Please note that we have listed several Orthodox radio streams on the home page of our sound blog, Sound of the Parish. It is our hope that some day we will have our own parish radio station, but until that day we want to offer you a couple of options that you may find useful and interesting. Many of us work at our desks and at our computers for much of the day. Why not sanctify that time by listening to something spiritually enlightening? Why not indeed! Let us! At the Sound of the Parish you will find the links on the upper right had side of the page. Enjoy!

http://soundoftheparish.blogspot.com/

It seems that Mary Ann will soon be falling asleep in the Lord. Likely today or tomorrow. Please be very zealous in these last hours to pray for her salvation. Mary Ann has lived a good Orthodox Christian life. We have no reason to doubt her eternal reward. At the same time, as Orthodox Christians, we do not take anything in the next life for granted. The Lord truly knows our hearts. He is the one who makes decisions about salvation - this is above our "pay grade" so to speak. That being said, our prayers for Mary Ann will be helpful for her and they will be helpful for us as we show love in a truly Christian manner by praying for her. We will keep you updated. But in the mean time, please remember Mary Ann in your prayers.

One of the most important of the Holy Fathers, St. Athanasius the Great, is celebrated today by the Holy Church. Why was he so important? Please read below to learn more. To entice you: St. Athanasius wrote the life of St. Anthony the Great and was the Patriarch of Alexandria for 47 years. That is rather amazing in and of itself – but there is more. St. John Chrysostom advised that every Orthodox Christian should read the life of St. Athanasius. We provide you that opportunity below!

English:

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2015/05/02/ ... alexandria

Russian:

http://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life972.htm

This time of year - the time between Pascha and Pentecost - is really the best time of year for us as Orthodox Christians. We celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord in a very outward and glorious manner for 40 days - just as He continued His work on the earth for the 40 days after His Resurrection until He ascended back into Heaven from whence He had come.

We include here a link to some beautiful photos with the theme of our Lord's Resurrection found on the most popular Russian web site:

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/foto/set1319.htm

You can also find great photos of Pascha here in our parish on our photo album page:

http://stvladimirchurch.smugmug.com/2015

Enjoy and rejoice - Christ is Risen!

One of the most important of the Prophets, the Prophet of God Jeremiah, is commemorated by the Holy Church today. What makes him so important you ask? You'll have to read the articles below to find out! :)

English:

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2015/05/01/ ... t-jeremiah

Russian:

http://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life963.htm

This is not a short article, but it is an important article and worth reading through. First, because it describes how someone from group like the Jehovah's Witnesses - even a respected leader of such a group with all family members as part of the group - can break free and find the truth of Orthodox Christianity. But perhaps even more important for us - we see in this article the sort of Orthodox community that rejected this sincere seeker, and the kind of Orthodox community that accepted him. May God grant that at St. Vladimir's we always be like the parish family that accepted him and never like the one that rejected him!

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/78966.htm

The May Adult Discussion Group meeting has been moved from May 15 to May 22. Please forgive, but May 15 is simply impossible. Join us on May 22! More information here:

http://www.stvladimiraami.org/flyers/adultgroup.pdf

We have heard that there are 70 Apostles in addition to the 12 – but we don't know much about them. Not that this knowledge is unavailable or secret – we just don't take the time to learn about their lives. Today we begin to correct that oversight! Today is the commemoration of Sts. Jason and Sosipater, Apostles of the 70. Please read about them at the links below.

English:

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2015/04/28/ ... e-with-him

Russian:

http://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life946.htm

Today the Holy Church celebrates the feast of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark. As with any of the four Evangelists – writers of the Holy Gospels, this is a significant day in the life of the Holy Church. Below we include the life of St. Mark for the edification of our readers. We wish all celebrating their name's days on this day many years!

English:

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2015/04/25/ ... elist-mark

Russian:

http://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life931.htm

We have a bit of business left to complete from our 2014 Annual Meeting (held on February 15, 2015) and thus we will have a special parish meeting on Sunday, June 14. Information in this regard will be sent out to all on our mailing list via email and via post (this is required by the Normal Parish Bylaws). At this meeting we will complete the election of the 2015 Parish Council, choose delegates to the 2015 Diocesan Assembly, hear the Brotherhood Report and the Church School Report (which were tabled at the Annual Meeting), get an updated on our building plans, get an update on our festival plans, and hear a proposal regarding membership criteria for our parish. Since this is a continuation of the 2014 annual meeting you must be a 2014 member of the parish to participate in this meeting. Please plan to join us on June 14!