Yes – it happens. A lot more than you think. And these are not just people indentured from other countries (as if that would make it OK) – these are people from the United States. People like you and your family! Join us on February 20 at 7:00 p.m at Fr. Gregory's house when we welcome Gracie Willis, Student Attorney from the University of Michigan Law School Human Trafficking Clinic. It will be good to find out about this problem from an expert like Gracie. But we are not going to stop there. With Gracie's guidance we are also going to seek ways that we can help. This is a huge societal problem that no one seems to want to talk about. As Christians it is our responsibility to minister to others, especially those who are oppressed. We need to talk about this and we need to find ways to make a positive difference. Don't miss this important meeting! RSVP by visiting the Google Doc at the link below:

http://goo.gl/forms/Mo7cB2JChz

Please find the schedule of services for the first week of Great Lent at St. Vladimir's at the link below:

http://stvladimiraami.org/flyers/firstw ... tflyer.pdf

Please join us for as many of these services as your schedule allows! It is important to get a good start to Great Lent so that we utilize the precious few days of this special time of year to the greatest extent possible for our spiritual good. This is why we have many services the first week - to allow such a good start for all our parish family!

PLEASE NOTE: The unique liturgical character of Great Lent is found in the non-Sunday services of this time of year. Thus, all are urged, to the greatest extent possible, to attend the weekday services in addition to the Sunday services. It is understood that not every parishioner can attend every service. But we do hope that many parishioners make a special effort to attend as many of the weekday services as they can.

Please contact Fr. Gregory or Fr. Michael with questions about this or other spiritual matters.

Please join us for our Great Lenten Book Club! We will be reading “The Apocalypse of St. John – A Revelation of Love and Power” by Fr. Lawrence Farley. Please see Fr. Gregory to take part in the book club. We have ordered the books, so there is no need for you to do that. You can buy the book at cost at the parish kiosk. We will meet during the meal after the scheduled evening Presanctified Liturgies (on March 11, March 18, March 26, and April 1). We will also have an ongoing on-line conversation since meeting just four times will simply not be sufficient. Please join us for our Great Lenten Book Club!

We will hold our annual Ice Cream Ice Skate on Sunday, February 22. Ice Skating at Buhr Park Ice Rink 3:15-4:30 p.m. Ice Cream at Washtenaw Dairy 5:00 p.m. Don't miss this fun last taste of ice cream before Pascha and a nice skate to loosen up your legs after Forgiveness Vespers! A youth activity to which all that are young at heart are welcome!

Buhr Park Web Site:

http://www.a2gov.org/departments/Parks- ... fault.aspx

Washtenaw Dairy Web Site:

http://washtenawdairy.com/

The Great Lenten Lecture Series is coming again this year! More details will be available soon, but we don’t want anyone to be concerned – WE WILL have a lecture each Sunday (and perhaps more often!) of Great Lent following the Divine Liturgy (during coffee hour). More information soon to come!

As is our tradition at St. Vladimir’s (a pious tradition found throughout the Russian Orthodox Church) we urge all our family and friends to attend as many of the services as possible during the first week of Great Lent (beginning with the very important Forgiveness Sunday Vespers), with the goal of confessing and partaking of the Holy Mysteries on either Saturday, February 28 (Theodore Saturday) or Sunday, March 1 (The Sunday of Orthodoxy). Let us begin our Great Lenten journey of repentance and preparation for the feast of feasts, our Lord’s Glorious Resurrection, by forgiving each other and partaking of the Cup of Life together as a parish family!

Fr. Gregory, Elizabeth, Maria, Michael, and Natalia invite everyone to their home to celebrate Fr. Gregory’s name’s day on Thursday, February 12 beginning at 6:00 p.m. If you don't know where their home is located please contact Fr. Gregory. Please join us!

We are pleased to announce that with Bishop Peter's blessing the weekend of February 15 we will have a soon-to-graduate senior from our diocesan seminary and his wife visiting: John and Nonna Buckley. John is a candidate for ordination and could eventually help replace Fr. Joseph. As most of you know, Fr. Joseph will be tonsured a Riasaphore Monk (the middle stage of monasticism – between “novice” and “monk” in the fullest sense of that word) and will be leaving the parish to pursue monasticism in earnest after Bright Week this year.

Fr. Gregory will point out John and Nonna at the Divine Services this coming weekend. Please welcome them warmly!

Please don’t miss this wonderful Russian tradition – our Sisterhood’s annual Blini Dinner! Immediately following the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, February 15 please join us to enjoy these pre-Lenten treats as we empty the meat and eggs out of our refrigerators! Invite your friends! Tell your neighbors! Don’t miss it!

The date of the annual parish meeting has been set for Sunday, February 15, immediately following the Divine Liturgy. This is also Meatfare Sunday and we will have our annual Blini dinner that day as well. We combined these two activities last year and both were very successful! We assume many people came for the annual meeting and stayed for blini. But perhaps it was the reverse? In any case, it worked well and we will do it again. Please find all the information contined in the annual meeting mailing (which you will soon receive if you have not yet) at this link:

http://stvladimiraami.org/flyers/annualmeeting2015.pdf