I Read with interest of the Archbishop of Canterbury's jamboree, the intention of which is to convince young people of the relevance of the church to their lives.

There will doubtless be much pop music, entertainment and interactive discussions (optional) on the nature of spirituality. Sadly, I feel the good archbishop labours in vain.

A glance round the congregation of my local churches reveals that roughly 80 per cent are over 50 and young families, which represent the future, have all but disappeared.

Why? Perhaps the church, in seeking an explanation, should look to itself. We have lived through 30 years of unprecedented social and economic change. Previous generations, faced with change, could look to the church for comfort and security with its seemingly timeless liturgy and rituals and express their hopes for the future through a faith unchanged from childhood.

The modern church, far from remaining steadfast in the face of change, has quickly jumped on the bandwagon.

Condescending clerics deemed that those in the pews could not understand the poetry and rhythms of 17th century English and so the prayer book was the first casualty. They then produced a plethora of new hymn books.

Next we had all the modern services; not so much a liturgy as do-it-yourself pick-and-mix.

When talking to young people, I am often made aware of their interest in spiritual matters. They are not fooled by trivial attempts to gain their attention. Sadly, they fail to see the relevance of the modern church and I believe that many yearn for a religion that does not patronise them with pop music and vernacular language and which will help them to acquire values with which to challenge the worst aspects of a secular society.

Dr A H Brown,

Stonefield Avenue,

Easingwold,

York.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.