A BISHOP in northern England hopes to draw worshippers back to church with chocolate bars and invitations, according to a British newspaper.
The Reverend Nigel McCulloch, Bishop of Manchester, planned to distribute business card-style invites and goody bags, the Daily Telegraph said today.
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 his scheme, new church-goers would receive a brochure about the Church and "fair trade" chocolate at the end of the service, the newspaper said.
The "Back to Church Sunday" initiative to stem the ever-falling church attendance in Britain was being financed by a Christian businessman.
Half of the diocese's 300 parishes had already signed up for the scheme, the paper said.
The idea was inspired by marketing campaigns and glitzy launches where gift bags are given away to promote products.
The campaign aimed in particular to woo over-50s who once went to church, but had stopped, the report said.
For services celebrating the autumn harvest festival on September 26, clergy were being encouraged to use hymns that were 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 said.
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.