SHOREHAM — The Shoreham Congregational Church has been an important part of the Shoreham community for 225 years. Established in 1794 as the First Congregational Church and Society of Shoreham, over the years the Church has served as a town meeting hall, a schoolroom, an emergency shelter, a pre-school, and a gathering place for receptions and celebrations as well as a house of worship. The current 1846 church is the second building to house the congregation. 
The Church will honor its place in the community on Saturday, Oct. 12, with an event called Celebrate Shoreham! The celebration begins at 4 p.m. in the Church Sanctuary with a concert by the Shoreham Ecumenical Choir, featuring the enthusiastic and talented musicians in the town performing solos, duets, small group pieces, sing-a-long pieces and, of course, the whole choir. A free will offering will be collected. 
Following the performance a harvest dinner will be served up from 5:30 to 7 p.m., featuring roast pork loin, roasted fall vegetables and other side dishes, apple desserts and beverages, all for $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, and $5 for children over 5 years of age. Younger children are free. 
Between the concert and the dinner, raffle tickets for a variety of goods and services produced in Shoreham will be sold. Prizes will be drawn at the end of the dinner. Items include a dinner for two at the Shoreham Inn, a free oil change at Jolee’s Garage, quilted items, a donation from Whistle Pig, a gift certificate to the Halfway House Restaurant, food items and/ or gift certificates from several of the farms, including Champlain Orchards, Douglas Orchards, Rolling Bale Farm (meat), Doolittle Farm (meat and eggs), Golden Russet Farm (vegetables), Solar Haven Farm (products from fruits and berries), and more. 
Tickets can be purchased for $1 each or 6 for $5, and can be distributed among the items any way you wish. 
Everyone is invited to join in this celebration of church and community. 
In mid-October, after this celebratory event, some renovations to the lower level of the 1846 building will begin. This work is funded by the generous donations by members of the community over the past few years, with the additional help of a grant from the Walter Cerf Foundation. During the weeks of renovations, beginning on Oct. 20, worship services will be held next door at the former Masonic Hall. This work should be completed in time for the Christmas Holidays. Once this phase of renovations is done, look for additional celebrations to occur.