This year our parish celebrates its 40th anniversary! Archbishop Peter plans to join us for the Divine Services on July 27 at 5:00 p.m. and July 28 at 9:00 a.m. Much more information will be coming soon, but most importantly, SAVE THE DATE! You won’t want to miss the Divine Services led by Vladyka on these days! Ask for the time off now if you haven’t already. And if you’d like to help volunteer to help with the 40th anniversary celebrations please contact Leta Nikulshia or Marina Edwards at info@stvladimiraami.org or see them in church. Happy birthday to us! Let’s celebrate it triumphantly as a parish family on July 28!

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, JULY 18, 2021
Sign up, social distancing, and masking is no longer required as of June 22, 2021. Join us!

As part of St. Vladimir’s continuing “Mathew 25 Efforts” we hereby announce: Dollar Donation Day! Please bring any spare change or cash for this special donation THIS SUNDAY, JULY 18 to help aid the basic needs of the homeless in our Ann Arbor area through the Delonis Center, located downtown.

“The Shelter Association of Washtenaw County at the Delonis Center provides temporary shelter and connections to services in a safe and caring environment and works with the community to allocate the necessary resources to meet the needs of people who are experiencing homelessness. We serve nearly 1200 adults experiencing homelessness each year. We serve nearly all of the individual adults experiencing homelessness in Washtenaw County. We are housed at the Robert J. Delonis Center in downtown Ann Arbor and we operate 24 hours, 365 days a year.”

https://www.annarborshelter.org

Here is a list of items that your donation will help acquire (requested by the Center).

1. Travel Items- Shampoo, Conditioner, Soap, Deodorant, Chapstick
2. Rain Ponchos
3. Bug spray and Sunscreen
4. Underwear ( we currently need men's medium/large, Womens small and Large) around 50 pairs
5. Socks we could use a Varity of sizes and around 100 pairs

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: from the writings of Blessed Theophylact

For Youth: from the Antiochian Archdiocese (various age groups)

Please block the week of July 19 (NEW DATES) on your child’s calendar for this year’s Vacation Bible School! Classes will take place from approximately 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day. You can register at this link:

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL 2021

We built the barn for the festival, but in the pandemic we used it for worship. The last Divine Liturgy in the barn was June 20. On Saturday, July 17 we will meet after Liturgy (about 10:00 a.m. or so) to start turning the barn back into festival space. Join us! This will be work - but it will be fun! We need you! Let's get off to a great start preparing for this year's festival! All are welcome!

Our Deacon Colin Bower will be ordained a priest on the feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, this Wednesday July 7 at the Diocesan Cathedral in Des Plaines, IL.

First, we ask your prayers for Fr. Colin, Katherine, Macrina, and Mardarije - that the Lord will bless them all as Fr. Colin enters the priesthood to serve our parish family.

Second, we ask you to be attentive to the fact that beginning July 8 we will have daily evening services at 6:00 p.m. and daily Divine Liturgy mostly at 8:00 a.m., but with some variation on Sundays, through July 18. FIND THE FULL SCHEDULE OF SERVICES HERE.

Please participate in these special Divine Services as your schedule allows, but try to attend at least one of the Divine Services during this time in support of Fr. Colin and for the good of your salvation.

Congratulations to Fr. Colin on his upcoming ordination! May the Lord grant him many years of service in His Holy Church!

“When pride retreats from a man, humility begins to dwell in him, and the more pride is diminished, so much more does humility grow. The one gives way to the other as to its opposite. Darkness departs and light appears. Pride is darkness, but humility is light.”

+ St. Tikhon of Zadonsk (Journey to Heaven)

"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: Romans 9:18-33 & Matthew 11:2-15
Tuesday: Romans 10:11-11:2 & Matthew 11:16-20
Wednesday: Romans 11:2-12 & Matthew 11:20-26
Thursday: Romans 11:13-24 & Matthew 11:27-30
Friday: Romans 11:25-36 & Matthew 12:1-8
Saturday: Romans 6:11-17 & Matthew 8:14-23

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

By St. Justin (Popovich):

http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/phronema/bible_how.aspx

By Bishop Kalistos (Ware):

http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/phronema/ware_howto.aspx

Our weekly bulletin, "Sunday Reading", has been posted at the following link:

THIS WEEK'S "SUNDAY READING"