THE REVD CANON ALAN BILLINGS is an Anglican priest and a Senior Research Fellow at Lancaster University. He was Deputy Leader of Sheffield City Council when David Blunkett was Leader, and a member of the Home Office Community Cohesion Panel following the riots of 2001. He is a member of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales and the England Committee of the Big Lottery Fund, a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4's 'Thought for the Day', and the author of Dying and Grieving: A Guide to Pastoral Ministry (2002) and Secular Lives Sacred Hearts: The role of the church in a time of no religion (2004), both published by SPCK.