The Church of England must shed its middle class “Marks & Spencer” image to bring in the “Asda or Aldi” worshippers, according to a senior bishop.
The Right Reverend Stephen Cotrell, Bishop of Reading, said Jesus would “just as likely be in the queue at Asda or Aldi” and is frustrated by the view that the church is only for the “highly-educated or suited and booted”.
His comments coincide with a Back to Church campaign to attract lapsed worshippers into pews on Sunday.
He said: “How did it come to this, that we have become known as just the Marks & Spencer option when in our heart of hearts we know that Jesus would just as likely be in the queue at Asda or Aldi?”
The Back to Church campaign comes as provisional figures published earlier this year showed average Sunday attendance in the Church of England fell to 978,000 in 2007 – down from just over one million in 2002.
1 Reader's comment