For many Orthodox Christians, Holy Theophany is just as important - maybe even more so than the actual Nativity of Jesus Christ.  We recognize this service as our spiritual opportunity to cleanse and go fresh into the world.  When Christ went to the Jordan River, He didn't do it for Himself, He did it for Us!

On Thursday, January 19, 2017, Fr. Gregory Joyce celebrated Divine Liturgy with a procession to our Jordan for both his St. Vladimir Orthodox Church in Dexter and All Saints Mission Parish with over 60 people in attendance for the early weekday morning service.  It is truly inspiring to watch him work so hard in this labor of love and discipline, with several Vigils and Liturgies throughout this wonderful season; and there is plenty of Holy Water for everyone.

Now is the time that we bring the same honor, privilege and opportunity into our homes by having him Come, Pray and Bless each room of our living space, so as to bring and keep the same wonderful Holy Spirit in our day to day lives.  It is time to make plans now as Fr. Gregory is planning to come downriver in mid-February.  Please be certain to contact us to get on his schedule.  This is a really cool experience!

Boris and Svetlana Mitrofanov

The Bowser Family

The Boyar Family

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On February 20, 2017, after blessing several homes for our Mission Parish, Fr. Gregory Hosted his weekly FACETIME Program, Ask the Priest from the home of Starosta, Sub-Deacon Michael and Tanya Boyar in Gibraltar.  He spent about 45 minutes discussing many interesting topics and answered questions from people from all over the World!  It was really fun to watch, and hopefully he will come back to do it again (hopefully from our new church building really soon.

Here is the actual program.  Enjoy!

 

 

45:27

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Just east of the City of Detroit, there is a beautiful little Russian Orthodox monastery in the ROCOR Diocese, which is the product of the dreams and hard work of Archimandrite Pychomy.  The St. Sabbas Orthodox Monastery is nestled in a very quiet neighborhood of Harper Woods and has been growing steadily with authentic structures and colors of Russia.  In the far north end of the grounds lies a little building with several rooms, each created and designed with beautiful furniture and artwork.  This is the home of their wonderful little ministry, The Royal Eagle Restaurant, and enjoys raves and high compliments and boasts of a reservation list the needs to be booked monthes in advance.

In March, 2017, a local television station (WDIV - Local 4) ran a feature on the restaurant bragging about the authenticity and marveled at the menu.  As part of their promotion, they were able convince the church group to open for that evening and have a dinner service, so it was very easy for us to come and enjoy a little birthday celebration for our Sonia Boyar - Babushka!

We arrived there for our meal, and was overwelmed by the beauty of the grounds and the wonderful decor of the place inside, only to be greeted by beautiful people dressed in traditional outfits and greeted as only Russians know how - It was so Great!  Our meal was served in courses and when complete, we were honored to meet the chef and so many of the volunteers that make this place so Wonderful.  We are looking forward to making another reservation soon.

Thank you so much to Everyone There - You were Fantastic!

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As is the tradition since we were all very little, Mrs. Sonia Boyar has been teaching us the Art of Pysanky - The Russian/Ukrainian Easter Egg as only we can draw!

This year, with several new people, we were able to teach/coach some really talented people on Lazarus Saturday in the home of Sub-Deacon Michael and Tanya Boyar.  They were absolutely fantastic and everyone took home their special creation.  Some were gifts and some were blessed on Pascha, but they were all wonderful works of art that will be cherished for several years to come - as we cherish our "Babushka" for teaching us this awesome traditional project.

Thank you so much!

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As we continue to prepare for the Glorious Day of the Pascha Season, we need to stress the importance of Christ's return on Palm Sunday.  Because of our ministry of flowers, gifts and service, we are very fortunate to have the most beautiful pieces to share with our sister parish, St. Vladimir, so of course, having them blessed and praying as we approach our final week of preparation is an honor.

Here are photos from the service, which we then returned to distribute to our folks who could not make it to Ann Arbor.  In fact, we will have even more to offer, so contact us if you would like branches, palms or even a live plant to stick in the ground.

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Don't forget to order yours for next year.  We even have plants to put in the ground if you want to grow your own.

Have your church call us early to assure their portion for next year! 
We have plenty, but did run out last year.

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What a Beautiful Service. 

Family is Everything!

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One of our special parishioners studying to become Orthodox is Jonathon Britt, who lives in the downriver area and is a descendant of Ukrainian family members, but today he was doing his best to be German. 

On May 7, 2017, the City of Monroe sponsored their Civil War Reenactment programs and encouraged all who wish to participate to come down in authentic uniforms and to bring nostalgic memorabilia to display (and even sell, if they wish).  Jonathon actually works more with the other wars, but wanted to come down and show off some of his authentic and expensive items for all to enjoy.  With a little help, he did a wonderful job, and we all had a great time visiting, watching some of the reenactments and checking out so many of the boothes. 

We are looking forward to doing all of this again, soon.  When he schedules it all for us, we will post it here.
Thank you for sharing all of this Jonathon.

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On May 13, 2017, we all got together for our annual Field Trip to the Holy Dormition Orthodox Monastery in Rives Junction - and what a beautiful day it was to enjoy our little adventure.  Along with several of our members who really look forward to coming out, we were pleased to have so many new folks join us for the first time out there.  It was amazing to see their joy and excitement while touring for the first time. Along with visiting both chapels, we spent a lot of time in the Children's Garden, and of course, went to the cemetary also to have a small service for Sub-Deacon Peter Boyar, one of our founders.

Mother Gabriella, Sister Ruxy and all of the wonderful hosts always make sure we have a great time, and again it was such a nice day.  We are now thinking about coming out a second time each year - to visit and maybe help out with some of the many chores that need to be done. 

