Carrying Candles

'It's the candle that holds the boy', Gordon our head server is fond of saying, referring to the bygone days - at least for us - when Anglo-Catholic churches would field phalanxes of youthful acolytes, given something to do as a way of keeping them on board with the business of church. In this photo Jack has just blown his candle out as I tried to take a snap of him, his sister Ruby, and Polly who had been deputed to carry the cross. As you know, I endlessly scratch my head trying to think of ways of getting the children we have contact with engaged with Church life in a way that might actually lead to some sort of development of faith.  In the past we've had 'family communion' services where children who might turn up are allocated the jobs grown-ups would normally do, but as the position of Mothering Sunday meant swapping the eucharist we would usually have celebrated on March 27th to April 3rd instead, I thought I would try to get some of our children to act as servers by getting them to commit in advance. It was a bit of a risk but went fine in the end, the youngsters being ably marshalled by Gordon and Jean the Sacristan to do their bits and they seem even to have enjoyed it, which was the idea. we would have had a fourth child had not illness struck his family at the crucial moment. I think Pentecost might be a good time to try this again. That's a good complicated service!