For those who are ages 7 through 30 and plan to take communion on Nativity (Christmas) on Monday, or this Sunday, you need to come to confession before communion. Confession will be available on Sat. at 6 p.m., Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., and Monday at 9:30 a.m.

Pavlina Simić, 66, of selo Vratnica (born in Odri) reposed in the Lord on the morning of December 23, 2007. She is the wife of Borče Simić of Vratnica.

Pomen will be on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Wujek Funeral Home on 16 Mi. & Schoenner Rd. Funeral service will be at St. Petka’s on Thursday at 11 a.m. (with doors open at 10 a.m.) and burial at White Chapel Cemetery on 18 Mi. & Crooks.

Between December 26th-29th, 2007, parents from our parish can send their children ages 10 to 18 to our St. Sava's Winter Camp in Shadeland, Pennsylvania. This camp is hosted by both the Eastern Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Midwest Diocese. At the camp there will be plenty of fun activities to do with other Serbian-American youth from all over the East coast and the Midwest. Not only will there be fun activities but also cultural classes and candid talks from priests concerning their faith. The registration fee of $150 will cover food and lodging. Items to bring are sleeping bags, sheets, pillowcases, towels, warm clothing, toiletries, skates (if you do not want to rent them), and skis (if you do not want to rent them). If you are interested, please contact Tetka Žana at 586-247-1344 as soon as possible. Click here to download the flier and registration form (in PDF form).

Because of the snowstorm this past Sunday, this upcoming Sunday, December 23rd, we will finally have the Annual Assembly-Godišnja Skupština where we will elect members for the 2008 Church Board as well as hear yearly progress reports. All members in good standing are invited to come and vote.

On Wednesday, December 19th (December 6th according to the Julian Calendar) we celebrate the feast of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker - Sveti Nikola.  There will be Divine Liturgy at 10 a.m.  There will be no Vigil the night before due to the parish duties of Fr. Kristijan performing slavas at parishioners' homes. 

On Tuesday, December 4th (November 21st by the Julian Calendar), we celebrate the Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple - Ваведење Пресвете Богородице. There will be vigil on Monday at 6 p.m. with divine liturgy on Tuesday at 10 a.m. Please view this short yet very beautiful presentation (with music) concerning the Entry of the Mother of God -Vavedenje- into the Temple when She was three years old.

This upcoming Sunday, Dec. 2nd, there will be the last quarterly meeting - 'vanredna skupština' of the year in order to decide and vote on candidates for the 2008 Nominating Committee. This committee helps with the election process in recommending candidates solely for the 2009 church board and not for 2008. Please do not confuse this quarterly meeting with the Annual Assembly on Dec. 16th, when progress reports are shared and the election of the 2008 Church Board is conducted. All members in good standing are invited to attend after the divine liturgy.

On Wednesday, November 28th (Nov. 15th in the Julian Calendar), the NATIVITY FAST begins and it lasts until the feast of Nativity of Christ, which for us Orthodox Serbs, until January 7, 2008 in the civil calendar. For those who want to fast all 40 days in order to receive a greater reward from God, one must abstain as usually from food of animal origin: meat, dairy and eggs. In remembrance that Christ was betrayed by Judas on Wednesday and was crucified on Friday, we also abstain from oil and fish on these two days, Wednesdays and Fridays, during the entire 40 days. Fish is only allowed on the weekends (Saturdays and Sundays). Also, for the 40-day-fasters, you may come up for communion every Sunday. If you are 30 years of age and younger, then confession before communion is mandatory. Confession will be available on Saturday nights at 6 p.m. and on Sunday mornings before the Divine Liturgy (not after the liturgy). If you are older than 30 and you still want to go to confession, please come and see Fr. Kristijan.

For those who are weaker and choose not to fast the entire 40 days, one can fast for one week (usually starting on a Monday) with the last three days (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) being without oil and fish.