Thank God for such a wonderful retreat, and providing us with an Orthodox Experience we are really lucky to have available to use such a short distance away.

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On May 14, 2017, we were able to celebrate one of the most appreciative opportunities - That special time that we can Celebrate Our Moms!

Mother's Day (the second Sunday in May) is a special time in many cultures, so this year, we took our little tent - booth, and set up at our little special place near our old store (on Livernois and Michigan Avenue), and thanks to Bob Werth of Professional Mortuary, we were able to create, design and customize special bouquets of flowers and plants to the diverse cultures of the area to honor their mothers for all of the greatness they have created, designed and customized in/as our lives!!!!

This was our second year here and what a successful day we had.   A special Thank you goes out to Gus and his assistant for the day, Sasha.  They did a wonderful job and our ministry was a Huge Success!

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Are you in the market for some really nice furniture?  How about Kitchenware, or Books, Electronics or maybe some really nice Christmas Items and Decorations?  Recently, we had the opportunity to work with a family in need  prepare their Estate for the inevitable, and was able to come in and remove items and help clean up their house for sale. 

Now we have the opportunity to help others!  We have some really great stuff available for families in need, and for sale for folks who are looking for the right kind of furniture and stuff at Special Bargain Prices.  Of course, all proceeds are going toward our new building and the ministries we want to bring to our new Home Community of River Rouge and surrounding areas.

Below are some really detailed photographs of items still available and looking for a new home.  Please take a look, and/or if you want to visit, call us to get into the Storage Facility (near Trenton).  We are also planning on advertising it online and having another Sale for You Bargain Shoppers.

Finding times and places to hold services on a regular basis is tough enough, so one can only imagine how much harder it is when you lose your home.  By the Glory of God, we were finally able to negotiate something affordable with a wonderful woman, who is strong and brave in conquering her own challenges and issues.  We have spent a lot of time/money and oh so many labor hours of Love, and although it is not perfect (maybe not even close), we can finally serve there. Our chapel is ready and attitude is grateful. 

Now is the time to do our thing!

On October 1, 2017, we had a real fun time praying in our new chapel.  Check out the photos!
Better yet, come on down and give us a try - we are here every week - and more!

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KONOVETS MALE ACAPELLA QUARTET PERFORM WONDERFUL CONCERT IN RIVER ROUGE

On Thursday, October 5, 2017, The City of River Rouge (with Mayor Michael Bowdler and the City Council) along with Christ the Savior Orthodox Church and All Saints Orthodox Mission Ministries (of River Rouge) sponsored the Internationally Acclaimed Singing Group, KONOVETS MALE ACAPELLA QUARTET (from St. Petersburg, Russia) to perform in River Rouge - Their only Detroit performance this year.  

They sang several pieces from Traditional Russian Orthodox arrangements to fun Folklore Hits from their Russian childhood days.  Everyone seemed to have a great time, and the many guests that have history with the Russian Culture really enjoyed the memories they brought back.  

The four seminarians from the Konovets Monastery near St. Petersburg, Russia have been traveling throughout the US and Canada delighting crowds while raising funds for their Renovation Project of their Holy Monastery Grounds (see flier and website).  This was their only performance in Detroit this year (although they did sing at the St. Vladimir Orthodox Church – Ann Arbor on Saturday evening at their Vigil Service).  

There were no tickets sold or admission charge, however a Free-Will basket was available for those who wanted to donate to their cause, as well as displays of various souvenirs (including music CD’s which they autographed) that were available to purchase.  Donations may still be sent to them by sending gifts to Christ the Savior Orthodox Church in River Rouge or St. Vladimir Church in Dexter (but please note it on your check).  After their performance, appetizers and refreshments were served at an Afterglow Reception in their Honor.

When asked, Mayor Michael Bowdler said, “This was an extremely exciting opportunity and hopefully could be the first of many activities coming to River Rouge to attract positive attention and investment to the area.”  Sub-Deacon Michael Boyar agreed, and continued to rave how everyone loved their show.

All Questions and Additional Information may be available by contacting Sub-Deacon Michael Boyar, Starosta (Administrator) or Fr. Gregory Joyce, Rector of Christ the Savior Orthodox Mission Church.

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Christ the Savior Orthodox Church celebrated our First Divine Liturgy in our New Building on Saturday, November 4, 2017.  Our Rector and Spiritual Advisor, Fr. Gregory Joyce was given instructions to help another parish out-state so he had to make some quick arrangements and by the Glory of God, we had the honor of Fr. Joshua Genig (of St. Innocent Orthodox Church in Redford) come elebrate with us.

We decided to start a bit earlier to give our members and guests a chance to come be a part of a brand new experience, yet leave enough time in the day to keep our Saturday commitments and responsibilities.  This seemed to work, but because of some unforeseen issues, we ended starting a bit later anyhow (I know, Orthodox time), however everything went well - at least well for a mission parish that was a little rusty and everyone participating in different places to help out - but it was fun and we created a really nice experience with several people confessing and communing, too.

Fr. Joshua was exciting and full of energy, but real gentle and genuine, and especially patient.  He even had a brand new Altar Server, Daniel Race, who did a great job helping Cody keep things going.  Robert did a phenominal job with responses and chanting, especially The Epistle.  The Kazan Icon of the Theotokos was such a nice lesson to learn about, and Fr. Joshua did an amazing job teaching us how to apply the lesson to our new and exciting life here.  Thank you!

We are hoping to apply some regularity for future Liturgies, however plans have not been set yet, so keep and eye out on this website, our Facebook page, or just call us anytime. At this point, we will continue Reader's Services on Sundays and Holy Days, as we can.  They are very interesting, interactive, and short, but fulfilling. 

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