i shop therefore i am

Stephen Cottreell, the Anglican Bishop of Reading, is someone I have a lot of time for – especially having just received a copy of his delightful little book ‘Hit the Ground Kneeling’. He’s been quoted in the press this week as suggesting the Church must shed its M&S image to attract the Asda and Aldi generations. Well, I’m siting in Morrisons in Weston-super-Mare trying to prepare some stuff in between meetings and the folk sitting around me wouldn’t look out of place in many of our Baptist Churches. What does that say?

Ironically, I think the M&S image has consciously been appealing to a variety of generations in recent years - do I think that because I'm now 50, or because they use particularly attractive women in the adverts – and I’m old enough to remember Twiggy first time around (albeit very young)!? On a slightly more serious note ‘your M&S’ is a good slogan which keys nicely into the mindset of movement. Also, has anyone done any research on colour and supermarkets - their green works for me in a way the Aldi orange and blue doesn't? But then, we're more Lidl than Aldi in our house.... 'as for me and my house'....

On an even more serious note we do need to re-address the overwhelming middle class tone in the Church in generally - on this point we agree.

Looking forward now to tomorrow when we begin Cluster 1 of the UK pilot for Partnership for Missional Church in Clevedon. we'll be working with a group of Baptist and Anglican congregations throughout this process designed to help churches transition into a missional way of being church, which should be fun, I hope.