Don Lemon Celebrating 60th Birthday in Los Angeles Amid Growing Church Protest Fallout

Don Lemon has had a lot of things to stress about lately, but his 60th birthday isn't one of them ... he told us he's celebrating the milestone with the ultimate way to relax!

The big day isn't until Sunday, but the journalist tells TMZ ... he started the festivities Friday night with a dinner at a friend's house in Beverly Hills. Then, it's on to the NAACP Image Awards tonight, where he's being honored with 4 awards, followed by dinner with husband Tim Malone.

And on the actual day? He tells us it'll be a "spa day in a beach town."

Can't blame the guy for wanting to just kick back. His birthday comes on the heels of him being named in a lawsuit by an alleged parishioner of The Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota for allegedly disrupting a service last month.

Remember ... Lemon covered a protest at The Cities Church last month as demonstrators went to confront pastor David Easterwood, who is a Minneapolis ICE official. He ended up getting arrested and charged with federal crimes -- to which he pleaded not guilty.

The lawsuit claims Don acted with the protesters and caused the parishioner "severe emotional distress, fear, anxiety, and trauma."

As we reported ... Don insists he was simply exercising his First Amendment right as a reporter to document the church demonstration, shining a light on the event as a journalist, and later vowed not to be silenced.