Bishop of Chelmsford's 'sharp sense of humour'

THE Bishop of Chelmsford's sharp sense of humour was apparent when he said enjoying Christmas without going to church is like gate-crashing a wedding and simply indulging in an orgy of eating and drinking.

His mischievous, forthright outlook is important as the church attempts to modernise and appeal to future generations.

The statement raised a few chuckles, but also raised an intriguing argument.

We wanted to find out if our readers agree with the Bishop, so we took to the streets and asked a cross-section of Essex residents what Christmas means to them.

Many of the people we asked agreed with him, claiming that Christmas has become too commercial and should be stripped back to the religious event that spawned it. Read more