Indians help keep the flock in UK churches

London: The latest Indian priest to join what has become a trend of Indians taking over parishes to meet shortage of priests in Britain is Reverend Kesari Godfrey, who has been appointed curate at the Priory Church in Bridlington, Yorkshire.

For some years now, Indian priests have not only been meeting the shortage of priests in churches in Britain, but Christian migrants from India, particularly from Kerala, have helped boost dwindling congregations.

Western missionaries in the 19th century trekked to remote tribal areas of India and converted tribes, who are now returning the favour by moving to places such as Wales to meet a shortage of priests there.

Godfrey, 34, is a member of the Church of South India, where his father is a retired bishop. He is joined by his wife Pradhma, 28, a qualified dentist who also taught dentistry, and their two children. Godfrey's curacy will be for three to four years.

First posting

Before taking up his first full-time post, Godfrey spent three years working on a PhD at the University of Birmingham and was licensed by the Archbishop of York, the Reverend John Sentamu, to assist at St George's Church in Edgbaston as a preacher and teacher.

Before coming to England, Godfrey gained a BSc in chemistry and a BD from the United Theological College in Bangalore and spent a year studying at Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey in America.

Admiration

He said he admired the priory church but was keen to explain that it was much more than a magnificent building. He said: "I am looking forward to meeting more of my parishioners.

"I want to encourage people to think of it as part of their community and realise it is also home to a living and growing congregation. We want to be known as a living church, a growing church and a healthy church full of enthusiasm, full of commitment, full of joy and full of hope.

"I want to share my experience of God and encourage more people into the church."

Church sources say that attendance has been progressively dwindling in various parts of Britain. The 2001 census showed that fewer than one in 10 people in Wales regularly attended church or chapel.