CHILDREN at a church in south London have created a Lenten series of bedtime stories for grown-ups, to brighten the end of each day in lockdown.

Young people at St Anselm’s, Kennington, are telling their own stories on camera, for adults to watch on the church’s website at 7 p.m. daily. St Anselm’s has about 60 young people in its 120-strong congregation.

The Lent project “Night night, God bless” was the idea of a youth minister, Suzette Aagaard.

Julie Minns, from St Anselm’s, said: “Suzette has been coming up with lots of ideas to keep people together: we’ve had an online pet show and a scarecrow trail. But families are missing things like our toddler group, and people are growing weary, which is why it is lovely having something like the bedtime stories, to bring a smile to people’s faces at the end of a long day.”

The children have also produced a song dedicated to the staff of St Thomas’ Hospital, which is in the parish, as a thank-you for everything that they have done during the pandemic. Composed by the leader of the St Anselm’s Young Voices Choir, Becky Chambers, “Our Prayer For You” uses the children’s own words and expresses their feelings. They sing: “We think you are amazing, we wanted you to know, remember that you’re wonderful when you are feeling low.”

The song was played during the church’s online service at the end of last month.