Remember that "fasting" is not only abstaining from food and drink, but also from entertainments of this world (such as going to the movies, playing video games, watching worldly television programs, surfing the web for entertainment or gossip, listening to secular music, reading worldly magazines or books, making unnecessary visits to other people's homes, etc.). Please take into consideration that everything about the fast is to calm the senses, purify one's body and redirect one's thoughts to God, especially during this opportune time that has been appointed by the Church to do so.

This Saturday, November 24th (Nov. 11th in the Julian Calendar), is the Church Slava of St. Stevan Dečani in Warren. His Grace Bishop Longin will be present. Hierarchical Divine Liturgy will begin at 10:30 a.m. followed by a reception in the banquet hall. All are invited!

On this Wednesday, November 21st (Nov. 8th Julian Calendar), we celebrate ARANĐELOVDAN, the feastday of the Archangel Michael & the Other Bodiless Powers (Angels) of Heaven. There will be Divine Liturgy at 10 a.m. Also, there is no Vigil the night before, Tuesday, on account of Fr. Kristijan performing slavas.

Velko Petrovski, 58, of selo Jegunovce reposed in the Lord on the night of November 12, 2007 after a long battle with illness. He is the son of †Lazar & †Slavka Petrovski of Jegunovce.

Pomen will be on Friday at 7 p.m. at Mandzuik Funeral Home on 18 Mi. & Ryan. Funeral service will be at St. Petka’s on Saturday at 11 a.m. (with doors open at 10 a.m.) and burial on Van Dyke & 6 Mile.

Večnaja Pamjat!
Memory Eternal!

The Detroit Chapter of Serbian Unity Congress cordially invites you to attend a fundraising banquet to be held on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2007. The event will be held at 6:00 p.m. at the Ravanica Hall in Detroit, with all profit from the event being earmarked for the renovation of Djurdjevi Stupovi monastery, near Novi Pazar, Serbia.

The event will include dinner, a program reflecting on the historical and cultural significance of the monastery, as well as entertainment provided by Orchestra Prijatelji. For more information, please see the attached flier. For reservations, please call (586) 703-7084 or (248) 229-0776.


Please join us and help us with this worthy cause!

On this Thursday, November 8th (October 26th Julian Calendar), we celebrate MITROVDAN, the feastday of the Holy Great Martyr St. Dimitri. There will be Divine Liturgy at 10 a.m.  Also, there is no Vigil the night before, Wednesday, on account of Fr. Kristijan performing slavas. 

The 'spiritual acts of mercy' that we Orthodox Christians are called to perform are to 1) Counsel the doubtful, 2) Instruct the ignorant, 3) Admonish the sinner, 4) Comfort the afflicted, 5) Forgive all offenses, 6) Bear wrongs patiently and 7) Pray for the living and the dead. We specifically pray for the dead on four marked days in the year. These days are called, po naši, "Zadušnice" or Memorial Saturdays (because they always fall on a Saturday). On this day the faithful come to the cemeteries with boiled wheat (for wheat has to 'die' first before it can be buried and come back to life, symbolic of the General Resurrection of the dead) and wine. Also, various food and drink are distributed by the family to the faithful in the name(s) of the departed. In earlier times, our ancestors gave this food solely to the poor (who could not pay us back) as a 'good work' in the name of the departed, so that the departed soul will go higher up to God (for when we die, we can no longer do any good works to go higher to God; but, our families can do good works in our name so that we may continue to ascend to higher places in Paradise).

So, on Saturday, November 3rd, Fr. Kristijan will be blessing the graves of your departed at the cemetery at Van Dyke (Detroit) from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. & at White Chapel (Troy) from 11:30 a.m. Please take into consideration this schedule when coming to the cemetery.

This Wednesday, Oct. 31st, we commemorate St. Peter of Cetinje (a great bishop saint from Montenegro). It is a 'red letter' holiday in the calendar, meaning there will be Divine Liturgy at 10 a.m. Also on Wednesday, there will be a Vespers service at 5 p.m as an alternative to Halloween. Out of all the Western and civil holidays in America, we Orthodox do not celebrate this pagan holiday. All the other holidays (with Thanksgiving being the most Christian in nature) we celebrate. After the service, there will be snacks, a talk on Halloween, and entertainment for the children (children may come in costumes but NO pagan costumes, such as devils, witches, sorcerers [wizards], ghosts, skeleton and horror outfits).
Check out the website of our St. Petar of Cetinje Missionary Brotherhood in Puerto Rico.

