Today marks Independence Day in the United States of America. From time to time we have disagreements with our government. As Orthodox Christians it is crucial that we be patriots of our nation – whether that be the nation of our birth or the nation to which we have immigrated. A patriot is not a senseless sheep – a patriot is someone who loves his country enough to be willing to critique it, but who at the same time prays for his country, its civil authorities, and armed forces, and supports them to the greatest extent his Christian conscience allows. This is our duty, and St. Paul called us to this in the nascent years of Christianity. At that time the civil authorities actively sought to destroy Christianity, yet St. Paul demanded of the Christians that they pray for the civil authorities. Why would he do such a thing? We pray that the Lord will give us a peaceful place in which to work out our salvation. Of course, this has not always been the case in the history of the Church, yet these prayers have never stopped – and they never will. We can agree with our government's policies – or we can disagree with them. It is best if we care enough about our country that we be willing to critique its policies and call it to a higher place if it begins to slip in this regard. But no matter what, we are called to pray for our civil authorities and armed forces. Many in this world do not have the luxury of critiquing their government. We are guaranteed this right in our Constitution and for this we should be thankful. There are many, many other things that we can be thankful for living here in the United States. Perhaps on this day – when we celebrate the birth of our country – it is best to stress those things for which we can give thanks. The Lord has placed us here in this place and this time for a reason – let us then work for Him diligently – and let us entreat Him that he protect and save the United States of America! Happy Independence Day to all!

Please see the attached letter from the Diocesan Chancery regarding the granting of retirement to our long-time ruling bishop, Archbishop Alypy here:

http://stvladimiraami.org/pamphlets/arc ... -02-16.pdf

As Archbishop Alypy's health deteriorates this will allow him to concentrate more on preparing for his departure to the next life and be concerned less with the day to day operations of the diocese. Please contact Fr. Gregory with questions.

According to the foreman of the company that installed our new asphalt parking lots and driveways, it is crucial that we care of these carefully this summer and fall – at least until the first freeze.

“Be certain that vehicles are moving when wheels are turned. Not moving and turning the wheels in place will blemish/scratch the new asphalt surface.”

We must be honest – we are not always great at caring for our buildings and grounds. This is not a criticism – just the reality of the situation. But please note that we have have made a HUGE INVESTMENT in the new asphalt. PLEASE be attentive to the foreman's advice. And if you see others deviating from this rule, please kindly remind them. If we can care for the asphalt during these next few months it will be there for us for many years. If we do not, then we'll likely have to repave a lot sooner to the cost of tens of thousands of dollars. Let's be good stewards of what the Lord has entrusted to us!

Don't miss it! Brotherhood Feast Day! Michigan Deanery Clergy! Newly-paved parking lots! What else could you want? :)

It is a true blessing to have the opportunity to partake of Holy Communion on one's patron saint's day. Fr. Gregory is willing to consider serving Liturgy on your name's day – yes YOURS. If you would be willing to attend the Divine Services on the eve of the feast and on the feast itself, and to partake of Holy Communion on that day please contact him. This is not a guarantee that we can do this – but we can certainly try. But please don't tell him a week before. Something like six months before would be better – three months before as a minimum. See Fr. Gregory with questions!

This is a reminder for all as the weather warms up. All means all. Parents - please help your children in this regard. This year we are doing pretty well with not wearing shorts and we thank you for that. But we need to do a bit better with uncovered shoulders during the Divine Services. We thank everyone for making an effort in this regard!

Please see this note from Fr. Gregory regarding the beginning of the Apostles fast on Blogtushka:

http://blogtushka.blogspot.com/

It is very important that we not drive on the driveway or parking lots during the paving work, which begins Monday and should be done by Wednesday morning. If there rain during this time add one day to the paving work for every day of rain.

DO NOT DRIVE ON THE DRIVEWAY OR THE PARKING LOTS DURING CONSTRUCTION!!!

By joining St. Vladimir's you show your visible support of the parish which nourishes you and your family spiritually. We all hope the parish will be there when we need it (for marriages, funerals, baptisms, etc.). By joining the parish we support it both spiritually and financially. To renew your membership or to become a new member, please contact one of our membership coordinators: Vasiliy Krivtsov (vasiliy.krivtsov@gmail.com or 734-669-8712) or Dmitry Knysh (dmitriknysh@hotmail.com or 734-358-5996). We cordially invite you to join our parish family!

Our parish brotherhood celebrates its feast day on Saturday, July 2. Please join us for Liturgy that morning at 9:00 a.m. and Vigil the night before at 6:00 p.m. On this day we are pleased, with Bishop Peter's blessing, to host the clergymen of our Michigan Deanery for the Divine Service and a meal afterwards. Congratulations to our hard working brotherhood! Please join us for the feast!

This just in: our parking lots will be paved on June 30. BUT - if there is rain that day the rain date is July 1. If that happens we may have to cancel Vigil on July 1. Watch this space for more information. For now - plan to join us on July 1 & 2 until you hear otherwise!