I FEEL strongly compelled to reply to Mr Charlesworth's letter about Archbishop Sentamu's "lack of ritual" during his inauguration.

Does Mr Charlesworth not realise that the stuffy, dull rituals he so missed during the Archbishop's inauguration are the same dull rituals that put people off coming to church?

I attend St Michael-le-Belfrey Church next door to the Minster and love the fact that it tries to exclude boring ritual.

And St Mike's has a booming congregation - obviously not just a coincidence.

Jesus himself told us to avoid tradition (Matthew 15): he warned that man-made traditions can get in the way of Christians following God.

Would Mr Charlesworth have preferred a traditional service which did not joyfully celebrate God, and excluded normal people because they did not understand it?

I believe this is precisely the attitude that Jesus warned us against, when he told us not to hold on to man-made tradition.

Instead, Archbishop Sentamu's inauguration has attracted widespread coverage in the media, because of its joyful, celebratory and inclusive atmosphere.

Good on him. We need more people like him in the Church of England, not fewer.

Lynda Sainty,

Fulford Road, York.

Updated: 09:06 Monday, December 12, 2005