Please join us on Saturday, May 30, for our next Children's Liturgy. The Children's Liturgy on Bright Monday was a great success, but at the request of our parents we have moved these to Saturday going forward. Our young people will sing, serve in the altar, ring the bells, prepare the meal after the Liturgy, and otherwise fulfill all tasks required for a Liturgy to be successfully executed in our parish. Following the Liturgy the young people will prepare the church with boughs and branches for the great feast of Pentecost!

The next rehearsal of the children's choir will be THIS SUNDAY following the parish meal. Please sign your children up for duties now – please see Fr. Gregory with questions.

Google Doc Sign Up:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/137Tvs8DyJyoluZ-2N0lrWu06RjLDLITO4aGzU92FSQg/edit?usp=sharing

The great feast of Pentecost is May 31. Please join us on Saturday, May 30 for a Memorial Divine Liturgy beginning at 8:00 a.m. Following the Liturgy we will decorate the parish church with boughs, branches, and flowers for the Pentecost vigil. This is a similar activity to our Lazarus Saturday church decoration in preparation for the Palm Sunday vigil. Many good memories are waiting to be had at these sorts of events. Please bring your children! It is especially important for them to participate in these sorts of activities. Now that Sally DeRoo has fallen asleep in the Lord we very much someone to lead these sorts of activities and to care for the flowers and plants in the parish church. Can you help? Please contact Fr. Gregory. All are welcome!

Our Sister in Christ Sally DeRoo headed up the interior decoration of the parish church for major holidays (and frankly – all the time). We are seeking a volunteer or two to begin to fill Sally's shoes. Please talk to Fr. Gregory if you can help. We need you – please step forward!

We have added Divine Liturgy for the feast of the Translation of the Relics of St. Nicholas tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. This is the lesser feast of St. Nicholas, but certainly a feast marked throughout the Orthodox Christian world. Learn more about the feast at the links below and please join us as your personal schedule allows!

English:

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2015/05/09/ ... ker-from-m

Russian:

http://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life1023.htm

The funeral arrangements for our Sister in Christ Mary Ann have been finalized and are the following.

Thursday, May 21 – Muehlig Funeral Home
Viewing 4:00-8:00 p.m.
Pannykhida 7:00 p.m.

Friday, May 22 – St. Vladimir's
Divine Liturgy 8:00 a.m.
Funeral 10:00 a.m.
Internment at Forest Hill Following the Funeral

Please join us as your personal schedule allows and please remember Mary Ann in your prayers.

There will be no Liturgy this morning since Fr. Gregory is ill. We ask your forgiveness for this inconvenience.

Please join us for the Divine Services for the Great Feast of the Ascension of the Lord! Vigil is at 6:00 p.m. on May 20 and Divine Liturgy at 8:00 a.m. on May 21. On this 40th day after His Resurrection our Lord rises again to Heaven from whence He came. Come celebrate the feast as your personal schedule allows!

Unfortunately Fr. Gregory has picked up a stomach virus and will be unable to come to church tonight. What that means is:

1. There will be no Pannykhida tonight at 5:00 p.m.

2. There WILL be a Reader's service tonight at 6:00 p.m.

For now Liturgy is still scheduled for tomorrow. A message will be posted here and sent to the St. Vladimir's email list by 7:00 a.m. if Liturgy is canceled. If there is no message then Liturgy will take place as scheduled.

We ask your forgiveness for this inconvenience and this late notice.

Please join us for the final Paschal services of the year at St. Vladimir’s. On Tuesday, May 19 we will serve Paschal Vespers and Matins beginning at 6:00 p.m. And on Wednesday, May 20 we will serve the Paschal Divine Liturgy at 8:00 a.m. The next evening we are already celebrating the vigil for Ascension and our Paschal celebration will have ended. Don’t miss this last chance to prayerfully participate in the special Paschal Divine Services!

The founding of the “Strengthening of Orthodox Marriage League”. Or perhaps we will call it something else. In any case, this is a meeting you won't want to miss. You will want to tell your children “I did everything I could to strengthen marriage and I was there when this group was founded.” Marriage is struggling in the world and in our society. Why? This is a thought-provoking article in this regard and this is our homework for the Adult Discussion Group that will meet at Fr. Gregory's home in Saline at 7:00 p.m. on May 22:

http://blogs.ancientfaith.com/glory2god ... suffering/

This is not to say that we are being told to agree with everything in this article. But it is though-provoking, and that is a good thing to prepare for a discussion group!

Let's work on the answers to this issue together! How do we strengthen our own marriage? How do we help others without being intrusive? What do we do?! Do we found a group that supports us in this regard? We don't have every answer – but with God's help and our sincere effort we must – as Christians – believe that there is hope. Join us! Help us to strengthen marriage in our parish now and in the future!