Hygge: How the Danish concept transformed a church

Reverend Steve Jones believes Hygge Church to be a unique approach

A church has embraced the Scandinavian idea of warmth and cosiness, known as "hygge", to promote emotional wellbeing.

Holy Trinity in Exmouth, east Devon, runs Hygge Church on Sunday afternoons twice a month to share ideas and food with its visitors.

The idea was devised by the rector of the Exmouth Churches, the Reverend Steve Jones, who believes it to be a unique approach.

He said Hygge Church was about making people "feel as at-home as possible, offering help and producing huge amounts of food".

'Support people'

The Danish word, pronounced "hoo-ga", is usually translated into English as "cosiness".

For some it means much more than that, and is an entire attitude to life that helps Denmark to vie for a spot as one of the world's happiest countries.

Mr Jones said the concept of hygge was similar to the early church, which revolved around safety, security and "quite a bit of feasting".

"Hygge Church is different in the sense that it's kind of its own church,' he said.

"I've done some research and can't find anyone else that's doing it.

"When you turn up you can choose, you can go to our worship centre or our family lounge or our discovery zone.

"We're also looking to be able to support people in their needs, so if people have financial needs or need meals, we're going to try and do a wraparound for that."

Mr Jones said attendees could "explore in their own way in their own time"

Mr Jones said about 40 people, many unconnected to the church had been to one of their previous "hygge hangouts".

He said: "I think what they like about it is that they're allowed to explore in their own way in their own time.

"The thing that defines hygge at the moment is the volume of food that we have.

"Our catering team produces a huge amount of food and we're always trying to send families home with food, food is pretty central."