Members of the congregation at Aylsham Parish Church in Norfolk have been asked to take their phones to services as part of a new trial. They use their handsets to answer questions that are displayed behind the vicar on a projector screen.

The voting app, developed by Swedish company Mentimeter, aims to bring church worship into the 21^st century as attendance around the UK falls due to declining interest from the younger generations.

The app also enables people to vote for particular words they want other worshippers to pray for. The most popular words are presented larger on the screen.

Revd Canon Andrew Beane (pictured) said it has given the church an opportunity to be much more interactive in its worship.

“I would like to think it’s pioneering,” he said. “We’re holding on to the traditional but embracing new technology to make it more relevant to society today.”

The church has already used the app in three services and plans to use it at future special events too.

It already offers its congregation free internet access through a scheme called WiSpire, and has TripAdvisor, Facebook and Twitter pages.

Beane said: “Sometimes you can ask a question and people are shy, but by using the app, everybody joins in.”

He said it had not brought extra people into the church, but encouraged greater interaction between older and younger members of the congregation.

He added that the congregation are “very generous in what they embrace”.

The app is more commonly used in business meetings.

Revd Beane said he is considering asking his congregation “How was my vicaring?” via the app.

“Sometimes people will say ‘Oh, thank you, vicar’ and you don’t always get that honest opinion,” he said. “This time people can say ‘I found that really challenging or difficult’.”

He said he has already had inquiries from other churches about the technology.

In August the Church of England’s procurement group Parish Buying turned its bulk electricity basket to renewables, effectively converting all its churches to green energy sources. 

Members of the congregation at Aylsham Parish Church in Norfolk have been asked to take their phones to services as part of a new trial. They use their handsets to answer questions that are displayed behind the vicar on a projector screen.

The voting app, developed by Swedish company Mentimeter, aims to bring church worship into the 21^st century as attendance around the UK falls due to declining interest from the younger generations.

The app also enables people to vote for particular words they want other worshippers to pray for. The most popular words are presented larger on the screen.

Revd Canon Andrew Beane (pictured) said it has given the church an opportunity to be much more interactive in its worship.

“I would like to think it’s pioneering,” he said. “We’re holding on to the traditional but embracing new technology to make it more relevant to society today.”

The church has already used the app in three services and plans to use it at future special events too.

It already offers its congregation free internet access through a scheme called WiSpire, and has TripAdvisor, Facebook and Twitter pages.

Beane said: “Sometimes you can ask a question and people are shy, but by using the app, everybody joins in.”

He said it had not brought extra people into the church, but encouraged greater interaction between older and younger members of the congregation.

He added that the congregation are “very generous in what they embrace”.

The app is more commonly used in business meetings.

Revd Beane said he is considering asking his congregation “How was my vicaring?” via the app.

“Sometimes people will say ‘Oh, thank you, vicar’ and you don’t always get that honest opinion,” he said. “This time people can say ‘I found that really challenging or difficult’.”

He said he has already had inquiries from other churches about the technology.

In August the Church of England’s procurement group Parish Buying turned its bulk electricity basket to renewables, effectively converting all its churches to green energy sources.