Two places of worship have come together to design a Christmas trail for people to explore in Long Ashton.
The trail, which launched on Saturday and runs until the New Year, has been created by All Saints and Hebron Churches to help people step into the Christmas story digitally.
It features seven outdoor installations which have been set up around Long Ashton that are suitable to visit in a Covid-secure way which can be ticked off one at a time.
Each of the stations has a QR code for smartphone users to read, and the trail features characters from the Christmas narrative, from Jesus’ story in 3,000-year-old prophecies to the nativity.
The codes also link to video and online resources including music, activities for children and bible readings.
The Rev James Harris said: “This is a time of year when churches are used to welcoming large numbers of people into their buildings to celebrate and worship together.
“When it became clear this would not be possible, we set about thinking how we could take the story out into the community instead - and so the idea of the trail was born.
“Use of our buildings may be restricted this year - but the truth of the Christmas story certainly isn't. In fact, its message of comfort and joy may be needed more than ever.”
Peter O’Donnell from Hebron Church said: “We wanted to create an experience of the Christmas story which is accessible for all this year.
“Each location has been designed with both adults and children in mind and the online resources can also be accessed directly for anyone who is unable to visit the stations in person.”
The Christmas trail is spread across more than two miles and some families may prefer to do the trail a few stations at a time.
The churches says the Christmas story is one of God’s loving purposes for the world, which offers people both comfort and joy for our time and a map of the digital trail can be found by logging-on to www.la-trail.info
The trail is linked to social media, so pictures can be shared on Facebook, Twitter with the hashtag #lacomfortandjoy
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