Being the Good Samaritan

|PIC1|The party season is in full swing and for a nation heavily dependent on drink for a good time, Street Pastors is sending out more volunteers on more nights to patrol city streets this Christmas and New Year.

“Christmas is the busiest time for us, especially in areas most affected by drink,” says London Street Pastor Eustace Constance.

While most people want to spend this Christmas toasting the season with their loved ones over carols and turkey, dozens of trained Christian volunteers are donning the distinctive blue Street Pastor jackets and caps and heading out onto Britain’s city streets at night to bring comfort and a listening ear to the lost, hurt and lonely.

“There is always a mixture of feelings about Christmas. The suicide rate goes up. The cold weather makes things difficult. There are homeless people in need. Sometimes it does get hard and it can affect you,” says Eustace.

“But Christmas is our thing. We have to be visible and we want to be that Good Samaritan.”

Eustace has been a Street Pastor since 2003. The initiative was launched in the same year by the Rev Les Isaac to restore the city streets with a positive presence during the most unfriendly of hours. From breaking up fights, to speaking to the homeless, to assisting young revellers who have had too much to drink, Street Pastors are there to help.

“We’re going into the community, into their environment, making ourselves available until 3, 4, sometimes 5am. It’s the last place people expect to see Street Pastors,” says Eustace.

While practical outreach has its rewards, for Eustace, it is the spiritual dimension that makes his work so different from other outreaches.

“The vast majority of people we meet don’t go to church but people have not lost their spirituality,” he enthuses. “Some have passed through church and would like to tell us of their past spiritual journey. Some ask for prayer. One of the pleasures I experience is when I can bring someone before the heavenly throne.”

In the five years since its inception, Street Pastors has spread to 20 boroughs across London and a number of cities across the UK and internationally. In 2009, Street Pastors will launch in even more cities, from Southampton in the south to Stirling in the north.

Eustace stresses that Street Pastors only go where they are invited.

“We get calls from churches and police asking for information. It’s about partnership. We call it the ‘urban trinity’ – the police, the local community and the church.”

But Street Pastors are not trying to replace the police, he insists. They just want to help. If there are any signs of danger, the Street Pastors call in the police.

“We are not the police and the police don’t want us to be the police and we don’t want to be the police. The safety of the Street Pastors is paramount and in a difficult situation, the best strategy is to step back.”

In all the years the initiative has been up and running, there has not been a single attack or assault on a Street Pastor. That’s largely down to prayer, Eustace believes. Street Pastors pray before they go out, they pray when they come in, and while they are out patrolling, they have other Street Pastors and volunteers praying for them.

“We also pray for each of the people we meet,” Eustace continues. “There is a sense of hopelessness on the streets. People don’t feel valued. That’s what motivates me to go out there. If me going out there is enough to save even one person’s life then that’s enough to motivate me for the rest of my life.”

The response, he says, has been overwhelming.

“I’ve been involved in community outreach for the last 20 years and I have never seen ordinary people welcome Christians as much as they do Street Pastors. Some people are so pleased to see the church on the street. We get a remarkable response.”

Knowing what Street Pastors has meant for the church also drives Eustace to keep doing what he is doing.

“The community is getting to understand the church more and it works both ways. The church is starting to understand the community better.

“The church is at the very heart of what we do. Interest from others is lovely, but it’s also about getting all the church together. Despite all the little differences we may have, we will own this and we will do it together.”