Now is the time to plan to send your children to an Orthodox Summer camp! We remind you NOW, so that as you plan your child's summer, you will be sure to include this important aspect of forming an Orthodox consciousness in your child's life. Last year we had a nice turnout of young people from our parish participate in both the Valdimirovo and Ruskoka camps. And honestly these are really the two best camps out there – Fr. Gregory recommends them both highly! Vladimirovo is the our diocesan camp. Ruskoka is the Canadian diocese's camp. You can learn more about these camps at the links below. PARENTS: please take some time NOW and review this information! Once registration opens these camps will fill up quickly and you don't want to miss your change to register your child.

Vladimirovo:

http://www.orprcamp.org/

Ruskoka:

http://www.ruskoka.com/

There are three other Orthodox camps that you may want to consider and which may be more convenient for your family: St. Seraphim's Camp, NORR, and ORUR. These are the other three camps associated with the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad in the eastern half of North America. More information below:

St. Seraphim's Camp:

http://www.stseraphimcamp.com/

NORR:

http://www.campnorr.org/

ORUR:

http://www.orur.org/Main_E.html

Please contact Fr. Gregory or Karl Meyer with questions. Our parish STRONGLY supports Orthodox Camps – please join us in that support!

Please remember that this weekend we "spring forward" one hour as we move into Daylight Savings Time.

The annual Diocesan Young Adult Retreat is set for March 20-22 at the St. John Skete in Hiram, OH. More information can be found at the flyer at this link:

http://stvladimiraami.org/flyers/younga ... at2015.pdf

REGISTER NOW! We will try to arrange a car pool from Ann Arbor. Please let Fr. Gregory know that you have registered so that car pool can be organized.

As promised on the March Vladcast we post here several excellent lenten recipes:

http://stvladimiraami.org/stxenia/glrecipes09.pdf

http://stvladimiraami.org/stxenia/glrecipes10.pdf

Do you have any good fasting recipes to share? If so, please email to info@stvladimiraami.org and we will get it out to everyone on the email list.

Please note that Great Lent began this year on February 23. During Great Lent we abstain from meat and dairy products including fish (although fish is allowed on Palm Sunday – April 5). Let us recall that fasting is a tool given to us by God to aid us spiritually. For some it is easy to fast, for others it is difficult. However, what is most important is that we make a sincere effort to follow the fast. Why? Simply because the fast helps us to see our sins by helping us to focus spiritually. Eating “light” foods, or perhaps rather, abstaining from “heavy” foods such as meats and cheeses, allows us to be less focused on our stomachs and more focused on our souls, and of course, in this season when we undergo our journey to the Resurrection of our Lord we dearly wish to improve ourselves spiritually that we might meet the risen Christ better than we were when we began Great Lent. St. John Chrysostom writes that we abstain from meats that we might abstain from our sins. This nicely sums up the reason the Holy Church, as a loving mother, gives us the gift of fasting. Pascha is April 12 – may God grant us all a spiritually profitable Great Lent!

The March Vladcast is up on our You Tube channel! See it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj_H1AtgU1I

We promised in the Vladcast that we would publish the Presanctified Liturgy tip sheet here - and here it is:

http://www.stvladimiraami.org/pamphlets ... gytips.pdf

Please find an edifying sermon by St. Tikhon at the link below. Included in this sermon are these very helpful words:

"Unfortunately, brethren, we do not like to acknowledge our transgressions. It would seem natural and easy for a person to know his own self, his own soul and his shortcomings. This, however, is actually not so. We are ready to attend to anything but a deeper understanding of ourselves, an investigation of our sins. We examine various things with curiosity, we attentively study friends and strangers, but when faced with solitude without extraneous preoccupation even for a short while, we immediately become bored and attempt to seek amusement..."

Read the entire sermon here:

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/68746.htm

Please join us in welcoming two representatives from the very active St. Elizabeth Convent in Minsk, Belarus tonight and tomorrow at St. Vladimir's. After Liturgy tomorrow (and most likely after Vigil tonight) items from the convents' workshops will be available for purchase. Those interested in liturgically sewn items such as Podrazniks can also be measured by the representatives - the convent has an excellent sewing shop. Please plan to join us tonight and tomorrow for this special visit and to support the convent as you are able.

Link to the St. Elizabeth Convent Web Site (you may choose "English" on the top right of the home page):

http://www.obitel-minsk.by/

The schedule of services and activities will be held as planned this afternoon beginning with Bell Ringing/Choir/Altar Servers practice at 4:00 p.m., Church School at 5:00 p.m., and Vigil at 6:00 p.m.

We thank you all for your patience and understanding while Fr. Gregory was ill the last few days. And we thank you for your prayers. He seems to be better, but reports that he would appreciate your continued prayers on his behalf.

Liturgy is canceled this morning because Fr. Gregory is ill.We ask your forgiveness for the inconvenience!