In 1945 he became vicar of St. James' Church in Birkdale. Morris had long felt that the Anglican church was not publicising its message effectively enough; four years earlier he had written an unpublished article, intended for the "Yarmouth Mercury" and entitled "Christian Hypocrisy", in which he questioned the difference that the Christian church had made to society in general. Morris also felt that the church was completely out of touch with the people whom it was supposed to represent. He gradually expanded the parish magazine—printed on four pages of cheap paper— into "The Anvil", a widely circulated Christian magazine based on the humour and arts magazine "Lilliput". Morris managed to employ several notable contributors on "Anvil", such as C. S. Lewis and Harold Macmillan.