Join us on Friday, January 13, 2023 for our annual Nativity Ball! All proceeds benefit Ann Arbor Orthodox Classical Academy! Last year's ball was GREAT GREAT GREAT! This year: EVEN BETTER!

Ball tickets make perfect Christmas gifts. Join us for a great evening of fun in celebration of our Lord's Incarnation, and help us raise money in support of our parish school! We aim to raise $5,000 to support our school, so even if you can't join us for the ball, visit the link below to help us reach that important goal!

BUY NATIVITY BALL TICKETS

We are pleased to announce that on Sunday, January 8, 2023 the Michigan Deanery Youth Choir will sing the Divine Liturgy at St. Vladimir Church in Ann Arbor. Following the Divine Liturgy will be a meal for all present at which the Youth Choir will give its Nativity Concert. ALL ARE WELCOME! A free will offering to support the Youth Choir will be taken up at the concert. For those who would like to support the choir now, please visit the link below.

SUPPORT MICHIGAN DEANERY YOUTH CHOIR

For those young people who do not sing in the choir or serve in the altar WE NEED YOU! Bells are a very important part of our worship, and we need to get those bells ringing again! To learn more contact our Head Bell Ringer John Hill or just come to the monthly bell ringing practice the first Sunday of each month after the Divine Liturgy. All are welcome!

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 Various Ages: from the Antiochian Archdiocese

St. Anatoly of Optina said that it is better to come late and stay to the end of Liturgy than to come early and leave early. As a parish we are rather consistent at the come late part. :) But that is not what this little instruction is about. Oddly, in the last couple of months we have picked up the bad habit of leaving immediately when Holy Communion is brought forth if we are not communing, rather than staying to the very end of the Divine Liturgy, on Sundays. It is not clear where this practice came from. In the 40+ year history of our parish that has never been a problem. Until now. So let us kill this weed immediately by supporting each other to stay until the end of the Divine Liturgy. That is, until the Thanksgiving Prayers after Communion have concluded and the Royal Doors are closed.

There are only two types of people that need to listen to the Thanksgiving Prayers: those that communed should thank God for the great gift that He has given them as they listen to the prayers, and those who did not commune should ask God to help them to partake at the soonest opportunity as they listen to the prayers. All others may ignore these prayers and talk as much as they like. :)

Let us be diligent to stay until the end of the Divine Liturgy to receive the blessing of having fully participated in our community worship on Sunday morning. Yes – undoubtedly there will come a time when you have to leave early. But that should be the exception and not the rule. Let us make our rule to stay until the very end of the Divine Liturgy!

Fr. Gregory

The Lord has entrusted us with the Pearl of Great Price – the Orthodox Faith. Are we hiding this? Are we keeping it for ourselves? Or are we following the example of the Apostles and working actively to spread our saving faith? If you had the cure for a bodily disease like cancer you would never keep that to yourself – it is obvious that this would be unethical and sinful. But we have the cure for DEATH! And sadly – we mostly keep it to ourselves. And that is even more unethical and sinful than hiding the cure for any bodily disease. Share your faith. Invite a friend, loved one, or neighbor to the Divine Services this coming weekend – and assure them that you will be there to welcome them to St. Vladimir’s. If we would all do this – if we would make just a minimal effort to invite others – we would need to seriously rethink the size of the new church we plan to build because it would be way TOO SMALL. Let’s do that. Let’s make all our plans useless because there are just too many people in our parish family! Success only comes before work in the dictionary – let us get to work spreading our Orthodox Faith by simply inviting others to join us at St. Vladimir’s!

THIS IS A VERY GOOD WEEKEND!
All-English Services are Friday Night & Saturday Morning, in Addition to our Usual Schedule Saturday Night & Sunday Morning

Today, no doubt, you have been virtually attacked by emails from various nonprofits asking for support. You may be wondering where the email is from our own St. Vladimir parish. The short answer is: there will not be one. Why? We know that you know that it is part of our spiritual struggle to tithe to support our parish. That being said, those that are in a position to make a donation to another worthwhile charity beyond their tithe may want some advice, and we do have a few favorites that we would like to recommend to you if you are in this position. Please consider supporting one of the following in addition to supporting your parish. We thank you for your support today and all throughout the year!

ST. JOHN KOCHUROV SOCIETY

FUND FOR ASSISTANCE ROCOR

THE PASTORAL SCHOOL OF THE DIOCESE OF CHICAGO & MID-AMERICA

HOLY TRINITY SEMINARY

Save the date! And spread the word! The St. Vladimir’s Christmas Bake Sale is back! More information to come soon, but now is the time to reach out to our Head Sister, Leta Nikulshina, and ask her what she needs you to bake. This can be a great fund raiser and a great outreach to our local community if we all pitch in and make it just that. So let’s do that! Please contact Leta today, or when you see her in church, and ask how you can help. And tell everyone you know to come join us! A flyer can be found at this link:

BAKE SALE 2022

SPREAD THE WORD - PRINT AND SHARE THE FLYER

Please note that the yearly Lenten period in preparation for our Lord’s Nativity begins on November 28. From this day until January 7 we do not partake of meat or dairy products. On many days during this lent fish is allowed. Please consult the parish schedule of services for details in this regard. Have questions about fasting? Never tried to follow the fast before? Please talk to Fr. Gregory or Fr. Colin for answers! “We abstain from meats that we might abstain from the passions...” writes St. John Chrysostom. Let us indeed use the fast for what it is – a tool to aid us in our spiritual struggle for salvation!

FIND YOUR GROUP AND MORE INFO ON YOUR MEETING HERE