Of course we should behave appropriately in church and we believe that everyone WANTS to behave appropriately, but sometimes we don’t know or we forget about the special times in the Divine Service when we should not move about or other important aspects of our worship. We include below a little pamphlet which reminds us of these things, and which also outlines the schema of the lights above the royal doors at St. Vladimir’s (which the outside lamps are lit we should not move about unless it is a matter of life and death). Please review this pamphlet and please see Fr. Gregory with questions. We appreciate sincerely your efforts to behave appropriately in the parish church during the Divine Services!

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

Fr. Gregory is away on diocesan business this evening and therefore we have to cancel our monthly adult discussion group meeting. We ask your apologies for this unexpected complication and thank you for your understanding. Those who signed up on line will receive an email reminder that the meeting has been canceled.

This year Youth Choir will be held each Saturday at 4:00 p.m. at the church. Altar Server training will take place the first Sunday of the month after the Divine Liturgy. Young boys who are six and above are welcome to participate in the Altar Server Training. Please see Subdeacon John Zroika or Fr. Gregory to assure that your child participates. Generally young boys begin to serve in the altar at about seven years of age (or whenever they begin to confess regularly).

Please plan to join us for the next hierarchal visit to St. Vladimir's! Bishop Peter of Cleveland, Administrator of the Diocese of Chicago & Mid-America will preside at Divine Services for the feast of the Great Martyr Demetrius according to the following schedule:

Saturday, November 7 – Vigil 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, November 8 – Divine Liturgy 9:00 a.m.

PLEASE NOTE THE EARLY START TIMES and please save these dates now to participate in the Hierarchal Divine Services! Please also plan now to partake of the Holy Mysteries on November 8. Our bishops are the successors of the Holy Apostles and every hierarchal visit is an opportunity for the our community to come together and to partake of the One Cup together with the bishop. Although we have the possibility to partake of Holy Communion at every Liturgy, nonetheless, to participate in such an intimate way in a Liturgy led by one of the successors of the Apostles is a rare opportunity for which we really must make time in our busy lives.

Please note that Daylight Savings Time ends this Sunday morning very early. There is great danger here that if you do not change your clocks when you go to bed on Saturday night that you could end up coming to church an hour earlier than planned and of course no one wants that! :) Of course we are joking - we are happy to have people come early to church and quite frankly: many of us should probably be coming a bit earlier than we do at this point. So, if you feel that this is the case for you, perhaps it is best if you forget you ever saw this announcement. :) We look forward to seeing you soon at St. Vladimir's (some earlier than others)!

We present here a short educational offering for both children and adults. Parents are asked to review the children’s portion with their children. It is very important for us to attend the Divine Services on Sundays and whenever else we are able, but in addition it is our spiritual responsibility to educate ourselves and our families in the faith. It is our hope that this mid-week offering will be an aid in this regard. Please contact Fr. Gregory with questions or suggestions.

For Adults: the explanation of last Sunday's Gospel reading by Blessed Theophylact:

http://chrysostompress.org/c_20th_pentecost.html

For Children – an activity based on last Sunday's Gospel reading for various ages:

http://www.antiochian.org/sites/default ... 10-6-b.pdf

Each year we provide an alternative for our families that do not wish to participate in the pagan inspired Halloween festivities. This year the alternative will be quite straight forward since Halloween falls on a Saturday. It is the expectation of the Holy Church that all her children will, as a rule, be present at the Divine Services on Saturday evening and Sunday morning. With Halloween falling on a Saturday this year our alternative will be just that: we invite everyone to be present at the Vigil on Saturday night beginning at 6:00 p.m. (and for school age kids Church School which begins at 5:00 p.m.) with the sincere hope that by participating in this beautiful service it will “stick” and become a part of your family's weekly schedule.

Is it easy to come to Vigil every Saturday? Of course not! Nothing worth doing is easy – especially in the spiritual life. But if we keep this service a secret then how would you ever know that it is an expectation that you be present? And how would you know that attending the evening services before partaking of Holy Communion is one of the most important ways that you prepare to partake Holy Communion? Those with young children are asked this Saturday – and every Saturday – to stay at the Vigil until the veneration of the Holy Gospel and the anointment with Holy Oil early in Matins (until about 7:30 p.m. or so). Please note: if you have a set bedtime for your children that would cause you to leave before that please be aware that it is much more important for you to stay at Vigil until at least this point in the service than it is for the children to be put into bed at a set time. Staying up a little late on Saturday to serve and glorify God sends a great message to the kids about what is more important and what is less important in life. Each parent has to make the best decision for their children, but it is good to challenge ourselves spiritually if we hope to allow ourselves to grow spiritually. And it is good to show children that the spiritual life comes before personal comfort.

See you Saturday for our Halloween alternative!

Thank you to all who made this year's Marriage and Family Retreat so successful over the weekend! Many, many people worked hard to see that our families had an opportunity to meet, hear outstanding lectures by Fr. David Moser, and have many of their questions answered. For those who were unable to attend, or even for those who were, we have posted the audio files of the lectures on our Sound of the Parish blog. You can find them at the link below – we know you will find them edifying!

http://soundoftheparish.blogspot.com/20 ... -2015.html

Church School begins this year on Saturday, September 26. Click on the link below to see why you should register your child immediately:

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

To register, please visit this Google doc:

http://goo.gl/forms/BVWIlgDJ9y

We have lots of ORPR camper veterans in our parish. We'd like to try to get all our camp veterans together to reminisce, reconnect, and perhaps raise a little money for ORPR camp. More information can be found at the link below:

http://goo.gl/forms/5hO5xtwGfW

Please plan to join us for an informal – but fun – evening!