The feast of the great favorite of God, Venerable Herman of Alaska, falls on December 12/25 each year – the same day that many in our nation commemorate the Nativity of our Lord, but 13 days before we will celebrate that feast on the Church Calendar. Rather, on this day annually many of the faithful from throughout the Lower Peninsula of Michigan make the pilgrimage to Lake Odessa, to celebrate St. Herman at the only parish named after him in the Diocese of Chicago & Mid-America. This year the Divine Liturgy was led by Archpriest Gregory Joyce, Dean of Michigan parishes. The Rector of the parish, Archpriest Michael Carney, led the choir. Parish Deacon Elias Reeves as joined by Deacon Dimitriy Kashchenko from our Ann Arbor parish to round out the clerical lineup for the Second Parish of the temple named in honor of St. Herman. In addition to the blessing of the Divine Liturgy on this day, the faithful also had the opportunity to venerate the relics of St. Herman – a great blessing indeed.

Following the Divine Liturgy all were welcomed to the beautiful Lenten meal that the parish sisterhood has offered their guests for many years. And something which everyone looks forward to each year. Yes, undoubtedly for the delicious food. But even more so – for the fellowship that takes place in Lake Odessa annually on this day, which is always extremely warm, and a great blessing to all. We congratulate Fr. Michael, Deacon Elias, and all the faithful on feast day of their parish!

The feast of St. Ambrose of Milan falls on the day after St. Nicholas day every year, and for this reason many of the faithful are not attentive to this great saint. Yet, in the north of Michigan a community has dedicated themselves to this favorite of God. His feast day was marked by Divine Liturgy on December 7/20. Archpriest Gregory Joyce, Dean of Michigan parishes, led the services on this day. Also participating were Priest Micah Chisholm from the St. Sebastian Mission in Traverse City, Priest Jesse Rimshas from the St. Jacob Mission in Marquette, and the serving priest of the St. Ambrose Mission, Priest Dmitri Mihaliov.

Following the Divine Liturgy a very pleasant Lenten meal was offered to all in attendance. Unsurprisingly for this part of the world at this time of year, snow had fallen the night before. But by the time the Liturgy had ended bright sunshine shone through the windows of Priest Dmitri’s home as all enjoyed fellowship, thanked God for the opportunity to come together on this Second Pascha of the Mission, and made prayerful plans to bring more people to Christ in this far southern part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

In spite of the proximity to the American feast of Thanksgiving (which had many parishioners traveling) and the arrival of the first significant snowfall of the year, on Saturday November 30 the clergy and faithful of St Sebastian Orthodox Church gathered, along with many friends and supporters to celebrate the Divine Liturgy in honor of their heavenly patron and intercessor: St Sebastian (Dabovich) of Jackson.

Father Micah Chisholm, Rector of St Sebastian parish served the Divine Liturgy with Fr Jesse Rimshas of St Jacob's Orthodox Mission in Ishpeming, MI concelebrating with him. In all nearly forty of the faithful partook of Holy Communion.

This feast day was the fifth celebration of its type since the assignment of Fr Micah to serve the parish by +Archbishop Peter of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America and the faithful prayed for their recently reposed and much beloved Vladyka Peter as part of their festal celebration.

Near the end of the Liturgy the Serbian Slava Service was celebrated by Father Micah, paying homage to the homeland of St Sebastian's ancestors (and the place where he fell asleep in the Lord) as well as to the beginnings of the parish, which first began as a mission under (now) Metropolitan Longin of the Serbian Diocese of the Midwest/New Gracanica.

In 2025 St Sebastian parish will celebrate the 10th anniversary of her founding and plans are currently underway for marking this significant milestone.

Photo credits: Juliana Rimshas & Pamela Lysaght

Ann Arbor/Dexter, MI – The Tenth Ann Arbor Russian Orthodox Festival took place on September 21-22, 2024 on the grounds of St. Vladimir Church here. This is the parish's single largest outreach to the surrounding community of the year and the entire parish works together for almost a full year between festivals to prepare for these two important days. The festival offered the best of Russian, Ukrainian, and Slavic Culture from dancing, to music, to food, to games, to educational information about the historical lands and people of Ancient Rus, to the most important aspect of the festival: the Church Tours and School Tours. Church Tours were offered every few hours beginning with a concert featuring the parish choir, and followed by a short presentation by Archpriest Gregory Joyce, Rector of this community. The presentation focused on interesting aspects of Orthodox theology, liturgics, hymnography, and art juxtaposed with the guests' more familiar understanding of Western Christianity. All were invited to stay after each of the formal presentations and ask questions of Fr. Gregory or one of the other members of the parish family who had been prepared to fulfill this duty of welcoming new people to the parish temple during the festival. In addition to Church Tours the parish church is open for the entirety of the festival and is staffed by the same specially trained clergy and parishioners as were present for the Church Tours. This year School Tours were offered for the first time, since the parish school had just opened for instruction a week before the festival. Guests had the opportunity to see the school facilities and to ask questions of the Head of School, Irene Melabiotis. We are thankful to the merciful Lord that He blessed our efforts and we look forward to the 2025 festival. All are welcome the third weekend of September – every year!


