INVERCLYDE Street Pastors has expanded its services by providing a ‘stopping place’ in the Oak Mall shopping centre, Greenock.
People using the Mall are invited to stop and say ‘hi, who are you and what do you do?’ at the stand which operates from noon to 2pm on Wednesdays.
Inverclyde Christian Initiative provides Street and Rail Pastors in Inverclyde with help from Street Pastors Scotland.
Chris Jewell from the initiative said: “Historically, Street Pastors was all about the night-time economy, offering help around pubs and clubs on Saturday nights, with the desire to care for and listen to those in need of some kind of help.
“It has been a privilege to operate that way since our first patrol in Greenock in October 2010, and we now patrol at night in Gourock and Port Glasgow as well. More recently, and with mental health declining generally, we have had a number of people who have approached a Street Pastor patrol to thank us for what we do and to say that the previous time they had spoken with a Street Pastor, this had stopped their suicide. There is no doubt that mental health generally has declined across all age groups, and that has been one of the reasons for us to now do day patrols in the centre of Greenock as resources permit.
“It is a privilege for us to engage with the public in these ways, and having short prayers with any who would like that. The feedback we have had to what we are doing in the Oak Mall has been very positive and has included a lady set free of five years of pain, a young lad getting an elusive job, a lady saved from invasive surgery and another whose voice returned. One of the main things Jesus did when physically on earth was to heal people of all kinds of diseases and healing of all kinds is perhaps never more needed in these troubled times.”
He added: “We would love to have more Street and Rail Pastors in Inverclyde and anyone 18 and over is so welcome to come out with us on patrol as an observer, without commitment, to see and feel what we do and how we go about it. Street Pastors come from every Christian denomination working together, and to join as a Street Pastor you need to be 18 and older, have a church connection for at least a year and have a heart and love for people generally. Detailed training is provided to equip Street and Rail Pastors for these roles.”
There are now 18 Street Pastor initiatives across Scotland with plans for new patrols in Shetland and Dumfries and Galloway later this year, and with new enquiries coming from South Lanarkshire, East Lothian and Irvine being followed up. More information on Street Pastors in Scotland is available at www.scotland.ascensiontrust.org.uk and for Inverclyde on the Inverclyde Street Pastors Facebook page or by contacting co-ordinator Alistair McAlees at inverclyde@streetpastors.org.uk or on 07740 201 853.
The charity’s Scottish office is centred in Greenock and the national and local initiatives were delighted recently when Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh accepted an invitation to become the Royal Patron of Street Pastors in Scotland.
