A note from Sarah, our Editor: Churches Together in England has an open invitation on our website for people to send us their stories about unity working in their own words. It’s always inspiring to read them when they drop into our inbox unannounced. We recently received this from Eric Hyom.
Eric writes…
I have been involved with Churches Together in our town, Eastleigh in Hampshire, for about twenty years. We meet together monthly. We pray together – for each other and for the needs of our town.
I have been a Street Pastor since 2008. When we go out, we patrol the streets of our town until three or four in the morning. I experience a profound sense of unity when the diversity within Christianity meets together as Street Pastors. Before we start our shifts, we ask God to place in our path the people he needs us to see. When we meet challenging situations, we ask God to help us with the words and actions to do his will.
Once the needs of the night have been placed in God’s hands, I don’t have any worries about what we might encounter. I can only say that in seventeen years, I have always experienced a profound sense of peace, one that surpasses all my understanding.
Everyone we meet at night is first loved by God. If God loves everyone, we too should love them. This understanding helps me to search for kinder solutions to all the drunken and violent horrors; we can encounter during the night. We listen, care and help where we can.
People might have issues with Christianity, but they consistently thank us for our volunteering and care. We have been told that we change people’s lives. We touch the hearts and minds of the people we meet.
In Eastleigh, through our churches working together, we have opened food banks, homes for the homeless, offered addiction help, and, of course, we’ve established Street Pastors. I would also love to see more visible interfaith charitable work being done together. In these times of a troubled world, we need each other more. Whatever our beliefs might be, the same God hears all our prayers, despite our differences. We are all created by the same God. I believe you will never look into the eyes of anyone who does not matter to God. Start by looking in the mirror.
Eric concluded his email to CTE by offering this prayer:
“A Franciscan Blessing”:
MAY GOD BLESS YOU with discomfort,
at easy answers, half-truths,
and superficial relationships
so that you may live
deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger
at injustice, oppression,
and exploitation of people,
so that you may work for
justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless you with tears,
to shed for those who suffer pain,
rejection, hunger, and war,
so that you may reach out your hand
to comfort them and
to turn their pain to joy. And may God bless you
with enough foolishness
to believe that you can
make a difference in the world,
so that you can do
what others claim cannot be done,
to bring justice and kindness
to all our children and the poor
Photo credits: All photos Eric’s own
About Street Pastors
Street Pastors is an initiative of the Ascension Trust. It was pioneered in Brixton, London, in 2003 by Rev Les Isaac. It is a church response to urban problems, aiming to care for, listen to, and help people on the nighttime streets in their communities and has evolved to serving through all times of day, supporting people who may be vulnerable for a variety of reasons. The initiative has grown to encompass over 20,000 trained volunteers in 240 towns and cities across the UK and internationally.
The Ascension Trust is a Charity and Network in Association with Churches Together in England.