https://stvladimirchurch.smugmug.com/2024]Photos and Videos of the Festival[/url]

Facebook: @AnnArborRussianFestival

Twitter: @a2rusfest

Instagram: @a2rusfest

Priest Benjamin Naasko, his family, and parishioners gathered together for their second Pascha on September 24, 2024. The day was celebrated with Vigil the night before and Liturgy in the morning with a cross procession in the uncommonly sunny fall weather. This was followed by an elaborate feast and ended with ice cream sundaes on the lawn next to the newly installed playground equipment. The number of children attending the parish is growing creating the need for playground equipment, which has been noticed by members of the community who now identify the church as the one with the playground. A grassy area near the playground has been established as a seating area with lawn furniture so parents and others may relax while they watch the children play.

This was a particularly festive way to recognize the changing status of the parish which was briefly a monastery after nearly two decades as a mission. With the change to move the monastic focus of the diocese, the facilities were returned to the parishioners and the parish was reestablished with Priest Benjamin as rector. The parishioners have worked and saved and donated to invest heavily in their aging property with new siding, a restoration of the bell tower, a new playground, and a nearly complete redecoration of the interior of the rectory, which is now converted to parish use. This work is undertaken to care for the one hundred-year-old building before the parish’s thirtieth anniversary in 2025.

Faithful who wish to contribute to the capital campaign for the restoration project of the building may find more information on their website at

https://www.orthodoxkeweenaw.org/give

A committed and growing group of faithful have been gathering in Northern Michigan near where the Mackinac Bridge connects the Upper and Lower Peninsulas for reader's services and regular though infrequent services with a priest. Archbishop Peter of Chicago understands how hard it is for small communities to maintain their zeal without regular services and looked for a priest for the community. Priest Dmitri Mihaliov, formerly a deacon attached to St Vladimir in Ann Arbor, was ordained for the mission. He and his wife, Dr. Katherine Mihaliov, moved their growing family to the Upper Peninsula side of the bridge where there were more favorable real estate conditions and have begun regular services in the garage attached to their family home.



Wishing to extend their support for the mission and to establish lasting friendships, the clergy of Northern Michigan gathered on September 14, 2024, for Divine Liturgy and a delicious meal at the Mihaliov home with them and their gathered parishioners. In attendance were the mission’s interim rector and supervising priest, Priest Micah Chisholm of St. Sebastian in Traverse City, Priest Benjamin Naasko of Sts. Sergius and Herman of Valaam in Houghton, Priest Jesse Rimshas of St. Jacob in Ishpeming, and Subdeacon Dionysios DeLong who is attached to St. Ambrose Mission. The joyous day marks a great point in the growing Orthodox presence in Northern Michigan.

Please keep the Mihaliov family and their parishioners in your prayers and consider donating to their good work. The city has allowed them to use this residential garage for only one year before another home from the mission may be found and donations will allow them to find a suitable place more quickly. More information about the mission and its scheduled services may be found on their website at

https://stambroseorthodox.org/

The 2024 ORPR Diocesan Youth Camp session began on Saturday, July 6. The picture above is of Fr. Gregory Joyce with the campers from the Michigan Deanery for this year. Want to see to it that your child can participate next year? VISIT THE ORPR CAMP WEB SITE!

DONATE HERE

On the evening of April 2/15, 2024 the northern parishes of the Michigan Deanery gathered at the St. Jacob Mission with Archbishop Peter’s blessing to serve the sacrament of Unction. This general form of Unction is often served during Great Lent in the Russian Orthodox Church, in support of the striving for spiritual health that we are laboring so diligently for during these holy days.

The service was led by the Dean of Michigan parishes, Archpriest Gregory Joyce. Serving with Fr. Gregory were:

Priest Benjamin Naasko, Sts. Sergius & Herman Church, Houghton
Priest Micah Chisholm, St. Sebastian Church, Traverse City
Priest Jesse Rimshas, St. Jacob Mission, Ishpeming
Deacon Michael Rossmeisl, St. Sebastian Church, Traverse City

A large number of people gathered from throughout the northern part of the Lower Peninsula and the entire Upper Peninsula to participate in the beautiful and meaningful Divine Service. Following the anointing, a robust lenten meal was offered to those in attendance. The fellowship of the gathered faithful lasted well into the night, for the opportunity to interact with fellow Orthodox Christians in this northern region is somewhat rare, and therefore extremely important.

PICTURES CAN BE FOUND HERE

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