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View our Church Calendar for all services and event updates



Weekly Service Schedule

(Always Consult our online Calendar for changes to this schedule)

Wednesdays: Daily Vespers 6-6:30pm (Note: No vespers 10/14 or 10/28)

Fridays: Daily Vespers 6-6:30pm (Note: No vespers on 10/30)

Saturdays: Great Vespers 5-6pm

Sundays: Orthros at 9am; Divine Liturgy at 10am

October Special Services

Tuesday, October 6: Divine Liturgy for St Innocent of Alaska 8am

Life in Our Parish

It's Festival Time!

It's just a little over a month until our St. Anthony International Food Festival, taking place Friday and Saturday, November 13 & 14! This is a wonderful opportunity to open our doors to the wider community, share the food and hospitality of our parish, and enjoy two days of fellowship, music and fun.

This year, Fr. Nicholas will be chairing the Festival, working together with our festival leaders and volunteers to make this year's event a great success.

There are four things you can do, RIGHT NOW:

• Donate $25 to help offset start-up costs for the kitchen and bakery. When the whole parish participates, a small contribution from each of us can make a very big difference. You can donate by check in the church, or through Zeffy. You do not need to make an additional donation to cover the fees.

• Watch our weekly bulletin and This Week at St. Anthony's emails for days where we are cooking or baking and join in. Many hands make the work lighter and it is a great way to meet or better get to know people.

• Make sure everyone you know knows about the Festival! Our church is not on a corner or very busy street, so fewer people will just drive by and see us. Each of us has to get the word out! Hand out flyers, post signs, share social media posts...

• Volunteer to work during the Festival - set-up, serving, clean-up and more - using this form or a paper form available at church.

That Special Festival Feel ....

If you are newer to the parish, or just want the words to tell your friends about our Festival and what they might expect, our festival has:

Delicious Food: From spanokopita and gyros to kielbasa and stuffed cabbage to meat pies and kofta (and so, so much more), there is delicious food reflecting our rich heritage. And the desserts are fantastic, whether you choose honey-rich finikia, sweet date mamool or Russian tea cookies. (Or, let's be honest, a plate of all of the above and then some.)

Great Shopping: This year we will feature a Marketplace of new and "like new" items, all at bargain prices. Merchandise will include fall, Thanksgiving, and Christmas decorations, home décor and linens. It will also offer a large selection of jewelry, scarves, handbags and women's accessories. Much of this merchandise is new and will make great gifts at a fraction of the original retail price! In addition, we will have our religious booth and outside vendors selling specialty items such as olive wood. You and your friends can start your Christmas shopping early!

Live Entertainment: Whether it's jazz music in the hall or St. Vladimir's Choir in the church proper, there will be opportunities to hear live music throughout the two days.

It takes our whole village to deliver a festival, but it's magical!

Download flyer

Every parishioner should have received in the mail materials, including a pledge card, for our Capital Campaign which was announced in September's Desert News. We will hold a Town Hall during Coffee Hour on Sunday, October 4 to talk about this more and answer any questions.

St. Anthony Orthodox Church was first chartered in 1956 with a mission to create a parish that would bring together the traditions of all of the cultures of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. This was an innovative and charismatic idea for the late 50s. For 70 years, our parish has seen this idea flourish, thanks to the generosity and sacrifice of the generations that came before us to establish this church and to care for it. We have inherited their generosity, and now it is our turn to ensure that our parish remains strong, beautiful, and well cared for for the generations that will follow us.

Our Capital Campaign has a a goal of raising $300,000 for essential repairs and improvements to our parish facilities. The most immediate and significant need is the repair of our church roof. In addition, there are other important facility projects that must be addressed so that our buildings can continue to serve the worship, fellowship, education, and ministry of our parish community for many years to come.

Even before publicly announcing this campaign, $150,000 has already been generously committed during the quiet phase of our fundraising effort. This means that we begin the public phase of our campaign already halfway toward our goal!

This is an extraordinary beginning, and one for which we should be deeply thankful. But reaching the remainder of our goal will require the participation of our entire parish family.

A capital campaign is about more than repairing a building. Our church property exists for a purpose: it is the place where we gather around the Holy Altar, where our children are baptized and raised in the Faith, where we celebrate marriages and mourn our departed, where we welcome those seeking Christ, and where our parish family comes together in fellowship and service.

The sacrifices we make today are an investment in that mission and in the future of St. Anthony Church.

Church School 2026-2027

With our smallish class sizes but a great desire to teach our children, we are taking a new approach to Church School this year. Instead of shorter weekly sessions, we will have class on the second Sunday of each month, and it will be longer (and of course, we hope parents will make EVERY effort to be there on those Sundays!). This month, our classes will be on October 11.

