When it’s my turn on the rota to unlock or lock the church, I try to take five minutes to simply sit in a pew and think.

Or is it prayer? I’m not very good at defining it. But I do know that I love the complete quiet of an empty church where the stones have soaked up the tears and laughter, hymns and prayers for 900 years. Every 15 minutes the clock in the tower above me seems to draw a breath before it chimes the quarter, and there’s the occasional squawk of a jackdaw from the steeple. But on the whole this wonderful building is utterly silent when I’m there on my own.

So here we are on 8 March, and Easter feels like a long way away. Instead of giving something up for Lent, I’ve decided to take something up. And no, that’s not simply an excuse to eat the occasional chocolate and pour the odd glass of wine. I just feel better about Lent if I do something positive, not negative. The thing I’ve decided to do is between me and God, and I already know I’ll not manage to do it every day, but equally I know God will forgive me. Thankfully.