Notts 'bobby' to feature in C of E's on-line advent calendar
A Nottinghamshire policeman will feature behind one of the windows in the Church of England’s first official online Advent Calendar – www.adventstories.org . The website marks the first time the Church of England has launched a national initiative using the web to explore the meaning of Christmas and to highlight the deep significance of the festival for millions of people across the country. The calendar draws together a range of real-life stories about what Christmas means to people today – from a paramedic in Carlisle, to a donkey sanctuary owner in Oxfordshire, to an estate agent in Tunbridge Wells – in a way that is accessible to people of all ages.
Advent is about slowing down and taking time to think about the ‘why’ of Christmas, not the ‘how’. On each day of Advent, a virtual ‘window’ will be unlocked for visitors to click open, revealing the personal words and a portrait photograph of Christians specially interviewed for
www.adventstories.org. From stories of joy at coming to faith, to stories of pain at being separated from loved ones, the calendar aims to present glimpses of how the celebration of the birth of Jesus impacts on people today.
Behind each window, visitors will be encouraged to find out where their nearest church is through the ‘A Church Near You’ website, and will also be able to explore more about Christianity through a link to the ‘rejesus.co.uk’ website. Through these elements, the calendar’s designers hope to offer visitors a range of options for discovering more about the real Christmas story.
www.adventstories.org will be live until Epiphany – the ‘official’ end of Christmas, on Sunday 7th January 2007. The Church expects more than 100,000 people to visit the calendar over that period.
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