We present here a short educational offering for both children and adults on the upcoming Sunday's principle Gospel reading so that all can better prepare for the Divine Services. Parents are asked to review the children’s portion with their children. It is very important for us to attend the Divine Services on Sundays and whenever else we are able, but in addition it is our spiritual responsibility to educate ourselves and our families in the faith. It is our hope that this mid-week offering will be an aid in this regard. Please contact Fr. Gregory with questions or suggestions.

For Adults: an explanation of this coming Sunday's Gospel reading from Blessed Theophylact:

https://chrysostompress.org/c_sixth_lent.html

For children, from the Antiochian Archdiocese (various age groups):

http://ww1.antiochian.org/sites/default ... 4-01-a.pdf

This year, with the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Peter, we will celebrate the beautiful Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts throughout Great Lent on Wednesday evenings. Matins begins at 3:00 p.m. Liturgy will begin at approximately 6:30 p.m. Following each of these services our St. Xenia Sisterhood will organize a light Lenten dinner. Please contact our Head Sister, Ksenia Nikulshina (headsister@stvladimiraami.org or see her in church) if you would like to help with the dinner. We have excellent Lenten recipes to share if you’d like to try something new! Please join us for these remarkably beautiful and meaningful Lenten evening services and for mid-week fellowship with your parish family at the meal afterwards!

Wednesday, February 28
Wednesday, March 14
Thursday, March 22 – NOTE THIS IS A THURSDAY
Wednesday, March 28

The Liturgical Fast for those communing begins after breakfast for the 6:30 p.m. services. 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.

PLEASE NOTE! There are other Presanctified Liturgies throughout Great Lent that begin with Matins at 8:00 a.m. and Liturgy about 11:30 a.m. - mostly on Fridays. Please consult the schedule of services on our web site for more details.

Thank you to all who made it possible for our parish family to host the Icon of the Theotokos “Softener of Evil Hearts”! There was a steady stream of worshipers throughout the night. More than 40 people partook of Holy Communion at the Presanctified Liturgy and overall hundreds of people had the opportunity to venerate the icon in the short time we were blessed to have it with us. The icon's chaperon, Sergey Fomin, gave a nice talk about the icon. This is available on our Facebook page now. And there will be a few pictures there soon too. Please post your pictures and videos on our page as soon as you can. Or send to info@stvladimiraami.org. So many people worked so hard to make this a wonderful experience for our parish family! We thank you all! May the Lord reward you in this life and the next for your service to His Church!

We are ordering a hand-painted copy of the icon. If you would like to help with that please contact Fr. Gregory, Svetlana Mitchell, or email info@stvladimiraami.org.

“Wherever God is — there is peace. And the opposite is self-evident: where there is envy, enmity, impatience, self-love — there is the devil. Wherever the devil is — there, everything is ruinous, proud and hostile.”

+ St. Anatoly of Optina, Living Without Hypocrisy: Spiritual Counsels of the Holy Elders of Optina

The full service schedule for Holy Week & Bright Week at St. Vladimir’s is available now at this link:

http://stvladimiraami.org/flyers/paschaschedule18.pdf

Please take time now to reserve in your personal schedule those services you attend every year. Then choose one more and add that one too! And if you are not a regular participant in the Holy Thursday evening services you really should be. On April 5 at 6:00 p.m. we will, God willing, execute one of the most beautiful and meaningful services of the year. Our choir works very hard to prepare for this service and we hope sincerely that NO ONE will miss this opportunity for us to be mystically present at the events surrounding the crucifixion of our Lord. There is nowhere else we should be on this evening but standing at the cross of the Lord – even as the disciples flee in fear. Do not join them! Join us at the cross of Christ by participating in this beautiful Divine Service!

Please find the minutes of our annual meeting held on February 11, 2018 at the link below:

http://stvladimiraami.org/pamphlets/ann ... _final.pdf

Questions are welcome! Please use this form to ask questions:

https://goo.gl/forms/cumJpvlwNCyjBeMx2

The Downriver Christ the Savior Mission will hold a Pysanky Egg Decorating event on Saturday, March 24 from 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. All are welcome, but we ask that you RSVP!

Cell/SMS: 313-897-4880

Email: ctsdownriver@gmail.com

Please join us for the kickoff fund raiser for our parish day school, the Ann Arbor Orthodox Classical Academy! The fund raiser is set for April 22, 2018 at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.

Tickets for the event (and donations towards this effort) can be purchased at this link:

https://stvladimiraami.networkforgood.com/events/6200-ann-arbor-orthodox-classical-academy-fund-raising-kickoff

A flyer to share (and please do share it!) can be found at this link:

http://stvladimiraami.org/flyers/aaocaf ... -22-18.pdf

Classes begin in the Fall of 2019 - help us to make that a reality by supporting our efforts!

On Wednesday evening of the 5th week of Great Lent the Holy Church appoints a very special service: the Standing of St. Andrew (or in some places, St. Maria). At this service we ready the entire canon of St. Andrew of Crete as well as the full life of St. Mary of Egypt. Join us at St. Vladimir's for one of the longest and most edifying service of the Church Year at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21. God willing we will also broadcast this service live. If you can't be there, please join us on the live stream. But try to join us! :)

The myrrh-streaming icon of the Theotokos “Softener of Evil Hearts” will visit St. Vladimir’s on Thursday, March 22 into Friday, March 23. This was an unexpected and very welcome surprise. This was confirmed on Sunday, March 18 during the Divine Liturgy at St. Vladimir’s and we were able to announce it then. Here we are able to provide details.

1. We intend to keep the parish church open throughout the night as we usually do when we are blessed to have the Kursk Icon visit us. Sign up for night chaperone duty here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Xz2yPsrYZ97ckiwljG1bJ5MfiOWCXgeVnCn-nj4r4fc/edit?usp=sharing

2. After the Presanctified Liturgy on March 22 in the evening we will have a meal as usual, but we hope that the gentleman traveling with the icon, Sergey Fomin, will tell us more about the icon during the meal. You can learn more about the icon below.

English:

https://iconreader.wordpress.com/2012/06/09/miracle-working-softener-of-evil-hearts-icon/

Russian:

https://azbyka.ru/days/ikona-umjagchenie-zlyh-serdec-simeonovo-prorechenie

3. We need to transport the icon and Sergey to Milwaukee on Friday, March 23. The icon must arrive in Milwaukee not later than 5:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time. We have a volunteer to do this, but if you would be able to help it would be good to have a backup as well. Please contact Fr. Gregory if you are interested in helping.

4. Flyer to share:

http://stvladimiraami.org/flyers/softne ... ts2018.pdf