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From Dave Tomlinson,Ìýwriter and Vicar of St Luke’s Holloway in London:

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Fewer and fewer people attend church these days, it’s a fact. Yet I’m not convinced this says anything significant about the spiritual state of people in Britain today. It does however say something about how people view church, which is a different thing.

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The gulf between organised religion and people’s spiritual aspirations was brought home to me last week when I conducted an unusual ‘christening’ in Walthamstow Cricket Pavilion. It’s fair to say that like most of their friends Jim and Rosie are not routine churchgoers. Yet they wanted to present little Lila to God and seek a blessing on her life. And the Cricket Pavilion (complete with bar) somehow felt more appropriate.

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I jumped at the opportunity to conduct the ceremony. And an amazing time was had by all in a relaxed, life-affirming event customised to embody the spiritual hopes and ambitions of Jim and Rosie for their beautiful daughter. As well as promising to help her have lots of fun, her godparents declared a commitment to care for Lila’s spiritual wellbeing. Then we all drank to it.

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In one of many encouraging conversations afterwards, a man told me

‘As a pretty hardcore atheist, I have been forced to rethink my position today. This isn’t how I pictured God or Christianity.’ A woman said she was going away to look again at what Jesus really taught. Tomorrow I’ll be in Essex giving an after-dinner talk to a crowd in a pub, as I often do, because I reckon if we simply sit in church waiting for everyone to appear we will soon be sitting all alone.

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And strange as it may sound, I think discussing the meaning of life in a pub or a cafe, or blessing a baby in a cricket social club is much closer to what Jesus did than trying to get people into church. I’m not against church. Of course not. I’ve spent my life serving it. But for me, the true essence of faith lies not in religious buildings and activities but in discovering God in the depths of the world – in friendship, in meals shared, in acts of compassion, in a quiet stroll in the park, in the undeserved smile of a child in your arms.