Two Keighley clergy have braved the elements to spend a night sleeping in a bus shelter to raise funds for projects tackling poverty in the UK.
The Rev Mike Cansdale, Vicar of Morton and Riddlesden and curate Rev Jenny Ramsden, together with other church members spent the night in the bus shelter at East Morton as part of the national Advent Sleep Out Challenge raising awareness and support for the Church Urban Fund.
The bus shelter, as the picture shows, was decorated for the night and Mike (texting from the shelter) said, “You can see our advent stable in the bus shelter with the pub behind. It feels quite fitting. So far we have raised at least £400 but expect this total to rise.”
Mike added, "We often forget the hardship faced by those in poverty and a night sleeping out on the street will bring it home to us and raise awareness in our communities.”
The Rev Jenny Ramsden, was not looking forward to a cold night outdoors but said, "these issues are so important to us that we are committed to making a difference. In all the busyness of the Christmas Season we want to bring people back to seeing the Nativity story in a different light. 
God’s only son came down to earth to be God with us, and yet Mary and Joseph faced the fear of having nowhere to stay overnight, Jesus was subsequently born in a stable and then had to flee as a refugee. It’s really encouraging to see the way that people in the parishes are taking action”.
For more information on the Church Urban Fund, please visit their website here: https://www.cuf.org.uk/