“This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” Matthew 17:5

 

These words are from Matthews’s account of the transfiguration, an event we associate with revelation and glory. So we can easily miss the command to listen to Jesus. In recent weeks and months I have been giving renewed thought to understanding prayer as an important means of listening to God. That journey plus thinking about the work of Street Pastors has reinforced for me the need to both listen to God and to be good listeners to each other.  For that reason I have included in this blog some thoughts of one our Street Pastors, Carol Jackson, who has written about her experience of listening skills training that we recently undertook with the Acorn Trust.

 

I’ve always thought of myself as a good listener, so I thought that this training would be easy. In fact it was very exciting and life-changing. I’ve learnt a lot about myself as well as better and more practical ways of relating to other people.

We learned that people need to be able to express themselves without interruption before they are ready for advice and change. Silences are very important. People are not looking for a quick fix, but need to be heard and know that they are still accepted and loved. No one likes it when they know that no one is really listening to them.

It is hard to give someone your undivided attention, especially in today’s world.

But this is exactly what is needed. People need to be able to express themselves without feeling criticised or judged. Very often they are not looking for an answer to their problems, but just a friendly ear to listen to them.

“Michael Quinn from Family Care writes: “There is nothing so encouraging for a teenager as to be listened to and understood. Nothing builds up their confidence and self-esteem so much as a friendly listening ear”.

From the role play we did, I experienced for myself the healing love of God. It was a relief to be able to express how I felt about a personal situation and I felt more able in myself to make decisions as to how to go forward.

The whole day was a real eye opener as to how important it is to take time to listen to people. A few minutes of undivided attention may be of more value than an hour of  mind-wandering and distracted “listening”.

 

 It was a thrill to be involved in the official launch of “Footsteps to the Future” on the 23rd January. This project will see the redevelopment of Trinity Church in the heart of Ellesmere Port; it will provide much improved facilities as part of its mission to the wider community. This stage has been reached after almost 3 years of listening to God and one another, plus a determination not to give up on the vision. Cheshire West Street Pastors is delighted that it will be the base for its community Street Pastor work in Ellesmere Port which will commence on the 5^th March. You can find out more about the “Footsteps to the Future” by clicking on the separate tab above.

In January we were pleased to welcome Julia McGuiness as our first observer with Chester Street Pastors. Julia is a journalist and has been preparing a piece for the Church Times which is published on the 1^st February. You can find extracts from the piece on the Street Pastors tab above and in our soon to be published second newsletter. So please have a look.

 

Trevor