Congratulations to Angelina Noll who received a very high award at the annual German Day Competition at the University of Michigan. From the Saline Area Schools weekly “News & Notes”:

On Friday, March 13, twenty eight ambitious German students from Saline Hight School (SHS) participated in the 31st annual German Day Competition at University of Michigan.

The competition 27 area high schools and middle schools who competed in eleven different competitions including: spelling bee, commercials, music, skits, foods, poetry and conversational interactions. ...Angelina Noll, senior at SHS, who only started in German last year, was awarded a 2nd place prize in the Level 3 conversational interaction category. She expertly conversed with the judges extemporaneously on various topics.

Please find our weekly audio podcast, The Path, is available at our Sound of the Parish site:

http://soundoftheparish.blogspot.com/

The Holy Church, as a loving mother, offers us many opportunities to grow spiritually. This Wednesday evening we are afforded a unique opportunity - the Standing of St. Andrew. On Wednesday of the fifth week of Great Lent each year the Holy Church appoints for us to read the entire penitential canon of St. Andrew of Crete (the same canon that was split over the first four evenings of Great Lent) and the life of St. Mary of Egypt. Only ONE LIFE is appointed to be read without fail at the Divine Services of the year: that of St. Mary. We can deduce from this that it is important for us to hear this life. We encourage and invite all to participate in this unique Matins service! Please join us beginning at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday! PLEASE NOTE: the evening Presanctified Liturgy this week is on Thursday and there will be no Friday morning Presanctified Liturgy this week.

With Bishop Peter's blessing this trip will take place. Young people are starting to step forward to go to Daydovo Summer Camp – the only summer camp for special needs children in Russia run by the Church – this coming summer. Zhanna Skalitzky will be heading up this effort but more help is very much needed – please help if you can! Parents – please talk to Fr. Gregory or Zhanna about this ASAP. This is an outstanding opportunity for our young people to live their faith in a very active way. Their participation will help the campers, the campers' families, and frankly speaking, will also help themselves to grow in Christ. Now is the time to start working on passports and visas - coordinate with Zhanna please. And plan to join us in Davydovo this summer!

On Sunday the 9-12 year old youth group meets at Fr. Gregory's in Saline from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. We will have a short discussion about Great Lent and how 9-12 years olds should approach this important time of year. This will be followed by an open question and answer period (popularly known as “Stump the Priest”). Finally we will enjoy some Great Lenten snacks and board games together. Please join us and please do let us know you are coming by contacting Fr. Gregory so that the right amount of snacks can be on hand (very important!).

Do you have old pictures, videos, or even audio recordings that have something to do with St. Vladimir's? Visits of bishops from past years, big holidays, or just about anything else? You may not think these are all that important - but they are! We do not want to lose touch with our past - it is very rich - it has made us who we are today! Please contact Fr. Gregory or Yuliya Rodzianko if you have pictures, videos, or recordings to share. We will copy what you have an return the originals to you very quickly. And the whole parish family will be richer for having the opportunity to share in our parish family's history. We thank you in advance for your willingness to share!

Please note that the services that lead up to the Presanctified Liturgy on March 26 will begin at 5:00 p.m. rather than the usual 3:00 p.m. This is because the Matins connected with the preparation for this Presanctified Liturgy will be held the evening before at 6:00 p.m. This is the well-known Standing of St. Andrew at which the life of St. Mary of Egypt as well as the full penitential canon of St. Andrew of Crete are read. Please join us!

The Holy Church appoints several special Saturdays throughout the year on which we especially commemorate our departed friends and loved ones. At St. Vladimir’s we will serve the following memorial services on the following dates this Great Lent:

February 14: Divine Liturgy 8:00 a.m. (Vespers and Matins for the departed the evening prior at 6:00 p.m.)
March 7: Divine Liturgy 8:00 a.m. (Matins for the departed the evening prior at 6:00 p.m.)
March 14: Divine Liturgy 9:00 a.m. (Matins for the departed the evening prior at 6:00 p.m.) - All English Cycle
March 21: Divine Liturgy 8:00 a.m. (Matins for the departed the evening prior at 6:00 p.m.)

Please join us for those services that you are able to and for those you are not: please assure the commemoration of your friends and loved ones at the services by emailing their names (please distinguish between Orthodox and non-Orthodox departed) to info@stvladimiraami.org or by otherwise contacting Fr. Gregory.

Thank you to all who made our 2015 Great Lenten Lecture Series Keynote possible on Sunday, March 15! Dr. Roy Robson delivered the interesting lecture followed by a dynamic discussion as he fielded questions from the gathered parishioners. Many worked hard behind the scenes to facilitate Dr. Robson's visit and his lecture and we thank you all! May The Lord reward you openly for your good works done in secret! Find Dr. Robson's lecture on our Sound of the Parish blog at the link below. We are working on the video and hope to have it up sometime on Tuesday on our You Tube channel. Please join us for our next lecture following the Divine Liturgy this coming Sunday!

http://soundoftheparish.blogspot.com

Our blog where all sound files from parish services and activities can be found has been updated - check it out!

http://soundoftheparish.blogspot.com