St.Vladimir Orthodox Church

News and Events — 2008

Visit of Archbishop Seraphim

Archbishop Seraphim will be visiting St. Vladimir’s and the Hermitage of the Annunciation from Nov 21 to Nov 23, 2008. Personal appointments with Vladyka Seraphim are available on Saturday afternoon. If you would like to have an appointment, please sign your name on the sign-up sheet in the Synaxis Room.

There is a parish potluck dinner with Vladyka Seraphim at Saturday night after Vespers which is at 5:30 pm (Nov 22). The potluck dinner will be held at the home of Cindy and Jon Goossen. Sunday Nov 23 is Divine Liturgy followed by a potluck light lunch and fellowship with Vladyka Seraphim. Contributions to the Potluck dinner would be greatly appreciated. There is a sign-up sheet for that also. Please note that Archbishop Seraphim follows a special diet and you can find information about it posted on the bulletin board.

Visit of Fr. Ephraim Kyriakos

For those interested, Fr. Ephraim Kyriakos, Abbot of Archangel Michael Monastery in Lebanon, will be at St. Antonios Antiochian Orthodox Church (corner of Chebucto and Windsor) from Oct 22-26, 2008, every evening from Wednesday to Saturday at 5:30 p.m. conducting services, talks and discussions. On Saturday, Oct 25, at 8:30 a.m. will be Matins and Divine Liturgy Demetrius Soul Saturday.

Saturday, Oct 25, Vespers at St. Vladimir’s has been cancelled, and instead we will all meet with Fr. Vladimir at St. Antonios Antiochian Orthodox Church for Vespers at 5:30 pm, followed by a talk and discussion led by Fr. Ephraim.

Annual Meeting 2008

Our parish’s Annual Meeting has been scheduled for Sunday, September 7, 2008, following the Divine Liturgy. We will be discussing both the budget and the coming year.

Due to the storm coming in this weekend, here is an update on what is going to happen. Sunday Father will serve the Divine Liturgy as usual at 10am. Depending on the weather, each person will have to decide if he/she can safely make it to church and back home again. If there is a quorum on Sunday, the Annual Parish Meeting will take place, and if there is not, the meeting will be held the following Sunday.

In preparation for the meeting, the Parish Council is asking that anyone who would like to be considered a member of the parish fill out a Membership Form and Financial Pledge Card and give them to either Reuben or Leslee by this coming Sunday. These forms have been available for the last two Sundays at church, but if you have not picked one up there, click here to download. The purpose of these forms is to determine who the voting members of the parish are prior to the Annual Meeting; this is why we would like them submitted by August 31. As well, the financial information helps our treasurer to produce a more accurate and realistic budget.

St. Vladimir’s Book Club

Everyone one is invited to join St. Vladimir’s Book Club!

When: The Book Club will meet every Tuesday after mid-week reader’s Vespers (5:30) for a potluck supper at someone’s home and talking about Orthodox Readings. (If you cannot make it to Vespers, you are still most welcome at Book Club.)

Topic: Our present topic is North American Saints. The intention is to follow our heritage through the saints, starting with North American Saints, then the saints who were the bridges to their former countries, and eventually back to the apostles.

Purpose: To learn about our Orthodox faith; to encourage each other to keep reading and learning about our faith; to extend the St. Vladimir’s community beyond weekend services.

Method: The way Book Club works is that, after eating, we tell each other about the saint we have read about over the past week. This generally sparks off conversation that continues into the evening. How detailed the ’saint report’ is depends upon you. If you did not have time to read enough through the week to have anything sufficient to tell to the rest of the group, that is no problem. There is no reading requirement, nor is literacy a prerequisite for this book club. Attendance is a requirement, however.

Some frequently asked questions about Book Club:

1. Q. If I can not make it to Tuesday reader’s Vespers, can I still attend Book Club?
A. Yes.

2. Q. When will I get home after Book Club? How long does Book Club last?
A. Normally, 9:30, but you may leave when you must. It is o.k. to stay just for the potluck.

