TAKING FAITH …to the pub
The new Bishop of Huddersfield took faith to the pub this week as part of a new initiative to reach out to all areas of community.
The Rt Revd Jonathan Gibbs, a card carrying member of the real ale campaign group, CAMRA, was in the Waggon and Horses at Meltham for the first AleTalk - an initiative set up by local Christians to engage with people who see themselves as spiritual but not religious.
And it was an opportunity for the bishop to show his passionate commitment to take faith outside church buildings and put his faith under the spotlight in a lively question and answer session with over 30 people who had come to listen to his story and challenge him.
And he hopes it is the first of many opportunities for him to take faith outside the church buildings in his new Episcopal area.
The Bishop said: “We had a brilliant welcome from Pam the landlady at the Waggon & Horses. It was great to see the bar full of people enjoying a drink and keen to engage in a lively discussion with me on any and every topic they wanted to raise, from what the Church should be saying to politicians in the upcoming election to whether the BBC were right to sack Jeremy Clarkson.”
“Let’s get out of the church building and start talking about real issues where people are – instead of expecting them to come to us!
“I would love to come and share in similar events all over the area,” he added.
Nigel Priestley pictured here with the Bishop of Huddersfield, helped organise the event and said “We invited people to “pump the Bishop”. They could ask any question they wanted and the bishop impressed many by his thoughtful, candid and practical answers.”