St John’s Church vicar the Rev Eric Kyte said he had recently found his thoughts consumed and overly structured by books he had spent about 40 years collecting and reading.
He said the next step in his spiritual journey was to remove books as far away as possible from himself.
So he had decided to give his catalogue away for free next Saturday at the church and all he was asking in return was for people to give to a foodbank.
Mr Kyte said his life as a minister had been dominated by books and they had created a world for him that was the opposite of what he was all about.
He was still figuring out how he would connect with the world after getting rid of his books, but it would involve a lot more human interaction and meditation.
It was difficult to see how beautifully the world was woven together from behind a book, he said.
"My basic idea is that the very act of reading creates a cave of perception."
He said his collection of books consisted of mostly theological commentaries and devotional texts.
There were wonderful books he had acquired as a part of his collection and he was hopeful someone would have an enjoyable experience reading them.
He looked forward to meeting new people and chatting with them over a coffee and some cake when they came to collect his books.
