We congratulate all our parish family on the beginning of the Holy and Great Lent! This is a special time of year for all of us when we put away the cares of this world to the greatest extent possible and in a much more focused way examine our consciences, forgive each other, and seek forgiveness from our merciful Lord. Yesterday the Holy Church commemorated the casting out of Adam from Paradise. In today's Divine Services the first scripture reading is the beginning of Genesis – today is a new beginning for us all. May God grant us all a spiritually fruitful lent as we prepare ourselves for the feast of feasts – the Glorious Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Please find here the prayer of St. Ephraim. This prayer is said at every weekday Divine Service of Great Lent and it is common practice to include this prayer in our daily home prayers as well:

PRAYER OF ST. EPHRAIM

"This is the cause of all evils: the ignorance of the Scriptures. We go into battle without arms, and how ought we to come off safe?" -St. John Chrysostom, Homily IX on Colossians.

In order to help increase the general knowledge of scripture in our parish family we present here for your edification the scripture readings for the coming week. At least one Gospel Reading and one Epistle reading are assigned for each day of the year (although during Great Lent the readings are from the Old Testament). Hearing or reading only those readings appointed for Sunday merely scratches the surface of the great spiritual wealth that the scriptures provide us. Some of the readings are easily understandable – others are less so. As Orthodox Christians we do not make private interpretation of scripture, but rather consult the fathers of the Church for their explanations to aid us in our understanding. Those wishing to have access to such explanations are asked to contact Fr. Gregory or inquire in the kiosk for further reading in this regard. Bibles may also be acquired in the kiosk.

Monday: Isaiah 1:1-20, Genesis 1:1-13, Proverbs 1:1-20
Tuesday: Isaiah 1:19-2:3, Genesis 1:14-23, Proverbs 1:20-33
Wednesday: Isaiah 2:3-11, Genesis 1:24-2:3, Proverbs 2:1-22
Thursday: Isaiah 2:11-21, Genesis 2:4-19, Proverbs 3:1-18
Friday: Isaiah 3:1-14, Genesis 2:20-3:20, Proverbs 3:19-34
Saturday: Hebrews 1:1-12 & Mark 2:23-3:5

Понедельник: Исаии 1:1-20, Бытия 1:1-13, Причти 1:1-20
Вторник: Исаии 1:19-2:3, Бытия 1:14-23, Причти 1:20-33
Среда: Исаии 2:3-11, Бытия 1:24-2:3, Причти 2:1-22
Четверг: Исаии 2:11-21, Бытия 2:4-19, Причти 3:1-18
Пятница: Исаии 3:1-14, Бытия 2:20-3:20, Причти 3:19-34
Суббота: Евр. 1:1-12 & от Марка 2:23-3:5

Please find below several very nice articles on how to read the scripture from an Orthodox point of view.

By St. Justin (Popovich)

By Bishop Kalistos (Ware)

Please join us for a live broadcast of today's Divine Liturgy beginning at 10:00 a.m. at the following link:

ST. VLADIMIR AUDIO LIVE STREAM
Please remember - the stream only broadcasts live services. If you would like to listen to previously recorded and edited services please visit our sound blog:

SOUND OF THE PARISH BLOG

Our parish Sunday publications are available now at the link below. Find our Prayer List, "Good News", and "Sunday Reading", plus other parish publications!
PARISH PUBLICATIONS

Confession and Communion are the two sacraments we most often partake of as Orthodox Christians and thus it behooves us to learn about these, how to prepare for these, and how to best take advantage of the Grace that our Lord freely gives us in these sacraments. At St. Vladimir’s we have created a special web site for this purpose with much information in this regard. Please find the web site listed below and please contact Fr. Gregory with questions!

CONFESSION AND COMMUNION AT ST. VLADIMIR'S
PRAYERS BEFORE COMMUNION - PARISH PRAYER KIT

Please join us for a live broadcast of tonight's Vigil beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the following links:

ST. VLADIMIR AUDIO LIVE STREAM
Please remember - the stream only broadcasts live services. If you would like to listen to previously recorded and edited services please visit our sound blog:

SOUND OF THE PARISH BLOG

It is understood and expected that each member of our parish would have at least one duty that they participate in IN ADDITION to attending the Divine Services. This ranges from baking prosphora, to picking sticks in the cemetery, to shoveling snow, and more! If we all do our little part we will equitably care for the parish the Lord has entrusted to us, and we will not kill off those who do these things if no one else does. It is wise for us to preserve the leadership of our parish, but it is also moral for each parish member to do their part. So please pitch in, and if you have not chosen your duty yet please contact our parish Secretary, Marina Edwards. If she doesn’t hear from you she will reach out to you soon. You can email her at info@stvladimiraami.org or see her in church. Thank you diligently following through on this program. More involvement in the parish promotes persistence in being part of the parish family – and it keeps a few people from doing everything. With God’s help we will make our metaphor of “family” even more real in our parish by working together for God’s glory in this way!

We are often asked about Lenten recipes. One can't really make it through any fasting period on only peanut butter and jelly. We present here some recipes that you may find helpful to diversify your diet during the upcoming lent. Remember: anything that is vegan fits the fast, and since vegan diets have become popular lately, you can search for these on the Internet. We can't comment on the quality of the recipes you'll find when you make such a search, but the recipes below are GOOD!

LENTEN RECIPES FOR YOUR GREAT LENTEN TABLE

All are welcome at St. Vladimir's! Please join us this Sunday! More information can be found at this link, and we encourage you to share this with family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers!

DIVINE SERVICES FOR SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2023

JOIN US!

Evening Presanctified Liturgies ~ Литургия Преждеосвященных Даров 2023

Wednesday, March 8
Wednesday, March 15
Wednesday, March 22
Thursday, March 30
Wednesday, April 5

Matins & Great Lenten Hours
Утреня и великопостные
часы 3:00 p.m.

Presanctified Liturgy
Литургия Преждеосвященных Даров ~6:00 p.m.

Following Liturgy: Lenten Dinner ~ После Литургии: Постный Ужин
The Liturgical Fast for those communing begins after breakfast. In other words, you may eat breakfast, but eat or drink nothing further after that. Parents should use their best judgment regarding their children, as always. Those who confessed on the weekend prior to the Wednesday Presanctified need not confess again on/before Wednesday.

Пост для причащающихся начинается после завтрака, т.е. можно позавтракать, но не пить и не есть после завтрака. Как всегда, родители должны сами решить, что лучше всего подходит для детей. Исповедовавшиеся в предшествующую субботу или воскресенье в среду могут не исповедоваться.

Infants do not commune at this Liturgy ~ Младенцы не причащаются на этой Литургии