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Archbishop meets young drinkers UK needs help, warns archbishop
(about 1 hour later)
The Archbishop of Canterbury has spoken to a gathering of young drinkers in a Cardiff city centre bar. The Archbishop of Canterbury has told a gathering of young drinkers that the UK is a "society that needs help" because it thinks it is "going down the tubes".
Dr Rowan Williams addressed an event organised by Solace, a church group that meets in pubs and clubs. Rowan Williams told an event organised by Solace, a church group that meets in pubs and clubs, that the nation "does not seem to like itself very much".
In his speech at Edwards on St Mary Street, Dr Williams, from Swansea, is posing the question: "Can God mend broken Britain?". In his talk at Edwards Bar in Cardiff, Dr Williams, who is from Swansea, asked: "Can God mend broken Britain?".
The group's co-founder, Wendy Sanderson, said the archbishop was "very excited" about taking part. He said the challenge was to tackle how people felt about their society.
The talk was advertised on the social networking site Facebook, while Christmas shoppers were also targeted with fliers ahead of the event. The talk was advertised on the social networking site Facebook, while Christmas shoppers were also targeted with fliers ahead of the event. We feel that somehow or other we are always at risk of collapsing still further... we feel we are going down the tubes Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
We're hoping hundreds of people will turn up Solace co-founder Wendy Sanderson At the start of the meeting Dr Williams and the group were shown a video using the music from the film Mission Impossible, which the archbishop said demonstrated "a picture of a country and a society that doesn't seem to like itself very much".
"I think if you picked up almost any one of the national papers, if you looked at lots of news shows, one of the impressions you would carry away is this is not a society that really likes itself very much," he said.
"We feel uncomfortable about all kinds of things. We often say in surveys, especially younger people, that we are not very happy.
"We look around for people to blame. We feel that somehow or other we are always at risk of collapsing still further. We feel we are going down the tubes.
'Nothing in the bank'
"And when a society is that unhappy about where it is and how it is that society has a problem.
"If you listen to any individual talking day after day week after week saying 'Oh I'm rubbish, I'm not worth it, I'm worried about what will happen to me tomorrow because I've got nothing really in the bank.'
"Sooner or later you would say to them, I think, 'You need help'. And I think this is a society that needs help."
"So, broken Britain not in the sense that actually everything is breaking up and going to the dogs. But that's how people feel and how people feel is a big fact about how they behave and interact."
Dr Williams said it was only when those feelings were addressed that problems could begin to be solved.
After his address, Dr Williams took part in a question-and-answer session.After his address, Dr Williams took part in a question-and-answer session.
Before the event took place, Ms Sanderson said: "The Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, was a great success when he spoke at an event last year, so we're hoping hundreds of people will turn up." Solace was founded in 2007 by Wendy Sanderson, of the Church Army, and Baptist minister James Karran, with the aim of making church more accessible for young people.
More accessible
In August 2007 Dr Morgan accepted an invitation from Solace, the "church in a bar," to talk to clubbers at Dempsey's.
Around 50 people attended the debate, entitled 'Is Religion Bad?', over a drink.
Afterwards Dr Morgan, who admitted he had not been a clubber in his youth, said some of the questions he faced were "quite hard-hitting".
Solace was founded in 2007 by Ms Sanderson, of the Church Army, and Baptist minister James Karran, with the aim of making church more accessible for young people.
Previous speakers at Solace include a Christian couple who set up an online sex aid shop to spice up people's marriages.Previous speakers at Solace include a Christian couple who set up an online sex aid shop to spice up people's marriages.