…the Saugatuck Congregational Church celebrates at 3 separate sites this winter. A fire 4 days before Thanksgiving drove the congregants out of their building. But several institutions immediately offered space.
The annual feast — serving hundreds — is set for Christ & Holy Trinity Church. It begins at 11:30 a.m. Christmas Day (not the usual 1 p.m. start).
The Easton Congregational Church, doing its Saugatuck Church imitation. It's just a few minutes from Westport -- and very hospitable.
The Christmas Eve candlelight service of lessons and carols will be held at the Easton Congregational Church (9 p.m.). That’s fitting: Built in 1835, it was modeled on the Saugatuck Church.
Most intriguingly, the Christmas Eve family worship service and pageant will be held at Temple Israel, beginning at 5 p.m. There will be the traditional baby gift giving, when unwrapped presents are placed in a “manger.” The gifts — including disposable diapers — are taken to the Norwalk Domestic Violence Crisis Center, for newborns who have no manger.
The birth of Jesus will be celebrated on Christmas Day at 10 a.m. — also at Temple Israel. The heart of the service is a spirited carol sing.
The Saugatuck Church welcomes the New Year on January 1 at Temple Israel, also at 10 a.m. Holy Communion will be celebrated. There is no sermon; instead there’s a “true and moving story of a child’s impression of one family’s life at Christmas.”
The spirit of Christmas is indeed everywhere.
