The funeral for our sister in Christ Vera Politis will be at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Ann Arbor at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, August 24. Please join us for the service if you are able and if not – please remember Vera in your prayers at this time especially.

A young boy named Denis Chubanyuk from the former Soviet Union was cared for Beaumont Royal Oak several years ago for a very rare disease. Please find more information at the link below including how you can help him return for his next treatment, without which his life will be in grave danger. Thank you in advance for you support!

https://www.facebook.com/GiveDenisHope

Last night Vera Politis reposed in the Lord. It is likely that many of you did not know Vera. She was married to a Greek gentleman and they attended St. Nicholas Church. However, Vera was active in the founding and early years of our parish. She was one of the many people to contributed to the nascent St. Vladimir parish, helped to get it on its feet, and allowed it to become what it is today. Thus, even if we did not know Vera we should be thankful for her efforts and remember her in our prayers among the newly reposed. I have added her to our parish prayer list, which you can find at this link:

http://www.stvladimiraami.org/SundayRea ... erlist.pdf

Vera's funeral will be at St. Nicholas Church and we will share the details of the funeral with you as they are known. May her memory be eternal!

If you are sick or homebound or know a member of our parish family who is please be sure to let Fr. Gregory know as soon as you can! We want to minister to our ill and aging parish family members, but especially if someone is suddenly unable to come to church it may take a few weeks for Fr. Gregory to figure this out on his own. Much better is to let him know so the person who is unable to come to church (for whatever reason) does not have to wait for him to become aware of this. Thank you for your attention to this important matter!

Please join us for one of the 12 Great Feasts of the Holy Church this Tuesday and Wednesday at St. Vladimir's - the Transfiguration of the Lord. At this feast the Holy Church provides a blessing of the first fruits that are beginning to be harvested at this time of year. It is traditional to bring grapes or apples for the most part, but any fruit can be blessed after the Liturgy on the feast. Please join us at St. Vladimir's for Vigil at 6:00 p.m. on August 18 and Divine Liturgy at 8:00 a.m. on August 19. Following the Liturgy we will bless the fruits. Please learn more about this VERY important feast at the links below.

English:

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2015/08/06/ ... sus-christ

Russian:

http://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life4385.htm

Today marks the feast of the translation of the relics of the Protomartyr Steven from Jerusalem to Constantinople. We provide a link to the life of this Apostle, Deacon, and First Martyr below and recommend that all our readers know this inspiring life.

English:

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2015/08/02/ ... eacon-step

Russian:

http://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life6858.htm

Since today is a feast of the Cross it is common to overlook the Holy Maccabees who are also celebrated on this day. Who are these martyrs you ask? To answer your question we have posted the links below to their inspiring lives and we invite our readers to visit these links for their edification!

English:

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2015/08/01/ ... ee-martyrs

Russian:

http://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life6716.htm

Recently several of our parishioners have asked about how they can better understand the Divine Services. This is an excellent question. We believe that the excerpt below, from Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy’s “Law of God” is an excellent introduction to the Divine Services. Of course there are volumes and volumes written providing more detail, and those who are interested in learning even more are asked to contact Fr. Gregory. But for a good foundation we recommend the pamphlet below. As always, we encourage and urge you to contact Fr. Gregory or Fr. Michael with any questions about this or any other aspect of our faith.

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

We have been using the same bilingual handouts for Divine Liturgy for some years now. This is perfectly OK on some level, but it is probably time for us to rework these a bit. If you like graphic design and you feel strongly about reaching out to those new to our parish this may be the volunteer opportunity for you! Please contact Fr. Gregory if you would like to help – your contributions will be most welcome!

As the weather improves missionaries from various religions tend to appear at our homes. At St. Vladimir's we have many pamphlets and booklets on the Orthodox Faith that are free for anyone to take. These can be found at the back of the church near the main entrance doors. Please feel free to take information home with you to share with the missionaries that come to visit you. It seems only fair that if they want us to take their information that we offer them information about Orthodox Christianity. Many missionaries have found the Orthodox Church in this way. No one is mandated to do this, but if you would like to you are welcome to. Please feel free to contact Fr. Gregory with questions in this regard.