Scott Bieber of South Orange, a member of Congregation Beth El, and his team will compete at the 23rd annual World Kosher Barbecue Championship in Memphis on Sunday, Sept. 18. The trip is part of a 40th birthday celebration. Bieber's team, the Glattiators, includes Ethan Moeller of New York City; Jeff Gordon of North Carolina, Bieber’s business partner; and Matthew Connor of Virginia, formerly of South Orange. Read the full story -- including BBQ tips -- here. Good luck to Scott -- and keep us updated on the competion!!

From age 3 to high school helpers, local kids flocked to Morrow Memorial United Methodist Church this week to "ReNew." The focus of the week's Vacation Bible School was the earth and our role in caring for it -- and for one another. While middle schoolers did service projects, high school and college kids volunteered as counselors at Morrow, leading kids in songs, dances, activities, and crafts. A big hit with the younger set was composting with real worms, while the smallest students found seeds and pine cones on nature walks. The week culminated with a Thursday evening celebration of kids, …

Growing up Catholic, I was entranced by the rituals, signs and symbols invested in every facet of the faith. While some parts of Mass sometimes failed to hold my juvenile attention (usually the homily), I always loved the beauty of the liturgy, the repitition of the words, the solemnity of the gestures — genuflection, the sign of the cross, the kiss of peace. And I loved the colors of the altar flowers, altar cloths and vestments — each conveying special meaning. When I saw that St. Joseph's Church in Maplewood had recently acquired new vestments — or chasubles — for its priests to use in …

Monkfest 2011 is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 21, from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. The Benedictines of Newark Abbey host  the 12th Annual Monkfest, a family festival of ethnic foods provided by guests, along with music, prayer, games and tours of the monastery and St. Benedict's Prep. The celebration concludes Vespers in the Conlin Auditorium in Cawley Hall. Monkfest has traditionally been held in July, near the July 11 Feast of Saint Benedict. The date changed this year to August, when Saint Benedict's students are back to school. RSVP at 973-792-5800 ext. 5751 or check here.

The Presbyterian Church USA will quietly usher in gay ordination when an amendment on Sunday formally enters the Book of Order of the church’s Constitution.The change comes after 33 years of contentious discussion within the Presbyterian Church and as the gay-rights movement gains momentum in other Protestant Churches.“This is a very historic day,” said Rev. Daniel L. Martian, pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Livingston.The new policy makes it easier for the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. to ordain gays and lesbians as clergy if they chose by dropping a policy requiring unmarried clergy to …

The Turnover Sale begins Saturday, when Morrow Church throws open its doors to the community to sell a wide variety of goods and surprises. Check out our photos of this year's finds and add your own! To volunteer or find out more, MorrowMem.org or 973 763-7676. The first date to donate is Monday, June 20. The first sale date is Saturday, July 2.  Turnover Sale Dates, 2011  Saturday, 7/2, 9:30 am-12:30 pm Tuesday, 7/5, 7-9 pm Saturday, 7/9, 9:30 am-12:30 pm Tuesday, 7/12, 7-9 pm Saturday, 7/16, 9:30 am-12:30 pm Tuesday, 7/19, 7-9 pm Thursday, 7/21, 9:30 am-12:30 pm CLOSING DAY

As part of their weekend Father's Day celebration, The Life Christian Church, located at 106 Harrison Avenue, hosted former NFL athletes and sports commentators Ray Lucas and Roman Oben. The football stars, who are also friends, shared their life experiences during the church's Saturday evening and Sunday morning services. Seated at the center of the stage, Oben interviewed Lucas about his successes in the National Football League, his depression, addiction to pain medication, recovery, and more. "I realized that this isn't just about me," Lucas said, when talking about why he went public …

Football fever comes to the area this weekend when two former NFL greats come to share their experiences both inside and outside the gridiron. Former New York Giants offensive tackle Roman Oben will interview former New York Jets quarterback Ray Lucas at The Life Christian Church in West Orange. Lucas, who is part of the thousand member congregation at The Life Christian Church, will recount his inspiring journey that led him from a successful NFL career down into a pit of despair and addiction to pain medication, and eventually to success as an Emmy award winning sports analyst. Like many …

Tradition meets innovation at the Turnover Sale. The United Methodist Women of Morrow Church are well-known for their annual July rummage sale. Known as “the Miracle on Baker Street,” the sale has been providing locals a place to donate and place to buy since the Depression.  In response to popular demand, this year will see a new schedule of sales dates, with more evening and weekend hours. “Many of our loyal and new customers prefer to shop after work, camp, and daytime activities,” explain sale organizers Joyce Stibitz and Mary Auth. “We’ll be able to meet their needs better this year with…

The Sacred Heart Church in Newark's Vailsburg section no longer fills with throngs of Catholic parishioners on Sunday mornings since its closing last year because of a dwindling congregation and expensive repairs. But officials with the Newark Archdiocese hope the church's history will live on as pieces of it, from the jewel-like stained glass windows to altar pieces, are carted away to other places of worship and mausoleums.  "Patrimony of that parish is being preserved in many different ways," said Jim Goodness, spokesman for the archdiocese, referring to the windows and sacred vessels used…