On October 27th St. Petka celebrated its Slava, marking our church temple's second anniversary since its consecration. Seen in the pictures are our Kumovi, Duško and Milica Sinadinovski.

On Sunday, October 21st, after the Divine Liturgy, there will be a quarterly meeting- "vanredna skupština" with our parishioners to hear the progress of the memorial plaque and reports on other current issues. Please make every effort to come to this meeting so as to show your support for your parish family.

We would like to welcome our newest member, Sebastian (Sevastíjan), into Christ's Church! He is the son of Goran and Melony Djordjević. May God grant His servant of God, Sebastian, many years!

On Friday, October 12th, at 7p.m. there will be a lecture at the hall of the Church of St. Stevan of Decani in Warren on 11 Mile and Groesbeck. Guest speakers are Branislav Nešić, editor of the orthodox publication "Pravoslavlje", and Boško Obradović of "Srpski sabor Dveri". We invite all who are interested to come and hear the lecture of our guests from Serbia.

On Oct. 7th, at the end of the Divine Liturgy there will be a 'special meeting' specifically concerning the programming of the fresco work of our dome. A very crucial vote from the congregation will be needed, so all members in good standing please attend.

This Sunday, September 30th, the Detroit Chapter of SUC is organizing a PICNIC at Raintree Park in Troy. Come out and enjoy the last bit of summer and meet fellow Serbs! The park is centrally located on John R Rd between 16 and 17 Mile (just 1/2 mi. from St. Petka's) in Troy. Picnic begins at 1:00 PM and lasts until 8:00 PM.

Serbian Unity Congress (Detroit Chapter) Website

On Thursday, Sept. 27th (14th by the Old Julian Calendar), we will celebrate at St. Petka’s Krstovdan- Exaltation of the Cross. On this day, we commemorate the solemn finding by St. Helen (the mother of St. Constantine) of the Precious and Life Giving Cross of Our Lord in the year 326 A.D. The schedule of services for this feast goes as follows:

Wednesday, Sept. 26th
Vigil at 5 p.m.
Confession after the service

Thursday, Sept. 27th
Confession at 9:45 a.m.
Divine Liturgy at 10 a.m.

Remember that even though the Exaltation of the Cross is a feast, it is a solemn feast; so on Thursday one fasts strictly, "na vodi," meaning on top of refraining from meat, dairy products and eggs, one also does not consume any fish, wine or oil on this day.

This upcoming Sunday, September 23rd, we will have the blessing performed by our Metropolitan Christopher for the beginning of the fresco-writing of our dome. We will have a special Hierarchical Liturgy that morning followed by the offical blessing. Please make sure to attend this special event marking the further beautification of the interior of our church temple.

We would like to welcome our newest member, Kyla, into God's Church! She is the daughter of Gina Rossbach and granddaughter of Gary and Gina. May God grant His handmaiden of God, Kyla, many years!

On September 9th, this upcoming Sunday, please bring your children to church for the important reading of the Prayer of the Holy Spirit to begin the new orthodox school year. There will be registration for school year after the Divine Liturgy this Sunday. Please make every effort to bring your childrento come to this very important blessing.

We would like the welcome the newest members, Nina, Anika and their little brother Luka, into Christ's Church! They are the children of parents Randal & Sandra Erskine. May God grant His handmaidens Nina & Anika and His servant Luka many years!

The Fast of the Mother of God will begin on the 14th of August and will end on the 28th, lasting only two weeks. In the Serbian Orthodox Church, this is a very strict fast! Besides not eating any meat or dairy products for this fast, we also do not eat any fish or oil ("na vodi" as we say). The only time we have fish is on one day, the Feast of the Transfiguration (Aug. 19th on the civil calendar/ Aug. 6th on the old calendar). Even though we cannot have oil or wine on the weekdays, we can have oil and wine only on the weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) during this fast.