Traders on the stalls at Bristol’s Broadmead Christmas market are receiving support from a team of market chaplains, including volunteers from the Bristol & South Gloucestershire Circuit, who work throughout the day to give stall-holders the chance to take a break.
The scheme is being co-ordinated by Matt Albury, full-time workplace chaplain for the Bristol and South Gloucestershire Methodist Circuit, with a team of eight, all wearing easily identifiable blue jackets and red woolly hats.
Team member Adam Biddlestone, who in 2017 was nominated by BBC Radio Bristol as an “unsung hero” for the time he spent as a chaplain at the Christmas Market, commented: “We identified a real need and have responded in a practical way. When the scheme began the support provided was informal, but it was so appreciated that it is now run in a more structured manner.”
Irune Maguregui Martin, who is running a stall on the market for the fifth consecutive year, said: ‘It’s lovely to have the chaplains around every year. They help us so much by just chatting to us, warming our spirits on a cold morning or by keeping an eye on our stalls if we need a quick break.”
When the Christmas markets arrive each year, the team introduces stall-holders to the scheme and builds relationships with them. For the first time this year the Chaplains have translated a useful information sheet describing what support is available into six different languages.
Matt, whose post is partly funded by the Methodist Mission in Britain Fund said: “There are many repeat stall-holders, some of them operating on their own. We chat to them if they’re having a quiet moment or can stand in if they need a coffee or loo break. Most of them are not local to Bristol, so quite often they need practical help, such as where to find a laundry, where to park vehicles or where to get medical help.“