Local vendors and entrepreneurs will sell unique Christmas gifts and homemade foods at S.S. Morris Community African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church’s annual Holiday Bazaar on Madison’s East Side on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 14 and 15. The annual event, which dates back to the late ’90s, brings the parish and community together for holiday cheer, camaraderie, and delicious homemade foods all while supporting local Black businesses. 
“My favorite part about the annual Holiday Bazaar is just bringing people into our church, and being able to talk a little bit about our church when people ask about SS Morris,” Terri Strong, a longtime member of S.S. Morris Church and an organizer of the event, tells Madison365. “It’s a great chance for people to fellowship and to hang out together. It seems like the event always brings out a lot of people and it’s a real community feeling.
“Personally, I’m looking forward to the fellowship and the love, the food, the vendors … they’re always so happy and excited,” she adds. “The whole atmosphere … it’s just wonderful.”
The S.S. Morris Café Connection will be dishing out some amazing homemade food on both days.
“We will be selling our own food that will be homemade, right out of our kitchen. We have a culinary crew that does an amazing job at organizing that whole cafe, so that’s exciting,” Strong says. “We’ll have things like hot dogs, brats, nachos, and, for our second year, we will have the Mississippi pot roll sandwich. They are delicious. All the food is moderately priced.”
(Photo: S.S. Morris Church)
The Holiday Bazaar is one of the most anticipated events at the church and one of its biggest fundraisers. It’s also a unique entrepreneurial opportunity for the village.
“You can expect to see a whole array of entrepreneurs and vendors selling their wares, anything from jewelry to hats and mittens and baked goods,body oils and lotions,” Strong says. “There will be something there for everybody.”
The event was originally called the Bethlehem Community Marketplace Bazaar and over the years became the annual Holiday Bazaar. The event is over 20 years old, taking a few years off during the COVID-19 pandemic, and will be the first bazaar for S.S. Morris Church’s new pastor, Rev. Nina Pryor.
“We’re excited for our brand new pastor, Nina Pryor, to experience her first Holiday Bazaar and to meet people from the community,” Strong says. “She, like our last pastor Karla Garcia, is also from Rockford and is new to the church having been here for just four Sundays so far.”
Strong says that they still have space for a few more vendors at the S.S. Morris Community Holiday Bazaar. “We try to make it reasonably priced for vendors. We’re only charging $50 for a table. We really want to support entrepreneurs, and so that’s why we keep our prices down in terms of what it costs to rent a table for us.
“There will be a lot of people from S.S. Morris [Church] there but there will also be people from throughout the greater community. We are trying to get people far and wide to come to SS Morris on one of those days and just experience the fellowship, the love that we have for each other, and love that we have for our community while supporting these small businesses.”
S.S. Morris Community AME Church is located at 3511 Milwaukee Street on the east side of Madison.
“It’s a great chance to pick up a Christmas gift for a loved one,” Strong says. “Bring a friend.”
