Safety First

The visit of two Year 4 classes from the local junior school to the church yesterday went quite well. They were here to look at Christian weddings and the promises made as part of them. I put together a programme which took about an hour to deliver and they weren't too restive. I knew lots of them from Swanvale Halt Infants so that helped. The first question I asked was how the building made them feel. One boy said it made him feel old: 'I'm not very old,' he stressed (he was 8), 'but I first came here one year, and then the next year, and then the next, so it makes me think how old I am now and how time goes.' A serious place on serious ground, you see.

At the end the children had 15 minutes or so to look around the building. I let them into the vestry by groups and the thing that seemed to catch their attention most was the safe. I heard one girl discussing with her friends how you'd need a hair grip to pick the lock. This is very advanced for 8, I was sure they don't normally cover basic burglary until Year 5.