THE Christian meaning of the Millennium is set to come to the fore this June when the county's church-goers congregate on the home of a different 'religion' - Preston's football ground!

The Deepdale stadium is usually the shrine for thousands of Preston North End pilgrims each week, but local church leaders are set to take full advantage of the close season to hold a massive Christian gathering at Deepdale.

The festival, called That's the Spirit, has been arranged by Churches Together in Lancashire, and will bring together all the major Christian denominations in the county, making it the most high-profile Christian event of the year.

The Citizen first revealed plans for the gathering last April, when church officials confirmed a massive procession will start at various churches in the Deepdale area, before joining up and entering Deepdale, where choirs, bands, drama and dance groups will all perform in front of a 14,000-plus crowd.

The cast entertaining the crowds is expected to top 1,500.

Local fund-raisers are busy raising the £20,000 needed to fund the event, pencilled in for Whit Sunday, 11 June 2000.

The event will provide a much-needed tonic to all the boozy festivities and, organisers hope, will remind people about the Christian significance of the Millennium

Churches Together spokesman Jim Lawrenson said: "Preston North End have kindly allowed us to use the ground free of charge and we are now putting the funding in place to cover stewarding, sound systems, music, copyright, programmes, costumes etc.

"The event will be a pageant promoting Christianity with a mixture of singing, music, drama and readings. It will be very special and show we Christians are ready for the 21st century."

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