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Pascha

Services and Event Notes

Check Church Calendar for calendar updates

Full Great Lent and Holy Week Schedule.

Holy Friday, April 10

Teen SOYO will have an overnight vigil

Communal Pascal Feast After Holy Pascha Vigil, Saturday April 11

All are invited to bring a basket of their favorite food to break the fast. Baskets will be placed on the stage in the Hall to be blessed after the Paschal Liturgy. If you are new to Pascha Baskets, please read the brief explanation of their use, the traditional foods put inside, and the symbolic meaning behind them. 

Pascha Flowers

If you would like to contribute to the beautiful palms for Palm Sunday, and the flowers that adorn our altar on Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter, please see Lisa Fares or Helen Chimel or use this convenient Parish Soft Link or QR code. The greatest Feast deserves the greatest adornment, and we are looking forward to a beautiful Pascha, the Feast of Feasts! 

Life in Our Parish

Walk-in Dinner Program

On Tuesday, April 14, St. Anthony's is hosting the Walk-in Dinner Program, offered by Family Promise of Bergen County, in Hackensack. Volunteers are needed to help prepare, serve, and finance this on-going philanthropic commitment by our parish. Please see Betty Gakos if you can help.

 IOCC Taste of North Jersey Fundraiser; ticket discount ends April 19

St. Anthony will be hosting this year’s IOCC Fundraiser on Saturday, April 25, 2026 at 7pm, following Vespers at 5:30 pm. Everyone is invited to attend - invite your friends! - to a tasting of wines and beer, gourmet hors d’oeuvres, and live music. It's a really nice night! Updates about IOCC’s global humanitarian missions will be provided. This is the 17th year where churches across North Jersey come together to raise funds for the International Orthodox Christian Charities. The IOCC works in cooperation with the Orthodox Church and other partners to serve people in need, in the spirit of Christ’s love. Please contact Nike Bach if you would like to help with this event. To buy tickets or donate, please visit iocc.org/northjersey.

Yard Sale May 1-2

It's time to get serious about getting rid of all of the "extras" in your house! The Yard Sale on May 1-2 is the motivation to get cracking on your new, stress-free minimalist lifestyle! (It could also be the time to go shopping - see below!)

The Yard Sale is the perfect place to recycle/reuse. You clear out your house; you don't fill landfills; other people get great buys and the Church makes money! Start boxes in your basement now, and as you come across things you don't need, load them up by theme.

As an idea-sparker of what to donate, these items are always welcome. (It goes without saying they should be gently used, clean and in working condition, right?)

We need a lot of volunteers to make this event work. And there's a little extra incentive (besides the good feeling you get working with fellow parishioners for the benefit of our church) - anyone who volunteers is invited to return on 5/2 at 4 pm and receive a “Thank You Fill a Bag” to select items for free!

Volunteers needed:

• 4/26 Set up - setting up tables & shelving. 
• 4/27 - 4/30 - 10:30 - 4 pm - unpack donated items & place them in the designated department 
• 4/27 & 4/28 Evening session 5:30 - 7:30 pm (same as above) 
• 5/1 & 5/2 Sale days 10 am - 4 pm If you like to sell stuff this is for you!

To volunteer please see Pam Scarpa, Valerie Joseph, or Debbie Nagorny.

Golf Outing: June 16

The 10th Annual Don DiNovi Memorial Golf Outing will be held this year on Tuesday, June 16. There are many ways to participate - as a golfer, come for dinner, or as a sponsor.

See details and participation opportunities.

Year-Round Fundraisers

Food and flowers never go out of style and are always available for ordering. Easy for you; fundraiser for St. Anthony's.

But with holidays approaching, they are more in demand then ever - the extra dish on your Easter table or the perfect centerpiece!

Floral Arrangement Fundraiser

You can get all of your floral arrangements (name day, birthday, anniversary, etc.) throughout the year while supporting the church. To order, call Hanneh Kalyoussef (201-693-2968) or email Karen Canellos.

See flyer

A Taste of St. Anthony's offers frozen favorites representing the parish’s rich Pan-Orthodox culture, showcasing traditional favorites from across our diverse community. Specialties are made to order and sell out quickly, so be sure to place your requests early. The food will be sold throughout the year by our team of specialty chefs. NEW MENU ITEM ALERT: Vegetarian grape leaves and stuffed cabbage

Visit our site for what's available now and visit often as the menu will change. If you have questions, please contact Pam Scarpa.

Tricky Tray Magic!

The energy in the church hall was electric on March 6, the night of our Tricky Tray, as a capacity crowd filed in for a night of fun! Over 150 overflowing baskets to win, a money hat, lucky lady tickets, four grand prizes, door prizes, delicious food and sangria for purchase, and volunteers coming out in droves to make the night a success. And a success it was, in every possible way, including both in fellowship and financially!

Thank to everyone who donated gifts, who wrapped baskets, who set-up and decorated, who ran gifts, who ran the kitchen and bar and drawing and announcing and took care of every other detail (and there were MANY) that made this night such a success! There are a long list of names thanked in the program, but this night would not have been possible without the team who worked for months to make it happen: Leslie Carter, Robyn Ziemba, Pam Scarpa, Hanneh Kalyoussef and Claudia Bogris. Thank you!

What a Difference!

