Churchgoers will be asked about their perceptions of the Church and for suggestions on how to address their gripes

Churchgoers will be asked about their perceptions of the Church and for suggestions on how to address their gripes. All of which follows countless other efforts at trendy brand-building - including Church-sponsored television commercials in which young Christians are shown dancing in a nightclub to hip-hop music - not to mention the introduction, earlier this year, of Britain's first MBA course in church management.It's hard to believe that such secular initiatives will do much to counter the disrespect in which the Church generally seems to be held. "A very tacky idea," countered the Rev Geoffrey Kirk, secretary of Forward in Faith.Enter "Church of England, plc". New Labour techniques in ideological marketing - already used with some success by the Holy Trinity Brompton- based Alpha Programme - are now being applied by the established church itself to what used to be worshippers but are now often referred to as "customers". Market research is one of the roles of the Archbishop's Council, where Christina Rees deliberates alongside 18 other "directors". One of them is Jayne Ozanne, a marketing strategist whose previous products include Fairy Liquid, Kleenex and Huggies.

"Gravitas with a contemporary feel," pronounced the Rev Eric Shegog, director of communications at Church House. If the halo doesn't work, how about a logo? In recent months the Church devoted much thought to providing a "common visual identity" for its 13,000 parish churches. The symbol, in "warm episcopal purple", was created by a design consultancy which includes WH Smith and Marks & Spencer among its clients. Brain's excesses came on the heels of an equally unedifying affair at Lincoln Cathedral, where the dean and sub-dean captured the headlines by "fighting like alley-cats" and resisting their bishop's request that they resign.It is doubtful that the Church of England's woes can simply be prayed away So, increasingly, it turns to the marketplace. A number of them claimed more than pounds 100,000 in expenses.

The mixing of things spiritual with things venal was illustrated earlier in the Nineties by the Reverend Chris Brain, who was forced to end his "rave" Nine O'Clock Service in Sheffield and resign from the Church for deriving "sexual gratification" from his women devotees. There is concern over reports of a "growing number" of Anglican priests performing unauthorised and dangerous exorcisms. Admirers of the Church's wedding skills were thrown into confusion when the Bishop of Birmingham, the Right Reverend Mark Santer, 60, announced that he would marry a 58-year-old divorcee in a register office. Meanwhile, a new version of the Church's Psalter, due to be adopted next year, has been condemned by academics as "grotesque, inadequate and unworthy."The extent to which things spiritual are imbued with things temporal was seen in this year's leaked statistics showing that some bishops spend more on their chauffeurs than the average vicar earns in a year (pounds 15,760). Such moves fly in the face of Archbishop Carey's desire, reported three months ago, for more power as "Anglican supremo". This "supremo" has alienated both Left and Right by seeking to align the Church with the trade-union movement, while refusing to recognise a union representing 500 of his own clergy.Other "image" problems multiply. The Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, told friends he would resign if the Church opted for women bishops or withdrew safeguards for opponents of women priests.The rebels are now threatening to break away and establish links with Rome, unless they receive approval for the formation of a "third province", a parallel Church which could operate outside the jurisdiction of the Church of England.