Thank You! Your response to donating ingredients for our kolácsi baking has been phenomenal and, quite clearly, it would be impossible to produce them and sell them for a profit without your contributions. That part of our preparations for the annual Slavic Food Festival is now complete and I thank all the great volunteers who came out to produce over 600 kolácsi that we will be proud to sell. The donations, prep work, measuring, rolling, baking, bagging, storing, etc. were carried out efficiently, neatly, and expertly. Mission accomplished!
Donations: Presently we appear to have enough flour and eggs for making haluški. We could use more butter and margarine for the pirohi, haluški, and sauerkraut. Cash donations could be used for purchasing the remaining items needed for our Food Festival such as cabbage, kielbasi, sauerkraut, soft drinks, paper products, etc.
Holupki: On Friday, October 10th, we will begin the holupki making process by cooking the cabbage and preparing the individual leaves for stuffing. This task works well with several taller, stronger people to lift the heads in and out of the deep pots of boiling water (men). On Saturday, October 11th, we will complete the process with stuffing, cooking, cooling and freezing the holupki. We are in need of many extra hands (young, old, men, women) for the cooling, storing, and cleaning up phase of the project beginning around 12:00 Noon.
Set-up / Clean-up: This Saturday, September 20th, beginning at 9:00 am we will prepare for the upcoming Pilgrimage to the Basilica (Saturday, September 27th) by cleaning, tidying, and organizing the Church, Social Hall, and the parish grounds. While we may not yet have the final count for the Pilgrimage dinner, we can carry out a preliminary set-up of the Hall and the serving, beverage, and dessert stations. I will also need your help with final set-up, serving, clean-up, and hospitality on 9/27 (with dinner at 5:00 or 5:30 pm, we will determine a start time next week).
Desserts: Please help us supply desserts for our guests. Prepare your favorite recipe that we could provide a varied selection of desserts for our visitors.
Diocesan Retreats: The Pilgrimage and its preparations coincide with our annual diocesan retreats: the deacons of Passaic will be on retreat from Friday, 9/19 through Sunday, 9/21; the priest retreat begins on Monday, 9/22 and runs through Thursday, 9/25.
Pilgrimage for Peace: The annual Pilgrimage for Peace will take place next Sunday, September 21st, at Holy Dormition Byzantine Franciscan Friary in Sybertsville, PA. Activities include a Panachida Service at 12:30 PM, Confessions from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM, a Moleben and Healing Service at 1:00 PM, a Concert of Byzantine Hymns in English and Slavonic at 2:30 PM, and the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy celebrated by Archbishop William at 4:00 PM. Food and refreshments will be available throughout the day.