Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

            May God bless all of you on this seventh week after Pentecost!

            On Tuesday of this week, we will commemorate the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. While we do not have services scheduled this week, I want to make you all aware of the beauty and solemnity of marking this day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and encourage you to pray to her, for her intercessions on this day.

            The history of the miraculous intercessions of the Mother of God through her Kazan Icon are wonderful to remember and contemplate. Please see the following for a beautiful summary of the miraculous intercessions of the Mother of God through her Kazan Icon: Homily of the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God / OrthoChristian.Com

            I also would like to share with you my own personal remembrances of this blessed feast day when I was in Russia in 2019. By God’s grace, and through the blessing of our Archbishop Kyrill, I was blessed to concelebrate this feast with the clergy of the Cathedral of the Kazan Mother of God in St Petersburg. The Cathedral of the Kazan Mother of God in St Petersburg is a stunning and miraculous place of prayer and grace. I was blessed to serve the Vigil service and the Divine Liturgy with the clergy of the Cathedral on this day in 2019. It was an experience which I will never forget… The warmth and hospitality of the clergy of the Kazan Cathedral was overwhelming. They were SO kind to my unworthiness. I remember processing out with the Cathedral clergy during the Vigil and walking, and walking, and walking, to the back of the huge Cathedral to serve the Litya. I have joked with people that I could have ordered an Uber to take me to the back of the church! I was also warm-heartedly teased by the rector of the Cathedral that my voice was far too ‘mousey’ to reverberate in that huge space. I’ll never forget the moments during the Divine Liturgy when the Cathedral priests went out with the multiple chalices to commune the faithful. I was instructed to take a seat within the altar. Listening to the beautiful Cathedral choir and sitting within the altar of the historic Cathedral while the faithful communed was one of the highlights of my life. May God bless all of you this Tuesday as the Church commemorates the most holy Mother of God!

            Our weekly Bible Study is this Wednesday evening at 7pm. This week we will conclude our study of the Psalms and will begin a detailed review of the Epistles. All are invited to attend. The Zoom link is: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89738164102. 

Fr Andrew’s Catechism class will be held on Thursday at 6pm. The Zoom link is: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81421729353. All are welcome to attend.

            We will NOT have our usual 2pm in-person class this Saturday. Instead, we will have the blessing of a visit from Sister Elena from the St Elizabeth Convent in Minsk, Belarus. The St Elizabeth Convent’s establishment was rooted in a desire to help those in need, reflecting the belief that love for God is expressed through compassion for others. It has grown into a vibrant spiritual community with 120 monastics of various ranks, guided by the wonderful spiritual father Fr Andrey Lemeshonok. Social ministry remains central, with lay sisters serving people with disabilities, hospital patients, the homeless, and those in addiction recovery. Sister Elena will be in the Church Hall at 3pm to share with us the many handicrafts of the convent and to speak about the many good works done by the sisterhood. I exhort all of you to please come and show support for Sister Elena and the Convent of St Elizabeth. I hope to see many of you there!

May God bless you and be with you!

Fr Martin