One of the people who has joined the congregation pretty recently is Malcolm, and just as I was thinking I ought to call round and visit him, he asked me to do so. It was mild enough to sit in the garden with tea and talk about his pond, but not just that. He's been living in the area for decades, as first a lecturer in physics and then computing, and latterly working in the IT department at the university. He was brought up as a Baptist but much of the time has worshipped at Hilltop, before gravitating towards us over the last few months. He's always been concerned about community issues, from the local development taskforce to promoting the welfare of summer-visiting swifts; and has come to see attending the parish church as a way of integrating his community activism and his spiritual life. I've always seen 'community-building' as part of the mission of Swanvale Halt church. This isn't vague and wishful thinking; we try to provide opportunities for people to meet and discover more about one another, sharing experiences and endeavours - to regard one another as more than just anonymous faces passing on the street. Ultimately we are God's, equally in our diversity and need, and while most people will not get as far as articulating it in that way, a church can do something, at least, to counteract the forces that conspire to make us despise and scorn each other, but engage with more of the reality of who we all are. That seems to be a worthwhile endeavour for a Christian community.
'Yes, I agree with you,' Malcolm told me. 'Good man', I confirmed.
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