First Church plans community-service day

The historic sanctuary of First Church Congregational of Fairfield will be empty on Sunday morning, May 6, as church members fan out across the area to perform community service -- much of it focused on the less fortunate.

During its second annual Sunday of Service, the church said, 200 congregants will spend the day on projects such as cleaning town beaches, planting a vegetable garden for a local food pantry, painting bedrooms at a youth shelter, preparing and freezing meals for the homeless and working on affordable-housing construction and home-repair projects.

Church members will gather at the end of the day for a dinner where they can share thoughts on the meaning of service, the church said in a news release.

"The Sunday of Service is a wonderful way for the entire congregation to transform its faith into action, former church moderator Mark Engstrom said in the release. "I am inspired by the faith and the commitment to serve God and our community."