Holy Trinity church embraces Pokémon craze

Shakespeare might be surprised at the sight of Pokemon players doing battle at his old church, but Holy Trinity in Stratford is happy to welcome its unexpected new visitors.

Unknown to the church, the building had been designated as a Pokemon Gym, where players of the popular smartphone game can train and battle each other.

As the Pokemon Go craze has swept the world over recent weeks, Holy Trinity Church has decided to embrace the building’s unexpected appeal to gamers, openly inviting them to visit in posters on its gate.

Reverend Patrick Taylor said: “We started to see many younger people, not necessarily looking for the usual sights and very engrossed with their smart phones.

“We hope that by making people aware that we are a Pokemon Gym, it will bring more younger people into the church. We want to reach out to more youngsters, perhaps those who live in Stratford but who may not have thought about coming into Holy Trinity Church before.

“Throughout history people have visited churches for different reasons, to seek sanctuary for example, and this is just another reason for people to come here, it doesn’t matter if they are not visiting for God or to see Shakespeare’s grave, we’re happy to see them all.

“We don’t expect people to be playing on their smartphones whilst there are services going on, I think they would realise that it would not be appropriate. We don’t anticipate there being any kind of clash between worshipers and those playing the game, we are very used to catering for both worshipers and visitors here, bearing in mind the interest there is in Shakespeare’s grave.

“Some may question whether it is appropriate for a church to encourage this activity but, as our poster says, whether you are looking for Pokémon, Shakespeare or Jesus, all are found at Holy Trinity.”

The Pokemon Go allows players to search for digital creatures in real-life locations and Pokestops within the game, where people can collect items to use within it, are often located at historical monuments of places of interest.

The game has been praised for getting youngsters out and about whilst playing, but has forced police to issue warnings for players to pay attention to their surroundings.