We will keep Sunday special, says the Dean

CHURCH leaders in Guernsey have rejected calls to abandon Sunday as the traditional day of worship. A report published by the Bishop of Maidstone said the Church of England should stop trying to attract people to Sunday services because nobody wanted to go there at the weekend.

The Dean of Guernsey, the Very Rev. Canon Paul Mellor, and David Robilliard, Guernsey's lay representative on the General Synod, said it was crucial that Sunday remained the most special day in the church week.

'Christians have always kept Sunday as the special day.

'It is our weekly commemoration of Easter and should be maintained as such,' said Canon Mellor.

Mr Robilliard said every Sunday was 'a little Easter'.

'I would say there would be great resistance to doing away with the importance of Sunday. That is certainly the traditional day to go to church in Guernsey,' he said.

Canon Mellor emphasised that retaining the significance of Sunday was not just down to tradition.

Mr Robilliard said the day was biblically important.

'Christians who live in Muslim societies keep Sunday as special, even though that is a working day in those countries,' said Canon Mellor. 'That is another demonstration of its importance to all Christians.'

But the island welcomes moves to make the church more accessible on the other six days of the week.

'What I suspect the bishop is doing is asking Christians to look at maximising the opportunity for people to come to church at other times and I would want to explore that without in any way detracting from what Sunday means,' said Canon Mellor.

Mr Robilliard said that many churches held midweek services and backed more of them because 'they are a very good idea for people who are not able to attend on a Sunday'.

In a separate story it was revealed that, during the last century in the UK, Sunday School attendance dropped from 55 per cent to four per cent of children.

Mr Robilliard said those figures were almost certainly replicated in Guernsey.

'There are certain pockets where youth work is still very strong - Holy Trinity and the Boys' Brigade at St Mary's, L'Islet, spring to mind - but equally, there are places where youth work is now almost non-existent.'

He blamed the cultural shift on youngsters having more options and opportunities than in the past.