My Dear Parishioners of All Saints,
     Blessings from our Lord be with you all.  May each and everyone of us continue growing in our Catholic faith; that is, to become one with Jesus in our hearts, minds and souls.  Please know that God made us so that we all may choose God and freely love Him and worship Him like Mother Mary does.  Yes, we are all blessed to be Catholic because we have the Holy Eucharist with us and the Blessed Mother to pray for us all until we are in heaven with Our Lord for eternal life.
     All Saints Catholic Church and School are blessed with may wonderful and faithful parishioners for generations.  Many of them have been here for years, faithful in their prayers and worship at Holy Masses.  Many have given much of their time, talent and treasure to our church and school.  Many parishioners have served the parish on councils and in parish organizations.  Recently I had dinner with our parish council and finance committee members to thank them for the many  years of service to our church.  I shared with them that our parish needs to take the next step in allowing new parishioners to be members on the parish council and finance committees.  I asked them to recommend replacements.  My plan is to have four members on our finance committee and about eight on the parish council, plus myself.  Our new parish council members will consist of group leaders of the parish such as the grand knight  of Knights of Columbus, altar society president, a representative from All Saints Catholic School, and DRE, a representative for liturgy, nationalities, etc...  Please pray for the new members of our parish council and the finance committee to help me in serving our parish.  God bless you all and please enjoy the last few weeks of summer.  Fr. Hien

My Dear Parishioners,
     How are you doing and how is your summer?  I'm doing great and my summer has been going well.  As you can tell, I love gardening and spending my time outside.  It helps me to be happy and to continually think and plan for the well-being of our church and school.  I am pretty much a thinker and a planner.  I don't like to do things at the last minute nor do I want to be a failure in anything I do.  I have been blessed to always have the confidence in what I do.  Please know that every day is a gift from God, and you too can live joyfully and happily every day.  Be positive and think all day long but be sure to rest at night.  A good night's sleep is extremely essential to our well-being mentally, physically, socially , and spiritually.  Of course, food is super important too.  That is why I love to eat.  So, if you are cooking, call me up.
     Parents, please know that your child/children need Catholic education.  The best gift you can give your child/children is the gift of God, all the time.  Of course, God is with them, but they must learn to love God and to trust in God.  The Catholic faith you gave them when they were a baby must continue growing through your practicing of your Catholic faith and through our Catholic education  system,  Since last year, I have been celebrating our daily Masses in the morning so that our school children can attend Mass all those days or at least twice a week.  I believe that Jesus is everything for them now and forever,.  Let us love our children and put them in good and holy hands of Jesus.
     We all know that only God can give  us everything for free, that is without any payment to God today in exchange for our love of Him and one another.  Everything in this life costs, including Catholic education.,  To have Catholic education, we must pay all the bills that come with it such as trash service--a must have service for students' classrooms and lunchroom; internet service--a must have service for advanced education; salaries for our professional teachers so that they can feed their families, etc... At the end of the day, it costs about $5,000 to education one child at All Saints and about $6,800 in high school.  Yes, monthly we have more utility bills that you in your household, plus we must pay $3,700 directly to KMC for your child's education.  For this reason, school parents must sign a parish agreement form, promising to support All Saints with their time and talent, plus eight to ten percent of their household income is the suggested amount to All Saints.  Or a parent can pay (tuition) for the costs of the education of their child at All Saints/KMC.  Let us be good an faithful parishioners,
Fr. Hien
   

