Christ cross-referenced

This article appeared in the Conference edition of the Church of England Newspaper on 22 September 2003 and is reproduced here with their permission.

A touch of Hollywood brought a key Bible message to life in the Sunday morning Eucharist. Bishop Wallace Benn used a clip from the hit movie Captain Corelli's Mandolin to illustrate the sacrifice of Christ in dying in our place.

In the film, which stars Nicolas Cage, the friend of the leading character is asked by his girlfriend to take care of him. The moving scene where Corelli's friend jumps in front of a hail of bullets to save him, was used to illustrate the death of Christ, in our place, as he calls us his friends.

The service, which also used dazzling light displays and multimedia applications, proved to be highly valued by delegates. Many said afterwards that they found it emotional and uplifting with one worshipper said he was moved to tears.

After the service, believed to be the biggest Eucharist service in Britain since the 1977 NEAC Conference, the left-over bread was taken to a local homeless shelter. Some 120 bottles of wine and 100 loaves were used for the 2,000 worshippers.