Spending time with Harlow Street Pastors

You may have read the Harlow Star headlines last week: Harlow 'becoming safer', according to new crime figures.

After spending time with Harlow Street Pastors (www.harlow.streetpastors.org.uk) last week, I have little doubt that this is in part due to their work.

Run like a military operation, the Street Pastors is a truly remarkable faith-based Community organisation.  Trained volunteers, they meet at St Paul's Church and go out on patrol late at night, offering support and friendship to adults - pouring in and out of pubs and nightclubs.  The Pastors help vulnerable young women - sometimes high on drink or more - get home safely via cabs and public transport.

The Street Pastors also lower the temperature of the late night drinking culture - by giving out moral support to those who need it.

All the while the pastors are on patrol, there are volunteers manning the operations room at the Church.  Some are logging telephone call situation reports, others making tea and toast for the patrollers - when they return from their first shift at Midnight - before going out again until 04:30.

Outside the Church, there are 'prayer warriors' all across Harlow who stay up until 02:00 and pray for those the Pastors find in distress. The Patrollers phone the nerve centre, who then call the homes.  Many of the prayer warriors are pensioners, who demonstrate their commitment to faith by supporting the street pastors in this way.

The Harlow Street Pastors not only assist the police and night club security in combating anti-social behaviour, but they also have saved lives: assisting those who are paralytic, others from freezing from hypothermia.

I was astounded by the work of the Street Pastors: I knew about it, but had not yet seen them in action.  Their quiet faith and commitment to helping Harlow is so incredible, it seems almost impossible to believe that they exist.

There is an old Jewish saying:

"whoever saves a life, saves the world".

I thought of that as I drove home from St Pauls at 00:30 on Saturday morning, knowing that whilst I was on my way to bed, the Street Pastors would be patrolling Harlow Town Centre for another three hours.