SOUTHWICK (AP) - A Southwick church is celebrating Christmas early.

Christ Lutheran Church has received an anonymous $500,000 donation in addition to a pledge to match up to $1 million raised by the congregation over the next three years.

Senior pastor Jeff King tells The Westfield News he was "blown away" by what he called "our own Christmas miracle."

The gift came out of the blue. King says he received an email from someone he knows from committees he has served on. King learned of the gift in a conference call with the donor, who has never been to the church.

King says the donor was impressed with the mission of the church's two child care centers.

The gift will be used to boost those centers as well as pay down debt.