On Sunday, November 22, 2015 Benjamin Lin and Elizabeth (Marion) Gabl were wed at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Ann Arbor, under the auspices of our St. Vladimir's parish. We congratulate the newly-weds, their families, friends, and loved ones and wish for them many years, much health, and salvation! Please remember Benjamin and Elizabeth in your prayers as they begin their life together and the hard work that it takes to be an exemplary Christian family. Many years to Benjamin and Elizabeth!

Thank you to all our St. Vladimir's family and friends! On Sunday, November 22, 2015 - International Orthodox Christian Charities Giving Sunday - we collected over $1000 to support IOCC's crucial mission of service to all in need throughout the world! Way to go St. Vladimirians! If you had hoped to help but couldn't make it to St. Vladimir's because of the heavy snowfall please contact our Treasurer, Andrei Rodzianko, or our IOCC Coordinator, Marina Edwards. They can help you direct your gift to the IOCC. May the Lord reward you all for your support of the poor and the suffering through the auspices of IOCC!

Please find a statement on terrorist and our Christian response from our Diocese of Chicago & Mid-America at the link below. Those with questions are asked to contact Fr. Gregory.

http://chicagodiocese.org/news_151120_1.html

The snow has stopped and although it is probably a prudent idea to give oneself a bit more travel time this morning, we will hold Liturgy at St. Vladimir's as scheduled today. Drive safely! See you soon at St. Vladimir's!

Due to various variables beyond our control we will not be able to hold our Sunday 2:00 p.m. Parish Council meeting as planned. The meeting will be rescheduled and the date and time will be announced on our parish home page once this is set. Thank you for your understanding. Please contact Fr. Gregory or Nathan with questions or if you have an issue that you would like the Parish Council to address.

The Pastoral School of the Diocese of Chicago & Mid-America is committed to making high quality Orthodox theological education as accessible to all interested students as possible.

Applications for admission for the winter semester are due February 1, 2016. Classes begin February 15, 2016. Applications and further information on the Pastoral School programs can be found at our web site:

http://orthodoxtheologicalschool.org/

Questions should be directed to the Dean of the Pastoral School, Priest Gregory Joyce:

fr.gregory.joyce@orthodoxtheologicalschool.org

It is that time of year again – time to start planning our St. Nicholas Day festivities for our parish children. We are seeking sponsors for the gifts that we will give the children (usually a few chocolate coins to commemorate St. Nicholas' generous nature and an icon or spiritual book). Please contact Fr. Gregory if you can help out in this way. Thank you!

Our Sisterhood Bake Sale is back! This year we are again pleased to offer delicious treats for the holidays to our parish family, friends, and the local community. Please spread the word – the flyer is here and is fully suitable for sharing with others. So please share!

http://stvladimiraami.org/flyers/bakesale2015.pdf

If you would like to help bake (and we know you do) please contact our Head Sister, Ksenia Nikulshina at headsister@stvladimiraami.org

Please join us for the feast of St. Michael and all the Angels this Friday evening at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. This is our monthly cycle of all English services and we urge our parish family to invite friends, loved ones, and those they know are interested in learning more about our faith to attend. Please contact Fr. Gregory with questions. Congratulations in advance to all those celebrating their name's days this coming Saturday!

We are thankful that we have the opportunity at St. Vladimir's to have somewhat regular weekday Divine Services. Although we feel somehow that prostrations are unusual during the Divine Services this is because we usually attend Sunday Divine Liturgy, at which prostrations are never allowed. But the reality is quite the opposite. Prostrations are done at MOST Divine Services throughout the year (just not on Sundays). We include here a link to an educational flyer we created a year or so ago for the altar servers and choir in this regard:

http://stvladimiraami.org/flyers/prostr ... iturgy.pdf

Please share feedback with Fr. Gregory about this and ask him questions – those questions are welcome!