Two senior bishops of the Church of England say they see a growing interest in spirituality as an opportunity for the church to spread its message.

According to the Church of England Newspaper, the new Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt. Rev. John Gladwin, called the need "urgent" for the church to respond to the current interest in questions of faith.

"People around us are looking for meaningful spirituality," he said. "Bookshops are filled with ranks of new books, but there is not a ghost of a link to the Christian message." Gladwin said the church must be on the lookout to help heal spiritual and relationship needs.

The Bishop of Sheffield, the Rt. Rev. Jack Nicholls, licensed the Rev. Nick Helm as a full-time Advisor in Spirituality, and set up a center and network community of people to promote Christian spirituality. Helm has had 120 people approach him over the last year for spiritual advice.

"It is very important that even when the church is facing cut-backs, it invests in work that is important and producing fruit," said Nicholls.

"God has placed us at a moment of opportunity," said Gladwin. "Do we hold on to what we have got and hope the future does not catch up with us or do we hand it over and become witnesses to wonderful things happening in our communities?"

The church in England and Europe has been in sharp decline for years, with fewer numbers of people professing belief in Jesus Christ or attending worship services.