Ten local churches set up Wantage and Grove Street Pastors in 2009, with our first teams commissioned and on the streets in October of that year. (Photo: Street Pastors trainees with local councillors)
Our area consists of the small market town of Wantage and the largely residential village of Grove immediately to the north; so we are rather different from a city initiative. The night economy in Wantage centres round the Market Place, and people of all ages gather there on Friday nights from Grove and the surrounding villages. Many younger people are out in Grove and spend time in the Wantage Sweatbox youth centre.
Street Pastors teams are on the streets in Wantage every Friday night and an early team is building up our contact with younger people in Wantage and Grove; we are working towards having teams out on Saturdays as well by the end of 2010. That will take twelve teams of four trained Street Pastors, double the number we started with; and a similar number of Prayer/Support Volunteers. PSVs make up the base teams who see that while the Street Pastors are on the streets they have phone contact, prayers of whatever sort they need - and refreshments.
Photo: A quiet moment near Wantage Market Place
Listening, caring and helping is, of course, both rewarding and challenging in a personal sense, and the churches have found it inspiring to work together like this to bring the love of God to his people who typically don't come from any of them.
May 2010: "Police hail Street Pastor scheme for helping cut crime in Wantage" more...
First birthday party!
A year after our commissioning we shared a first birthday event with our members from the local churches, with police and local councillors, and with some of the people from towns near us who are beginning to set up other local Street Pastor Initiatives.
We were privileged to have Les Isaac himself to address and inspire us, and here he is cutting the birthday cake with our oldest and most sprightly Street Pastor. Betty Collins is not quite 80!
Betty and Les cutting our cake 21st October 2010, photo by Howard Hill.
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