We are very thankful to have Anastasia Klimzo join us this year as our weekday choir director! Anastasia will be organizing a weekday choir and would like to invite those who are interested in singing or learning how to sing - especially those are available during the day on a regular basis. Instruction will be based on the Obihod tones. Please contact Anastasia to learn more: cantor@stvladimiraami.org.

With the blessing of Archbishop Peter the Michigan Deanery is founding a Missionary Choir. The purpose of the Missionary Choir is to bring Orthodox Christianity to those areas in our state where there is no Orthodox Church and to support those smaller parishes that may need a bit of help from time to time (for instance, when the bishop visits for a hierarchal service). The choir aims to hold a concert monthly this academic year in various areas throughout our state, singing both Church Hymns and Folk Songs (and perhaps with even a Folk Dance or two) – and we are beginning this October! Please join us in this important missionary effort, which we hope will flower in the founding of new missions in our deanery! For more information please contact the Dean of the Michigan Deanery, Priest Gregory Joyce: ogrisha@yahoo.com, or the Director of the Choir, Anastasia Klimzo: cantor@stvladimiraami.org.

Do you have 10 extra minutes per week? Could you put those ten extra minutes per week together once per month to visit one of our parishioners in the hospital or unable to leave their home? If so – please contact Fr. Gregory! Your 30 to 40 minutes per month could make the difference in someone’s life! Members of our parish family deserve better than to be lonely! Train your children in the pious Christian virtue of caring for those less fortunate – visit our parish family members in the hospital, nursing home, and at home this month! Those who are aware of parish family members who are in hospitals, nursing homes, or who are home-bound should contact Fr. Gregory so that these parishioners may be added to our list of those to be visited and spiritually cared for.

Please join us for one of the memorial Saturdays of the Church year. This particular commemoration is specific to the Russian Orthodox Church’s practice and falls generally on the Saturday before the feast of the Great Martyr Demetrius. This year that would November 5, but due to the feast of St. James the Brother of the Lord on that day the commemoration is moved to October 29. At St. Vladimir’s we will have Vespers & Matins at 6:00 p.m. on October 28 with Divine Liturgy and a general pannykhida at 9:00 a.m. on October 29. Please join us as your personal schedule allows, and if you cannot, please email info@stvladimiraami.org to submit names of friends and loved ones to be commemorated at the Divine Services. Be sure to delineate between Orthodox and non-Orthodox departed. We will pray for all as we always do, but we pray differently for Orthodox Christians that we do for the non-Orthodox and it is important that we do this correctly.

The “Ask the Priest on Facebook Live” program will move to Orthodox Christian Network (OCN) beginning this coming Wednesday. We will share the program live on our St. Vladimir’s Facebook page, so there will be very little change to the way this has happened the last few weeks. However, this does increase the potential audience for the show from our parishioners to many others – and this is a positive for our parish. Please plan to join us this Wednesday for Ask the Priest. As Fr. Gregory will be in Ukraine then the show will likely air at 5 p.m. EDT. More to come!

Fr. Gregory will be visiting Ukraine on official Church business with Archbishop Peter October 17-25. Please remember him in your prayers as he travels! We will maintain the usual schedule of services and activities during his absence.

"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: Ephesians 1:22-2:3 & Luke 4:37-44
Tuesday: Ephesians 2:19-3:7 & Luke 5:12-16
Wednesday: Ephesians 3:8-21 & Luke 5:33-39
Thursday: Ephesians 4:14-19 & Luke 6:12-19
Friday: Ephesians 4:17-25 & Luke 6:17-23
Saturday: I Corinthians 14:20-25 & Luke 5:17-26

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

This short article explains to us not just HOW to read the scriptures, but also what our goal should be in reading the scriptures. A short read and well worth it:

http://www.chrysostompress.org/reading_scripture.html

As noted in the article above we need God's help and blessing to read and understand the scriptures correctly. What better way to entreat God's help in this regard than through prayer? Please find the prayer before reading the scriptures here:

http://www.chrysostompress.org/prayer_b ... pture.html

Have you seen our 35th anniversary film? This is a fun and interesting review of the last ten years of our parish, since our last film that was prepared for our 25th anniversary. Please have a look now!

You can find the film at this link:

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

Please save the date for this year's Marriage & Family Retreat! We will hold this annual opportunity for our parish families to grow and strengthen November 12-13, 2016. Lots more to come soon – but for now: SAVE THE DATE!

Please note that on Friday, October 14, we will have a Reader's service at St. Vladimir's at 8:00 a.m. This will be the Typica/Obednitsa service. Please join us as your personal schedule allows!