JO HAYWOOD meets a woman on a mission - from God.

SINGING at the top of her voice, waving her arms energetically and jumping up and down wildly with her cutting edge, red-tipped hair standing on end from her exertions, Sister Kate Riley doesn't fit the traditional image of a Church Army minister.

She is a modern woman who refuses to wear a dog-collar when she's not in church ("I've no idea what that's supposed to be about"); she is an inveterate straight-talker who laughs loudly and often; and she is a bit of a fashion fan with a penchant for provocative T-shirts (on the day we meet she is wearing a fitted, black top bearing the slogan 'Spoil me, I'm worth it').

She is all this, but she is also a woman of God. Her all-singing, all-dancing performance is part of a thanksgiving service for a local family, who appreciate the energy and vibrancy she brings to the occasion. There are no yawning kids and dozing adults at her service - they are all jumping about with her.

"I want people - especially young families - to look forward to coming to church," she said as we shared a pot of coffee in the meeting room of St Wulstan's vicarage in Abbotsway, off Muncastergate, York. "Jesus said a lot of things, but he never said that children have to be quiet when they come to church."

Sister Kate took over at St Wulstan's at Easter, but almost immediately had to take three months off to recuperate from a hysterectomy. She is now fighting fit and ready for the challenges thrown up by her new parish.

She is already making in-roads with the 68 Club, Bell Farm Community Centre and the residents' association in Dodsworth Avenue, but she knows she will have to work hard to bring a strong sense of community back to this increasingly disparate area of the city.

"The challenge is to get the message across that the church is here for everyone," said Sister Kate. "I want us to become a lighthouse for the area. I want people to see our light shining and know they are welcome."

She first saw the light herself as a child of seven in her home town of Sheffield. Keen to join the Brownies, she was told she would have to attend church. She did, and was surprised to discover that she loved going to church even more than she loved going to Brownies.

As an adult, she worked stoically behind the scenes as a volunteer to help children and young people in a deprived, urban area of the city. Then, out of the blue, the local vicar decided it was time she took centre stage.

He asked her to create a church in the community centre, a task which Sister Kate readily admits "completely freaked me out". But it worked, and she was persuaded to go on a year's course towards a Certificate in Evangelism.

"I'd never got anything at school, except in trouble," she said. "But I knew this was something I had to do if I wanted to continue the work I had started."

Her work, which has been a central pillar of her life now for the best part of a decade, involves taking the church out to the people, not expecting them to come to the church.

In her new position in York, she's interested in what St Wulstan's can offer the community, not what the community can do for St Wulstan's.

"I don't just batter people over the head with the Bible," said Sister Kate, who was commissioned into the Church Army in 2001. "I actively show them God's love at work. I'm a practical person; I don't just say, I do."

True to form, she's not sitting back waiting for things to happen. She's making them happen herself. Improvement work has begun on the church itself; she is planning a series of coffee mornings; she is organising a regular lunchtime meeting for people to cook and eat together; she is starting a toddlers' praise group next month, bringing babies and pre-schoolers into the church followed by coffee for parents and playtime for the tots; and she is launching a kids' church in the New Year, complete with upbeat music and games.

To get the ball rolling, Sister Kate is hosting a Light Party on Monk Stray from 3-4pm on Sunday October 30 as an alternative to Halloween. There will be activities for children, refreshments and a short praise service aimed at youngsters.

"People think that the church is not for them," she said. "But if they take a chance and come along, they might just surprise themselves and enjoy it."

Sister Kate felt she had to tread softly to begin with, but is now ready to start pushing for change in the community. She is aware, however, that some parishioners might not be ready to jump on board.

"People have an image of a minister, and I don't fit that image," she said. "Most people respond positively to that. For those that don't, all I will say is that I feel I have been chosen and moulded for this job. I am still me; I'm still loud and I'm still stupid. I'm what God made me.

"If people can see past my image I hope they will see that I'm someone who rolls up their sleeves and gets on with things. I want local people to see that I really do put my money where my mouth is."

Leaving the city you have called home for 54 years and starting a new job in a challenging community is not something that would appeal to everyone, but Sister Kate is obviously relishing her role. She is a disarmingly straightforward person with a straightforward message that she hopes the community wants to hear.

"My vision is simple," she said. "I want people in this area to know that God loves them."

Updated: 09:07 Tuesday, October 11, 2005