The Rector of Chester has penned a humorous welcome message to potential worshippers that invites the 'single, married, divorced, gay, filthy rich, dirt poor' as well as 'starving artists, latte-sippers, vegetarians and junk food eaters'.

Rev David Chesters, who is based at St John the Baptist Church, by Grosvenor Park, has a modern approach to getting bottoms on pews which also includes communicating through Facebook about St John’s, Chester and archaeology and he has an amazing 1,500 followers.

The pipe-smoking Rector of Chester explained his welcome message, pinned on a notice board in the entrance to St John’s, the city’s original cathedral.

The welcome message at St John's Church in Chester

He said: “It’s basically saying that whoever you are, whatever you are, Christ welcomes you and I’m not putting up any barriers. Everybody is welcome.”

The message also says: “We welcome you if you can sing like Andrea Bocelli or like our Rector, who can’t carry a note in a bucket. You’re welcome here if you’re just browsing, just woke up or just got out of jail. We don’t care if you’re more Catholic than the Pope or haven’t been in church since little Joey’s Baptism.”

Mr Chesters, who lives in Queen's Park, is known as a colourful character who started out as a customs officer which took him all over the country. When he retired early in 1997 he had risen to the position of head of external affairs for HM Customs dealing with media enquiries.

He then studied archaeology at Leeds University where he met his wife Lorraine and it wasn’t until 2005 that he was ordained. The couple have a daughter Charlotte, whom Mr Chesters describes as '10 going on 20'.

And he explained how his modern references got him in to Charlotte’s bad books after telling her he was going to reference her then favourite band One Direction in a sermon.

“I said to my daughter Charlotte: ‘Daddy is going to pray for One Direction’ and she said: ‘Oh daddy, that is nice of you’. ‘Yes, daddy’s going to pray that somebody teaches them to sing’. She said: ‘That’s mean’,” he recalled, explaining that his daughter’s bedroom had been a shrine to the band who have just announced they are taking a year out.

“I opened my sermon by unfurling a huge poster of One Direction. I do daft things like that. She was sitting in the front row and she was very cross with me. I opened this poster and said now what has this pretty boy band got to do with Christian unity?

“And I said it’s quite simple, it’s in the name, One Direction, because there’s one direction to God but there are many routes, so there we are.”