Chester Diocese
News Item
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Mine’s a pint,Vicar
THERE’S a very good reason for the Vicar of Knutsford to be pulling pints in her local pub. The Revd Alja Tollefsen is standing in for publican Trevor Brookes behind the bar at The Falcon Bearer at the heart of the Longridge housing estate. And he is to preach at a Sunday service at in a job swap the pair of them dreamed up. Mrs Tollefsen – who enjoys the occasional glass of beer and admits to being a smoker – started going into the pub as a way of opening up her church to the local community. She had noticed that only two of the regular attenders at church services were from Longridge – so she and some parishioners decided on an outreach mission to the estate’s local pub. Mrs Tollefsen said: “We started half a year ago, thinking about the estate. If not many people came to church from Longridge then we would go to them. That was our reasoning. “Longridge has a certain reputation as a tough old place but that is undeserved. It is a lovely, friendly working class community.” Almost from the start the visitors from the church, including the Vicar (wearing her clerical collar), were made welcome by pub regulars. Mrs Tollefsen added: “There is one part of the pub where people are allowed to swear etc, so we decided eventually to go in there, because that’s where the life is. “ I wasn’t sure we would be welcome in that part at first, but when the landlord, Trevor, saw us he gave me a big hug to make sure we knew we were welcome and that everyone else knew. He brought in a platter of sandwiches and asked me to bless them, which I did, because it was obviously a sincere request and not just one made in jest.” As friendship grew between the pub community and the parish, the idea emerged out of discussions between the Vicar and the publican that they could swap jobs for a day – Mrs Tollefsen would pull pints for a night, and The Falcon Bearer’s landlord would preach from the pulpit at St Cross Church in Mobberley Road. * The Vicar will soon go away on sabbatical and plans to use the time to ride by bicycle from Canterbury to Rome to raise money for the restoration of the church roof and walls. She will complete the journey with friends from her native Netherlands. A former Roman Catholic, she converted to Anglicanism and trained for the ordained ministry. She was priested in 1999. The church needs to raise some £60,000. If you can help by sponsoring the cyclists, please phone Mrs Tollefsen on 01565 632389.
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The Revd Alja Tollefsen, pulling pints. Picture courtesy of the Knutsford Guardian
Trevor Brookes, preaching. Picture courtesy of the Knutsford Guardian
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