I don’t know which church you go to Peter Rickaby (Priests need to learn ways of 21st century, Letters, January 25) but I’d really like to invite you to join the congregation of St Paul’s and St Barnabas here in York.

You’ll find a welcoming community of people led by Paul Millard and Matt Woodcock, who are committed to sharing the Christian message of hope with others. You can find us on YouTube every Sunday morning and evening and elsewhere during the week.... come and try us out from the comfort of your own home!

It’s a message of love and fun and reaching out to friends and neighbours. If you’d like to see innovative ideas, take a look at the 10.30 service on January 10 to see Matt conducting part of the service from his bath .... he’s certainly moving out of the old comfort zone!

Sarah Penn, Russell Street, York

Galvanising priests can have unintended consequences

Peter Rickaby, noting the decline of church attendance, urges the Archbishop of York to ‘galvanise his workforce into the ways of the 21st century’ (Letters, January 25).

A few pages on in the same issue, Bob Adams describes one of Stephen Cottrell’s predecessors doing just that: in 1319, he writes, ‘William de Melton mustered an army of 20,000 men... including 300 clerics’ to do battle with an incursion of wily but battle hardened Scots (‘Bridges, byres and a frisky horse’, January 25).

The result was a massacre of the English. Since then clergy may have become wary of being galvanised, though later, in the 1540s, Archbishop Cranmer led a troop to Southampton to see off a French incursion.

It’s likely today’s bishops are discouraged from using armed interventions as a pastoral strategy. Although working parties, focus groups and interim reports get nowhere, at least no one dies.

Harold Mozley, Blakeney Place, York