The Wrestling Church

Not all religious groups actively court new members, but those that do will often get very creative in reaching new audiences. Such is the case with St. Peter's Anglican Church in Shipley, England. Dubbed the "Wrestling Church," this congregation is hosting wrestling matches in their church to raise interest and attendance. See this article published by the AP.

Here's a good passage from the article:

“You’ve got to take a few risks,” said the Rev. Natasha Thomas, the priest in charge at St. Peter’s. She acknowledged that she “wasn’t entirely sure what it was I was letting myself in for” when she agreed to host wrestling events.

“It’s not church as you would know it. It’s certainly not for everyone,” she said. “But it’s bringing in a different group of people, a different community, than we would normally get.”

At a recent Wrestling Church evening, almost 200 people — older couples, teenagers, pierced and tattooed wrestling fans, parents with excited young children — packed into chairs around a ring erected under the vaulted ceiling of the century-old church.

After a short homily and prayer from Thomas, it was time for two hours of smackdowns, body slams and flying headbutts. The atmosphere grew cheerfully raucous, as fans waved giant foam fingers and hollered “knock him out!” at participants.

Skim the article quickly but take more time examining the pictures. Here are three things that caught my eye:

• The striking visual of the wrestling ring in the middle of the high-arched sanctuary.
• The written message on the shirt of the body-slamming wrestler.
• The looks on the faces of the attendees as they look at the wrestlers who took their match outside the ring.