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 Mary Sciglimpaglia
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This Community Comes Together In A Beautiful Way To Honor Fallen Soldiers

Every two years Greenfield Hill Congregational Church in Fairfield, Connecticut displays thousands of flags in honor and remembrance of the American men and women who've fallen in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The site is truly amazing!

The Church, utilizing the Town Green adjacent to the church, started the "Fields of Flags" exhibit in 2009, but prior to this exhibit, the community posted the 1,000 names of those who've lost their lives in battle on the walls of the church. Wanting to do more for the soldiers, they started doing the Field of Flags exhibit every two years.

Now, the exhibit "Field of Flags" displays nearly 7,000 flags - one dedicated to each soldier. The flags represent gratitude, sorrow, peace, and hope. The flags were originally left out for July 4th weekend to revitalize the community's patriotic spirit, but now they're left out for 3 weeks and anybody is welcome to visit and pay their respects. "It is our way to mourn and never forget those who have given so much," says Pastor Alida Ward.

You may recognize Alida Ward and her husband David Rowe from the HooplaHa series – " Clergy Chronicles." This spiritual power couple of Greenfield Hill Congregational Church in Fairfield, CT, lead their congregation using the eternal wisdom of contemporary music, their passion for sports, and emphatic desire to serve their community. Take a look at their inspiring story.

Bruce Springsteen as a spiritual guide? Yup!


Greenfield Hill Congressional Church is not stuck in the past! They use the music of Bruce Springsteen and Green Day to tell the stories of their religion and inspire others to commit themselves to faith

Want to follow David and Alida on their spiritual path through life? Visit the Greenfield Hill Congregational Church website, or follow them on Facebook.

This HooplaHa original video was shot by Johnny Perez, and edited by Kellie Sieban. To see more good news, follow us on Facebook and sign up for our Only Good News Newsletter.

Series - Fearless Like Me
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Nonprofit Studio Mariposa is a free transformative art center for kids in Naco, Mexico, along the Arizona border. For the past three years, kids come to the small studio once a week where Gretchen and her volunteers set up art projects and music lessons. The art projects include painting, making bracelets, mosaics and weaving on a loom.

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When Todd saw how much of a positive impact this had on his community, he decided to keep it going. Advocates in other towns picked up on the idea and Little Free Libraries began to expand across the country. There are now over 75,000 of them, in all 50 states, and even in 85 countries across the world.

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