Schedule notes

Please note that while Fr. Lawrence & Dn. Gregory are in the Holy Land, Saturday Vespers & Sunday Matins & Liturgy will be served by Fr. Richard Rene.

Wednesday will be Reader Vespers.

PLEASE note from this time forward, both Saturday and Wednesday vespers will be  at
  6:30 PM

The sign by the roadside will be changed as soon as we can get it done to reflect this. 

Great and Holy Friday at St. Herman's

Great and Holy Friday at St. Herman's:  the reading of the Holy Gospel.
(Thank you, Victoria, for the photo.)

Holy Week Schedule

Please try not to leave your confession till the last minute. You can come to confession after any of the evening services. 

Sat. Apr. 27
10 AM Lazarus Matins followed by Children's Day & Cleaning Bee
6:30 pm vespers

Sun. Apr. 28 Palm Sunday
9:30 AM Matins & Procession NO Church School
            Fish allowed at Lunch 
            NO catechumen class after

Mon. Apr. 29
6 pm Bridegroom Matins

Tues. Apr. 30
6 pm Bridegroom Matins

Wed. May 1
6 pm Presanctified Liturgy & Lenten meal

Thurs. May 2
5 pm St. Basil Liturgy & Bread & fruit meal
6:30 pm Twelve Gospels

Holy Friday May 3
6 pm Shroud procession
followed by short meal for those staying to overnight vigil

Holy Saturday May 4
9 AM Baptism & St. Basil Liturgy NO MEAL 

11:30 PM Paschal Services and blessing of baskets

Sunday May 5 GREAT AND HOLY PASCHA
no morning service

afternoon prayers at graves details TBA

4 pm Paschal Vespers & parish BBQ

Lazarus Saturday Cleaning Bee and Children's Day

This coming Saturday is our Annual Cleaning Bee to get the church in top shape for Holy Week and Pascha. This year there will also be a special time for children. Hopefully this will allow some parents to participate in the cleaning while their children are looked after.
The day starts sharply at 10AM.

If your interested in helping with the children's side of the day, please message or contact Zane. If your interested in the cleaning side of the day, just show up with work clothes, rain coats, and any tools you may want to bring.

Mid-Lent and beyond!

Just a note that the Baptismal Liturgy originally scheduled for this Sunday Apr. 14th has been moved to Sunday Apr. 21st.  Services begin at the usual time.

Also, next week the Wednesday and Friday services will NOT be PreSanctified Liturgy.

Wednesday Apr. 17th will be the Canon of St. Andrew & Life of Mary of Egypt

Friday Apr. 19th will be the Akathist service to the Theotokos.

There will therefore be -no- meal after these two services, and of course no need for the pre-Eucharistic fast.

Sunday of Orthodox Icon Procession

This Sunday of Orthodoxy March 24, the congregation processed around the church for the Third Antiphon of the Liturgy, singing the tropar "We venerate Your most pure image, O Good One", carrying icons to honour their restoration to the Church.  Photos of the event reveal the great joy of the day.  (Thank you Julia G. for the photos.)

Weekday Services in Great Lent

Great Lent is coming, and with it, a wealth of the prescribed evening services.  This Lent all our weekday evening services will begin at 6.00 p.m. (rather than our previous 7.00 p.m. starting time) to facilitate families with young children attending these important services.  (The Saturday Great Vespers will continue for the time being with its previous starting time of 6.30 p.m.)  These services begin with the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, on Monday March 18.

A note about the Presanctified

Dear St. Hermanites,

A couple of items about parts of the Presanctified Liturgy served Wednesday and Friday in Lent.

Much of our liturgy takes the form of dialogue. For instance, in litanies, the priest and/or deacon chant their parts, while the whole church responds 'Lord have mercy.'

Antiphons are another form of dialogue, in which lines are sung alternately between two different groups. In the Presanctified we do this with men singing one line, women singing the next. Which group begins will depend on the mix of choir singers we have on a given night, so listen for the choir to begin. Then all men please sing along with the men's choir, and all women with the women's choir.

Another form of dialogue is verse with refrain. "Let my Prayer Arise" is sung in this fashion. The very beautiful Bortniansky trio is an old favourite in our parish as in many others. In this piece three voices (a trio of singers, as available on a given night) sing the verses while the congregation  and clergy are  kneeling in contemplation. Everyone sings the refrain between the verses.

Don't forget that services begin at SIX pm this year. Please fast from mid-day, and bring some Lenten food to share if you are staying to break your fast afterward.