Page 13 - link magazine

www.swindonlink.com - 10 years 13
no preaching from pulpits noW RECRUitinG & Costa BlanCa - spain

for these pastors tRaininG - paRtYlitE Holiday Home For Rental
ConsUltants FoR tHE • Sleeps 6 - 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
A church initiative that has seen CHRistMas sEason (1 master suite with double bathroom
and jacuzzi bath)
anti-social behaviour and rates of • Rooftop solarium and shared
street crime plummet in London Selling high quality candles and communal pool
boroughs hit the night spots of accessories via party plan • Supermarket within 5 minutes walking
Swindon at the end of Septem- ✭ No Start-up Fee distance, pubs & restaurants within
10 minutes walking distance, blue flag
ber. ✭ Serious Income Potential beaches within 10 minutes drive
Patrols of Street Pastors, wearing ✭ Flexible Hours • 20 minutes transfer time from either
distinctive blue jackets and baseball ✭ No Deliveries Alicante or Murcia airports
caps, will provide a calming pres- ✭ No Experience Necessary Rates from
ence, a listening ear and a helping £150 p/w
hand. Twenty-two volunteers from For more information or (low season)
seven churches across the town to book a PartyLite Show, tel: phil on
completed their twelve week train- call Rachel 01793
ing which started in June and will be Paul Rush and Jane Perrot on 01367 242521 700170
for details
on the beat from 28 September. in Fleet Street
Their aim is not to preach at
people but to demonstrate their
beliefs in a practical way. That could
involve defusing a violent situation,
helping somebody get home safely
or being a shoulder to cry on.
When Jane Perrot, who moved
recently from Freshbrook to Old
Town, read about the scheme co-
ordinated by the Ascension Trust,
earlier in the year, she was galva-
nised into action.
She had spent many evenings
searching the town centre for her 14
year old daughter, who was caught
up in a cycle of drinking and drugs.
Walking the streets in the early
hours of the morning, Jane could
see the need for a caring presence in
the scenes of mayhem that anybody
who has been near the town centre
pubs and bars on a late night will
have seen.
She spoke with friends and
church leaders and discovered
that Rev Paul Rush had recently
moved to Swindon. He had already
established Street Pastors in Leices-
ter and agreed to co-ordinate the
scheme here.
Rev Rush said the street pastors
will be looking for people who need
practical assistance. “It could be a
girl who has had a bust up with a
friend and is in a panic about how
she will get home - we’ll put her
in a taxi. Or maybe somebody in a
drunken state has lost their shoes.
We’ll be carrying flip-flops so that
they don’t cut their feet on the bro-
ken glass that’s everywhere.
“Swindon is not a bad place of a
evening; most people are just out
for a good time. But if one person
is in distress or needs help after a
fight, then we’re there to help. If
they say they’re OK, we will walk
away from the situation.”
Now that her daughter has over-
come her problems, Jane hopes she
can save others some of the distress
she experienced. “If street pastors
had been around, it would have
been another pair of eyes and some-
one for her to have spoken to.”
For details, and to donate money
and new flip flops, see details at:
www.streetpastors.org.uk

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