Hell-drinking vicar bringing faith to local pub in Claverley

Reverend Garry Ward has been connecting with people who don't normally go to church

A vicar whose favourite tipple is a lager called Hell has been pulling pints at a local pub to connect with people in the village.

Reverend Garry Ward began volunteering at The Crown Inn at Claverley, Shropshire, when the pub needed staff.

Licensees Ken and Mary Lavender make a donation to the All Saints Church instead of paying him.

"I have much more open conversations about life and faith than I would ever have by just being the vicar," he said.

"I have connected with so many parishioners and visitors it's been a positive ministry for me and the church.

"It makes the church more real, normal and people are not nervous to ask me anything really. It's also a good laugh."

Reverend Garry Ward says the Covid-19 pandemic had a drastic impact on church attendance

The reverend's tipple of choice is Hell, a 700-year-old Bavarian lager.

As a result of his stint in the pub, he said people had decided to hold weddings and christenings at the church after chatting in less formal surroundings.

Landlord Ken Lavender said: "People who didn't know him, they actually know who the vicar of the church is now.

"And because he's behind the bar they ask why and he says it's my way of meeting people, and that's a good thing."

Karen Harris said it was a "lovely" way to make the church more accessible

Villager Karen Harris added: "It just opens the door to that conversation and then if something happens and you need a funeral or a wedding you know that they're there and it's accessible. It's lovely."

Mr Ward said All Saints had about "20 to 25 people" in the congregation on Sundays, which he said was "better than many".

"Covid had a massive impact on us, people don't come as regularly as they did," he said.

"People are walking, cycling, doing all sorts of things on a Sunday morning."

Mr Ward in his midwifery uniform with his daughter

According to the Church of England, average weekly attendance across the country was 605,000 in 2021, compared to 345,000 2020, when the country was affected by Covid-19 lockdowns.

In 2019 the figure was 854,000. Figures for last year are not yet available.

Rev Ward is no stranger to turning his hand to different jobs. Before he became a vicar, he worked as a midwife at Walsall Manor Hospital, delivering around 500 babies in 10 years.

He was also a prison officer at the former Winson Green Prison, now HM Prison Birmingham.

Diagnosed with Parkinson's in more recent years, the 56-year-old is disability advisor for the Hereford Diocese.

Mr Ward (third from the right on the back row) in prison uniform with colleagues in 1996