Fire can't stop church 'Angels' from helping others

The children of Saugatuck Congregational Church Nursery School created the congregation's annual Angel Tree this year, decorating it with 200 tags, each requesting a gift for a needy child or adult; all hoping their wish for a specific holiday gift would be answered by parishioners.

They might have feared those wishes went up in smoke in the early-morning hours of Nov. 20, when the church was heavily damaged by a six-hour fire, which is still under investigation, just a week after the Angel Tree was placed in Hoskins Hall. The tree was burned to ash, but two-thirds of the tags were not. Such was the generosity of the congregants that a majority of the tags had been claimed before flames consumed the tree, church offices, meeting rooms and the nursery school, and caused water and smoke damage to the historic sanctuary.

The wishes contained on the remaining 85 tags were reconstructed through a computerized record, meaning no one on that original list will go without a gift this holiday season.

On Sunday, dozens of parishioners dropped off wrapped toys and clothing to the Westport home of fellow parishioner Amy Van Arsdale, who coordinates the annual event and offered her spacious foyer as the collection site when the church was lost.

"The message is nothing can stop us. The fire happened right before the (Thanksgiving) feast, but that went off. Everybody rallied. Now the holiday is here and so are the gifts to lighten and brighten the day of someone who might not have anything ... This is the true meaning of Christmas," Van Arsdale said.

That congregants did not abandon the Angel Tree initiative after the fire was not only appreciated by the eight regional agencies whose clients are recipients of the gifts; it was also a real inspiration and life lesson, according to Richard Williams, program director of Pivot Ministries in South Norwalk and Bridgeport, which has 34 students that will receive gifts from the Angel Tree.

"We picked up the gifts (Sunday) night. We were commenting on the faithfulness of this church. Here this church, devastated by this fire, followed through on their commitment. They made no excuses," Williams said. "Even in the face of their own tragedy they are still touching other's lives," he said.

Jeff Wieser, president and CEO of Homes with Hope in Westport, said 25 people in the agency's shelter and permanent supportive housing units will benefit from the Angel Tree effort. "Every year it's a pretty extraordinary effort," Wieser said, but even more so this year under such extreme circumstances.

Van Arsdale said the church organizers of the program had to keep it going. It would have been heart-breaking to disappoint so many people in need from agencies, including the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport, Christian Community Action, Covenant to Care/Department of Children and Families, and Domestic Violence Crisis Center, said Van Arsdale. Last Christmas there were 180 recipients of these Angel Tree gifts.

Van Arsdale said she can't believe the simple requests that the children have made. "They can ask for anything but they're asking for clothes. I'm always amazed that they ask for the basics. We have an 11-year-old girl asking for a dress or jeans, not even toys," she said.

"I know what a labor of love this is but it's a logistical nightmare. (After the fire) I was afraid it might be cancelled," said Kim Rendleman of New York, as she set her wrapped presents in Van Arsdale's foyer Sunday. "I have my first Bible from the church and my first hymnal," said Rendleman, whose parents have been parishioners of Saugatuck Congregational Church since 1956.

Parishioner Stephanie Bulkeley said she was also afraid the Angel Tree initiative would come to a halt after the conflagration. "The fire didn't bring this down. It has a lot to do with the congregation and a lot to do with Amy," she said, grateful that the congregants were willing to lift the hearts of others while they remain heavy-hearted for their own loss.

"I think, for the congregation, this (Angel Tree) was cathartic because it was a way to still be a congregation," Bulkeley said. Even through the pain at the loss of their church they were able to help others in need, she said.

"We're disjointed, but we're still a congregation," Van Arsdale said.

Bulkeley said she was awed by the response to this year's Angel Tree. Some people took multiple tags and purchased a gift for each person represented by a tag. Many who were unable to shop for gifts themselves made financial donations instead.

Some representatives of the agencies that distribute the gifts from Saugatuck Church picked them up at Van Arsdale's house on Sunday. Van Arsdale will deliver the rest throughout the week. "My car is transformed from a Suburban to a sleigh," said Van Arsdale, who even puts a Christmas wreath on her vehicle.