LAST Easter, they had a sheep trail in the shop windows of Town Street, Farsley, in the Leeds area of West Yorkshire & the Dales diocese. This December, even more shops are involved, and St John's has organised a shop window Advent calendar. Shops are opening their windows one by one this month to show images from the nativity story, from Herod having a bad-hair day, in the hairdresser's, to a googly-eyed camel, in the optician's. Children have been intrigued (above, right).

"We've created 24 acetate 'stained-glass windows'," the Priest-in-Charge at St John's, the Revd Paul Tudge, says. "The aim is to keep the community going to local shops so that Town Street remains vibrant, and, as they are all based on the Christmas story, it's to help people keep in mind what we are really celebrating at this time of year."

The windows have been designed by six local artists, including Mr Tudge's wife, Rosie, and it follows on from the very successful sheep trail. "It's become a big thing in Farsley," Mr Tudge says, "because so many more shops and businesses wanted to get involved this time. We've also produced another 24 images, which contain a detail of each of the main images - such as a shepherd's foot or a sheep's tail - so children can have fun trying to link them up with the original window."