Now it's official - football IS a religion!
But maybe a secondary one for the congregation at West Leigh Baptist Church in London Road, Leigh.
The church's football-crazed preachers are swapping the communion cup for the Euro Cup next Saturday when they show the Euro 2000 England v Germany match on a giant screen at the church hall.
Associate pastor Peter Dominey said: "A local survey concluded we needed to reach out more to the community in Leigh. We decided a great way to do that was through football."
The men in black may be stripping the staid image of church life - but without shifting the goal posts of religion, according to Mr Dominey who said: "We're still promoting the religious values of the church - but just doing so in a fun way."
Come on England - members of the congregation get set for the kick-off
Picture: MAXINE CLARKE
Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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