Have you heard about Wantage and Grove Street Pastors? Or seen them about in their blue jackets on a Friday or Saturday night? Ever wondered who they are or why they do it?

Street Pastors is an inter-denominational Church response to urban problems, engaging with people on the streets to care, listen and dialogue.

It was pioneered in London in January 2003 by Rev Les Isaac, Director of the Ascension Trust, and has seen some remarkable results, including drops in crime in areas where teams have been working. There are now over 100 teams around the United Kingdom including Wantage and Grove. Each city project is set up by Ascension Trust and run by a local coordinator with support from Ascension Trust and local churches and community groups, in partnership with Police, Council and other statutory agencies.

Yvonne Cavanagh from Wantage and Grove Street Pastors says:

"Wantage and Grove Street Pastors and Prayer Support Volunteers are making a difference. People we meet on the streets are telling us that they feel safer because of our presence, as are the police statistics.

Sometimes that difference is very visible when someone in a vulnerable or potentially fraught situation can be calmed or moved away from any danger. Other times it is simply a case of being a presence on the streets, someone people can say hello to or share a joke with. We still meet people who have not met Street Pastors before and it good to be able to share again our reasons for doing what we do, to explain that as Jesus loves and cares for people we want to do the same for other people."

Street Pastors teams are on the streets in Wantage every Friday night and an early team is building up their contact with younger people in Wantage and Grove. They are working towards having teams out on Saturdays as well by the end of 2011. That will take twelve teams of four trained Street Pastors, double the number we started with; and a similar number of Prayer Support Volunteers. PSVs make up the base teams who support the Street Pastors who are on the streets in prayer and by practical means.