Our curriculum will cover the Pillars of Orthodoxy: Growing in the Faith and the Life of the Church. Each month, we will have a theme (e.g., How Do we Worship?, The Bible, Jesus, Sacraments). The classes will all cover the same themes with the appropriate age-level lesson/craft/activity/singing.

Age ranges for Church School are Pre-K (3-4 yrs old) through 7th grade. At age 13 the children move up into Teen SOYO.

We have an awesome team of volunteers who know how important Church School is who are ready and excited to teach our children! 

Young Adult Retreat, October 9-11

Our Young Adult Group will host a retreat for young Orthodox Adults from all jurisdictions. The weekend will include fellowship, fun activities (including a Paint and Sip and off-site bowling and arcade), good food, and Orthodox connection, including two sessions with Fr. Symeon Williams. Visit our site to register, for the full schedule of events and for hotel information for those traveling to attend.

Parish Council Update

From the September 23 Parish Council meeting:

• Parish Council approved for the Hall Committee to begin work on renovations for the lower lobby/event lobby space. 
• Dome roof work started the week of September 28. 
• Fixtures for the religious store were approved and have arrived, once storage space for set up is cleared items will be ordered and available for sale during coffee hour.
• New sound equipment for the church was installed, which will allow for consistent sound in the church, especially during processions.

Hall Update

We are pleased to announce the tremendous success of the hall rental program, bringing in a net revenue of $70k for 8 months of rentals in 2026! 

The Parish Council and Finance Committee have approved the use of some of these proceeds to renovate the event lobby outside of our Fr. Joseph Allen Fellowship Hall. Renovating the event lobby will elevate our hall by creating a more polished, cohesive first impression that better reflects the quality of our space. 

The renovation will take place October 26-November 6 and we ask for your patience and understanding while we have a small construction zone again. As part of this renovation, we will be removing the bulletin boards next to the coat closet. Rest assured, we will have a mobile alternative method for hanging announcements on Sundays! 

See the photos below for the Ai renderings that are part of the design plan. 

Thank you to all for recognizing the importance of the efforts of the hall rental team and for your patience as we undergo this exciting upgrade! 

It's Beginning to Look a Lot ...Like Christmas

The autumnal equinox arrived and BAM - it was time for a jacket! Stay tuned for information about our Community Christmas Card and Lynch Creek order form! 

Young at Heart Having a Blast

The Hall was filled with singing, and some dancing, too, as Young at Heart absolutely lived up to its name and enjoyed Beatles music sung by entertainer Mary Taylor at its first meeting of the year on September 10. This vibrant group is open to anyone 55 and over.



And the fun with Young at Heart continued as they attended The Bergen Players' production of "The Producers" on Sunday, September 27. (Rain prevented a group pic, but here are a few candids.)

Seeking Sunday Drivers

We are looking for parishioners willing to occasionally provide transportation for seniors who can no longer drive themselves to Divine Liturgy on Sunday mornings. If you have a reliable vehicle and would be willing to serve in this ministry, even on an occasional basis, please speak with Fr. Nicholas or Helen Chimel. Your willingness to offer a ride can make a tremendous difference in helping our senior parishioners remain connected to our parish's worship and fellowship. 

New Landscaping Group: Keeping Our Church Grounds Beautiful

If you are willing to volunteer on a few Saturdays in the Summer and Fall to help with landscaping and keeping our grounds beautiful, please speak to Rob Scarpa.

Tricky Tray: March 5, 2027

It’s not too early to start planning for the Tricky Tray. We are accepting any NEW items to fill the baskets such as: candles, novelty items, crystal, toys, household & kitchen items & more. We can store these for you from now so think of the Tricky Tray as you do your Fall cleaning! ! Save baskets, containers, decor and tissue wrap. We would appreciate the effort of starting early to acquire the donations we need. Any questions, see Leslie Carter. 

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

Year-Round Fundraisers

Flowers never go out of style and are always available for ordering. Whether you are looking for a bouquet or florals for a whole event, it's easy for you and a fundraiser for St. Anthony's. 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 hanneh@kalycomm.com

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. 



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

Reminders

Milestones

Calendar

Fr. Joseph Allen Memorial Lecture

Saturday, October 3 (See above)

Capital Campaign Town Hall

Sunday, October 4 (See above)

Young Adult Retreat

October 9,10,11 (See above)

Church School

Sunday, October 11 (See above)

Get to Know Your Parish Event

November 1 after Divine Liturgy

International Festival

November 13 and 14 (See above)

Walk-in Dinner Program

Tuesday, November 17

Tricky Tray 2027

Friday, March 5, 2027 (See above)

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