Durham, NC - Chris Brady, director of student life at the Divinity School, talks with Rev. Cathy Carlson Tuesday at the Habitat for Humanity display at the school's Alternative Christmas Market.

The annual Alternative Christmas Market, a one-day event held Wednesday in the hallway of the Refectory, offered the Duke community a chance to celebrate the birth of Christ "through the purchase of gifts, in honor of family and friends, which help God's children who are hungry, homeless, and living in poverty."

Proceeds from the market fund projects for various local organizations assisting people living in poverty.

Organizations participating in this year's market were: Durham County Habitat for Humanity, Society of St. Andrew, Interfaith Hospitality Network, One World Market, Basin & Towel's Walltown Angel Tree, Family Health Ministry, Grotto Olive Wood Arts, and Church World Service Christmas cards.

Left, Carlson, who works with the Durham District of the United Methodist Church, holds up a 2X4 that well-wishers have signed. The 15-church Durham District will team with the Divinity School to build a Habitat house beginning on March 6.

Photos by Stuart Wells