NEW HEATING AND COOLING SYSTEM FOR OUR SCHOOL
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 
The parish’s Pastoral Council with the Finance Committee and I have met, and we have decided to move forward with rooftop units for the entire school and gym, due to the old boiler system having failed.  Sadly, we have spent about $70 thousand on the old system, and we would need to spend an additional $40-50 thousand to fix 3 additional major problems, and maybe it would start to work again.  It’s a maybe.  The unfixable problem is that the system is old, and we have failed to treat the system with chemicals for decades (no one to blame and it would cost about three thousand dollars annually to treat it); therefore, all the pipes are affected, and some are rusting through, including newly installed pipes, and/or all pipes are clogged throughout the school.  With these problems, most of the classrooms have not had sufficient heating or cooling for decades; it was terrible last winter, and we ended the winter with no heat.  Besides, there are still many original underground pipes that have not been replaced; therefore, they can start breaking anytime and they are located under the children’s playground.  With the current old system, we can anticipate constant problems, costly to fix and difficult to order parts (about $110-$130 an hour for labor and very limited professionals can work on it).  
The total cost for the new rooftop project is between $620-$723 thousand.  It breaks down to about $170-250k for electrical (including the replacement of a dozen old panels and wires), and about $475k for the engineers, new gas line, 27 HVAC units ranging from 3 to 7.5 tons (about 100 tons total), and the installations.  For the time being, please pray for our church and school, including for myself that the project we are about to begin will go well according to God’s will.  Yes, we do have the approval from the diocese to start the project.  I will surely keep you posted, and love you all, Fr. Hien  

My Dear Parishioners,
God bless you all!  Yes, our children are out of school for their summer vacation.  We congratulate them all for their achievements to the next grade and level of education.  Three months of summer will go by fast, so please enjoy your time with them all.  Have a safe summer with lots of fun.  Please travel wisely and safely so that you will always have each other.  A second or two spent making a mistake can cause death or permanent disability.  Don’t let evil have a chance.
This weekend, we celebrate Pentecost Sunday, the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles.  Yes, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit will always be with you and me as baptized persons.  We belong to God now and eternally; therefore, please always love God with all your hearts, minds, and souls.  I am blessed to be a priest to do so every day, especially at Holy Mass.  This weekend is also my 23rd priesthood ordination.  God has been so good to me with lots of love and prayers from people like you.  Thank you, God, and thank everyone for your love, prayer, and support of my ministry at All Saints, Fr. Hien

My Dear Parishioners,
I hope and pray that you had a great time with your family last weekend celebrating Mother’s Day with your loved ones.  I really enjoyed my time with my family and had some great homemade BBQ steaks with asparagus.  It was so good to see so many people attend Masses.
This week, please join me in congratulating many students from our parish.
Many have graduated or are graduating from middle school, high school, or college. 
Children, congratulations on your achievements, but best of all, thank you for your faith in God.  Also, please join me in thanking God for the ministries our parish’s teachers and staff have blessed us with.  As you know, we serve close to two hundred students here at All Saints and it takes a lot of love, prayer and sacrifices, day after day, month after month, to teach and to form our children in the way of faith, as well as to be the best person they can be according to God’s plan for them.  Our children are the future of our church, school, and America.  We love them and we ask for God’s blessings upon them and their teachers and staff.  May we all have a safe and happy summer.   Thank you parents, teachers and parish staff!  I am blessed to serve our Lord with you here at All Saints, Fr. Hien

Happy Mother’s Day Everyone,
May God bless our families, especially our parents for they are God’s greatest gift to all of us.  Without them, we would not be here nor can we be truly loved and have life.  Thank you moms and dads, especially our beloved mothers for your life-giving birth and your endless sacrifices for us and our families.  Happy Mother’s Day with God’s countless blessings to you and your families.
Congratulations: To the many children of our parish who made their First Confession and Holy Communion last Saturday in our church.  God bless you all and please always trust in Jesus and love Him with all your heart, mind and soul.
Thank you: To so many parishioners and friends of our church and school for the very successful Vietnamese food sale two weeks ago.  After the expenses, we made about $60,000 for our school.  Yes, this hard earned money will go toward the upcoming projects for our school such as the heating and air as well as its roof when we get to it.  What is more surprising to me was the number of people who knew about our food sales through Facebook and came to support us.  So many people praised the wonderful atmosphere as well as the quality of the food we served.  Thank you to all who helped us prepare, cook and serve as well as all those who supported us with your prayer, love and donations.  Yes, your many hands and hearts for many days and weeks made this food sale event possible and successful.  God bless you all and we are blessed because we are well supported and loved by thousands of Catholics and friends of All Saints Catholic Church and School.
Thank you and happy Mother’s day to all our beloved moms, Fr. Hien
 

