Lego Church is now called Block Church after the Danish toy company requested that the church refrain from using its name for the family-focused service.

On a Saturday meeting (January 28), the service’s attendees decided that they would rename the church’s family activity, which became necessary after the high media coverage of the first ‘Lego Church’ baptism attracted the attention of the toy company, which asked that its name not be used.

Stephen Cook, reverend of All Saint’s Church which holds the family church session, said: ‘I can understand their position. They’ve got no control over what we do so understandably, they’re protective of their brand because if we did something that wasn’t in line with their principles then they wouldn’t have any control over who had their name associated with it. So I can understand what they’re doing. It’s just unfortunate.’

Rev Cook first appealed for new name suggestions on social media last week and received a barrage of suggestions from Okehampton residents including Brick Church, Building Church and Go Church.

Okehampton’s now-called Block Church recently celebrated its first birthday as the family activity first started in October 2021 as one of the first Lego Churches in the country.

The idea for such a family-friendly activity originated in the United States in order to encourage more young people to get involved in the religious community and church services.

In December 2022, All Saint’s Church became the first in the UK to perform a baptism during a Block Church session which made national news and was featured on the BBC.

Rev Stephen has also been interviewed for the Salvation Army’s magazine on teaching children about Christianity through Lego building.

Okehampton’s Block Church services take place on the last Saturday of every month in the church hall.