Clare Priory Craft Fair makes £3000 gift for Advent

The parish of Our Lady of Good Council at Clare Priory in Suffolk marked the beginning of Advent with a charity donation of £3,000 from the proceeds of its virtual summer craft fair.

The money went to a range a range of charities working across East Anglia in the frontline of the Corvid-19 crisis. Recipients included SVP homelessness projects in North Norfolk, Gatehouse, REACH, Foodbank, Ormiston Families, EACH, St Nicholas Hospice and some local charities.

Robin Hughes, Craft Fair committee member said: “I’m delighted that as a first attempt our virtual craft fair this summer was such a success. We had no idea when we started that we would attract visitors from across the globe or help generate sales for our crafters as far afield as the US and Singapore.”

Each July, Clare Priory in Clare Suffolk hosts a Craft Fair in its beautiful grounds, featuring a range of quality artisan arts and crafts items. The Craft Fair committee are hoping it will still be possible to host next year’s fair full scale, once again in the grounds of the Priory.

Over the past 10 years the Priory’s Craft Fairs have raised over £100,000 for local charities, in addition to money raised for building the award-winning Clare Church Extension.

Father Ian Wilson OSA, Parish Priest at Clare Priory said: “The fact the Craft Fair takes place in a very historical and beautiful setting dating back to 1248 can remove one from reality. There is a spiritual dimension to Clare Priory, and the church buildings old and modern remind us that God is present in all that we do. Our faith in God, must also be expressed in our awareness of our neighbour.”

Father David Middleton OSA, member of the Clare Priory community, added: “In an ancient property like Clare Priory there is always something to fix, but now that we are in a position to help others, we are keen to help local charities to develop their strengths in their chosen field.”

Pictured above is the Clare Priory Craft Fair

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