MINISTERS may be used to being the centre of attention during church services, but one clergyman has taken a step behind the scenes.

For along with preaching at Trinity Baptist Church in Radcliffe, the Reverend Trevor Rowe holds puppet shows under the guise of Coverdale Puppets.

And last week he took his puppets to St Mary's Primary School to hold an end-of-year show for the pupils. The performance was based on the New Testament and was told in an entertaining way to interest the children.

Although the puppet shows are usually held in schools throughout the North West, the 58-year-old Mr Rowe has even given a performance from his pulpit.

He explained: "Around 1994 I was in Greece to carry out mission work and I met some people from Nottingham who were involved in puppetry. That inspired me and from then one I decided to use puppets whenever I could. Now, I have around 100 puppets which are mainly based on Biblical characters. They are hand puppets which are bought via a website.

"We choose the puppets to try to fit the characters in whatever Bible story we're presenting. There might be as many as 20 in each of the performances. The scripts are recorded in advance."

Mr Rowe and his puppets are well known not just locally, but throughout the region. "We have been to around 400 schools throughout the North West, some of them six or seven times. It gives a strict visual element to Bible stories and allows us to provide a visual presentation of the Christian message.

"And we always get a good reception from the children."

The clergyman, who has been attached to Trinity Baptist Church for the past six years, does not confine his puppet shows to youngsters. "In the past, I've presented them to adults and from the pulpit. We are all children at heart.

"The puppets grab people's attention and it's something for them to see while listening to the stories. It does have a good visual impact. But it's something I don't like to do often in church because the novelty would soon wear off. I thoroughly enjoy it or otherwise I just wouldn't do it."

And the Mr Rowe's audience at St Mary's Primary School became his latest converts.

Acting deputy headteacher Mrs Barbara Eccles said: "It's a very different and interesting show, especially because as a Catholic school, we're keen on the religious side of things. We try to keep it light-hearted, but it's good for the children to get the Bible's messages in a different way."