Category: Church’s Activities

In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the One God, Amen
The peace and love of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ be with you all.
Ekhristos Anesti – Alithos AnestiChrist is Risen – Truly He is Risen

We thank God for every condition, concerning every condition and every condition.

We are thankful to the Lord for all His love for us, for keeping us safe and that He is giving us the ability to pray together once more.

I am really thankful to all of you for your cooperation during this past year. You have all contributed to the success that we have reached today.

We have gone from the church being closed, quarantining, and praying at home to 7 people in the church. We have slowly advanced to where we are today with our 75 persons in the church and keeping the 6 feet social distance. Of course this has been a very trying time for all of us.

I am very happy to say that there are new guidelines from the governor that will improve our ability to worship together once more. 

At this point, the guidelines allow us to resume service at full capacity. The social distance requirement has been removed for those who have been fully vaccinated and although the new guidelines allow those individuals who have been vaccinated (beyond 2 weeks) to remove their masks indoors and outdoors, there is still a requirement to wear masks indoors when it is crowded. We will make some great changes that will allow us to resume our worship services as we had done with a couple of minor temporary changes.

Here is what we will do in order to make everyone feel safe while attending service – The following changes are effective as of Saturday 5/29/2021:

1) We will go back to full capacity and will no longer require registration – doors will remain open 

2) We will not make any calls prior to attendance and we will no longer check temperatures – we will have the hand sanitizers at the entrance and in the church and we encourage everyone to use them regularly as well as frequent washing of hands

3) In order to avoid asking who is or who is not vaccinated, we will still require everyone to wear masks during the service in the church (at least for the time being)

4) Anyone attending service inside the church needing a mask break, can enter the social hall or go outside for a break and return back to the church (masks MUST be worn properly (over the nose) upon entry into the church)

5) Re-evaluation will happen as numbers of positive cases continue to go down and number of those vaccinated goes up

If anyone still needs information regarding vaccination, please contact me as soon as possible.

NOTES:

Over the last year we have learned the habit of attending the church from the beginning. Since the doors will not be closed as before, this does not mean that we should arrive late. Let us not lose this beautiful blessing of arriving early to church.

“O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You.” (Ps 63:1)          “يَا اللهُ إِلَهِي أَنْتَ. إِلَيْكَ أُبَكِّر”

Since social distance will not be maintained, all family members must sit together. This will allow us to best accommodate everyone inside the church.

Deacons must be in church by 8:15. Vestments/Tonias will be blessed only one time. If you arrive after the blessing of the vestments, please pray among the congregation.

As before, if you have any COVID related symptoms, please refrain from attending church. If you have had any international travel or have come in contact with anyone who has traveled internationally you must still quarantine or obtain a negative PCR test 5 days after arrival in the USA.

We will continue to do our part in order to keep everyone safe. May God continue to protect His people, children and His church.

I am looking forward to seeing you all again and praying together.

Please share this with others.

Be safe in the Lord.

By the grace of God, one of our servants, a pharmacist, has obtained approval to provide the COVID Vaccine to our congregation. This is for individuals have not received the vaccine yet.
God willing the Vaccine clinic will be held on Saturday 5/8/2021 from 6 PM to 9 PM. We must have at least 20 people sign up in order to hold the clinic at St. Anthony’s.
We must have individuals register in order to provide the appropriate numbers to the Pharmacy. Although not guaranteed, we are told that most likely it will be the Pfizer vaccine. 
Please bring your ID and insurance card with you.
Please use the following link in order to register to take the vaccine.
Vaccine Clinic Registration May 8, 20201

Please be aware that all services from Palm Sunday to Easter Eve will be prayed outdoors and do not require any registration. (Only Bright Saturday will be prayed indoors and requires registration – doors will close at 1:30am)Everyone must still follow all the CDC guidelines for attendance. If you have any COVID related symptoms, been in contact with someone who has symptoms, or have traveled outside of the tri-state area, you must quarantine for at least 10 days. All attendees must properly wear a mask for the entire time and keep social distance throughout the entire service (this goes for the deacons as well). Family members must all sit together.

Lazarus Saturday	8:00 AM – 11:00AM
Palm Sunday Vespers & Tasbeha	7PM – 10PM
Palm Sunday	7:30AM – 12PM
General Funeral Prayer	12PM – 1PM
Pascha Sunday afternoon (Eve of Monday)	2PM – 4:30PM
Mon-Tues-Wed Morning	10AM – 1PM
Mon-Tues-Wed Evening	5:30PM – 8PM
Covenant Thursday morning	8AM – 2PM
Thursday evening	5PM – 8:30 PM
Good Friday	8AM – 5PM
Bright Saturday	11PM – 7AM
Easter Eve Divine Liturgy – Saturday night	7:30PM – 12:00AM

Christ Is Risen – Truly He Is Risen 

Ekhristos Anesti – Alithos Anesti 

Pikhristos Aftonf – Khen O Methmi Antonf 

المسيح قام – بالحقيقة قام

The Archdiocese of North America and the Diocese of NY/NE have put together an important meeting on the church’s perspective on abortion. There is a way to send in your questions and have discussion with the speaker.
May God who gave us life, help us to keep and preserve life as He has intended.

By the grace of God we were able to obtain approval to pray outdoors from Palm Sunday to Easter Liturgy.

No registration is required from Palm Sunday through to Good Friday as well as Easter Liturgy. 

The only service that will require registration during Holy Week is Bright Saturday as this service will be held indoors. Anyone interested in attending Bright Saturday must register to attend.

Bright Saturday registration will open at 5:00pm today. The Church Congregation will only hold 70 people. The Social Hall will only hold 30 people. 

The Signup Website has been updated to provide the times of the services but as states no registration is required from Palm Sunday to Good Friday and Resurrection Liturgy (You only need to register for Bright Saturday).

Everyone must wear their mask and keep the social distance (even if vaccinated). We encourage that all individuals of the family to sit together as they are in normal contact with one another. Please refrain from greeting anyone outside of your immediate family members.

The Church and the social hall will not be open during the outdoor services, but the rest rooms will be available for use.

If you are feeling sick or exhibit any COVID related symptoms or have been in contact with anyone who has tested positive, please stay home.

The number of infections continues to rise in NJ and we must all do our part to reduce the risk of transition.

Be safe in the Lord and act responsibly.

As most of you are aware, we have reinstated in-person Sunday School instruction.  The safety and health of our children and their families is paramount.  To that end, we have been instituting all precautions recommended by the CDC including mandatory facial mask wearing, hand sanitizers/hand washing, social distancing and temperature checks.
We need your help in maintaining the safety and health of our children and their families.  We ask that every parent that sends their child to the church for Sunday School ensure that their child does not have any of the following conditions:1. Has your child traveled outside the local tristate area in the last 10 days?2. Has your child come in direct contact with someone with a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the past 10 days?3. Does your child have a fever of 99.0 degrees Fahrenheit or higher or any symptoms consistent with a lower respiratory infection such as cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing?4. Has your child experienced any of the following symptoms: extreme fatigue, loss of taste and/or smell, red and swollen toes, muscle aches, sore throat, new onset headaches?
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.  We look forward to being able to pray all together in the near future.  May our Lord and Savior have mercy upon His children during this blessed Lenten season.