St. Anthony Coptic Orthodox Church

HAPPY THANKSGIVING
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord  is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.” (Psalms 100:4‭-‬5)
All services are canceled for this Friday night (Friday 11/25/2022). Enjoy you time with your family.
Happy Thanksgiving….
Be safe in the Lord.

When: Saturday Nov. 12th
Where: Social Hall – St. Anthony Coptic Orthodox Church

Who: Sunday School Youth and their Servants, Families Welcome Too!

Christmas is a time for giving! 

It’s that wonderful time of the year to work on our shoeboxes!  Every Sunday School class is assigned a category of supplies (listed below) to bring in and then we will assemble them together in church on Nov 12.  Also please bring in your own empty shoebox that day if you have one, otherwise there are plenty to share. Last year, we collected 65 boxes, let’s see if we can beat that number this year!

Angels & St. George – toys

St. Pishoy & St. Abanoub – school supplies

St. Barbara & High School – hygiene items

God willing, we will be hosting the All Saints Day celebration Monday, October 31, 2022 from 6-9:30 PM for youth through 8th grade. 
The youth are highly encouraged to dress up as a Biblical figure and prepare 3 hints to share during the Who Am I trivia session. 
For example, if you dress up as St. Mary, the clues may be: 1. I am the Daughter of Anna and Joachim2. I went to live and serve in the temple when I was 3 years old and stayed until I was about 14 years old3. I have one Son
If you need inspiration for the costumes, we recommend you take a look at the Hall of Saints located in church.  Sunday School Teachers can also help provide ideas.  For sample costumes, we have created a list of ideas from Amazon here: https://a.co/ccs1kOs” target=”_blank” data-saferedirecturl=”https://www.google.com/url?q=https://a.co/ccs1kOs&source=gmail&ust=1665592124644000&usg=AOvVaw0OJ7gFMDCrup1XDl_iliLx” data-removefontsize=”true” data-originalcomputedfontsize=”16″ style=”color: rgb(66, 133, 244); font-size: 1rem;”>https://a.co/ccs1kOs Costumes can also be purchased for Party City or other stores. 
We look forward to celebrating with the youth! Please pray for the service.

he memory of the righteous is blessed.” (Proverbs 10:7)

” I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” (John 17:4)

The 3rd year memorial of our blessed father and the first shepherd of our church, Abouna Rafail Guirguis will be on Sunday 10/23/2022. The divine liturgy is from 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM.

May the Lord repose his pure soul in peace and give us all comfort.

God bless

Join us for a Seniors Spiritual Day on Thursday 10/20/22 starting with the Divine Liturgy at 8 AM.

Happy & Blessed Feast of the Cross
His Grace Bishop Gabriel – General Bishop and Papal Exarch for the Archdiocese will bless us for the liturgy on Saturday 10/1/2022 at 8 AM.
Be safe in the Lord.

Happy & Blessed Feast of Nayrouz
The holy synod of the Coptic church has chosen “My family is holy” as the theme for this year.   Holiness allows us to see God as the apostle Paul said, “and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord…” (Heb 12:14.)
Child development and education are critical, especially for children at a young age (under eight years old). This development requires love, security, stability, care, stable relationships, truth, and godly and holy life. This responsibility falls mainly on the parents with the support of the church, school system, and society. 
NJ school system is known for it is academic excellence. However, the NJ school system has recently adopted new learning standards for Health and Physical Education, which the department of education adopted in June 2020. This differs from the Diversity and Inclusion curriculum law passed by the legislature in January 2021 and signed by Governor Murphy in March 2021. It is essential to make the distinction. The first only applied to health classes, and the second was used in all subjects. Many parents can opt out of health class, but it might be challenging to accommodate the needs of alternative assignments for the second.  
Many parents from different backgrounds feel uncomfortable with the changes that are being made by the school system. Four of the state board of education asked for the re-examination of the Sex Ed standards on May 3, 2022, and Governor Murphy called for age-appropriate content on April 13, 2022. 
So if you feel uncomfortable with the material being taught to your child, you have few options. 
1. You have the right to request the syllabus for all classes, and you can inquire more about any unit or lesson that you feel is inappropriate for your child, and you may ask the Teacher for an alternative assignment. 
2. We encourage all parents to attend the “teacher-parent conference.” and build strong and positive relationships with the Teacher to open the dialogue on the child’s academic performance and appropriate content. NJ has excellent teachers, and creating a positive and good relationship can only help our children and our community. 
3. The parents have the right to attend or participate in the classroom as long as coordinated with the school system.
4. It is encouraged to have a daily discussion with our children on what they learned from school. 
We also encourage the parents to pray and read the bible with their children before school. We also encourage the parents to bring their children to church Sunday school classes, hymns classes, and liturgical prayers.
In addition, we are attaching a potential opt-out letter for parents who feel uncomfortable with the material being taught in school to use. Please send this letter as an email to your child’s counselor, principal, or teachers. You can adjust the content as you’d like.  
Dear Teacher (counselor or principal)
I request to remove my child. 
Name:
From any lessons or activities regarding gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. Please provide my child with alternative training according to New Jersey Statues 18A:35-4.7
Could you apply this request to all subjects and school assemblies and keep this notice until further?
Name parent/ Guardian: 
Signature & date
May God protect His children and His church.
Please share with others.

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.
Happy and blesses Feast of Nayrouz
God willing this Friday (9/9/2022) the servants will be performing our in-house testing for the Mahragan El Keraza. Please see schedule below:6:00 to 6:30 Alhan testing for Angels
6:30 to 7:00 Alhan testing for St. George and St. Pishoy. 7:00 to 8:00 book testing for all grades 8:00 to 8:30 memorization testing for all grades 
NOTE: There will be no Alhan (hymn) class this Friday 9/9/2022.

Peace to all, Come and join us and invite others to our annual Egyptian Festival! Food, fun and a great time for fellowship. This is a great opportunity to invite friends and families to learn about our Egyptian culture and food and our Church history.
With FREE ADMISSION & FREE PARKING, come and experience the many facets of the Egyptian culture; including authentic Egyptian cuisine, clothing and décor, ancient church history, and more! 
Where:
St. Anthony Coptic Orthodox Church: 267 Hartford rd., Medford, NJ 08055.
When:

Friday Sept 16th: 5-10 PM

Saturday 17th: 11 AM – 10 PM

Sunday 18th: 12 PM – 5 PM 

If you would like to help, participate and take the blessing of this service, please contact:
Mr. Amir Dows for help with the food preparation or serving Mr. Magued Saad for help with setup and support.