Two archdeacons and a bishop will follow in the footsteps - or paddles - of Walsall’s most famous son when the three take a boat ride across south Staffordshire and the Black Country next week to celebrate church growth in the area.

The ‘Three Men in a Boat’ canal tour is the idea of the Archdeacon of Walsall, the Ven Bob Jackson, who is due to retire at the end of August after five years as Archdeacon of Walsall and Bishop’s Officer for Growth in the Wolverhampton Episcopal Area.

Joining him on the canal tour are the Bishop of Wolverhampton, the Rt Rev Clive Gregory, the Archdeacon of Lichfield, the Ven Chris Liley, and a group of ordinands and local clergy.

They will spend this week calling in at several churches celebrating higher attendance figures and dropping off resources for Back to Church Sunday, an annual event that sees churches invite lapsed Christians back to church.

The group travelled from their starting point of Gailey on Sunday to Wolverhampton town centre for the first celebration. Throughout the week they will stop by at celebrations being held at Daw End, Moxley, Tettenhall Regis and Penkridge.

Mr Jackson said: “During this canal tour we will celebrate the many good and exciting developments in local churches uncovered by the diocese’s ‘Going for Growth’ strategy. We want to celebrate the fact that we seem to have turned the tide of church attendance and to share our good news with local people.”

Bishop Gregory said: “We hope the whole event will be a lot of fun and a further morale boost for the churches.”