The adult discussion group has waned a bit in the last few years and that is fine. Everyone is busy and getting together can be difficult and this is understood. These things are not written in stone and can change. So we will change! We have worked for several years with our youth groups on social outreach – helping those who are in need. It is important to live our faith in this way – to minister to others just as our Lord ministered and ministers to us. There are several local social service agencies that we can work with. Some we have worked with in our youth group efforts and this has been a very positive opportunity for our youth. But it isn't only the young people that need to live their faith – we all do! So this year we would like to give specific opportunities for our adults to serve – about once per month. But we need some help facilitating these opportunities. The time commitment would not be terribly large – perhaps an hour a month working with Fr. Gregory to arrange opportunities for our adult parishioners to help others, as well as a few more hours participating in the ministry itself as we help others. Please contact Fr. Gregory if you can help! We'd like to begin our work in September, so help is needed very soon to facilitate that September date. Please help your parish family members grow spiritually as we make a more conscious effort to reach out to and work actively in the name of our Lord in our local community!

This year again Russian with Love, an organization of which our parish is an active member, will be hosting four medical burn staff from Russia. We are working closely with the University Trauma Burn Unit on this project. Our most important job is to providing housing for the 4 staff members coming from Russia. Please contact Fr. Gregory if you can help. We would like to provide a stable place for these folks to stay, so if you could host them for their whole stay that would be ideal. But if that isn’t possible that is fine too. Please contact Fr. Gregory if you can help in any way!

This Sunday we will have our kickoff meetings of both our 9-12 year old and our Teen Youth Groups.

The 9-12 youth group meets from 2-4 p.m. More information and RSVP here:

https://goo.gl/forms/QYMbu4lXkJnAzEGD2

The Teen youth group meets from 3-5 p.m. More information and RSVP here:

https://goo.gl/forms/JHbJ5TuMT16SJ1N83

In place of adult discussion groups this year we will hold regular “Ask the Priest” sessions via Facebook Live. All are urged to participate in these sessions, which will be advertised via Facebook and our web site the day of the event. Mark your calendars now for 7:00 p.m. on the following dates:

September 7
September 21
October 5
October 19
November 2
November 16
November 30
December 14
December 28 – Live from St. Herman's Conference

Those who would like to participate as a live (as opposed to virtual) audience are welcome to join us at St. Vladimir's at 7:00 p.m. (immediately following the weekly Wednesday akathist for the ill).

Join us on Facebook! Join us live at St. Vladimir's! Submit questions via Facebook! Submit questions live and in person! Submit questions via Twitter (@stvladimiraami) or by emailing info@stvladimiraami.org. If you can't join us live, watch the video of the session on our Facebook page after the fact. Please help us make this a fruitful opportunity for spiritual growth for our parish family - “Ask the Priest” only works well if you ask questions. :) If you have a question you can be certain that someone else does too – so please do ask!

The Holy Church provides us the first of the 12 Great Feasts of the year tomorrow, September 8/21: the feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God! Please join us at St. Vladimir's this evening for Vigil at 6:00 p.m. and tomorrow morning for Divine Liturgy at 8:00 a.m. Congratulations to all with the feast!

Please join us for our first monthly meal of the academic year this Sunday at 6:00 p.m. The topic will be “Getting Started Right – the Church New Year – OR – September is Trying to Kill Me!”. Please join us! RSVP and more information:

http://goo.gl/forms/mLnbeYwCXq

P.S. INVITE FRIENDS! We are happy to have anyone join us who can – we just need to know you are coming so we have enough food!

If you placed festival road signs out before the festival we thank you – this helped get the word out A LOT! But please, take a moment on the way home from work this evening, or as you are running errands during the day, to pick up the signs. Promptly doing so is very appreciated by local municipalities and just makes our reputation, so bolstered by the festival itself, even better!

You say you haven't made it to EVERY Divine Service and every lecture!? Do not be disturbed! Neither has anyone else to be honest. And that is OK! We do not expect every person to attend every Divine Service or every lecture or every anything. Rather, we try to have many services and activities so that everyone can attend at least some of the services and activities. But those you have missed you can find on our Sound of the Parish blog. This makes wonderful spiritual musical background for your office during the work day too. The link is here:

http://soundoftheparish.blogspot.com

Please take a moment to sign up for email updates on the right side of the browser window of the blog. That way each time we post a new sound file you will be alerted via email. Those who follow us on Twitter will also receive a notification of each posted file. Please join us on "Sound of the Parish"!

www.annarborrussianfestival.org

JOIN US!

SPREAD THE WORD!!

Find and share the flyer here as a PDF:

http://stvladimiraami.org/flyers/russia ... al2016.pdf

Find it here as a 2-up/page flyer that would fit really nicely in all the mailboxes in your office - or in other smaller spaces. :)

http://stvladimiraami.org/flyers/russia ... 6twoup.pdf

Please note the times for the Divine Services this weekend. Please also note that Konevets Quartet will sing both Vespers and the Divine Liturgy on the weekend. Please join us! And stay to work at the festival!

See Videos of Konevets Quartet below - but beware - if you watch these you will not be able to miss church this weekend!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w840sq8BuPs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQfFSsX1IC8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05pKdr0XtNQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LXtKMYZnXQ