The Church of England has developed a new “skill” for Amazon’s Alexa personal assistant meaning the device, when asked, can now read the denomination’s prayer of the day, pinpoint the nearest church and answer basic questions about the Christian faith.
The skill, which is activated by the words “Alexa, open the Church of England” and then used by preceding questions with the words “Alexa, Ask the Church of England…”, operates like an app on the device, increasing its abilities. It is one of the first significant faith-based ‘skills’ available to enhance the capability of personal assistants in the UK.
From the Church of England’s Alexa webpage.
As well as providing daily prayer resources including a grace to be said before meals, the new ‘skill’ has been integrated with the denomination’s national church-finding website, A Church Near You, to identify nearby places of worship. It will also answer a range of simple questions about Christianity, such as ‘What is the Bible’, ‘Who is God?’ and ‘What is a Christian?’
Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, said last week the church was “thrilled” to launch the Alexa skill which would “enable regular churchgoers and those exploring faith to connect with God in another way at a time that’s right for them”.
“A quarter of UK households now own a smart device and, after transforming the Church of England’s and archbishops’ national websites last year, this fast-growing area was identified as a priority for development,” he said. “More broadly, this work is part of our wider ‘Renewal and Reform’ programme, which seeks to ensure the Church of England is a growing church for all people and in all places.”
Adrian Harris, head of digital at the Church of England, said platforms such as Alexa give the church the ability to “connect people with God and to weave faith into daily lives, whether for daily prayers or exploring Christianity”.
“We also see this as a fantastic opportunity to encourage people into their local church, which is why the link to A Church Near You is so important, particularly at key moments in the Christian year such as Easter and Christmas.”
Mr Harris said there were plans to launch similar abilities on Apple and Google devices. The new ‘skill’ was developed by Aimer Media who have also worked with the Church of England in developing a number of apps.
The fill list of commands that can now be given to Alexa can be found on the Church of England’s dedicated “Alexa” page.
