British bishop hopes chocolate, will bring back worshippers

British bishop hopes chocolate, invites will bring back worshippers



LONDON (AFP) - A bishop in northern England hopes to draw worshippers back to church with chocolate bars and invitations, a British newspaper reported.

The Reverend Nigel McCulloch, Bishop of Manchester, plans to distribute business card-style invites and goody bags, the Daily Telegraph said.

The bishop provoked strong reaction in March when he said the Church of England could disappear "within a generation or two" if no action was immediately taken.

Under the scheme, new church-goers will receive a brochure about the Church and 'fair trade' chocolate at the end of the service, the newspaper said.

The novel 'Back to Church Sunday' initiative to stem the ever-falling church attendance in Britain is being financed by a Christian businessman.

Half of the diocese's 300 parishes have already signed up for the scheme.

The idea has been inspired by marketing campaigns and glitzy launches where gift bags are given away to promote products.

The campaign aims in particular to woo over-50s who once went to church but have stopped.

For services celebrating the autumn harvest festival on September 26, clergy are being encouraged to use hymns that are popular among over-50s and do something completely different during the service, "such as showing a comedy video", the paper reported.

"We will, unless there is a turn in the tide, be a Church which gradually disappears from this land," the bishop told the paper. He was commenting on figures suggesting the number of Church members in Britain would fall to below six million, or one tenth of the population, by next year.

link : http://uk.news.yahoo.com/040827/323/f1dft.html