Evangelists putting on cathedral evenings

For three nights next month the cathedral will play host to a new daytime-television type of evangelism when the Bradford diocese's own evangelists Robin Gamble and Sue Hope will present the series of events, starting on May 7.

The Rev Gamble has gained a national and sometimes controversial reputation for putting on big Bradford events in the past, such as The Gospel According to Queen.

He said: "This really is a new way of doing evangelism.

"You need to think Richard and Judy rather than the old style of one man preaching.

"It'll be very relaxed, with interviews, music and lots of visual stuff – in short a great night out.

"We'll be looking at issues that are particularly relevant to Bradford people.

"On the first night we're starting with the hole in the centre of Bradford, and asking about the holes in people's lives.

"Bradford faces a lot of challenges; we have high levels of unemployment and poverty here with their knock-on psychological and physical effects. So we want to explore the inner emptiness that so many people feel, the search for meaning and healing – whether that's psychological or physical.

"It will be a major event in the city with the cathedral packed out every night."

The second in the series of events will be entitled Healing the Pain on May 8, followed by Touching the Cross on May 9. Each event lasts from 7.30pm to around 9.30pm.

Mr Hope said many Bradford churches have already signed up for the series, called Hope and Gamble.