My Dear Parishioners of All Saints Catholic Church and School,
     Thank you for being a member of our church family.  Please join me today,
especially this Saturday, May 7, at our 4pm Mass, at which the following children of our
church’s family will make their First Communion.  They are Major Haynes, Justin Pham,
Kimberly Renteria, Jennie Pham, Sophia Blanchard, Prime Ho, Ava Le, Jovany Lopez-
Domingues, Ivan Mosqueda, Kathy Nguyen, Daniel Pham, Anh Phung, Leo Rocha, and
Sophia Tran.  Children, we are blessed to have you among us and we are looking
forward to celebrating this special day with you. Please know that Jesus loves you and
He will always be with you, thats why you are becoming one with Him today through
Holy Communion, to assure you of His perfect love for you.  He is in you and you will
always belong to Him.  He is your love, your life and your salvation.  Love Him with all
your hearts, minds and souls!  Be sure to talk and to pray to Jesus every day, especially
after you have received His Body at Holy Communion.  Tell Him that you love Him.  Tell
Him that you trust in Him, such as "Jesus, I trust in You".   Always be loving and caring
as Jesus has shown us.  Also, beginning today, please remember to pray daily the most
perfect prayer, the “Our Father,” given by Jesus, and one “Hail Mary” for each person in
your family, especially for your parents who love you dearly.  No one has shown greater
love for you than your parents have.  Please listen to them and obey them.  They will
help you be the best person you can be.  Always go to church with them and never be a
crybaby before them.  Please pray and obey so that you will make your parents proud of
you, and Father Hien too.  Congratulations and Jesus blesses you all, Fr. Hien
PS. Immediately after Mass, all the children will take a group picture with Fr. Hien and their
teachers, and then each child will take turns to take individual pictures with Fr. Hien.

My Dear Parishioners, 
     Blessings from our Lord be with you all.  We are entering the month of May with the many celebrations and graduations.  On Saturday, May 6th at 4pm Mass is First Holy Communion for many of our children.  All children are required to be in church at 9am for the rehearsal, the installation of the scapulars, and to make their first confessions.  Parents are to be with their kids so that they may know where to sit and what is allowed during Mass.  For the 4pm Mass, all children are to wear their Sunday best for their Holy Communion and pictures taken after Mass in church.  May also is the month that we as Catholics give our love and devotion to Mother Mary.  Please continue with your daily prayer for your families and friends.  Please say an extra prayer for our First Holy Communion communicants and our 6th, 7th and 8th grade confirmation candidates.  Their confirmation Mass with the Bishop will be June 18th at 10:30 am.  The retreat, rehearsal and confession for all confirmation candidates start at 9am in the Fischer Center.  Finally, this weekend, please join our Vietnamese parishioners and friends of the parish for our annual food sales from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon in the Fischer Center.  PS. Please join me in extending our love, prayer and sympathy to Jayne Knipp’s family.  Jayne passed to eternal life April 15 and a funeral Mass was celebrated at All Saints on Friday April 21.  Thank you Jayne’s family for her memorial for All Saints Catholic Church and school. May she be with our Lord for all eternity.  Love you all, Fr. Hien

My Dear Parishioners,
     Thank you for being a member of our church family.  Please know that you and your family are important to us.  The children of our school are dependent on you, your love and faithful stewardship, to continue providing Catholic education to them and to those who will be attending our school in the future.  Believe it or not, for many decades now, our church and school have been struggling financially; therefore, we have not been able to keep up with all the updates and demands, especially for our school’s roof and the heating and air.  We are looking into the cost of replacing the current heating and air systems in the school.  As of today, we don't have an estimated cost. 
 I will surely let you know once I find out.  Please pray for God's guidance and direction for all of us here at All Saints.  We need more faithful parishioners who pray daily, attend Holy Mass weekly and tithe loyally.  Thank you to the many donors and benefactors, especially those who used to attend All Saints Church and School.  Please remember All Saints in your memorials, estates, and living will.  Next weekend, our Vietnamese parishioners and friends of our parish will help us with fundraising food sales in the Fischer Center from Friday evening to Sunday noon.  Please come to enjoy some good food and friendship and support our church and school.  Always be loving and caring,
 Fr. Hien

