Reverend Steve Burt, former minister of Lyme First Congregational Church.
Steve Burt, who served minister of the First Congregational Church of Lyme until 2012, when he retired and relocated to Florida, has donated 3,000 copies of his book, A Christmas Dozen: Christmas Stories to Warm the Heart, to the United Way of Marion County’s ‘Pajamas and Books for Bedtime’ initiative. The organization serves 5,200 children in central Florida who are homeless, live in transitional housing, or come from low-income families.
Each child is given a book and a pair of new pajamas, which are seen as items that provide comfort, Burt said. As word of his efforts spread, other organizations in need of book donations reached out, and he gave another 160 copies to North Lake Presbyterian Church in Lady Lake, Fla., and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Apopka, Fla.