ABSTRACT
The vicar of St. Bartholomew’s was very concerned. Every Sunday, the number of earnest faces in his congregation dropped. One Sunday soon, he imagined, he would stand there in front of an empty church with no one else but himself and young Jones, the curate and organist, to hear his message of love and peace. It was all particularly upsetting as the vicar, rightly, perceived the times, with all the talk about terrorism and bombings, to be desperately in need of sound ethical guidance (based on everlasting values). Jones nodded sympathetically when the two of them discussed attendances one day, after another poor Sunday. ‘Why, there seems to be more interest in Islamic fundamentalism than in our church,’ said Jones, sympathetically.
