Overnight Christmas Vigil Approved For Fairfield's Sherman Green

FAIRFIELD, CT — The Fairfield Knights of Columbus will be allowed to host a Christmas Vigil at Sherman Green in downtown Fairfield beginning Friday, following a decision this week by the Parks and Recreation Commission.

The organization, which had held the vigil at the Town Hall Green for decades, had been denied a move to Sherman Green by the commission for the past two years, first due to coronavirus protocols and then due to the event's overnight nature.

Typically, events at Sherman Green are not held overnight, and the Knights' vigil would span two nights from Friday to Christmas morning on Sunday.

The group filed a lawsuit this month seeking to force the commission and the town to allow the vigil to move to Sherman Green, but the commission approved it for this year on Wednesday.

"Are we being bullied into this?" asked commissioner Bridget McBride, who added that Knights' lawsuit over the issue "feels very un-Christmas-like" to her.

McBride was the only commissioner to vote against the request, though commissioner David Weber abstained.

"It feels like it's being forced upon the town," Weber said.

Commission Chair Brian Nerreau, and commissioners William Lewellyn, Dylan O'Connor, Christopher J. McCoy, Robert Jimeson IV, James Benton, and Jennifer Maxon-Kennelly voted in favor.

Local attorney Joseph Sargent, a member of the Fairfield Knights of Columbus and a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said the reason for the change in location is that Sherman Green is more visible than Town Hall Green, and it is a more effective site because of the proximity to bathrooms and restaurants.

The vigil will be manned throughout its run, with shifts of volunteers.

"At it's core, it is a religious event," Sargent said.

Though he voted in favor of the move, O'Connor echoed McBride's sentiments.

"You didn't like the outcome the last time, so you brought a lawsuit," O'Connor said. "It doesn't feel very Christian or neighborly."

Following the meeting, Sargent was pleased by the decision, but took exception to the comments about not liking the outcome in the past.

"The suggestion in there that somehow we're doing something because we don't like the results, just isn't true," Sargent said.

He added that he does not know if the Knights will drop the lawsuit now that the vigil's move to Sherman Green has been approved.

"It's not my decision," Sargent said. "That will be brought to the organization for a vote."