Hey vicar dude, wassup?
CHRISTOPHER MORGAN

THE Church of England is planning a special force of “street vicars”, dressed in trendy clothes rather than surplices and cassocks, to recruit in pubs, amusement arcades and skateboard parks.
Most of the priests, named pioneer ministers, will not be attached to parish churches but will have a roving brief. They may be housed in suburban estates or dispatched to nightclubs to spread the faith.

Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, backs the plan and will discuss it with senior colleagues at the House of Bishops meeting at Lambeth Palace this week.

One bishop said this weekend that the plan was broadly welcomed by his colleagues although there was some concern that parish priests may be resentful of the new ministers impinging on their territory. “This is something the existing parish clergy ought to be able to do,” said the bishop.

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