The Antisocial Behaviour Officer from the local police sits with a mug of tea in the church office and discusses the action which is finally being taken against some of the troublesome youngsters in the area. 'You might think it's quite draconian,' he warns, and that's what 'banning from every railway station in England and Wales' does sound like, but it seems that some of them have been travelling far and wide to spread disturbance, not just here. He's an affable ex-Met officer.
Sally the church office manager tells me her dad is in hospital and his dementia has suddenly advanced. The family aren't sure what's going to happen, and she sees no alternative but to vary her working hours until things become clearer.
In the entrance area to the church, I find a young woman reading a Bible. Tearfully she explains how radically her life has gone wrong since I baptised her children seven years ago (I recognised their names rather than her). To me she seems articulate and caring, but she can only see negativity and 'evil' within herself, and thoughts of suicide grapple her and pull her downwards. She's frightened. She will try to come to a service.
After Evening Prayer I sit with a teenage boy in the church. He has quite severe anxiety attacks from time to time. He describes horrible visions of a hellish landscape which assault him occasionally, and something more positive - a sapphire-eyed white stag that stands in the snow, regarding him, and who has appeared when he's been really desperate. A version of God, perhaps, something pure and strong.
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