PEACEMAKERS Prayer Chief speaks out in the aftermath of the violence and unrest following a peaceful Kill The Bill Protest that had been planned for Bristol. In her letter below sent to various media as well as the police, she calls for peace and a halt to violence, criminality, and disruption to peaceful communities. She is hoping that her prayerful intervention will create a wave and air of peace bringing some level of peaceful understanding, especially in the light of further protest planned for the coming weekend. Police are advising people not to gather.
Peacemakers have been successfully working behind the scenes for street safety with Virgil, Patrols, Marches, and Awareness Campaigns in Bristol since 2002 when violence was rife in St Pauls and Easton area. They were also part of winning the City Purple Flag status, which helps to attract a greater number of visitors into the city center at night and hopefully reduces negative perceptions about Bristol’s city center.
Reverend Palmer is asking for people to join with her and her team in praying for peace. “If you do not already pray or even know how to pray, then you can use the words of the prayer on our site.” **See below.
"God usually uses the foolish things of this world to create mighty changes, sometimes it may take a little while to see the difference, but it usually comes through good in the end." - Rev. Dr. Dawnecia Palmer OBA AFP
To whom it may concern
Whilst we cannot undo or wish away the violence, criminality, misbehavior, and mishandling of the recent Protests on both sides of the law here in Bristol; neither should we be complacent and silent.
I for one do not condone or excuse the use of violence on persons nor the destruction and damage to property.
It is a sad day for Bristol and for the years of hard gruff between parties, communities, and the police, to build a level of trust and civility.
My prayer today is for peace and order to return, for a new way of communicating and listening. For openness, peaceful protests, and freedom of speech, to be handled with higher levels of competency and conscious awareness.
I pray the Spirit of Peace over the citizens, constituency, and constabulary of Bristol. May order return. May violence and fear find no place to hide or grow here. May those with the tendency to destroy and cause harm be found out, arrested, handled fairly and charged accordingly. Then, may the Presence of the ALL GOOD grace our city, releasing it from the shadows of thuggery and violence. Let fairness, equity, justice, and respect for life, and property, be the order of Bristol. This is my Prayer. Amen.
Reverend Dr. Dawnecia Palmer AFP is Chief Commissioner of PEACEMAKERS City Safety & Prayer Patrols, they work in partnership with Avon & Somerset Police and Crime Stoppers UK.
Email: peacemakersprayerpatrol@gmail.com
Website: www.Peacemakersprayerpatrol.com
Like the weather, souls go through seasons of change. The darker days seem to lower many people’s moods and some find it very difficult to beat the blues.
The streets were surprisingly sparse as the small band of hopefuls set out into the dark chilly night on All Hallows Eve 2020, their fluorescent jackets and candle holders glowing in the dark.
These are familiar grounds for most of the team members, and they are aware of how far things have moved for the better since the early days of Peacemakers Prayer Patrols, when crimes, gangs, and violence marked these areas. Then, Patrols were visibly out prayer patrolling days and nights.
The highlight of the night took place on the Green outside the St. Pauls’ Learning Centre in St. Pauls. Here they formed a Prayer Circle by placing lit candles in a circle on the ground and linking hands, as the City Safety Patrol officer read a prayer she had composed and written especially for the occasion. “That was a very moving moment for me,” remarked a new volunteer afterward.
As the team gathered to pray, several youths were also gathering in the distance across the street, and they were behaving very badly, throwing fireworks in the air and at passing cars. This did not perturb the group, they persisted in prayer, and in a short space of time, on hearing the Police siren the youths scrambled and ran away.
The night got progressively colder, and as they came to an end of the Patrol, someone commented, “At least we did our part, we can only hope that we did some good and lit the darkness.”
‘MEET’ image whenever they tap on the Gmail icon either on their phone or PC. The instructions to join via the link we send will be quite straight forward and easy to navigate.
City 
Patrols maintain prayer presence in the Easton area.
