4 August 2005
A Suffolk vicar has discovered the power of the web in spreading his message.
The Rev Leonard Payne, Vicar of St Nicholas' Church in Wrentham, posted a number of his sermons on the Apple iTune store and was surprised by the strong demand.
"We were stunned. Within a short period of time, over 2,000 people had downloaded one of them," said Mr Payne, speaking to BBC News.
The unexpected demand meant that the sermons had to be transferred to a server with more capacity, meaning that even more people will have access to the church's weekly events.
The small rural church initially offered the sermons to local residents who were unable to attend services but re-engineering the audio stream allowed the MP3s to be available on iTunes.
Diocesan communications director Nick Clarke said: "This is another example of how the church is embracing technology to keep its message relevant for a 21st Century audience."
He added: "It's about doing church differently for a diverse and obviously hungry audience."
© DeHavilland Information Services plc
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