A SENIOR church leader is expected to speak out in support of controversial moves for church buildings to be used as banks, post offices or even doctors' surgeries.

The idea of cash machines at country churches angered traditionalists when it was first mooted last month, but the newly-appointed Bishop of Ripon and Leeds is throwing his weight behind the plans to increase the church's role in rural areas.

In a keynote speech to a conference on the crisis in the countryside, the Right Reverend John Packer will advocate a series of radical moves.

He says: "Church buildings are a mark of the presence of God and they already play an important role in the life of the local community.

"We need to think of new ways of supporting local communities. That could include their use, where appropriate, for banking, shopping or doctors' surgeries.

"I want to encourage churches to explore imaginative ways of using church buildings for the benefit of the whole community."

The prospect of cash machines has been strongly opposed by traditionalists, who say the interiors of churches are sacred places.

They have also raised religious objections, pointing out that Christ threw the money-changers out of the temple.

However, the Ripon and Leeds diocese's recently-appointed rural officer, Canon Leslie Morley, said that the Church needed to develop its role in villages. "There has been a lot of talk about 'hole in the wall' machines, but that is just one suggestion," he said.

"It is certainly likely that the Government in its White Paper on the countryside, due out this autumn, will cite the churches as one of the key partners in sustaining the life of rural communities.

"I hope that the church leaders who come (to the conference) will be greatly encouraged in the work they are already doing in the community and recognise the potential for further development."

The conference on Friday, at Great Ouseburn, near Boroughbridge, has been called to consider how parish churches can respond to the countryside crisis.

As well as discussing church buildings, Bishop Packer will address the problems facing overstretched rural clergy who are responsible for several scattered village congregations.