SP reports reveal that we have already:

·         Calmed at least three confrontational situations that had the potential to flare into much more serious and violent situations.

·         Comforted at least another six distressed persons.

·         Assisted numerous others by, for example, calming arguments, providing bottles of water to combat dehydration, providing travel advice and directions, and handing out ‘spikeys’ and flip flops (estimated that more than 20 pairs of flip flops have been handed out.)

·         Had numerous conversations touching on people’s lives, beliefs and concerns, often surprisingly frank and profound.

·         Removed in excess of 50 glass bottles from the streets.

·         Enjoyed positive coverage in local media (a reporter from the KM Group accompanied SPs on the first night out, and several radio interviews have been done.)

 As noted above, SPs have been overwhelmingly well received, although a limited amount of verbal abuse has also been received. Feedback from SPs indicates that none have felt unsafe in the town. In this context, SPs are reassured from having visited the CCTV control room during their training and have seen first hand the system in operation and the extent of coverage. But as Christians we also of course believe in the power of prayer, and SPs will not go out on patrol without a prayer team at base.

 On 2nd October the SP patrol was close by when a serious assault occurred in Queen Street in which a man’s jaw was broken in two places. SPs were able to calm and comfort the victim and his friends until police officers arrived and then provide first aid materials as the officers assisted the victim. Although the actual assault was not seen, the SPs did subsequently give witness statements following a request from the police.

 The Management Committee acknowledge with gratitude the support of Gravesham Borough Council and Kent Police. The making available of the Council chamber for SP training at no cost and two financial contributions from the Police have been particularly helpful in getting the initiative going.  

Although the initiative has got off to a very good start the Management Committee recognises that there is still much work to be done. Despite the great efforts of our part-time unpaid SP Co-ordinator the workload is simply too great and we need to move to a more sustainable model. Feedback from door staff indicates a view that Saturday nights are busier than Friday nights, but currently we do not have sufficient SPs to cover Saturdays as well as Fridays. We hope to be able to train up more volunteers during 2010 but this will again add to the Co-ordinators workload. To sustain and grow the SP initiative we need to put the post on to a more robust basis and like other SP projects around the UK make the Co-ordinator a paid appointment. Clearly this presents a major funding challenge and we are currently exploring possibilities. This is a high priority for the Management Committee.  

Other issues that we are reviewing in the light of operational experience include:

·         Would taking the G-Safe radio out improve communications?

·         Feedback suggests that not all sections/levels of the police are aware of the aims and methods of the SP initiative

David George

For GSP Management Committee

18 November 2009

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