St Margaret Clitherow’s Fairtrade Christmas Preview was held in the church meeting room in Haxby during the weekend of 8th-10th October. We are already a Fairtrade parish, serving coffee, tea and biscuits after our Sunday Mass and at parish meetings, and holding other Fairtrade events such as our cookery demos, fashion show, teapot competition, tasting events and our monthly stall after our weekend Masses.

Following a visit to Traidcraft’s Christmas and Spring Preview in Newcastle with Moira from Fairer World in York, we decided to do one ourselves and this was our fourth. It demands a lot of hard work by a lot of people but every year, stallholders say they are looking forward to the next one! All the goods are supplied by Fairer World in York, collected on the Thursday and set up by a team of volunteers on the Friday. The first night is a ticketed wine and nibbles evening with a mini fashion show and quiz. Saturday, we serve coffee and biscuits but the stalls are there until after Mass on Sunday. It is a great atmosphere, very Christmassy in appearance, with Christmas cards, decorations, cribs, gifts, clothes, foodstuffs, jewellery, accessories and household goods. It brings the world of the poor very close to us and we are aware that people enjoy the social aspect, realising they are helping others less fortunate at the same time. Tiny cribs in gourds from South America have been a favourite gift for families who do not go to church and have no crib in their homes.

The event has other dimensions also – a visitor commented on how friendly everyone was and that one day she might get back to church. The way everyone works together and helps each other on their stalls has also made it possible for newcomers to feel welcome and appreciated. Our ecumenical friends and members of the local community find their way in. Our parish models do a wonderful job and I’m sure this is the highlight of the evening event. It is a great way of showing how many fairly traded items are available; they can be bought or ordered during the weekend. This year, we sold nearly £1,750 worth of goods and were able to send £84.94 to Traidcraft from the refreshments and ticket money for their long term development work. If you would like to try having such an event, go for it!

Miriam Sigston

Fairtrade contact, St Margaret Clitherow's Parish, Haxby