‘There’s a Way To Disagree Without Being Disagreeable’: Local Clergy Plan Jan. 26 ’Pray for New Canaan’ Service

Saying many congregants have grown anxious and divided amid the pandemic and following a difficult municipal election, local clergy members that have forged strong bonds with each other amid the pandemic are planning a “Pray for New Canaan” day later this month. To be held Wednesday, Jan. 26 at St. Aloysius Church, the prayer service grew out of conversations had during the clergy’s bi-weekly gatherings, according to one member of the informal group, the Rev. Dr. Stephen Chapin Garner of The Congregational Church of New Canaan. “There’s no agenda other than recognizing that there’s a way to disagree without being disagreeable, be in conversation where we can be honest and robust and not back down from our commitments but also not vilify the other [side],” Garner told NewCanaanite.com. 

“It’s nothing other than, we are going to get together to pray for the town, and if anyone wants to show up to join us, they can, too,” he said.

Congregational Church: Dispute with Town Regarding Ownership of God’s Acre To Continue through Summer

A dispute dating back to September between the Congregational Church of New Canaan and the town’s highest elected official regarding ownership of God’s Acre is expected to continue through the summer, according to the church’s pastor. In a letter sent Friday to the congregation, the Rev. Chapin Garner said the church’s attorney and trustees “will continue to engage the town in deliberation over our First Selectman [Kevin Moynihan]’s assertion that the Town of New Canaan owns God’s Acre.”

“In the past few weeks, we have shared a fair amount of documentation about God’s Acre history with our town officials in response to a commitment from all our Selectmen to approach the issue with open minds and genuine interest in understanding our history and the history of our ancient burial ground across the street from our Meeting House,” the letter said. “Additionally, I recognize that many of our church members and friends may not know the original purpose, or our church’s stewardship, of God’s Acre that dates back to 1736. Five years after the founding of ‘Canaan Parish’ and sixty-five years before the incorporation of the Town of New Canaan.”

Garner, who is to go on sabbatical May 1, called the God’s Acre dispute an “important issue that has yet to be resolved that will require continued conversation throughout the summer.”

A citizen-led effort to create the terrace launched in early-2019, when the committee formed to create a year-round gathering space at the top of God’s Acre where the Town Band also could set up each Dec. 24.