Stirling Street Pastors
Stirling Street Pastors are part of a national team first pioneered in 2003 and Street Pastors continue to grow throughout the UK and across the world.
Street pastors are trained volunteers from local churches and care about the community.
They are usually on patrol from 10pm to 4am on a Friday or Saturday night to care for, listen to and help people who are out on the streets.
LISTENING, CARING & HELPING…
Prepared to be challenged and make a real difference to Stirling?
Stirling Street Pastors invites you to try. We are constantly seeking new volunteers to get involved and help grow what we are doing in Stirling.
The more volunteers we have the bigger the difference we can make.
The basics
- Over 18 years old?
- Been a Christian for over a year?
- Got a healthy, active relationship in a local church?
- Able to work with people in a non-judgemental way to listen, care and help?
If you tick the above, we want to hear from you. Get in touch to arrange a chat and to observe a current Street Pastors patrol.
Contact Russell Boyd
Telephone 07545527511
Email stirling@streetpastors.org.uk
Stirling Street Pastors
University Campus Patrols
During the covid pandemic SSPs were asked to start a weekly patrol on the campus of the University of Stirling. Many international students were on campus unable to return home and felt isolated. SSPs had been patrolling the Stirling streets on Friday and Saturday nights supporting the night-time community for over 10 years so it was deemed suitable to have patrols on campus.
It has been a real privilege to patrol the campus meeting students, staff and members of the public. The patrols are varied interacting with new international students, excited and anxious first years, stressed students at assignment time, celebrating taking photographs for students on graduation day, chatting with staff and encouraging them in the work they do and meeting members of the public who may be out enjoying a walk, youngsters up enjoying the facilities and pizzas, lonely first time mums out pushing the pram or people seeking peace in the beautiful surroundings.
Street Pastors strap line is to “Care, Listen, Help”. We don’t go out to preach or push people towards faith, we are there to walk beside people, but are thrilled if conversations become spiritual. We are often encouraged by those we meet supporting the work we do and delighted to hear we are Christians from a variety of churches.
We value St Ninians support through prayer and financial contributions, but we need more campus SSPs and hope YOU will consider volunteering. It is an amazing outreach opportunity and great fun.
Campus Patrol Volunteers – The Facts
Volunteers are expected to patrol once every four weeks – patrols are easily swapped if something clashes.
Campus patrols last from 11.45 until 2.30.
A normal patrol usually involves walking round the west end of the loch and bridge three or four times and some visits to a variety of buildings with lots of chatty stops.
Training is provided before becoming a SSP with an annual training opportunity – the training for campus is the same as for all Street Pastors.
The next round of local training starts in January.
Campus volunteers will not be expected to do evening patrols unless they request to go on one.