New staff members, milestone anniversaries, a new home, and other special events were among the highlights for Newtown’s houses of worship during the past 12 months.

Trinity Episcopal Church opened the new year with a King Cake Bake Off. The friendly competition received several different varieties, from traditional to decidedly nontraditional, and six awards were presented to bakers by the end of the morning.

Newtown United Methodist Church this year hosted its first Methodist Mardi Gras Talent Show. Celebrating the approaching season of Lent, about 15 people performed for 50 attendees on February 23. There was an array of vocal acts, guitarists, a bagpiper, a poet, a family skit troupe, a trumpet player, and two stand-up comedians.

Admission was free, but Pastor Lori Miller and event organizers accepted donations at the door for FAITH Food Pantry. The church Narthex held ten full grocery bags of food by evening’s end.

On March 5, dozens of Trinity Episcopal Church members and friends gathered in the church’s Johnson Room for an all-you-can-eat pancake supper. The 90-minute event was the church’s way of celebrating Shrove Tuesday and the start of Lent.

One Church, Two Milestones

Grace Family Church celebrated two large milestones this year.

In April, the church founded by Pastors Sheila and Barry Fredericks formally dedicated its new home at 13 Covered Bridge Road.

The church was originally located on Mt Pleasant Road, under the name Grace Christian Fellowship. Its name change came in 2012. Its new address took effect earlier this year.

On October 13, the founding pastors formally passed leadership of their church to son Adam Fredericks during a Passing of the Baton ceremony. As Lead Pastor, Adam Fredericks now oversees the church’s day-to-day business.

Anniversaries & New Staff Members

St Rose of Lima Church also had a significant milestone in 2019. On August 25, the town’s Catholic parish celebrated its 160th anniversary with a Mass and reception. Bishop Frank Caggiano also led the blessing of recently renovated parish grounds and facilities that afternoon.

In honor of its 100th anniversary year, Congregation Adath Israel hosted a special Shabbat Sabbath service on Friday, September 13. Members of the congregation’s founding families spoke at the event, including siblings Joel Nezvesky and Janis Nezvesky-Schertzer, whose ancestors donated the land for the synagogue in the early 1900s.

The synagogue continued its centennial observation in November, when it hung a collection of photo collages at C.H. Booth Library. On view for six weeks, the display showcased the synagogue’s history, heritage, and the Newtown community by chronicling Adath Israel’s evolution through the series of collages.

On July 1, Father Andy Vill began serving as the newest Parochial Vicar at St Rose of Lima.

In August, Trinity Episcopal Church welcomed its new curate, the Reverend Matt Babcock. Rev Babcock was formally ordained on December 14; he celebrated his first Eucharist at Trinity Church the following weekend.

Workcamp Efforts

In March, Sandy Hook residents Wyatt and Pete Barresi went with other members of Walnut Hill Community Church to North Carolina for a church-ordained, Christian-based mission. Wyatt, then 12 years old, asked to join his father after hearing that Mr Barresi and others from the Bethel church would be traveling to an area still recovering from Hurricane Florence in August 2018.

In June, 40 of Newtown’s young adults spent a week, with chaperones, in one on the nation’s poorest regions. Newtown Ecumenical Workcamp Servants (NEWS) spent June 22-30 in the Appalachian region of West Virginia, providing home repairs through Appalachia Service Project.

Ahead of that group effort, Newtown resident Tyler DiMartino put out a call to fellow residents, asking for donations of shoes. By the time Tyler and his NEWS contemporaries arrived in the Mountain State, more than 1,000 pairs of shoes were ready to be disbursed to the families at the homes where NEWS was assigned.

There were so many donations from Newtown that Tyler and other workcampers were able to give most people a few pairs of shoes, he told The Newtown Bee after returning home.

Preparations for this year’s service trip included NEWS’s annual sleep-a-thon, February 2-3. The young adults slept outdoors that overnight, raising awareness among themselves of the plight of others, and funds for their week-long service trip.

On March 9, the Great Room of Newtown Congregational Church was filled when NEWS presented its annual fundraising breakfast. With workcampers serving and chaperones cooking, funds were again raised through the sale of raffle tickets and donations left by guests.

Interfaith Council Events

Newtown Interfaith Council (NIC) offered at least three community events this year.

In March, “given recent deaths within and beyond our town that have affected many of us deeply,” the council announced it would hold a special gathering at Newtown Congregational Church on March 31. The event was to “acknowledge our grief, affirm our connectedness, commit ourselves to the care of one another and our community,” according to an advance, which also asked that all media respect the privacy of those attending.

