The Christian Research organisation, whose latest data survey on the decline of UK church attendance has annoyed the Church of England, has defended its work against accusations of being misleading.

It is hoped that some twenty thousand people will return to church with a friend this weekend (Sunday 30 September 2007) as part of a major co-ordinated effort by the Church of England to pack the pews in around 2,000 participating churches.

Figures just released by the Church of England record that regular Sunday church attendance in 2005 fell by over two per cent.