The feast of Sts. Peter & Paul is tonight and tomorrow. Please join us for this important feast of the Holy Church - so important that it is one or four feasts with a lenten period leading up to it. Congratulations to all our Peters and Pauls celebrating their name's days! We ask also your prayers for previous Rectors of our parish and the parish in Ann Arbor that existed in the 1950s: Archpriests Peter & Paul. See you soon for the feast!

Find all information about this year's VBS at this link:

http://goo.gl/forms/odvXyypZ22xGCKcJ2

That is all! Please visit the link and register today! ALL ARE WELCOME!

The feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist is tomorrow. Since Fr. Gregory is at ORPR camp this week we will not have Liturgy tomorrow, but we will have a Reader's service tonight at 6:00 p.m. Please join us if you are able. And please read more about this feast at the links below. Congratulations to all with the feast!

English:

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2016/06/24/ ... aptist-joh

Russian:

http://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life1386.htm

Although the old driveway has been a one-way north drive for about one year, we have had great difficulty conveying this to our parishioners, since basically every Sunday we have people driving south on this driveway. Fr. Gregory states unequivocally that this is HIS fault and asks everyone's forgiveness. However, we really must stop driving south on the old driveway. This means YOU. :) With the new pavement it is very easy to drive down the new driveway and back up the old driveway appropriately. We have put two “WRONG WAY” traffic signs up as reminders. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

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!