Please find the audio file of the spiritual discussions Hieromonk Seraphim held with the participants of the diocesan young adult retreat that we hosted at our parish in April of this year at the link below:

http://stvladimiraami.org/sound/hieromo ... -05-14.wav

We do have the video file and would be happy to share it, but it is quite large. We may break it into pieces and post it on our You Tube channel, but if you would like the entire presentation on a DVD please contact Fr. Gregory.

Today marks the yearly feast of St. Herman of Alaska. To our friends celebrating the Lord's Nativity today: we wish you a blessed feast. To those celebrating St. Herman today: we wish you a blessed feast. Those celebrating St. Herman today include our Michigan Deanery parish in Lake Odessa, MI. To Fr. Michael Carney, the Rector, and to all the parishioners: we wish you a blessed feast! Below please find the life of St. Herman. May it be edifying for all our readers!

English:

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2014/12/13/ ... of-all-ame

Russian:

http://fatheralexander.org/booklets/rus ... n_alsk.htm

Now is the time to buy tickets for our annual Nativity Ball! This great event is one that you don't want to miss - and it is one that you don't want your friends to miss either. So buy tickets for yourself - and then for your friends! What a great Christmas present! More information at the flyer at the link below. The ball is January 9 - we look forward to seeing you there!

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

During the Nativity Lenten period we will continue to offer our parish family opportunities to learn more about our parish finances and how our parish family can help support our parish. This is from our Starosta:

"I’d like to announce that during the Nativity Fast I will have financial 'open houses' for a couple hours on Sundays from 3 to 5 PM. Please attend any or all of them. I hope that we can have fruitful discussions about the parish and our financial situation.

On Sunday December 7 and 21, they’ll be in English.
On December 14 and 28 they will be in Russian.

They’ll be at our house: 2065 Chalmers Dr., Ann Arbor--just west of Arborland, down the street from Paesano’s restaurant."

Please plan to attend those discussions that you would like to and please spread the word. This is our parish - we need to know about it and how to help support it. All are welcome!

For those who prefer the open discussions we've had at our parish during coffee hour on Sundays from time to time those will return again as well - but during this Lenten period we will concentrate on smaller, more intimate meetings. Please direct questions to our Starosta, Nathan Longan, or Fr. Gregory.

It is a pious tradition at St. Vladimir Church for virtually everyone to partake of the Holy Mysteries on the Feast of our Lord’s Nativity. Please confess early for the feast! Confessions will be heard at the following times – please take advantage of this opportunity!

Tuesday, December 30: Confession 6:00-8:00 p.m. (Please make an appointment with Fr. Gregory)
Wednesday, December 31: Confession 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. (Please make an appointment with Fr. Gregory)
Friday, January 2: Confession during and after Evening Services (beginning at 6:00 p.m.)
Saturday, January 3: Confession 3:00-6:00 p.m. (Please make an appointment with Fr. Gregory)
Monday, January 5: Confession 6:00-8:00 p.m. (Please make an appointment with Fr. Gregory)
Tuesday, January 6: Confession begins at 4:00 p.m., Vigil 6:00 p.m., Confession during and following Vigil

Please note: those who have confessed beginning December 27 need not confess again before Nativity, but are welcome to partake of the Holy Mysteries having prepared themselves by reading the appointed prayer rule and attending the Divine Services for the feast.

Our parish Christmas Pageant (Yolka) is set for Sunday, January 11 at 2:30 p.m. at the Dexter Public Library, 3255 Alpine Street, Dexter, MI 48130. Tickets are $15/child before January 1, $20/child after January 1. Purchase tickets now! Learn more at the link below. Please plan to join us for this wonderful annual St. Vladimir's tradition!

http://stvladimiraami.org/flyers/yolka.pdf

St. Vladimir's is pleased to announce that Sister Vassa of “Coffee with Sister Vassa” will visit St. Vladimir's January 1, 2015. The topic of Sister Vassa's presentation will be "Being Church in the Age of the Internet". You can learn more about Sister Vassa by visiting her Face Book page:

https://www.facebook.com/CoffeeWithSisterVassa

Or her You Tube Channel:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH-FBwgf93rU-g8BH3xiuUQ

Please make plans to join us! The presentation will begin at 1:00 p.m. This should allow for a nice, moderate celebration of New Year's Eve for those who choose to celebrate, but still give ample time to be to St. Vladimir's on this civil holiday (when very few of our parishioners will have to work) to participate in the presentation and discussion. Spread the word! DON'T MISS IT!

Please join us for a prosphora baking workshop on December 27 beginning at 9:00 a.m. The workshop will be held at the home of Panagioti and Patricia Apostolou. RSVP ASAP – space is limited. WE NEED PROSPHORA BAKERS! This is a very spiritually rewarding undertaking. You will be preparing the very bread that becomes of Body of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is a great honor! To learn more or to reserve your place please contact Fr. Gregory.

For several years we have talked about a parish preschool for our children (and the children of those outside the parish who would be interested in an Orthodox preschool). In order to accomplish this laudable goal we need to gage interest and support from our community – especially our families with young children who would enroll in the preschool. Therefore, during the parish meal on December 21 we will gather all those interested and discuss the best path forward. YOUR INPUT IS WELCOME! We are not exactly sure how we are going to to this, but the support of this idea has been very strong and so we want to investigate this seriously. Please join us on December 21 for this meeting. If you are unable to be present, but you are interested in providing input or in helping to get a preschool off the ground please contact Fr. Gregory. See you December 14! Please spread the word to those you know or suspect would be interested in joining us!

Please join us at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 21 at Fr. Gregory's home for our monthly Young Adult/College Age dinner. The discussion last time was quite broad. That is not bad by any means – in fact the discussion was great! This time we will set a topic and just see what happens. :) The topic will be: “Comparative Theology of the Nativity – what the Lord's Incarnation Means to Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant Christians.” We all deal with people of various stripes of Christianity every day. And in fact, we could argue that the Lord's birth means something important to Muslims too (even if they wouldn't admit that quite as readily as we might). In any case – there is lots to discuss on this topic and it is likely to lead us to others and that is good! Please join us – and please let us know you will be there by singing up at the link below. See you Sunday!

http://goo.gl/forms/sCwCnhA9iG