St Nicholas Church, Durham

Who we are

• What we believe
• Mission statement
• History
• Incumbents
• Church guide
  • First impressions
  • The rebuilding of 1858
  • The Fish window
  • The Holy Table
  • The lectern
  • The Cross
  • Rumours of life
  • The church registers
  • The fonts
  • The pillars
  • The stained glass windows
  • The quiet chapel
  • The screens
  • The Holy Table in the chapel
  • The chapel organ
  • The Gateway World Shop
  • The statue of St Nicholas
  • What is a Church?
• Staff team
• PCC
• Interns

The Gateway World Shop

At the re-opening of the church in 1980 the then bishop of Durham remarked, 'I have never blessed a shop before. I don't suppose it can do much harm and it may well do some good.' A shop may seem incongruous. Visitors sometimes make dark remarks about the moneychangers in the Temple. But this is a special kind of shop.

The Gateway World Shop is a Christian alternative retailing company whose aim is to address poverty and injustice in the third world through its work as a fair trader. In its mission statement the shop declares that it is part of the church's calling 'to participate in the coming of the Kingdom of God.' Like most fair trade shops it aims to promote good working conditions for the producers and fair prices which reflect the true cost of production.

It tries to highlight unfair practices, to encourage the empowerment of women and support environmental sustainability. What has all this got to do with the church? Archbishop Desmond Tutu, when asked a similar question, replied, 'Sometimes I wonder what Bible these people are reading.'