LETTER: Dr Carey's commitment to proclaiming the Gospel

Sir: Andrew Brown's assertion that the Churches' Decade of Evangelism has fizzled out ("Could he be the auntie-pope?", 27 March) is at odds with your coverage of the half-term report on the Decade ("Churches halt exodus", 6 January).

That story pointed to a halt in the decline of attendance; a more user- friendly church, which is planting new congregations every week; whole congregations being involved in evangelism; and more people being trained in new ways of communicating the faith.

It also reported that targets had been identified for the second half of the decade. More needed to be done to reach out to children and young people and more effort had to be placed on deepening the Church's spiritual life.

Far from fizzling out, the Decade of Evangelism is alive and well in parishes throughout the country. In Dr Carey we have an Archbishop of Canterbury who is a courageous leader, warm and approachable, with a deep spiritual commitment to proclaiming the Gospel.

Nigel Wakefield

(The Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch,

Bishop of Wakefield)

Wakefield, West Yorkshire