Beckenham, in the Greater London borough of Bromley, operates a small team of street pastors who are out on patrol on Friday nights. Beckenham is a small satellite, not just of London but of nearby Bromley, although it’s Beckenham that has the nightlife in the borough, with a couple of clubs and lots of eating places.
From its launch in December 2007 the team was led by Alun, who his friends describe as an inspirational man who was able to talk to anyone. When Alun died suddenly in 2011 the team gathered together and resolved to continue, remembering Alun’s commitment and passion. In the next two years they did not receive any new recruits and numbers started to dwindle. They were, and still are, short of male street pastors.
Churches Together in Beckenham has made a commitment to support their local team. Just recently this has meant the introduction of a rota of church leaders who join the street pastors at 9.45 p.m. every Friday night to pray with them before they head out. The street pastors have found this a very positive and encouraging initiative, opening up a strong channel of communication between the churches and the street pastors.