My Dear Parishioners, Happy Easter everyone with Jesus’ promise of eternal for you and your loved ones.  Yes, we were all born into this life but none of us belong to this life forever for our true home is heaven with all the angels and saints and God.  Please do all that you can each day to live your Catholic faith and share it among your family and friends.  God intended for all of us to be saved, that is, to rise from the dead, a resurrection just as Jesus rose from the dead.  Please be happy and be joyful today for the Lord has risen and our names are written in heaven for we all are children of God and are in Christ Jesus.  Thank you for coming to Easter Mass today and please do so every Sunday, because every Sunday is the Lord’s Day, the day we Catholics celebrate Easter, the resurrection of Jesus.  
Also, be good disciples of Jesus by being a faithful steward with your time, talent, and treasure here at All Saints, for the education and formation of our children and the salvation of all souls.  Please help me in thanking our school teachers, volunteers and parish staff.  We are blessed with many amazing people among us.  They are here to love and to serve with you and me.  See you at Mass, Fr. Hien
 

My Dear Parishioners,
     Are you ready for Easter?  Yes, it’s near.  In union with the universal church, we along with over a billion faithful throughout the world celebrate Palm Sunday.   On this special day, we will commit ourselves to live with Jesus in our hearts, minds and souls and to promise Him that we will be His true and faithful disciples.  We will continue His loving and saving work as long as we live.  Let us today live joyfully for the Lord is with us. 
     As you enter our church for Holy Mass this weekend, please be sure to take a palm with you, they are available as you enter our church.  Once these palms are blessed, please don't trash them but keep them in your home.  Also, please don't trash our church or church areas.  
Penance Service: To prepare your bodies, minds and souls for Easter, please bring your family and friends to church this Sunday from 4-5pm with 6 priests hearing your confessions in church.  The priest's name will be posted outside of his confessional room.  As you enter the church through the main doors, the American priests will be on your left (choir side of the church) and the Vietnamese priests will be on the right side.  Yes, all Vietnamese priests can speak English and Vietnamese.  Please do your own examination of conscience, pray your Act of Contrition and do your penance in church.  I will expose the Blessed Sacrament for adoration, so you are welcome to stay in church and pray as long as you please.  When you go into the confessional to make your confession, please remember to confess your sins only and not the sins of the whole world or your spouse's or children's, grandparents', etc... Keep in mind too that many people are waiting in the confessional line for their opportunity to confess.  It would be so kind of you if you would allow an elderly or disabled person to go to confession first.  Finally, please don't talk or visit in church because you are in the house of God and the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for prayer and thanksgiving.     
     FYI--First, we are looking into the possibility of putting roof top heating and air units on the entire school buildings and gym due to the current heating and cooling system being too old and unreliable and too expensive to maintain, too many problems!!!! We are checking to see how much it would cost for everything and how long it would take to install.  Keep in mind that we are dealing with super old buildings and there is very limited space.  I am sure  the costs will be very expensive.  Please pray for the Lord's guidance so that we as a church and school family may know what to do or not to do, and to keep our school going for the good of so many children.  Secondly, we have done some concrete work around the church, on the east side of the church by the single door with the codes, this small area needed to be paved due to the high volume of rain water coming from the church’s and foyer’s roofs; we paved it so that the rain does not flush the soil away and cause this area to be dirty.  Since we had extra concrete, we paved by the marble statue of St. Theresa, to keep grass away from the flower beds.  Roses and mums will be planted there.  Again, in front of the church office is a stage with steps for the Christmas display, and for our annual October Marian procession and adoration with the bishop, which will be Saturday, October 7th, this year.  Please put this date in your calendar so that you can join our bishop, All Saints Catholic school families, and hundreds of people for lots of fun, food and activities.  This stage will also be used before Mass on Sunday, June 18th, for our confirmation students, 6th, 7th and 8th grades students, to take their group picture with our bishop (Bishop does not want to take a group picture after Mass in church.  He only wants individual pictures after Mass).  This stage can also be used for many school outdoor events in the future.  Again, the costs for these improvements are paid by the Vietnamese food sales, the many volunteer parishioners and the good hearted people.  Thank you everyone for serving our Lord at All Saints with me.  We are blessed to have each other and God has been so good to us all.  God bless you all together and all of your loved ones with a Blessed and Happy Easter, frhien. 
     PS. Please make every effort to attend the holy Masses and service on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.  I promise you that I will keep it short and sweet like myself : )