For more than ten years, a dedicated group of trained volunteers has been making a difference to the lives of students at Pyrland School, a large secondary school in Taunton. Known as the School Pastors, the volunteers provide a listening ear, practical help, and spiritual support to students.
The initiative is part of a nationwide organisation started by the Ascension Trust, the same group which set up Street Pastors. While Street Pastors focus on offering support in late night city settings, School Pastors bring the same ethos of care and guidance to the school environment working closely with both students and staff.
Each week, School Pastors offer support at the school in a variety of ways, often adapting the work they do to the needs of students and staff. Over the years their work has included everything from one-to-one reading sessions to supervising school trips and helping with religious education classes.
Currently, their focus is on lunchtime. The team talk to students during the lunch break, offer board games as a way of helping to calm activity, they also offer counselling for students and take part in the Christian Ethos Committee helping to maintain the school’s spiritual values.
Marcus Paul, a School Pastor and Foundation Governor at Pyrland School, said of his role, “These things are hugely worthwhile and very rewarding. Not only are we privileged to be able to help individual students who may be struggling, support a local school and take the good news Jesus brings into the world of teenagers.”
School Pastors, offer kindness, patience and encouragement to students. Brian also a school pastor, he described how much he enjoys working with the young people, “It’s one of the most rewarding things I do - it’s the best hour of my week”.