On Saturday 5 December Holy Trinity Church in Malvern held their first ever Christmas Fayre by telephone! Open between 10am and 12 noon only, there were a variety of items to purchase and activities, auctions and competitions to take part in and so far the event has raised over £1,000 for church funds!
People were invited to purchase a virtual catalogue for £5 which included details about everything on offer and how to get involved - over £300 was raised in this way! The Fayre was then officially opened at 10am with at least 21 people joining on a conference call to begin the morning in prayer, after which people could ring the different stall holders!
Bids were made for cakes baked by congregation members and a Christmas basket full of seasonal foodstuffs. Raffles took place for both the bottle stall and for Christmas greenery prizes, like a sprig of mistletoe. Activities included a wordsearch and Nativity colouring sheet, which participants could complete in their own time over a cuppa. Preserves, cards and gift tags were also all on offer to purchase and collect by appointment from the stall-holder.
Holy Trinity also offered a North Pole postal service for loved ones to receive a personalised letter from Father Christmas.
Richard Garth, Churchwarden at Holy Trinity said: “It was all about having a bit of fun and people enjoyed phoning around and taking part in the various activities! It was certainly different way to boost church funds, find an unusual Christmas gift and speak to others while remaining safe at home.”