Published in Shropshire Live Magazine
Children in a Shropshire town are being urged to help their local church to gather up a flock of festive sheep.
The ‘Lost Sheep of Shifnal’ scheme is launching this week and aims to bring the community together and provide some fun for youngsters in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Rev Chris Thorpe of St Andrew’s Church said that the toy sheep had been kindly knitted by members of his congregation.
He explained: “We have joined forces with local businesses and the new Love Shifnal campaign, which aims to promote the town, to launch this new idea.
“On Friday December 1, which is the first day of Advent, the flock of sheep will disperse throughout the town into the beautifully decorated shop windows around the town.
“Each day throughout advent a ‘lost sheep’ will be featured in a shop window on the Love Shifnal Facebook and Instagram pages and followers are invited to guess its location.
“All 24 sheep will then be rounded up and returned to St. Andrews Church ready for the crib service on Christmas Eve at 4pm when I will be reunited with my lost flock.”
Sally Themans of Love Shifnal said that this was a creative way of uniting local people at the important time of Christmas.
“This is a true community event – we are encouraging everyone to view the beautiful shop windows in Shifnal and we are very grateful to members of the St. Andrew’s congregation for getting on board too,” she said.
