Please find this week's "The Path" at our Sound Blog, "The Sound of the Parish", at this link:

http://soundoftheparish.blogspot.com/

We have established a Youth Fund for our parish so that we can support our young people in their travels to youth conferences, on parish pilgrimages, and in other ways that edify them and prepare them for life as adult Orthodox Christians and future leaders of our parishes. Please remember the Youth Fund in your will or otherwise support this worthy undertaking through your philanthropy. More information is available from our Starosta, Nathan Longan, or from Fr. Gregory. Thank you for your investment in the future generations of Orthodox Christians!

With Bishop Peter's blessing, this year summer courses will again be offered in the Pastoral School of the Diocese of Chicago & Mid-America. The following courses will be offered this year – dates for the courses are June 8-July 25, 2015 (Liturgics is slightly longer in duration):

Liturgics
Church Slavonic
Byzantine History
Parish Management and Operations
Thesis Writing Workshop

All Pastoral School summer courses are available to the general public without the need for a formal application to our complete Diploma program. To register please visit the following link:

http://orthodoxtheologicalschool.org/ad ... iew/summer

To learn more about the summer courses and all the offerings of the Pastoral School please visit this link:

http://orthodoxtheologicalschool.org/cu ... scriptions

Course numbers are:

111 Liturgics
112 Church Slavonic
113 Byzantine History
114 Non-Profit Small Business/Parish Management
115 Thesis Writing Workshop

For more information or with questions please contact the Dean of the Pastoral School, Archpriest Gregory Joyce

(fr.gregory.joyce@orthodoxtheologicalschool.org).

Join us for the June Vladcast! See it now at the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzuwfRt7Y80

Please find our June schedule of services and activities at the link below. Please join us as your personal schedule allows!

http://www.stvladimiraami.org/calendars ... lendar.pdf

Please find the June schedule of services and activies as this link:

http://www.stvladimiraami.org/calendars/newschedule.pdf

This is posted for your information, but also to ask you to please let us know if you see any issues or mistakes there. If you do - please email info@stvladimiraami.org!

We have a bit of business left to complete from our 2014 Annual Meeting (held on February 15, 2015) and thus we will have a special parish meeting on Sunday, June 14. Information in this regard will be sent out to all on our mailing list via email and via post (this is required by the Normal Parish Bylaws). At this meeting we will complete the election of the 2015 Parish Council, choose delegates to the 2015 Diocesan Assembly, hear the Brotherhood Report and the Church School Report (which were tabled at the Annual Meeting), get an updated on our building plans, get an update on our festival plans, and hear a proposal regarding membership criteria for our parish. Since this is a continuation of the 2014 annual meeting you must be a 2014 member of the parish to participate in this meeting. Please plan to join us on June 14!

Please join us on June 6, 2015 for our next IOCC parish effort. On this day at 3:00 p.m. we will make school kits according to the International Orthodox Christian Charity's guidelines. It is important to understand that there are many countries in the world that DO NOT have free education for their children. Many times children cannot attend school because their family cannot afford the tuition, or more often than not, the children do not have the requisite school supplies. The IOCC school kits provide the supplies that allow children to be educated. Join us - help others! A collection to support this effort will be taken up at the kissing of the cross on Sunday, May 31. To help support this effort or to volunteer please see our IOCC Coordinator, Marina Edwards. Parents are strongly encouraged to bring their children for this event!

Let us know you are coming by signing up at this Google Doc:

http://goo.gl/forms/5RLoYvYfRW

Vacation Bible School at St. Vladimir's will be July 13-17, 2015. More to come very soon, including how to sign up, but please reserve these dates for your children to attend this year's VBS!

Last night one of the most remarkable clergymen in our Diocese of Chicago & Mid-America fell asleep in the Lord. Fr. Paul Bassett was the Rector Emeritus at the St. George parish in Cincinnati, OH. Fr. Paul was named after St. Paul the Simple and indeed was a worthy namesake of his patron. He was a simple, pious, loving man – a true pastor of the Lord's sheep. His concern was with the salvation of others – period. And for those of us who came after him he was an example of what a true Pastor should be. He did not have a beautiful voice, he did not give erudite sermons, he did not have high educational attainments – but he lived an exemplary life in Christ and shepherded many into the Heavenly Kingdom through his sincere pastorship. And in the end this is certainly what the Lord will ask of all those who take the yoke of the priesthood upon themselves. We ask your prayers for this sincere pastor and his family. May the Lord grant him a place in his Heavenly Kingdom!