Go to church, get free chocolate
English churches will be giving out free chocolate in the hope it will lure believers back into church. “Back to Church Sunday” will be held on September 24th, 2006, and is the latest attempt by the Church of England to halt the long-term decline in its numbers.
Hundreds of churches across the Dioceses of Derby, Ripon and Leeds, Manchester, Wakefield, Oxford, Guildford and individual churches around the country have already taken delivery of their ‘Back to Church Box’.
Resources include invitations, posters and banners bearing the love-heart logo and the message ‘wish you were here’.
Churchgoers are asked to use the resources to advertise the day and invite family and friends who have lost touch with church.
Gifts for newcomers include a ‘goody bag’ with brochures featuring different aspects of church life – and a free bar of Traidcraft fair trade chocolate.
Researchers at the University of Staffordshire will measure the responses from people returning to churches and try to build up a picture of how and why people reconnect with church after a time away.
The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, the Rt Rev John Packer said: “People lose touch with church for all sorts of reasons. But we know some are looking for a way back to church and a personal invitation can make all the difference.”
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