3. Q. What if I can only make it to Book Club ’once in a while’, can I still come to Book Club?
A. Yes, but everyone else would like you there more often.

Second Spring Work Bee at Hermitage of the Annunciation

Saturday, June 7, 9:00am Liturgy at the Hermitage of the Annunciation for those who are willing to repeat the “Work Bee” experience, and to spend a quiet Saturday with Fr. Roman & Fr. Cassian.

For transportation arrangements, please contact Ksenia Pycho as soon as possible at ksenia (at) dal (dot) ca, or 444-5080, and let her know also if you are able to contribute anything food-wise (main meal/dessert/fruit, etc).

On the way back in the evening, we will be stopping by Fr. Vladimir’s for tea.

Father Vladimir’s Birthday

Following Liturgy on Sunday, May 25, 2008, we will be celebrating Father Vladimir’s birthday (May 22) during coffee hour. Feel free to bring anything you want to add to the celebration. Soup and a cake have been provided already.

Spring Work Bee at Hermitage of the Annunciation

May 19th (Victoria Day)
Leave Halifax: 8:00am
Return to Halifax: between 6 and 7pm

Please bring vegetarian food for lunch.

The monks have a number of “spring” tasks which need to be done. Please come willing to put in a full day of work on the peaceful grounds of the Hermitage of the Annunciation.

If you are interested in participating, or can lend a car, please contact Reuben (404-7311).

Send-off for Jane Dunnett

Sunday, April 6: Divine Liturgy of St. Basil served by Fr. Roman; Vespers of Annunciation 5:30PM (Readers Service). After the Divine Liturgy there will be a send-off for Jane Dunnett, who is leaving to begin a new job in Toronto on April 12. Any contribution to Coffee Hour would be greatly appreciated (a special cake is being supplied by Cindy).

Lenten Services 2008

All the weeks before Holy Week follow the same pattern: On each Monday, it is the Readers Vespers, each Wednesday it is Presanctified Liturgy, and each Friday, it is Readers Akathist.

Fr.Roman will be serving Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesday, April 2. He will also be serving Divine Liturgy on Sunday, April 6. (Saturday, April 5 will be Readers Vespers.) This will give Fr.Vladimir a Lenten break.

On Friday, April 11, Fr.Vladimir will be doing the full Akathist service. On Saturday, April 12, there will be Divine Liturgy at 10:15 am. There will be a quiet potluck lunch, followed by a talk by Fr.Vladimir. The talk will be followed by a time of silence. Then Fr.Vladimir will give a second talk, again followed by silence. Vespers will follow. Father asks that people sign up for this special Saturday afternoon session. Sunday, April 13 will be the already announced Hours and Liturgy of St.Basil.

Sunday School

On Sunday, Jan 20, 2008, we would like to start Sunday School. It will be after the Liturgy, probably starting during the after Liturgy Thanksgiving prayers, lasting about 30-40 minutes. Ksenia is going to help Jane and leslee by translating everything into Russian. All children are welcome.

14th anniversary of Father Vladimir to the Holy Priesthood

The Feast of the Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple will be celebrated on Sunday, December 9, at 10:00 AM (preceded by the Hours at 9:45 AM). Vespers will be at the usual time of 5:30 PM on Saturday, December 8. This feast day is also the celebration of the 14th anniversary of Father Vladimir to the Holy Priesthood. There will be a special coffee hour after the Liturgy to honour Father for his faithful service to St. Vladimir’s. A special note of thanks is due to all those who by their presence or their contribution gave a warm welcome to Archbishop Seraphim on his annual pastoral visit to St. Vladimir’s. A last reminder is that St. George’s Round Church is holding a fund-raising lunch on December 9 in the Church Hall at 12:30 PM. If you would like to attend, there is a charge of $10. Thanks to everyone again for all that each and everyone did during Archbishop Seraphim’s visit to make everything run as smoothly as possible, in spite of the mini snow storm.

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