Christians fear they will be cut off from churches to make way for Christmas lights and shopping.
There are plans to close Colchester High Street to traffic on November 21, to make way for a Christmas food and drink fair and a parade of light. It will mark the official switch-on of the Colchester Christmas lights, which is planned for late afternoon.
But people who want to get access to church on the Sunday, the last Sunday before Advent, are campaigning against the road closure which they fear could prevent many people getting there.
Bob Finch, secretary of Churches Together in Central Colchester, said: "Almost all the churches in the town centre meet at 10.30am on Sunday, and would find it very difficult for many members to attend if they were unable to use the High Street."
Chris Rawlinson, Colchester town centre manager, said: "We want to inconvenience people as little as possible for a one-off occasion, for a traffic-free High Street for the countdown to Christmas."
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