As has become tradition, NIC also invited the public to join its members for an interfaith Thanksgiving gathering on the Sunday before the national holiday. This year’s celebration was on November 24, and nearly two dozen people enjoyed an early afternoon event at Congregation Adath Israel.

The council presented another service the following month. On December 14, the public joined the group at Newtown Congregational Church to commemorate the Sandy Hook School tragedy of December 14, 2012..

St Rose also hosted a commemorative service that morning. Congregation Adath Israel held its annual service the previous evening, during its Friday Shabbat service.

The council also had at least one of its meetings at an offsite location. In a continuing effort to learn more about the efforts of FAITH Food Pantry and how the local houses of worship can help the nondenominational project, the council conducted its May 8 meeting within the Church Hill Road pantry.

Challenges

It was not always good news and celebrations for Newtown’s houses of worship in 2019.

Residents were stunned to wake up one weekend morning and learn that its synagogue had been vandalized. On August 24, Newtown police officers discovered that vandals had spray painted and vandalized the building of Congregation Adath Israel during the previous overnight.

Condemnations from local and regional groups were quick, but an arrest has still not been made in the troubling case.

In October, more than 70 former or deceased Diocese of Bridgeport clergy members were accused of sexual abuse, and three previous bishops were harshly criticized for ignoring accusations and enabling accused clergy members to continue patterns of abuse after being transferred, according to a report developed by retired Connecticut Superior Court Judge Robert Holzberg.

Of the 71 priests named in the report, five served for brief periods in Newtown. Monsignor Robert Weiss, who has been at St Rose in Newtown since July 1, 1999, was not the leader of the town’s Catholic church when any of the individuals named in the report were serving there.

While the report recognized more than 280 victims, it also acknowledged it is “likely that there are more victims and clergy members than we have identified.” The report suggested it was likely some Newtown parishioners were among those abused by diocese priests.

Special Events

For her Bat Mitzvah project early this year, Newtown Middle School student Hanna Reps chose to assist kittens and cats through Sandy Hook-based Kitten Associates and Whiskers Pet Rescue in Southbury.

A member of B’nai Israel in Southbury, Hanna collected and then distributed donations of food and cat supplies. She also raised more than $700 through a gofundme online fundraiser.

On Sunday, June 2, following a two-year course of instruction of the Bible and the Lutheran Catechism, two young people confirmed their faith at Christ the King Lutheran Church. Newtown United Methodist Church celebrated the confirmation of eight of its youth the same morning.

St Rose of Lima’s Parish Carnival went three-for-five this year, after rain washed out two nights of the popular summer event.

Pam Carlson and David Cicchee didn’t care about the weather on June 22, however. The two were wed at St Rose Church that day, and then walked with their guests to the field behind the church for their reception. The wedding party started their celebration a few hours before the carnival opened to the public, and then continued into the night, wedding attire and all.

In September, NUMC launched its 30th season of monthly pasta dinner and coffee house events.

In September, Paproski’s Castle Hill Farm hosted the 44th Ukrainian Festival. Father Ivan Mazuryk, pastor of The Protection of The Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church in Bridgeport, celebrated the Divine Liturgy, which has traditionally opened the day.

Newtown Congregational Church welcomed Newtown native and Back Bay Mission Construction Manager Matthew Cole, along with approximately 100 diners, for its annual Mississippi BBQ & Shrimp Boil on October 19. The fundraiser filled the church’s Great Room and fed guests a dinner of Cajun spiced shrimp, BBQ chicken, Andouille sausage, tossed salad, potatoes, corn on the cob, and desserts. Mr Cole, who grew up attending NCC, shared stories of his work at the mission in Biloxi, Miss.

A few weeks later, the church welcomed nearly three dozen young adults when it hosted the Fairfield East Interfaith Youth Hangout on November 3.

Christ the King Lutheran Church welcomed author John Schlimm on October 25, when a book release event was combined with visits by multiple dogs who are part of the Lutheran Church Charities (LCC) K-9 Comfort Mission.

The evening program was a celebration of the release of Extraordinary Dogs: Stories from Search and Rescue Dogs, Comfort Dogs, and Other Canine Heroes. LCC Comfort Dog Maggie is in care of Newtown’s Lutheran Church, which also hosted an LCC K-9 training session that same weekend.

Rain did not stop some of the heartiest residents on Sunday, October 27, when the 2019 CROP Walk was held at Fairfield Hills. Six members of Newtown Congregational Church braved torrential rains that afternoon, continuing an annual event of Church World Services that raises funds for local and global hunger needs.

Closing the year, Congregation Adath Israel once again invited the community at large to join its members for an outdoor menorah lighting. This year’s event, on December 22, coincided with the first night of Hanukkah.