By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS

In keeping with a tradition that dates back over a century and a half, Mexico City’s Christ Church Parish hosted its annual Christmas bazaar on Saturday, Dec. 3.

Heralded in with a stirring parade of Scottish piobaireachd by the Saint Patrick’s Battalion Pipe and Drum Band, the eight-hour bazaar was as much a tribute to pageantry and tradition as it was an end-of-year social gathering of Mexico City’s British and Commonwealth community.

“This event is, of course, our most important fundraiser of the year,” explained Christ Church Rector Elisabeth Anne Sinclair, as she took a break from greeting guests and helping out at the nearly 30 stands offering handicrafts, clothing items, jewelry, books, toys, toiletries, homemade jams and sweets and pub grub.

“But it is also a continuation of a tradition that has been at the heart of our parish since its founding in 1871.”

Sinclair went on to say that the fair was “a way for our congregation to pair with members of our neighboring communities, offering them a place to sell their wares and get to know us better.”

Although the bazaar is purely secular in nature, she said, it does exhibit the Anglican Church’s nonjudgmental approach to Christianity, demonstrating through example rather than sermon its core policies of inclusiveness and hospitality.

“This event is clearly a manifestation of our community’s history,” added Christ Church Guild president Linda Saucedo, whose has held that post for over a decade and whose father, José Guadalupe Saucedo, was the congregation’s first archbishop.

“As you look around the bazaar, you see a triumph of continuity. The children and grandchildren of some of our founding members are running the very same stands, selling the very same goods, as their parents and grandparents did.”

The bazaar is likewise an example to the other 28 Anglican churches inside the central Mexico Dioceses (one of five Anglican dioceses in the country), noted Bishop Sally Sue Hernández.

“This church has a special history, and its sense of community and service, its commitment to tradition and outreach programs, are a precedence for other Anglican congregations,” Hernández said.

She said that two other congregations in her diocese also hold annual fundraising bazaars, one during the Advent season and one during the Easter holidays.

Both Sinclair and Saucedo said that they were particularly pleased by the high turnout at this year’s bazaar, with nearly 300 attendees.

“I think people really want to reach out and reestablish personal contact with others after those two and a half years of covid lockdowns,” Saucedo said.

All the money raised from the event — which Saucedo said could surpass the 150,000-peso figure of recent years past — will go to help maintain the church and its main charities, including the parish’s own Santa Juliana de Norwich health and wellness programs for low-income persons living in Mexico City’s Centro Histórico and the La Divina Providencia home for mentally and physically challenged children and adults in Texcoco, in the State of Mexico.

“We are also looking to explore helping other charities, new charities, in the year ahead,” said Sinclair.

Christ Church in Mexico traces its beginnings back to 1871, when English-language services were first conducted on a regular weekly basis at various locations throughout the capital city.

Finally, in 1895, the first cornerstone of a neogothic-style church was laid at Artículo 123 in downtown Mexico City, and the structure was opened for regular public worship on Pentecost Day three years later.

But years of aging and the devastating effects of the Sept. 19, 1985, earthquake finally forced the congregation to move to its current location in Lomas de Chapultepec.

Christ Church Parish will host a Lessons and Caroling evening at its Monte Escandinavos 405, installations in Colonia Lomas de Chapultepec on Sunday, Dec. 18, at 6 p.m. Everyone is welcome.