Bishop takes to the road on two wheels for Back to Church Sunday and meets local soldiers

The Bishop of Sherwood will be kitted up with leathers and joining bikers for a special trip next week ( on Monday 21st September) when he speeds his way from Southwell Minster, to Chetwynd Barracks in Nottingham, where he will meet up with soldiers to chat about Back to Church Sunday.

The Rt Revd Tony Porter is a big supporter of the invitational event, which began in Manchester in 2004 and has now developed into a world-wide phenomenon. More than 100 churches across the Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham will be taking part in Back to Church Sunday on September 27th, when church members are encouraged to invite friends and neighbours to give church another try.

Bishop Tony said: “This year’s Back to Church Sunday is a special opportunity for people to invite their friends and neighbours to give church a go. Our theme for this year is ‘Come as you are’ and that’s the message I want to give to everyone whether you’re a soldier in uniform or a biker in leathers – everyone is welcome!”

Photo opportunities: There will be TWO opportunities for photographs and interviews on Monday 21st September 2009

1. Outside Southwell Minster at 9.30am, just before the Bishop leaves through the West doors of the cathedral for Nottingham with accompanying bikers

2.  At Chetwynd Barracks in Chilwell, Nottingham*, at 10.30am when the Bishop will meet soldiers over a coffee break. He will also meet members of Notts Troop 721 Squadron, 11 EOD Regiment RLC, and see the equipment the team use.

The Bishop had his first taste of fast bikes last week when he was taken for a spin at Mallory Park racetrack in Leicestershire by former British Superbike Champion, Matt Llewellyn. On Monday 21st September, ex-British sidecar racer, Tim Bradshaw will be driving the bike. He is also an officer in the Territorial Army. The special event was the brainchild of local clergyman and motorbike enthusiast, the Revd Anthony Giles, from Woodborough, who will also be travelling alongside for the trip on his own bike.

Chetwynd Barracks is home to a number of Army units including 49(East) Brigade, the Reserves Training and Mobilisation Centre (RTMC) and 170 (Infrastructure Support) Group Royal Engineers. The Engineer Group consists of a headquarters and five Works Groups that together cover the full spectrum of military and civilian infrastructure support; from expeditionary camps to railways, ports, fuel, water, power generation and distribution and other utilities. The Reserves Training and Mobilisation Centre is the central hub for TA deployments. It prepares all branches of the reserve forces and civilians for service with the Regular Forces. This can range from the deployment into an operational theatre, such as Afghanistan or commitment for a peace time attachment. As well as being the organisation that help prepares reservists for active service the RTMC have a part to play in welcoming the troops back to the UK and helping them return to their civilian lives.

During his time at the barracks, Bishop Tony and his fellow bikers will have a chance to chat to soldiers over a coffee. He will receive a tour of the barracks with Brigade Chaplain, the Revd Steven Griffith and also see a demonstration from the bomb disposal team.

Back to Church Sunday – background
Around 20,000 people returned to their local church for Back to Church Sunday last year, which saw members of congregations inviting friends who had stopped attending services. This year Churchgoers across the Church of England are set personally to invite up to half a million people to services on Back to Church Sunday making the event one of the largest co-ordinated evangelism events shared across the Church in recent history.
Every one of the Church’s 44 dioceses are taking part in the initiative this year, by encouraging churchgoers to invite someone they know who used to attend church to come back on a particular Sunday. Churches will focus on extending an even warmer welcome than usual on the day, supported by ‘Back to Church Sunday’ resources such as special red ‘welcome’ T-shirts and subsidised ‘party packs’ of fairly-traded catering products, produced in partnership with Traidcraft.
Up to 16,000 Church of England churches could be taking part, joining congregations from the Salvation Army, Churches Together in Scotland, the Church in Wales, Baptist, Methodist and United Reformed churches nationwide, Elim Pentecostal churches and Anglican churches in Australia, Argentina, New Zealand and Canada.
This will be the third year that the Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham has taken part in the day. The first year Bishop Tony took to the air in a small plane to promote the day and last year he went underground to meet miners at Welbeck Colliery – one of the county’s few remaining pits.

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