Meriden Catholics Celebrate City Crèche's 70th year

Members of Meriden's Catholic community celebrated the 70^th annual blessing of the "City Crèche" on Sunday afternoon – oddly enough at a Methodist church.

The crèche, a life-sized nativity scene depicting the birth of Jesus Christ, was initiated by the Meriden-Wallingford Council of Catholic Women in 1930. Still sponsored by the group, it has been placed on the lawn of the First United Methodist Church on East Main Street each winter for the past 25 years, according to First United.

The scene was moved from its previous spot at Meriden City Hall in the mid-1980's. At that time the U.S. Supreme Court decided that displaying religious symbols on city property without secular symbols nearby was illegal, violating the constitutional separation between church and state. Just across the street, the United Methodist Church seemed like a perfect place.

"It's in great view when people drive by City Hall," St. Joseph Catholic Church pastor Rev. Shawn Daly said. Daly presided over the event. 

A 2 p.m. service started off the dedication inside the church, with a procession led by the Meriden Knights of Columbus, and welcomes and prayers from the Catholic women's council and the Methodist church. The Saint Joseph Youth Ensemble sang hymns including "Silent Night" and George Frederick, Deacon of both Saint Laurent and Mount Carmel Churches in Meriden gave the homily.

Most of the speakers encouraged listeners to remember the religious importance of Christmas.

John Dalton of the Meriden Knights of Columbus asked those in the audience to eschew secular holiday hellos like "Season's Greetings" and instead say "Merry Christmas" -- part of a national movement by the Knights of Columbus. 

Daly said that the message of the event was to "remember to keep Christ as the reason for the season. I love shopping and parties, but you've got to keep a balance too."

After the service, all those inside processed to the east side of the front lawn where Daly blessed the structure, which had been removed from storage and placed there Sunday morning.

"It's a longstanding tradition," said Sheila Spellacy, the corresponding secretary of the Council. "I've lived here all my life. I remember this from my grandmother's tales."

The structure will be on-site until after December 25, though officials were unsure of the actual date. The First United Methodist Church will hold its own live crèche on the lawn in December.

"People who have never done this before, their faith really comes alive," the church's Assistant Pastor Rev. Alden Barnes said. 

The living nativity will be held on Thursday, Dec. 16, from 5:30 - 7 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 21, from 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. and Friday, Dec. 24 (time TBA).