On Friday 23rd December, 12 of the 30 plus strong Bexley Street Pastors and 6 of their Prayer Pastors, met at their base on Bexleyheath Broadway to celebrate their 10th anniversary. There was a time of prayer and thanksgiving led by Pastor Del Bearfoot of Bexley Christian Life Centre prior to the commencement of the team’s weekly Friday night patrol.

The patrol centres on the night time economy within Bexleyheath. The Street Pastors were split into 3 teams by their coordinator Cathy Walford and at around 10 pm they patrolled separate areas within the Bexleyheath Broadway and side roads. Six Prayer Pastors stayed back at the base as prayer support for those on patrol.

Street Pastors is an interdenominational initiative of Ascension Trust. Individual Street Pastors are Christian adults with a concern for their community, who undergo 8 days of training in order to voluntarily patrol the streets of towns and cities at night, helping and caring for people in practical ways. The initiative began in London and is now operating in nearly 300 areas across the UK and internationally.

During the evening there were many conversations and discussions on many subjects and much appreciation of the Street Pastor initiatives were shown by those out having a good time.

After a 30 minute break the teams again patrolled the Broadway until 2 am.

It was an eventful night and several pairs of ‘Street Pastor’ flip flops were handed out to ladies that struggled to keep their high heels on so late in the evening.

Based on information supplied by Donald Bartley.