Each year following the feast of the Theophany (the Lord’s Baptism – January 19) it is a traditional and pious custom to have one’s home blessed by the priest. Homes are blessed at St. Vladimir’s through the fifth week of Great Lent. Please fill in your name below on a date and time that work for you at this link:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IgC8lReVY-IbIsRNeR7zHNOvPXrfAiNonG7WOO3_r7E/edit?usp=sharing

Please contact Fr. Gregory, Fr. Michael, or Fr. Joseph to schedule a house blessing or if the times listed do not work for you. If you live far from St. Vladimir’s please consult with those other parishioners of St. Vladimir’s who live near you so that you can all have your homes blessed on the same evening. Congratulations to all with the feast of our Lord’s Baptism!

This must be a mistake on the calendar, no? In fact – no – Sunday really is a fasting day. Why? The eve of Theophany is always a fasting day – no matter what day of the week the eve of Theophany falls on. So yes – Sunday is in fact a Lenten day. Please take note, and please plan to join us that day for Liturgy, or Vigil in the evening for the feast of the Theophany, or even better: for both services! :)

Several pictures from our parish Christmas Pageant have been posted on the diocesan web page as part of a gallery of photos from Yolkas around the diocese. You can find the full gallery here:

http://chicagodiocese.org/news_150115_2.html

All photos of our Yolka will soon be up on our photo album page. And look for videos on our You Tube Channel too!

The upcoming Sunday is a really busy one! But we absolutely want to meet with our 9-12 year olds as scheduled. So - we are planning a serious session of "Stump the Priest". This time we will divide up into two teams: boys vs. girls. And this will be a competition! Who can come up with the best (not the most obscure, but the most useful) question? Whoever does wins! And although Sunday is a fast day, there is some Lenten chocolate on offer for first prize. Don't miss it! Parents - please help your young person prepare a good question or two. Stump the priest will take place at 1:30 p.m. sharp at the parish church. See you Sunday!

Please find the schedule of our Adult Group meetings for the Winter 2015 semester at the link below:

http://stvladimiraami.org/flyers/adultgroup.pdf

The logical question to ask is whether we have forgotten about the youth? Most certainly not! :) You can find the schedule of Youth Activities at St. Vladimir's at the link below:

http://stvladimiraami.org/flyers/youthgroup.pdf

Church School parents and children are invited to join us for a unique presentation at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 17. On this day we are pleased to host Mother Macrina from the Dormition of the Mother of God Monastery in Rives Junction, MI. Mother Macrina will speak on monasticism as well as answer questions from the gathered parents and children. We read much about monasticism as Orthodox Christians, but this presentation gives us a chance to interact with a real, live monastic rather than read about monastics and monasticism in books. Books are good – but tapping into the living tradition of monasticism is even better. Please join us!

It is an ancient practice of the Holy Church to perform the Great Blessing of the Waters twice yearly: on the Eve of Theophany and on the feast of Theophany itself. Last year we were blessed with nice cold weather, and that allowed us to go to the spring south of our parish which our neighbors very kindly allowed us to access via their land. The weather this year, unfortunately, is not slated to cooperate quite so much. It will simply be too warm on Theophany (the prediction at this point is for 40 degrees) and the way to the spring will be much too swampy and muddy to practically get there. This is unfortunate, but we must humble ourselves and understand that sometimes we have to adjust based on factors beyond our control. And so we will adjust! There will be a procession to “the Jordan” on Monday, January 19 following the Divine Liturgy. This year, however, “the Jordan” is going to have to be on our own property. But, we do have a blessing this year in that January 19 is a civil holiday (Martin Luther King Day) and thus most of our children and many of our adults have a free day – we look forward to seeing you all at the feast! Please dress appropriately for an outside water blessing, since even 40 degrees is hardly warm. Congratulations to all with the upcoming feast!

What a great Christmas Pageant we had on Sunday! Thank you to all who worked so hard to make this wonderful annual tradition possible at St. Vladimir's this year! Of course, we must first thank Father Frost for joining us, as well as his grand daughter the Snow Maiden. But too all the rest who worked so hard to make this event so great for our kids (and honestly, for the parents and grandparents too!) we say: THANK YOU!!! Pictures of the Yolka have already been posted on Face Book and more will be coming on our parish photo album and You Tube Channel.

The minor feast of the Circumcision of the Lord and the annual commemoration of St. Basil the Great falls each year on January 1/14. At St. Vladimir's we will mark the feasts with Vigil this evening at 6:00 p.m. and the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great (slightly different from the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom that we celebrate most Sundays) at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow. Below please find more information on these feasts. Please join us as your personal schedule allows! Many years to all our Basils and Vasilys!

English - Circumcision of the Lord:

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2015/01/01/ ... sus-christ

Russian - Circumcision of the Lord:

http://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life134.htm

English - St. Basil the Great:

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2015/01/01/ ... cappadocia

Russian - St. Basil the Great:

http://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life135.htm

Tuesday 6:00 p.m.: MATINS (this was previously scheduled as Vespers)

Tuesday Following Matins (about 8:00 p.m.): Memorial Service for Reader Basil Wolff

Wednesday 8:00 a.m.: Divine Liturgy for St. Basil the Great

Friday 5:00 p.m.: Royal Hours for Theophany

Friday 7:00 p.m. AT ST. VLADIMIR'S: Adult Discussion Group Meeting

Adult Group Topic: “Looking Forward to Great Lent – The Annual Season of Spiritual Renewal for Orthodox Christians”