Of such is the Kingdom

A great pleasure to be in church today with children marking the end of their Holiday Club – and with a group of enthusiastic leaders. I know that many of our congregations are in places where there are very few children and young families – but I experience the small numbers of children around our churches as a real loss. Children bring life and spontaneity in a way which it is hard to replace. My parish had a sort of tidal wave of small children during the last ten years – Ian Paisley is reputed to have said that ‘The battle for Protestant Ulster would be won in the beds of Protestant Ulster’. Maybe in Portadown but not, I think, elsewhere. Anyway, this week also sees the first of two weeks of programme for teenagers at Glenaaaalmond – well-established and very successful. I look forward to visiting next Sunday.