Church of England takes to the Internet

In a mostly empty church in Northern Ireland, a congregation waits for its minister to deliver the Sunday service. After several minutes that seem to last for days, Reverend William McCrea approaches the pulpit, and the church organ begins to pipe out music.

The followers of Magherafelt Free Presbyterian stand and sing, Rev McCrea leading them through a rousing rendition of "At the Cross":

"At the cross, at the cross / Where I first saw the light, / And the burden of my heart rolled away / It was there by faith I received my sight, / And now I am happy all the day!"

The congregation returns to their pews, and Rev McCrea leads them in prayer.

I am still sitting in front of my computer, watching the sermon from the comfort of my couch.

Nearly every business in the world is on the Internet now, and churches are no exception. From prayers and newsletters, to podcasts and video sermons, organised religion is staking its claim to the quickly evolving digital world.

"We've become a society that does less, and watches more," muses Reverend Charles Hedley, the rector of St. James's Church in London. "But humanity is online, and so therefore Christianity is as well."

The first sign of Internet life for Britain's preeminent church was in 1998, when the Church of England turned Lancaster College's project into a professional online entity.

The site has been re-launched twice since then, and is now the biggest religious website in Britain, according to spokesman Steve Jenkins.

"There are so many ways people can catch on to the church these days, but it's all about showing the relevance of the church in this changing atmosphere," he said.

The way people connect to each other on the internet is indeed a rapidly-evolving animal, and the Church of England has been quicker than others to harness the power of Web 2.0 to attract new followers.

The Church created a Twitter account on Ash Wednesday to promote its "Love Life Live Lent" campaign. Twitter users following 'c_of_e' will now receive a daily "act of generosity" tweet for each of the 40 days of Lent, the period of fasting and prayer before Easter.

Their Twitter feed attracted over 400 followers in its first day online, and over 1,000 in the first two weeks.

Rev Hedley is quick to point out that the vast majority of churches in England have websites now, but promoting religious ideas is only part of the battle. Getting people into the church is another story altogether.

St James's Church promoted its Ash Wednesday service on the classified site Gumtree and on their website in an effort to get more people into the pews.

The message promoted the church's current-issues approach to religion: "Feeling just a bit complicit in the credit crunch? Bankers aren't the only ones involved. Why not get it off your chest at the beginning of Lent?"

In a city with a transient and ever-changing population like London, Rev Hugh Valentine believes a church must have a quality website to retain members.

"We try to keep the content fresh, and avoid those boring shots of church spires and flowers," said Valentine, the mind behind St James's credit crunch advert.

You can download transcripts of sermons, access event schedules, and keep in touch with fellow members of St James through their online community.

Meanwhile, the real life communities of churches worldwide are in serious trouble. Churches are emptier than ever, and a recent study predicted that church attendance will fall by over 90 per cent in the next 40 years.

If nobody's going to church, will the Internet be the saviour that religion so badly needs?

In the future, will church-goers log into a live webcast of an entirely online service, rather than put on a suit and drive the family down to the local parish?

Rev Hedley doesn't see that happening any time soon. "People come to church not just for the sermon, but to be in a real community of worshippers. At the end of the day, there's no substituting for the real thing."