As news came in of the tragic accident with a tipper truck in Weston on the outskirts of Bath my heart sank.

I have friends who live in Weston and whose children attend the school.

My first horrible thought was maybe they were at the school gate and it was one of their children.

The child was later named as Mitzi Rosanna Steady.

I prayed for her family, the injured, the bereaved families and for the Church of All Saints where I attended for worship just a few weekends ago.

The church’s response was to open its heart to the suffering and trauma of the community, throwing open its doors and creating a space and a place where people could mourn together and support each other as a community.

They offered symbols and creative actions for children and adults to express themselves where words are just inadequate.

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I was deeply moved by the words of the vicar as he sought to offer some comfort in a comfortless situation. We live in a culture where there is a great suspicion of ‘people of faith’.

Given the corrupters of faith and the false things done in God’s name, I judge not those who are suspicious. But I am reminded that the vast majority of human beings have a sense of their spirituality, which goes beyond the physicality of themselves, and a sense of good.

Many of the 350 in church in Weston on the Hill will not have bought into a particular religious framework but clearly have a sense of eternity in their hearts.

The presence of the Church all too often goes unnoticed despite the buildings which declare its presence all over our country. Many clergy are quietly there ready to serve when needed, whether it be a baptism, a wedding, a funeral or a tragedy such as this.

I find myself quietly proud to be part of the Christian community and the sometimes derided Church of England, as we reach out to people of faith and of no faith in their times of need.

I give thanks to God for the regular worshippers who keep our buildings ready for whatever occasion they may be needed and who keep clergy on the ground by their generous giving of both time and money.

I am grateful for the foresight of the Christians of an earlier age who, because they believed in the all-encompassing love of God, established the principle that we would have a Church of England presence in every community to serve and to be there, often unnoticed, until times of need such as these.

Sadly the Church more often makes the news for the things we have got wrong and the daily round of service to people in need, the enabling of people to wrestle with the tough questions on suffering and what kind of God we believe in don’t generally make the headlines.

But this week the Church was reported for the best reasons.