Just in time for one of the holiest days of the year...
Here's a beautiful musical present to you - from a person you may have saved last year.
But first, here’s how you helped this family deal with the effects of Covid and more...
You probably know Vladimir Gorbik. He is easily one of the best choir directors in the world.
Just see for yourself:
Aside from being the chief choir director at the Holy Trinity-St Sergius Lavra in Russia (that's a very big deal)...
Vladimir is also one of the handful of Orthodox choir directors to have received a Grammy nomination (this is kind of a big deal, too, but not as much as being the #1 choir director of Russia:)).
But most importantly - this is a man who has dedicated his whole life to the Church. In over 25 years he has taught thousands of students to become outstanding choir directors.
If you don't know Vladimir, you may have heard of the many master classes he did in the United States to help struggling choir directors here.
And if it hadn't been for the help of kind people like you, Vladimir's family would not have been able to survive the pandemic.
Here's how you helped Vladimir.
When Covid hit and parishes closed down in Russia, Vladimir lost most of his income. Because the Moscow representation (Podvorye) of the Holy Trinity-St Sergius Lavra - where he had been choir director for 25 years - stopped having services and couldn't pay him anymore.
This meant that Vladimir, his wife, and their 10 children were quickly running through their meager savings and had nowhere to turn to for help. They still needed to feed their family. But how?
That's where you came in.
Kind people like you couldn't stand by watching a fellow Orthodox suffer. You stepped in and helped.
Because of you, the Gorbiks were able to pay the bills, feed their numerous Orthodox family, and survive.
But that's not all.
Since then, Vladimir became the chief choir director of the most famous monastery in Russia and received an award for his services to the Church.
Thanks to you, Vladimir also started an online business helping struggling Orthodox choir directors in the Western world. So that any church musician - regardless of their level - could get the help they need when it comes to directing a church choir.
Many of our own ROCOR choir directors have already improved their directing thanks to this program.
This would have been impossible without your help. You did much more than help someone survive for a few months.
You helped Vladimir go from survival to growth mode.
Isn't that just the best?
Thank you for your never-failing amazing kindness.
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