US EditionA church in England opens its doors to pro wrestling in a bid to attract converts
- Gareth Thompson's Wrestling Church at St. Peter's in Shipley mixes faith and wrestling.
- Church attendance declines led Thompson to create a new ministry.
- Wrestling Church events feature wrestling and Christian messages for all ages.
- Thompson states, "We could tell these stories," linking wrestling to Christianity.
- Wrestling Church has baptized 30 people, and Thompson plans expansion despite limited conversions.
43 Articles
43 Articles
England’s Wrestling Church seeks converts with baptisms and body slams (copy)
Sitting under stained glass windows around a wrestling ring, churchgoers roared as burly wresters body-slammed and threw one another to the floor. This is Wrestling Church, which takes place each month inside St. Peter’s Anglican church in the northern England…
England church opens doors to pro wrestling to attract converts
SHIPLEY, England — Sitting around a wrestling ring, churchgoers roared as local hero Billy O’Keeffe body-slammed a fighter named Disciple. Beneath stained-glass windows, they whooped and cheered as burly, tattooed wresters tumbled into the aisle during a six-man tag-team battle. This is Wrestling Church, which brings blood, sweat and tears — mostly sweat — to St. Peter’s Anglican church in the northern England town of Shipley. It’s the creation…
Associated Press News
A church in England opens its doors to pro wrestling in a bid to attract converts
Sitting under stained glass windows around a wrestling ring, churchgoers roared as burly wresters body-slammed and threw one another to the floor.
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