Extraordinary Coordinator: Michael Williams
Michael Williams in the Fair Trade Shop at Our Lord’s Lutheran Church in Maryville, Illinois
Creating the Fair Trade Shop
The Fair Trade Shop at Our Lord's Lutheran Church in Maryville, Illinois, created by Michael Williams, hearkens back to a simpler era. The cozy 12’x12’ space in the Worship Center building is packed with Equal Exchange food and handmade crafts from SERRV artisans. Both the farmers and the craftspeople earn enough money from their products so that they can feed their families and remain in their homes—located in many different countries. The store supports small-scale working people who are ignored by international commercial markets.
Mike created the Fair Trade Shop through his own hard work beginning in 2018. Our Lord's Lutheran Church (OLLC) started fair trade in 2008, continuing for a few years until the folks who managed the Equal Exchange program had to stop doing it for health reasons. Years later, when Mike had retired, he found the original display and decided to check in with others to see if he could restart the program. Mike successfully restarted fair trade at OLLC in May of 2016. Mike was a retail guy. He had worked in the area of general merchandise, men's clothing and building materials for most of his career and felt the desire to make this happen. He started by building two shelving units, 2'x5', painted them red, and put them in the church's hallway. He purchased Equal Exchange chocolate bar racks and hung them on the sides. He brewed coffee for folks and said, "There's nothing like the smell of fresh coffee after services to draw people in." Our Lord's Lutheran Church supports the effort of serving Breakfast Blend Decaf and Colombian coffee every week after services and provides hot water for tea and cocoa.
At the beginning of the reboot, to get people interested, Mike did some coffee tastings. One weekend, he brewed 8 different kinds of coffee for folks to try. He provided hot water for people to experience 8 different Equal Exchange teas, and he put out 6-7 chocolate bars broken into small pieces for people to sample. In the spring of 2018, he held an event called "Our Lord's Tea Room." He provided hot water and people brought in antique cups and saucers to use. Volunteers baked pastries to serve. The church's music director showed up wearing tails to be a waiter. Mike sold much of the tea he had on hand. Mike also put together what he called "Our Lord's Christmas Store" for 4 consecutive years. The church was amazed at how much product was moved during these events. Each of the 4 years, they saw an increase in the amount taken in. The successful, rapid growth of Our Lord's Fair Trade Ministry ensured that this new ministry was here to stay.
In December 2018, the president of the church council approached him for a meeting. Mike thought he was going to be told he was taking up too much space. Instead, he offered Mike a room being used by their music director and church members to create a permanent space to become the Fair Trade Shop. In January 2019 there was a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the shop by Pastor Paul Park, the interim at the time. Currently, Pastor Darla Ann Kratzer is equally supportive of the Fair Trade Ministry. Even when COVID hit Mike kept sales going by calling people to take their orders over the phone. He would pack up orders in bags or boxes and would deliver them to people in their cars, as well as deliver some of them to their doorsteps.
A table display of Breakfast Blend Decaf coffee, ready for purchase in the shop. Mike repackages coffee from 5lb bags and grinds it fresh.
The shop today
The Fair Trade Shop at OLLC is now a fixture. All congregants have access to the shop during the week—which runs on the honor system. He has a credit card "Square Program" terminal by which people can charge their purchases with a debit or credit card. Many people are now doing this themselves. If they need help they can call a volunteer. He also has a secure location in the store for cash or checks. The store brings in an average of $100 per week. Michael has 6-8 volunteers including his wife Loretta, who are available to help with processing sales should that be necessary. The product prices are rounded up per individual packet but are sold very close to cost. Any extra money is used to help pay for shipping for individual orders placed.
Mike announces new Equal Exchange and SERRV products in the weekly church bulletin as well as posting pieces about the farmers and artisans. He also writes an article for the church's monthly newsletter in which he spotlights different producers. OLLC has a very active Facebook page where many of the same pieces are posted. Mike does all of the ordering, pricing, stocking of the shelves, and tidying up. Mike is an ardent supporter of the Social Ministries programs of the church, especially the Fair Trade Ministry, and hopes to be an example to others who are committed to creating a different model of support for small farmers and crafts-persons. He is thankful to everyone in the congregation for their participation in the program and has felt supported by the entire church community. When folks visit the Fair Trade Shop at OLLC, they can feel good about honoring small-scale producers and helping them to sustain their livelihoods. Thank you to Mike and Our Lord's Lutheran!