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The Archbishop of York launches the Church of England's first ever online Advent Calendar at York Minster
Published: on 5th December 2006 by Alix Peacock in Press Releases
The first ever Church of England
Online Advent Calendar was launched on Sunday 3rd December and it lit up York Minster.
Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, pushed the button to launch the Church of England's first official online Advent Calendar at a special event in the grounds of York Minster on Sunday evening.
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.
On Sunday evening, the first window was unveiled in style when a giant-sized version of the story was projected onto the East Front of York Minster in the heart of the city. Passers-by saw a 20-foot high picture of the Archbishop of York accompanied by some words from his own Christmas story. In it, Dr John Sentamu writes "Advent is like a hungry man waiting for a fabulous feast. Christmas comes with a sense of longing being fulfilled and hopes being met. As a cook, I love Christmas Day. As the aroma of the food wafts through the house it reminds everyone that theres a good meal coming. Advent is like the aroma of Christmas, reminding us of the day when God will invite us all to join Him in the best banquet ever. No one need be left out. The choice is ours. The clarion call of advent is: wake up, clean up, grow up, serve up."
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.