Dear St. Vladimirians,

This morning our second oldest parishioner, Natalia Vasilievna Dale, reposed in the Lord in her 99th year, the day after her Name’s Day. She would have been 100 on January 7, 2027. She was not our oldest parishioner, but she was the last living parishioner of the St. Hilarion parish, which existed in Ann Arbor from 1951-61. She was also a founder of our parish in 1981, and served zealously in our Sisterhood and our Choir for many decades for the glory of God. On one hand, everyone wants to live a long life on this earth, but when you live a life as long as Natalia Vasilievna, all your friends have already gone to their rest before you.

So: IT IS UP TO US, many of whom never met Natalia Vasilievna, to come to the funeral, to read the Psalter overnight from Friday to Saturday, etc. It is our Christian duty to bury the dead, but for someone like this, we need to pull out all the stops. We all need to pitch in and help, because Natalia Vasilievna deserves everything we can muster, since without her and her fellow founders, we would have nothing. It was their zeal and vision that got us to where we are today, a strong parish family on the cusp of beginning construction on a new parish church.

More information will be forthcoming. We THINK the funeral will be Saturday after the Divine Liturgy. But that is still not set. God willing, by later today or early tomorrow, we will know more.

May Natalia’s memory be eternal!

In Christ,

Fr. Gregory