When you live with something every day it’s easy to stop noticing it, but this side-by side picture of the Tricky Tray last year and this year really highlighted what a difference the Hall Renovation made! Not only do we now have a beautiful space for us to enjoy each other’s fellowship, we have maximized an asset – having one of the larger halls for rent in the area that also has onsite parking.

Parish Council Update

Our Parish Council is made up of individuals that the parish elects at the annual meeting (with terms ranging from 1-3 years and term limits in place) and the heads of various organizations. The Parish Council meets monthly to hear from committees and to go over matters that may need discussion/approval/to be voted on.   

To keep everyone aware of what happens at these meetings, each month we will publish highlights from the meetings that are not already covered in other areas of the Desert News. 

Highlights of 3/18/26 Meeting

House and Grounds

• New motion sensor lights have been installed to improve energy use where we have seen lights left on
• Initial duct work was completed March 17th and the next step will be to encapsulate

Hall Rentals

• Rentals for April and May have been ramping up since completion of the renovation project, with quite a few booked already over the next few months
• We are receiving lots of traction from posts in local 'Mom' Facebook groups, so please keep interacting as you see to keep the Ivy Room (the outward facing name for our hall) top of mind for possible renters
• Looking to put a team approach in place for rentals to help manage the volume of interest being received

Stewardship

• Continuing with outreach calls and meeting up with members of the parish

Teen Soyo

• Will continue the tradition of the Good Friday vigil during Holy Week

Systems Administration

• New sound system has been set up in the hall
• New strip lights added around wall panels, these are also color changing (see photo above or John McMinn if you would like to see these in action!)

Facilities Update

It's hard to miss all that is going on with our physical church! A quick update:

Hall Renovation:

Updates for end of March (we are very close to done!) include: 

• The stairs of the stage are being refinished to highlight the lovely wood.
• The doors are getting sanded primed and painted. 
• Final floor molding and stair stringers are going in
• Stephanie Dedes Reimers is painting the accordion doors of the hall bar, inspired by the beautiful abstract metalwork gates of our altar. Her design will be a stunning, lasting artistic touch in our hall. (Aren't we so lucky to have artist in our parish!)
• Adam Reimers is constructing and installing the heat element covers.

Exterior Ductwork:

The ductwork has been completed (all of the exterior ductwork with holes in them have been replaced) and the encapsulation (a process where they clean and fix/even out the inside lining of all the ducts with a compound) is taking place. We are excited to get this work done before the weather warms up and the AC is needed.  



If you notice anything in need of repair, please notify House & Grounds Chairs, John Gakos or Robyn Ziemba.

Calling All High School Seniors



Each year, the June edition of Desert News features our graduating high school seniors. If you have a child who is a high school senior in your house, please contact Claudia Bogris so they can be featured.

Coming this September: An International Feast!

We have new and exciting plans underway for an International Feast, September 9, 10 and 11! It will bring back some of the delicious foods we all love from our festival, plus games, as we have our first indoor/outdoor event! Stay tuned for all the details, but save those dates from now!

Thank you to our Stewards

We thank the following parishioners who submitted a 2026 Stewardship form apart from the Archdiocese Assessment. If you have not submitted a Stewardship form, please consider doing so as a large portion of our annual budget is dependent on such donations. In the event you submitted a form and are not listed, kindly contact Nike Bach or Stephen Petrick.

So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God Loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

Each parishioner, every year, is asked to submit a pledge form in order to cover parish expenses. The pledge has two financial components.

1. We, like all churches, support our Archdiocese by paying an annual assessment. Each parish family is asked to pay this fee each year: $150/individual; $300/family. This assessment can be paid by check, on our website, or through your Parish Soft Giving account
2. Your Pledge/weekly offering covers all Parish Expenses: (Building & Grounds maintenance and repair, Utilities, Clergy, Staff, Christian Ed and parish programs, and Kitchen supplies.)

Paying your Assessment and filling out your pledge form confirms that you are a member in good standing of St Anthony’s Church.

Thank you for supporting your Church!

ParishSoft Giving

St. Anthony's provides an easy, convenient, and safe way for parishioners to make recurring payments or one-time gifts to the parish by using ParishSoft Giving. Click on the links below to see what you can do.

Parishioners can also make gifts from their mobile phone. TEXT ‘Giving’ to 201-581-7385. Visit the Stewardship page on your phone or computer to create your PSG account

Reminders

AED



Our AED automated external defibrillator is now located in the front lobby by the men’s and women’s bathrooms. Please let Betty Gakos know if you are Certified in CPR and AED use.

Milestones

Oh, Baby!

Congratulations to Rachel and James Tweel on the birth of their beautiful son, Liam Joseph, on March 19, 2026. Liam joins big siblings Milo and Vivian and is the grandson of Vicky and Jim Tweel. God Bless!

Memory Eternal

We are saddened to hear of the passing of our dear parishioner Atef Maaya on March 22, 2026. Our deepest condolences to his dear wife Maha, and their children, Amjad and Najwa. Memory Eternal!  

Calendar

Walk-in Dinner Program

Tuesday, April 14 (See above)

Orthodoxy on Tap

Young Professional Event

Saturday, April 18

IOCC Taste of New Jersey Fundraiser

Saturday, April 25 (See above)

Bring Yard Sale Donations

Sunday, April 26 during Coffee hour

Yard Sale

Friday May 1-Saturday, May 2 (See above)

Golf Outing

Tuesday, June 16 (See above)

International Feast

September 9, 10, 11(See above)