THE Lord Jesus said: 'Suffer little children to come unto me,' and I am sure He would have said the same about bigger children too.

So praise the Lord for the Church of England officials who have suggested that churches troubled by vandals, should do their best to get to know the trouble makers and try to channel their energies into something positive.

Surely this is what the church should be doing. Youngsters are crying out for interesting things to do.

Our older churches are fonts of local history. Bring the youngsters in. Tell them about the church and its history. Walk round the churchyard where local history is written in stone.

The church needs to find more ways of interesting young people, youngsters who otherwise would have no interest in the church.

When I was a teenager I played darts for Hammond Street Mission, off Derby Street. We played in the Sunday school League, which wasn't in fact restricted to just Sunday schools.

Playing darts and snooker in church, gives the church a bit of cred with the young people. Once they get used to going to church and talking to church members, some may even feel like attending church services.

Again when I was a teenager, churches often had dances at the weekend, which were magnets for young people. Today they couldn't hope to compete with the clubs - or could they?

But of course, it won't be easy to hold out a welcoming hand to the kind of people who take pleasure in vandalising graves. But the effort could well prove worthwhile.

Brian Derbyshire

Ribchester Grove

Bolton