Desert News is published online, every month, for a quick glimpse of the goings on at St. Anthony’s and with our parishioners. Desert News editors are Claudia Bogris and Nike Bach. If you have parish organization or personal news to share, please email information to Claudia Bogris.
| | Did you get this newsletter forwarded to you? You can sign up and receive your copy directly. Just go to our website, stanthonybergen.com, and follow the signup instructions on the lower left side to have Desert News delivered to your inbox each month. | | |
Check Church Calendar for calendar updates
SERVICES in JANUARY
Weekly Services
- Saturday, Great Vespers 5 pm
- Sunday, Orthros and Liturgy 9 am
- Wednesday, Vespers 6 pm (resumes week of January 12)
- Friday, Vespers 6 pm (resumes week of January 12)
Special Services
Dec 31 Great Vespers for St Basil/Circumcision of Christ/ New Year
Jan 1: 9am Orthros and Divine Liturgy
Theophany Services
Jan 5: 9am Royal Hours and 11am Vesperal Divine Liturgy of Theophany (with water blessing)
Jan 6: 9am Orthros and Divine Liturgy of Theophany (with water blessing)
St Anthony’s Day Services
Jan 16: 6pm Great Vespers for St Anthony
Jan 17: 9am Orthros and Divine Liturgy
| | Joyful wishes for a wonderful New Year from your St. Anthony Family! | | |
Annual Meeting to be Held January 11
Please plan to attend our Parish Annual Meeting immediately after Liturgy on Sunday, January 11. At that time we will go over reports from 2025, plans for 2026, elect new parish council members and share financials.
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Celebrate our
Patronal Feast
on Sunday, January 18, 2026
Parish community members are invited to attend the annual celebration of our patron saint, Saint Anthony the Great, the father of monasticism and one of the great examples of the Christian faith in the history of the Church.
Enjoy a delicious complimentary breakfast, participate in the "Tradition of the Vasilopita" (Greek bread with a coin in it), and meet new members of our parish.
Did you know we loaded a time capsule into our ceiling in 1996 and during the recent hall renovations found it. And - you guessed it - we are opening it on St. Anthony's Day!
All are welcome to the Fellowship Hall following Divine Liturgy.
Please RSVP
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Introducing: St. Anthony Frozen Food
Our church has a long tradition of serving an array of ethnic, high-quality foods, and it's all too delicious to have just once a year!
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.
Can you imagine - coming home from a long, busy day knowing no cooking tonight - you have something delicious and nutritious ready to go!
Visit our site for what's available now and visit often as the menu will change. Our first menu items include Italian meatballs; Middle Eastern Kefta; and Greek Spanakopita, Moussaka and Pastitsio. And the site lists all the ingredients and even has cooking directions!
Current plans are to have pick up available twice a month during coffee hour. If you have questions, please contact Pam Scarpa.
Thank you for your support and Bon Appetit!
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Building Our Legacy: The Importance of Fundraising
Thank you for the positive response to the launch of Building Our Legacy. It was encouraging to see how strongly our parish family connects with the idea that fundraising is not only about meeting financial needs, but about coming together in faith, fellowship, and shared purpose.
As we move forward, fundraising continues to play a key role in supporting the daily life of St. Anthony’s, from maintaining our facilities to strengthening ministries and outreach. Just as importantly, these efforts create meaningful opportunities for connection, allowing parishioners of all ages to gather, serve, and celebrate together.
We would like to extend a sincere thank you to everyone who has supported our Frozen Food Sale. Your participation has made this initiative a wonderful success. Frozen food sales will continue throughout the year, with special seasonal selections offered along the way. Please be sure to visit the order form regularly to stay updated on available items. As this program grows, so do the opportunities to get involved. If you enjoy cooking or would like to lend a hand, we welcome volunteers to help prepare meals to be sold. Ingredients and support are readily available, and many helping hands make the work both lighter and more enjoyable. Your time and talent can directly help us expand this popular offering.
If you have a fundraising idea, would like to lead an initiative, or are interested in helping with an existing effort, please reach out. Your involvement is always welcome and deeply appreciated.
Together, we are building a living legacy! Thank you for being an essential part of the life of St. Anthony’s.
Thank you,
Pam Scarpa
Fundraising Liaison
fundraising@stanthonybergen.com
201-315-7917
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VOTE FOR TOP TRICKY TRAY!
Last year our Tricky Tray was voted a top 5 Tricky Tray in all of New Jersey! Let's see if we can do it again! Did you have a great time at our Spring into our Mothers' Hearts Tricky Tray in May? Vote to get us on the list again! Please note - you can only vote ONCE even (even across different email addresses) but use your vote and encourage your friends and family to vote, too.
This cache drives audience and donations (and of course makes our tireless volunteers so happy)!
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The Luck of St. Anthony Tricky Tray March 6
Friday, March 6 is the The Luck of St. Anthony Tricky Tray! The Tricky Tray is an all-parish event and is now our largest fundraiser and we need all hands on deck! Reminder that this is TWO MONTHS earlier than it was last year, so we are off to the races NOW!
The two most important things we need to do now? Get all the gifts for the baskets and sell tickets. And you are critical to both!
