Transferred to another church to escape prosecution and a vengeful detective, a pedophile pastor finds his rural, conservative congregation is hiding the deepest, darkest secret of them all.

SYNOPSIS:

A pedophile pastor, moved to a small town that is blissfully unaware of his proclivities, resumes his activities almost immediately after settling in, using the townspeople's ignorance and naïveté to his own advantage. To them he is a powerful preacher who is filled with the Holy Spirit and becomes Christ Himself when he preaches.

When a detective from the previous town arrives in pursuit of the pastor, deputies from the local Sheriff's department are openly hostile to him, and do what they can to interfere with his investigation. Part of their decision to interfere is territorial, as they belong to the pastor's congregation. The rest is racial, as the detective is African American, and the deputies and Sheriff are all white men.

The pastor uses the local prejudices, ignorance, and gullibility to end the investigation, while building himself up in their eyes to be a powerful and wise man of God. The church grows under his tenure, collections increase and the church leadership is happy.

The congregation has no idea what the pastor is doing with some of their young boys, turning a blind eye towards behavior that should be considered red flags. He also threatens the boys' parents with eternal damnation if they tell anyone.

Little does the pastor know that his congregation has its own deep, dark secret, and his skill at hiding his true self and appearing to be a wise and powerful preacher may in fact lead to his undoing.

This story helps to answer the question everyone asks when a prominent member of a community is outed as a long-time pedophile—how did he get away with it for so long? The pastor is the central character, showing most of the events from his point of view.

Even though the investigation into his activities fails and he is not called to account for what he's done, his death at the end at the hands of his congregation is gruesome, painful, and ironic.

THE FINAL COMMUNION