THANK YOU from Fr Paul & Mother Nancy to the faithful of St Herman’s for the wonderfully decorated coffee hour, for the great meal, the cards and well-wishes two weeks ago celebrating our 50^th wedding anniversary together with you, our spiritual children.

A BLESSED FATHERS’ DAY to all our fathers.

THANK YOU to Julie Moritz; she is directing our singing this morning, filling in for Peter & Susanna who are still on vacation.

IT WAS OUR JOY to enroll Adiel Huerta into the catechumenate yesterday afternoon before Great Vespers.

NATIVITY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST is this Wednesday, June 24. On this day in 1988, the deacon of about four months, “Kenneth Paul,” was ordained to the holy priesthood at the Chapel of St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, NY, by Bishop Job. That makes this the 38^th anniversary of Fr Paul’s ordination. We will serve the Feast of the Baptist’s nativity this Wednesday at 630 am, hours at 610 am.

UNDER ARCHBISHOP Daniel, our Diocese was officially placed under the protection of the All-Holy Theotokos, and the feast of the appearance of the wonder-working Tikhvin Icon of the Holy Theotokos was established as our Diocese’s patronal feast. That feast is this Friday, June 26.  A very nice letter of greeting in the joy of this feast from Archbishop Daniel is posted on the bulletin board downstairs.

THE ST JOHN OF CHICAGO PASTORAL INSTITUTE is a new educational ministry of our Diocese. It is dedicated to diaconal formation, catechetical education, and lifelong Orthodox Christian learning. Through its programs, the Institute will support the ongoing development of clergy, catechists, and lay faithful throughout the Diocese of the Midwest. Currently, a diaconal track and catechist training track are open. A third track is still under development: adult enrichment for parishioners who desire further formation in the faith. This track will offer continuing education opportunities for clergy and laity seeking deeper study in Orthodox theology, Holy Scripture, Church history, liturgical life, spirituality, and related disciplines. A letter announcing and briefly describing this new educational ministry is posted on the bulletin board downstairs. For further information follow this link: https://domoca.org/diocese-of-the-midwest-establishes-st-john-of-chicago-pastoral-institute/

WE EXPECT TO RECEIVE 40 or more new Orthodox Christians between now and Theophany, both infants and adults. Many of the adults may need to be baptized. Fr Paul meets with those who may be ready for reception this morning following a brief coffee hour. We will go over logistics, schedules, and words of instruction.

Suddenly, our recently established SEWING GUILD has become all the more relevant. Its members will soon be busy making baptismal gowns, lots of ‘em. We’ll need funds to purchase fabric for baptismal gowns. Therefore, please note that BAPTISMAL GOWN FUND a has been established to which donations are welcome in order to assist sponsors who may need to draw from it to help them purchase fabric for baptismal gowns to be sewn by the Sewing Guild for their sponsees.

NEXT CATECHISM CLASS FOR EVERYONE is this Saturday, June 27, from 1030 am – 12 NOON. This will be the last catechism class for the summer. Remember that past classes are uploaded and can be viewed from our website’s YouTube Library.

On Wednesday evenings, July 8, 15, & 22, from 7 – 830 pm, Fr Paul will present lectures on: “The Sacred Marriage of the Great Goddess Mystery Religions and the Church’s Spiritual Marriage.” These lectures follow the lectures Fr Paul offered some years ago at the College of St Scholastica in Duluth, sponsored by the Greek and Serbian Orthodox Churches in Duluth. These lectures are open to all.

OUR FOUTH QUARTER CHARITY is Zoe – an Orthodox ministry centered in Cleveland for unwed mothers.

OUR ST HERMAN’S ANNUAL PARISH PILGRIMAGE to Holy Dormition is confirmed for July 28 & 29. Monday, July 27 is a travel day. Most pilgrims return on Thursday. Some take two days to return so that they return on Friday afternoon. This is a work-pilgrimage primarily; a retreat secondarilpy. We help the mothers and sisters prepare the grounds for their patronal feast on Aug 15. A sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board downstairs.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle, but salvation is in the LORD [Proverbs 21.31]

We are obligated to prepare ourselves, but our success depends on God. All of our preparation is only as a proposal to God, and it is not the preparation that determines the outcome, but God.

O soldier of Christ, prepare your mind as a good horse, arm your heart with virtues, temper your will with asceticism; but know that salvation is in the LORD.

O merchant of Christ, trade well, every day, exchanging the material for the spiritual, the earthly for the heavenly, and mortality for immortality; but know that salvation is in the LORD.

O plowman of Christ, plow and re-plow your soul, sow the good seed of the Gospel in it every day, clear the weeds out of the field of your soul, watch over it; but know that salvation is in the LORD.

St Nikolai Velimirovic, Prologue of Ohrid I, p. 636.