Holy Trinity Church opens its doors this weekend to invite the Jesmond community to share a wonderful weekend together at its Alternative Christmas Market.

The event will be the biggest market Holy Trinity Church has held since beginning the event eight years ago. There will be 50 stalls, from big organisations such as Oxfam and Traidcraft to small market traders “representing the best of the North East’s charitable, upcycled, fairtrade, ethical and locally sourced goods” at the fair. The market will also sell food and coffee to guests on November 22^nd from 2pm to 5pm.

“Holy Trinity Church is always keen to push ‘fair trade’, which it has been for a long time, and it is kind of the culture of the church,” said Tim Sanderson, the associate minister of Holy Trinity Church, Jesmond, who is the organiser of the market. The annual market started with 15 stalls in 2006, which were mostly run by friends of the church and big organisations. Last year, the church was determined to make the market bigger and better; therefore, in 2014, the church decided to invite local ethical producers to take part, doubling the size of the market.

“It is not a fundraising event,” said Sanderson. “What we want to do, instead, is to promote the alternative ethical gift at Christmastime, and also promote alternative ethical organisations. Instead of buying more stuff you probably don’t need from a high street shop to your friends, why not just spend the money in the way that might change somebody’s life?” he added.

Besides the Alternative Christmas Market, Holy Trinity Church also hosts a Messy Church and Café HT to welcome the community. Messy Church is a monthly event targeted to families, the next event of which will take place on November 22^nd from 9.30am to 12 noon. It provides activities including story telling, craft making and singing. Messy Church started two years ago.

Sanderson said, “Church is not just about being quiet. It is also important that church is allowed to be loud, it can have laughs, it can be messy and relaxing as well.”

Café HT weekend, on the other hand, not only provides coffee during these two events, but also offer a different “Café Style” Sunday morning service. “It is like an informal church that we sing the songs, discuss around the tables; it is more interactive and people really like it,” explained Sanderson.

Sanderson emphasised, “All these events are for one purpose. What we want to do is just open the door to the community of Jesmond, and let them decide how them want to be with us.”

The Alternative Christmas market will be on November 22^nd from 2pm to 5pm, and Messy Church will be on the same day earlier from 9.30am to 12 noon. Café HT Weekend will be on November 21^st to 23^rd. For more details, visit the website of Holy Trinity Church, Jesmond, or contact the church by email.