Meanwhile — unknown to Charlotte — Dan is helping raise funds for her retirement gift. The store will close in February.
Click here to contribute, and say “thank you” for 50 years of service to customers, who quickly became friends.
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As noted in Monday’s Roundup, “Today Show” co-anchor Craig Melvin chatted the other day with his minister, Rev. Jeff Rider of Green’s Farms Church — and an NBC crew.
The segment has aired a couple of times this week. Now the entire country can hear Rev. Rider’s holiday message.
As Ukraine’s war against Russia nears its 4th year, Gray McGuinness sends harrowing news about Westport’s sister city, Lyman.
The town in the Donetsk region has been covered by drones. The unmanned aerial vehicles use a thin, physical fiber optic cable instead of radio waves for control and data, making them immune to electronic jamming and interference. (Click here for a video.)
Gray writes, “Lyman is now under constant attack by air and land, and has been partially occupied by the Russian army.”
Westporters can help. Ukraine Aid International — founded by Westporters Brian and Marshall Mayer — is a boots-on-the-ground non-profit that ensures donations go directly Lyman.
Click here to contribute. Then click the “I want to support” box; select “Support for the City of Lyman.” Scroll down on that page for other donation options (mail, wire transfer and Venmo.
Fiber-optic cables blanket Ukraine.
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Singing and strolling through Saugatuck on Saturday, 8 Staples Orphenians serenaded diners at 14 restaurants with holiday songs.
The Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce-sponsored “Caroling Crawl” brought smiles — and applause — from patrons at The Boathouse, The Bridge, Kawa Ni, The Whelk, Tutti’s, The Black Duck, Tarantino, Blu Olive, Romanacci, Riko’s Pizza, Zucca Gastrobar, Rizzuto’s, Viva Zapata, and Little Pub @ Dunville’s.
Staples Orphenians: a menu special on Saturday night.
The First Amendment and the importance of a free, independent press are topics for the first “Nancy on Norwalk” talk (January 20, 7 p.m., Norwalk Conservatory of the Arts).
Attendees will hear from 2 people deeply involved in the subject: Westporter Alisyn Camerota, a 2-time Emmy Award-winning journalist and author formerly with CNN and Fox News, and Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas, who oversees elections and civic processes across Connecticut.
Click here to RSVP. Registrants will have a chance to receive a signed copy of Camerota’s most recent book, “Combat Love.”
Aliysn Camerota
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We’ve posted plenty of photos of entitled parkers in large vehicles.
And plenty of drivers who park as closetothebuilding as possible.
Today, we feature one guy — it has to be a male — who combined both, at Whole Foods.
And finally … in honor of Wheels2U’s upcoming holiday gift — and with a tip of Santa’s hat to onetime Westporters Edgar Winter and Dan Hartman:
(You may enjoy a free ride. And you may think “06880” is free. But we rely on the support of readers like you. Please click here to send a few bucks our way. Thank you — and happy holidays!
In the 309 years since its founding, Green’s Farms Church has seen a lot.
In 1779 the British burned its meetinghouse and parsonage. The current, handsome building on Hillandale Road — the 4th in the church’s history — has been there since 1853.
Green’s Farms Congregational Church
Over those 3 centuries, clergy and worshipers have weathered wars, snowstorms and hurricanes. The steeple blew down; the lights have gone out. Disease has ravaged the congregation — including the infamous influenza pandemic of 1918-20.
The latest calamity is one shared by the world: the coronavirus. To meet the moment, the church that began 78 years before the United States was born — and 124 before Westport became a town — has turned to a 21st century tool: an online journal.
An opening shot from the Green’s Farms Church’s online journal.
Two dozen people contributed insights, including church officials and congregants. They range from young families to members in their 80s. Some have been members for 50 years; others, just a few months.
All responded to the question: “What have you learned from the lockdown?”
This is not a seat-of-the-pants, let’s-fill-some-pages project. After a description of GFC’s early response to the crisis — a drive-thru food drive, YouTube Easter service, Zoom confirmation classes — the graphically gorgeous journal gets into some very impressive reflections.
Some of the musings delve into God and religion. Others do not. Some answer the prompt through a cosmic lens. Others speak of loved ones. All are wise, honest and personal.
None are quick sound bites. Each is several paragraphs long. Clearly, everyone crafted responses with care, and respect for the reader. (Big props to the copy editor, too!)
Rev. Jeff Rider notes that “being present doesn’t require being in person.” Others wrote of new principles, hope, and feeling like Bill Murray in “Groundhog Day.”
Rev. Jeff Rider’s reflections.
Taken together, says church operations director Claire England, the journal reflects “a diversity in life experience, and in how we all experience this period differently.”
However, “all are aware of how fortunate we are if we have shelter and family to call upon, and how important it is for the church to support not only each other, but the many who are suffering around us.” The church, she notes, has stepped up its outreach sharply.
What’s online now is the first version. “That’s the way most of us are getting information and staying in community at the moment,” England says. But she’s turning it into a book, which can live much longer than pixels.
And will be available 309 years from now, for the Green’s Farms Church of 2329.
(Click here for the Green’s Farms Church Coronavirus Journal.)
This year, Greens Farms Elementary School is performing its first play: “The Lion King.”
Director/producer Laura Pendergast — a GFS parent — and teachers Ellen Hardy and Suzanne Sherman Propp have prepared for months for this week’s show.
Dozens of school hours, plenty of work at home, and countless contributions from parent volunteers have gone into the production.
A crucial full-cast rehearsal was scheduled for last Saturday. Then, disaster struck. In anticipation of snow, all Westport school activities for that day were canceled.
Finding space for 70 children seemed impossible. Realizing that Town Hall auditorium might be an option, GFS parent Danielle Dobin called 1st Selectman Jim Marpe.
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