Bring your Amex to pray on Jekyll

Jones Hooks, who runs the Jekyll Island Authority, recently instituted the fee for the ornate wooden chapel that sits beautifully in the state park's historic district beckoning worshipers and heat-stressed tourists alike. He hopes to defray maintenance, utility and fire district costs.

Community uproar, and statewide guffaws, prodded Hooks to waive the fee, which went into effect Monday, between 8 and 10 a.m. daily. Critics, though, remain opposed to the so-called pay-to-pray proposal for Faith Chapel on the barrier island which is required by law to remain "available to people of average income."

Visitors can trek over to the island’s history museum to buy a ticket with cash. The chapel will accept cash “once the full point-of-sale-system is in place.”