Religion: Not Gaudy

The parish church in the Yorkshire town of Bolton upon Dearne is built on foundations which date back some 900 years. The Rev. Donald Carr Sparks has been vicar there for only ten years. But to Vicar Sparks the church's drab interior and plain, pitch-pine pews seemed "very institutional." Last week, the parishioners of Bolton upon Dearne were doggedly trying out a brave new ecclesiastical color scheme—red (pews), white (walls) and blue (doors). "The whole idea," Vicar Sparks explained, "is to bring color and warmth to the church without making it gaudy."