Church of M&S or Church of Asda?

Canon Mellor said Christianity in Guernsey is very diverse

In September 2009 the Church of England was compared to the "middle class image" of Marks and Spencer by The Bishop of Reading.

Guernsey's Anglican Dean gave us his thoughts on this saying that: "Churches have a cultural reputation... like Radio 3 listeners."

He went on to say that he thinks the Church of England "needs to shed its effortless superiority complex".

Though he warned it should not become an "entertainment contest".

The Bishop of Reading, The Right Reverend Stephen Cottrell, explained that the Church needed to shift in line with the "Asda and Aldi generation", he said: "Jesus would just as likely have shopped at these stores as at M&S" but it was this middle-class image that Anglicanism still had.

The Town Church is the centre of the centre of aglicanism in Guernsey

Canon Mellor went on to say that: "I think it's quite a nice story, but he has a serious point... It [the church] shouldn't be stuck in one image because it is a place for everybody."

He said Guernsey's Christian community reflects this diversity.

One way he highlighted in which the different branches of the faith are doing this was "through the diversity in music you see in churches around the island... it shows the inclusive nature of the church which is what we ought to be doing".

"I do think the Church needs to be careful because it is about the worship of God not a popularity and entertainment contest," he said.

Though he agreed with the Bishop of Reading's points about the Church of England, Canon Mellor said that in Guernsey "we have quite a big and full spectrum" within Christian worship that should attract many different people.