For many of us in South Orange, this is a festive week, as we look forward to celebrating Mothers' Day with a meal. It’s an appropriate time to remember that many families in the area don’t share our bounty. Fittingly, the Emergency Food and Nutrition Network (EFNN) of Catholic Charities and Meeting Emergency Needs with Dignity (MEND) have scheduled the Eighth Annual Essex County Walk To End Hunger for Fri., May 6, 2011, 12 p.m., in Washington Park, Newark. Walkers will proceed down Broad Street to the corner of 50 Walnut Street and then walk back to Washington Park. The purpose of the walk …

Like many long-standing traditions, the Interfaith Holocaust Remembrance Service of South Orange and Maplewood began in someone’s kitchen.  Religious leaders Sister Rose Thering, Rabbi Jehiel Orenstein, Msgr. Philip Morris and the Reverend Charles Thompson, representing many religious traditions, gathered with Max Randall of B’nai B’rith to find a way to commemorate the victims, survivors, righteous gentiles and liberators of the Holocaust.  Now, 34 years later, the event lives on as a testament to the power of community.  Rotating between synagogues, churches and other houses of worship in …

Saturday morning, Our Lady of Sorrows held their annual blessing of the baskets ceremony and Easter egg hunt.  Due to the rain, the egg hunt was held in several rooms and hallways in the lower level of the church. The Blessing of the Baskets is an Eastern European custom, possibly begun in Poland. Known as Swieconka, tradition holds that Easter foods are brought to church to be blessed on Holy Saturday, as at Our Lady of Sorrows. Parishioners learn that eggs represent new life, while salt is a sign of prosperity. Other traditional foods include ham or kielbasa, butter, often in the shape of a…

Do you ever wonder about the workings of a Catholic seminary? Monsignor Robert Wister, author of “Stewards of the Mysteries of God: Immaculate Conception Seminary, 1860-2010” can answer some of your questions. Wister, who is a professor of Church history at Seton Hall University’s School of Theology, published his history of Seton Hall’s Immaculate Conception Seminary in November 2010 for the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Seminary’s official formation. According to Wister, the book details several landmarks movements and developments in the Seminary’s history. “In itself, any …

It would suffice to say that First Presbyterian and Trinity Church is a ministry in transition. After faithfully serving the South Orange community for nearly 34 years, Reverend Charles Thompson retired as pastor in July of 2010. The congregation’s current Interim Minister is Reverend Marie Edwards Branigan. She began serving the 150-member congregation in November of last year. “Reverend Thompson had a long and fruitful ministry here,” Branigan said. “He did great work here. I began doing this particular form of ministry because I had an interest in helping congregations to revitalize and …

The Sister Rose Thering Fund at Seton Hall University has organized a performance of the Holocaust-era opera, “Brundibar” at the South Orange Performing Arts Center April 12 at 8 p.m. “Brundibar,” written as a children’s opera in 1938 Czechoslovakia, tells the story of two children who are prevented from bringing their sick mother milk by the villain Brundibar. With the help of the forest animals and villagers, they chase Brundibar away from their village and help their mother. The opera was premiered at a Jewish orphanage in Prague, and was later performed during World War II by children …

In 2008, Yolanda Silverio lost her grandson to sickle cell anemia just 17 days before his third birthday. "Rev. Poppe [the pastor of St. George's Episcopal Church in Maplewood] gave him his last rites," said Silverio, as she showed a picture of a beautiful smiling boy with big brown eyes. Gabriel Kai Batista was born November 3, 2005 and died on October 17, 2008. Despite the painful loss, Silverio is not sitting at home mourning in solitude. Silverio reached out to Patch recently with information to post regarding a bone marrow drive for little Miabelle Gillier, who needs a transplant to …

Livingston’s Temple Emanu-El is one of many groups that support the Bobrow Kosher Food Pantry of Oheb Shalom Congregation in South Orange by bagging and distributing groceries on Wednesday evenings or Sunday mornings.   When my friend Deb Spencer, chair of the Temple’s Social Action Committee, asked if I’d like to help out during a recent Sunday morning, I knew I would be glad to support this South Orange food distribution program that provides food to those in need.  The numbers of hungry have continued to grow in the past five years.  Hunger, sometimes called “food poverty,” is in every …

A Seton Hall faculty member read from and signed copies of his new book yesterday evening in the Seton Hall campus bookstore. Greg Tobin, Senior Advisor Communications in the Office of Public Relations at Seton Hall, yesterday released “Holy Holidays: The Catholic Origins of Celebration,” which explains the origins of several popular holidays and looks at how they were and continue to be celebrated. “What I want readers to take away from this book is the Catholic concept of time and its personal application to our lives,” Tobin said. “To us as Catholics, time is a gift of the creator to the …

Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel sponsored a Dress for Success collection  on Sunday, February 27th, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.  Volunteers collected gently-used, work-appropriate winter and spring clothing and accessories for interviews and jobs. Volunteers welcomed Patch last year to learn more about the organization."We take anything a woman needs to put herself together, to present well for a job interview," says Susan Siegeltuch Witkin, volunteer coordinator of bi-annual Dress for Success collections that take place at Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel in South Orange. The temple has been hosting a …