What a GREAT hierachal visit we had at STV on Friday night and Saturday morning! Congratulations to the newly-ordained Deacon Dmitri Mihaliov, Alexa, and Simeon! And a HUGE thanks to everyone who made the visit such a resounding success! The choir sang magnificently (Vladyka even noted after Liturgy on Saturday that STV is one of the few parishes that he can visit where he knows the services will be executed prayerfully and correctly – that is high praise from Archbishop Peter!), the food was wonderful, the turnout was good for a Saturday, and everything was smooth and wonderful. So many many people work tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure that these things go well. And we are thankful for you all! May the Lord, Who sees your secret labor on His behalf, reward you in this life and the next for your service to His Church! Pictures will be up soon – maybe even tonight. Do you have pictures? If so – please send to info@stvladimiraami.org in the BIGGEST FORMAT YOU CAN. It is easier to send small pictures of course, but then they do not look nice when we post them. Thank you all!

We all, to a greater or lesser extent, support the various ministries in our parish. But the ministry that we are most focused on now, our Ann Arbor Orthodox Classical Academy, has struggled greatly to get our parish family to engage and help. Venerable Dorotheos of Gaza, one of the most important monastic fathers of the Church, writes: “If a man is doing something according to God, trial of some kind will come upon him, for trial and temptation either preceed or follow all good. Neither is it sure that the thing is happening according to God, unless it is proved so by trials and temptations.” By this measure it is SUPER CLEAR that this project is according to God. And let us thank God for that!

But we also need to work to overcome the trials and temptations as a parish family, not just sit back and watch them happen. This school is OURS – not someone else’s. Given that, I am calling us all to redouble our efforts at seeing our school project succeed! First and foremost by prayer. Entreat the Lord for His continued blessings! And entreat Him to continue to send workers to His harvest! And second, decide today that you are going to become one of those workers yourself! Third, please support the school as you can financially. Note that the money part is THIRD! There are other things that are more important that anyone can do and which everyone should do, beginning with prayer.

BECOME A WORKER AT THE LORD’S HARVEST TODAY! Share the flyers below with two families you know who have children of the appropriate age group AND ask them to share the flyers with two families they know. People cannot send their children to the school if they do not know about it. You know people – share with those people you know today!

MICROSCHOOLING PROGRAM FLYER

ON-LINE PROGRAM FLYER

In order to provide the opportunity for our newly-ordained Deacon Dmitri to practice the Divine Services, beginning August 28 we will have daily evening services at 6:00 p.m. and daily Divine Liturgy at 8:00 a.m. through September 5.

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 Deacon Dmitri – and for the good of your salvation.

This sort of opportunity is rare – let us take advantage of it and be at church as much as we reasonably can this week!

Whoever is attentive to himself, and sorry for his shallow life, and seeks help from God, will, even against his own will, go the way of the publican praised in the Gospel.

Venerable Anatoly of Optina
Living without Hypocrisy

"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: II Corinthians 5:10-15 & Mark 1:9-15
Tuesday: II Corinthians 5:15-21 & Mark 1:16-22
Wednesday: II Corinthians 6:11-16 & Mark 1:23-28
Thursday: II Corinthians 7:1-10 & Mark 1:29-35
Friday: II Corinthians 7:10-16 & Mark 2:18-22
Saturday: I Corinthians 1:26-29 & Matthew 20:29-34

Понедельник: II Кор. 5:10-15 и от Марка 1:9-15
Вторник: II Кор. 5:15-21 и от Марка 1:16-22
Среда: II Кор. 6:11-16 и от Марка 1:23-28
Четверг: II Кор. 7:1-10 и от Марка 1:29-35
Пятница: II Кор. 7:10-16 и от Марка 2:18-22
Суббота: I Кор. 1: 26-29 и от Матфея 20:29-34

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

Please join us for a live broadcast of today's Divine Liturgy beginning at 10:00 a.m. at the following link:

ST. VLADIMIR AUDIO LIVE STREAM
VIDEO LIVE STREAM
Please remember - the stream only broadcasts live services. If you would like to listen to previously recorded and edited services please visit our sound blog:

SOUND OF THE PARISH BLOG
If you would like to view past services please visit our YouTube page:

ST. VLADIMIR YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Our parish Sunday publications are available now at the link below. Find our Prayer List, "Good News", and "Sunday Reading", plus other parish publications!
PARISH PUBLICATIONS

Confession and Communion are the two sacraments we most often partake of as Orthodox Christians and thus it behooves us to learn about these, how to prepare for these, and how to best take advantage of the Grace that our Lord freely gives us in these sacraments. At St. Vladimir’s we have created a special web site for this purpose with much information in this regard. Please find the web site listed below and please contact Fr. Gregory with questions!

CONFESSION AND COMMUNION AT ST. VLADIMIR'S
PRAYERS BEFORE COMMUNION - PARISH PRAYER KIT

SAVE THE DATE FOR THE NEXT PROCESSION: SEPTEMBER 11 IN YPSILANTI!
More detailed information will be available soon, but you can sign up now at the link below. Join us for a short procession (1-2 miles walking at most). During the procession we will stop at some logical place (town square, etc.) and hold a short concert and/or serve a short moleben. We will provide a traditional Orthodox witness to our communities: we will have information about Orthodox Christianity available for those who are interested, and talk to those who would like to learn more. Don’t miss this great opportunity to bring our faith to our neighbors! Sign up for Ypsilanti today!

CROSS PROCESSION SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11

All are welcome - join us!

Please note that there will be no Vigil this Saturday at STV. We invite all our parish family to attend Vigil at the Dormition Cathedral in Ferndale. Archbishop Peter will preside beginning at 6:00 p.m.:

2101 Livernois Street
Ferndale, MI 48220
On Sunday morning we will have Divine Liturgy as usual at 10:00 a.m., but we hope many of our parish family will participate in the Second Pascha of our sister parish, Dormition Cathedral, address above. Greeting of Bishop Peter is at 9:00 a.m.