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, March 4 (Theodore Saturday) or Sunday, March 5 (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!

Please note that Great Lent begins this year on February 27. The week previous to this is a week where all foods are allowed except for meat. During Great Lent we abstain from meat and dairy products including fish (although fish is allowed on the Annunciation – April 7, and Palm Sunday – April 9). Let us recall that fasting is a tool given to us by God to aid us spiritually. For some it is easy to fast, for others it is difficult. However, what is most important is that we make a sincere effort to follow the fast. Why? Simply because the fast helps us to see our sins by helping us to focus spiritually. Eating “light” foods, or perhaps rather, abstaining from “heavy” foods such as meats and cheeses, allows us to be less focused on our stomachs and more focused on our souls, and of course, in this season when we undergo our journey to the Resurrection of our Lord we dearly wish to improve ourselves spiritually that we might meet the risen Christ better than we were when we began Great Lent. St. John Chrysostom writes that we abstain from meats that we might abstain from our sins. This nicely sums up the reason the Holy Church, as a loving mother, gives us the gift of fasting. Pascha is April 16 – may God grant us all a spiritually profitable Great Lent!

Great Lent begins Monday, February 27. It is important that we prepare for Great Lent even before it begins, and the Holy Church has been helping us in this regard for seveal weeks already, principally via the content of the Divine Services. But the first week is really quite important as well – especially attending the Divine Services, which are extraordinarily educational at this time of year. Thus, with God's help, we try to serve as much as we can the first week. Here is the schedule for that special time of year – please join us to the greatest extent you are able as we begin our journey of repentance which leads us to Pascha together as a parish family:

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

Please note: all are called upon to prepare for and to partake of the Holy Mysteries on Saturday March 4 and/or Sunday March 5. Please make every effort in this regard.

Please join us for our annual Blini Dinner! More information - see our Facebook Event. All welcome!

PDF of this flyer (send it to your friends, loved ones, everyone!):

http://stvladimiraami.org/flyers/blini17.pdf

Please find all materials pertaining to our parish annual meeting at the link below. The parish annual meeting is set for February 19, 2017 during our annual Blini Dinner. Please join us!

http://stvladimiraami.org/flyers/annualmeeting2017.pdf

The big question associated with this little announcement is – do you subscribe to our You Tube Channel? If not – you should!

Go to our channel now and subscribe:

https://www.youtube.com/user/StVladimirChurch

Have you missed a service that you'd really like to hear? Of course you can visit Sound of the Parish, but maybe you have a slow internet connection? Or maybe you know someone who doesn't have an internet connection at all? Reach out to us! If you'd like to receive services on CD via post please email us at info@stvladimiraami.org!

Please join us for the feast of St. Gregory the Theologian tonight at 6:00 p.m. and tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. Please also join us at 6:00 p.m. tonight at Fr. Gregory's new place for his name's day celebration! 3566 Joanna Ct., Saline, MI is the address. All are welcome!

Life of St. Gregory English:

https://oca.org/saints/lives/2017/01/25/100298-st-gregory-the-theologian-the-archbishop-of-constantinople

Life of St. Gregory Russian:

http://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life304.htm

Please join us for the feast of St. Xenia of St. Petersburg this Sunday evening at 6:00 p.m. and Monday morning at 8:00 a.m. Congratulations to our St. Xenia Sisterhood and all our Ksenias celebrating on that day! Learn more about St. Xenia at the links below.

English:

http://stxenia.stvladimiraami.org/stati ... ife_in_eng

Russian:

http://stxenia.stvladimiraami.org/stati ... ife_in_rus

Please join us - but please sign up! There is adequate time to make breakfast, clean up, and get to St. Vladimir's in time for the 10:00 a.m. Liturgy. If this Sunday is full please sign up for a future Sunday. All Alpha House volunteer opportunities are here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZYD3jC1XHNclUu33kX7w-3GpyAMazGgmdDQJ2nvaxI4/edit#gid=0