MADISON — With their first-ever craft fair, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church seeks to achieve two goals: provide a place especially for Catholic- and other Christian-centered crafts, and raise money to benefit the Limestone Correctional Facility ministry.

The fair, which will have a variety of family-friendly crafts, is free and open to the public. It will be held March 9 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the church, located at 1055 Hughes Rd. in Madison.

Gretchen Willett, who is serving as chair for the event, said the idea for a craft fair was born over time out of a few different ideas.

Willett shared that she has a personal interest in arts and crafts, having taken up several do-it-yourself projects for herself, family, friends and her home.

“It became a hobby,” she said. “Pinterest.com came along, and instead of binders of magazine pages, my ‘I can do that’ ideas were organized into boards.  Pinterest was the muse for a lot of people like me. You could learn to do a lot different things. Since my kids have gotten older, I have learned other DIY skills myself and from other moms to help buffer the cost of things that might otherwise be too expensive.”

She added that she also began painting after her nephews were born and picked it up even more after her own children came along. While she is now a stay-at-home mom, Willett continues to paint and said she loves the feeling of helping someone or putting a smile on their face when she gives them one of her paintings. “Then I thought, ‘what if I gathered all these talented people and we could give back in a larger way with all our talents?’ The craft fair was born from that feeling, really,” Willett said. From there, she decided to start a Catholic Artists Guild page on Facebook to find some of these talented people. She added that the page also provides an opportunity for others to request specific handmade items they can’t find elsewhere in town.

With that, Willett said noticing a lack of local places that offer handmade Catholic items was something else that got her wheels turning about a craft fair. “You’re hard pressed to find something special and unique even if you do find something in a store,” she said. “… I wanted the fair to offer our local Catholics a place to find Catholic items, but also just handmade things that people have put their heart into. Not everything at the fair will be Catholic. Some will be just Christian.”

Every vendor will be required, though, to have some items on their table—but not all—that are either specifically Catholic or just Christian. “In a world where Christianity is being judged harshly and pushed out of every founding influence that it is ingrained in, I wanted our fair to stand out and offer Catholic and/or Christian items—to give people a reason to see Jesus in the small things in their daily lives,” Willett added.

About 45 vendors are expected to participate in this year’s craft fair.

According to Willett, St. John’s Fr. Bryan Lowe wanted the beneficiary to reflect the season of Lent. All table fees will benefit Limestone Correctional Facility ministry. “These people need our prayers, our compassion and our help as well,” she said. The LCF ministry provides inmates with Mass one night a week, and on another night, they also offer Catholic Studies classes.

The proceeds from this event will help to also provide hygiene supplies to poor and needy inmates, as well as those who have no family support. The proceeds will also provide for more classroom materials for the program, such as Bibles, catechisms, rosaries and other devotional aides.

The three deacons supporting LCF ministry are Kevin Brady of St. John’s, Chuck Butler of St. Paul’s (Athens) and Tony Padron from Mercy Parish.

For vendors and parishioners, there will be a table for those who wish to donate items. The wholesale of these items will also be donated to LCF ministry.

Willett said they hope to make the craft fair an annual event.

For more information on the craft fair, visit stjohnscatholic.wixsite.com/stjohnschurch/craft-fair. Any other questions can be directed to Willett at sjbcraftfair@gmail.com or 910-964-4043.