Building on the success of last year, we have an Amazon Wish list for 45 themed baskets from our curated Amazon Themed-Gift List. We’re asking every parish family to support this fundraiser by donating one themed basket. Please click here to view our 2026 Tricky Tray Themed Gift Catalog, which shows how the individual items listed on Amazon come together to create each themed gift basket.
All Amazon Wish List items ship directly to Robyn Ziemba, who will beautifully wrap each basket and add a “Sponsored By” tag so every donor is properly thanked. Please feel free to reach out to her with any questions: 201-694-9133
Thank you for your generosity and for helping make this event a success!
Is re-gifting bad? Not if it's for the Tricky Tray! If you receive a great Christmas gift that just isn't you (brand new, in box) the Tricky Tray loves re-gifts! Plus ask a local store, salon or restaurant you frequent for a tax deductible donation that is also advertising for them.
In addition, save your excess Christmas tissue paper and ribbon - we use it to cost-effectively make beautiful baskets.
As far as selling tickets, invite your friends for a great night out and when you see us post on social media, share with your contacts. This event always sells out so reach out to your network now to get tickets!
Download flyer
Buy tickets
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The Yard Sale is BACK this May 1-2
The perfect motivation to get cracking on your new, stress-free minimalist lifestyle: the Yard Sale on May 1-2!
Do you have just too many Christmas decorations? Serving pieces? Pocketbooks? Too much luggage, bric-a-brac or art? 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. Each of us clearing out equals a department store of items for shoppers!
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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!
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Hall Renovation Continues
The ceilings are done, and Fr. Nicholas and the Hall Reno team are in the midst of collecting estimates for upgrading the walls and floors. Once they have a full picture, they will be sharing with our church family.
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Antiochian Village Camp Registration
It may be January, but it's not too early to be thinking about Sumer Camp at the Antiochian Village! In addition to four 2-week sessions for campers aged 9-17, AV offers Family Camp, Winter Camp, Alumni events... something for everyone. See avcamp.org for all the details, including dates and pricing. We have two generations of former campers at St. Anthony's who would be happy to share their experience. It's the two weeks of the year that campers talk about the other 50. Camp scholarships are available. St. Anthony campers traditionally attend the 4th session. For those seeking transportation options, St. George in Little Falls usually rents a bus and, in they have room, make it available to our children, too. Please see Fr. Nicholas for more information.
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Holiday Fun
On November 18, Young at Heart members took a trip to the Holiday Train Show.
| | On December 4, the Women's Guild and Young at Heart headed to the Holiday Open House at Skylands Manor. Our own Barbara Di Novi had a booth there! | | Young at Heart hosted their annual Christmas Luncheon at Buon Gusto restaurant on December 11. It was joyous time to be together. | |
St. Nicholas Dinner
It was a night of good food and fun on Saturday, December 6 at the St. Nicholas Annual dinner! A full house enjoyed delicious food, festive decor and music; the kids heard the story of St. Nicholas (and even got to meet him!); shoes were filled with candy; and the craft table was hopping as the children made ornaments.
The church seniors were given flowers by the little ones and the three Nicholas' attending celebrated their name days together. Thank you to the Church School, Teen SOYO, 20/40 Group and Women's Guild for co-hosting this wonderful night for our whole church family!
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PJs for Seminary Children
Thank you for the Women's Guild and everyone who so generously contributed to the pajamas and gift card drive for St. Vladimir's Seminary children and families. The gifts were all delivered in time for Christmas and are so appreciated!
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November Finances at a Glance
Even with an unexpected one-time generous donation of $50,000 in January of 2025, St Anthony’s will still not cover our 2025 annual expenses. Please make every effort and consider, where personally possible, to increase annual giving.
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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 | | |
Let's Stay Connected!
The Marketing Committee at St. Anthony's has been working hard behind the scenes, including launching our new website, stanthonybergen.com, with a beautiful new look and great videos!
More is coming - including a robust social media presence and the use of text messages to get messages out quickly. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram and stay tuned.
| | It's time to Sign up for 2026 Coffee Hour Hosting | | | | Every parishioner is asked to host at least one coffee hour a year. This can be shared with others. A schedule and guidelines are posted in the coffee room. To sign up or learn more, please email Alice Ziemba or call her at 201-906-3850. Volunteers will receive a call from a coffee steward during the week they sign-up. Stewards will help hosts provide a simple coffee hour. | | |
Floral Arrangement Fundraiser, Year Round
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.
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Beautiful Babies
Congratulations to Peter and Chelsea Bach on the birth of their son, Beckham Peter, who was born on December 3, 2025. Nike and Jim Bach are the very proud grandparents. God bless!
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Memory Eternal!
We are saddened to hear of the passing of our dear Sandy Eliopoulos, who departed this life on December 17, 2025. Sandy and her husband Chris were devoted parishioners of St. Anthony's for many decades, running the Festival and the bar and coffee hour and every other job in between, before moving to Arizona in 2021. We send our deepest condolences to Chris and their children, Marian and Chris and their families. There will be a memorial service at St. Anthony's (date to be announced) in the coming month. Memory Eternal!
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Annual Meeting
Sunday, January 11
St. Anthony Feast Day Celebration
Sunday, January 18 (See above)
Tricky Tray
Friday, March 6 (See above)
Yard Sale
Friday May 1-Saturday, May 2 (See above)
International Feast
September 9-11(See above)
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