My Dear Parishioners,
     Blessings from our Lord be with you all.  Did you have a wonderful and enjoyable 4th of July celebration?  I was blessed to have my uncle’s family from Alabama who came and celebrated the 4th with my family and me.  Yes, he and his family got to visit our church, my garden and living space as well.  They were surprised that I have a big garden and lots of pets—fish, quail, and pheasant.  May you and I never forget how blessed we are to have each other now and forever in heaven. 
     Are you ready for Adoration?  We will reopen our adoration chapel on Tuesday, July 20th.  Everyone is encouraged to sign up for one hour, especially as a couple or together as a family.  Yes, when you are together for adoration, you can read the Bible together, sing a song together or recite prayers together as a family, etc.…  Don’t be afraid to share with Jesus your blessings and burdens so that He can help you.  You can sign up for your adoration hour, anytime of any day from 9am to 9pm.  If you must have a special hour outside of that time such as midnight, etc.… you are welcome as well.  Just be sure to genuflect to Jesus or bow to Him, then remove the cover of the monstrance.  After you are done, please cover the monstrance with the provided cloth and turn off all the ceiling lights, make sure all the doors are closed, etc...
    Finally, you are welcome to buy a framed picture of the Blessed Mother that will be blessed by our bishop on August 15th.  You can see this special picture in our gathering area.  It costs $40 for the frame and the picture printed.  Everyone is encouraged to join our Vietnamese parishioners and community on Sunday, August 15th at 10:30am with Bishop Kemme, for a procession of the Blessed Mother, followed by the blessing of Mary’s shrine and statue in church, then Holy Mass with guest priests, and a free luncheon in the Fischer Center.  Annually, the Vietnamese Catholics with thousands of people would gather in Carthage, MO to honor our Blessed Mother.  Due to Covid, they are not having it this year, the same as last year.  For this reason, we are holding one at All Saints for our parishioners and those in our community to give honor to Mary and glory to God at Holy Mass.  Our mission at All Saints is to help all of God’s children to know God, to love God, and to serve God like Mother Mary.  Love you all, Fr. Hien

Dear fellow Wichita Catholic,
 
There is no easy way to say this, so I’ll get right to the point.  The cultural battle over what Pope Francis calls the “evil of gender ideology” is now being forced upon the citizens people of Wichita. It is taking the form of a proposed city ordinance and your help is needed to help stop it.
 
Let me begin by stating the obvious: We are all sinners in need of mercy.  The Catholic Church invites everyone to a personal encounter with Christ.  Catholic Church Teaching includes the genuine Truth about the human person--man and woman--made in the image and likeness of God.  Questions surrounding the many and varied topics connected to “sexual orientation” are complex and often confusing for some. 
 
True Catholics do not “hate” certain people or unjustly discriminate.  To contend otherwise is simply not true.  At the same time, we will not be intimidated or bullied by individuals or special interest groups seeking to impose a false ideology and anthropology about the human person.  We will not be forced to take part activity that in contrary to our Faith and a properly formed conscience.       
 
Now, here is the Wichita story.
 
The Mayor of Wichita and certain members of the City Council are pressing forward with what they are calling a “non-discrimination ordinance,” or NDO.  That sounds harmless enough, but it is not.   
 
Simply put, if passed and enforced, this NDO will be used to specifically target people of faith like you and me.  In fact, this NDO may well force Catholics and others to either violate our deeply held religious beliefs or face civil penalties, including fines of up to $2,000.   There is even a provision calling for “educational requirements” for convicted violators. 
 
Sexual orientation and gender identity ordinances like this NDO are being systematically introduced and passed throughout the country and in Kansas. They carve out special protections to people based on their self-defined “sexual orientation.”
 
Under conditions of the proposed ordinance, Catholic organizations in Wichita could be compelled take action contrary to their deeply held religious beliefs.  Likewise, individual Catholic business owners could face fines unless they cooperate in activity that violates their deeply held religious beliefs.   We’ve seen this happen with bakers, florists and others around the country.
 
In fact, under the language of the proposed NDO, the Catholic Church in Wichita would have less rights in employment than it does under federal law.
 
In summary, the proposed Wichita NDO being considered by the City Council this coming Tuesday is not only unnecessary, it is a legal bludgeon being used to target Catholics and other people of faith.  The proposed ordinance appears to have the votes to pass, but there is still time for your voice to be heard. 
 
Please let your city council member and the Mayor know how you feel.  Respectfully but clearly insist that they NOT pass this NDO.  Their contact information is below.
 
Thank you, and God bless you.
St. Joseph, Head of the Holy Family, pray for us!
Written by Chuck Weber
 
Approved by Bishop Carl Kemme
 
Mayor Brandon Whipple  BWhipple@wichita.gov
 
To locate your City Council representative: https://www.wichita.gov/Council/Pages/Maps.aspx
 
WICHITA CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
Vice Mayor Brandon Johnson, District 1:  bjjohnson@wichita.gov
 
Becky Tuttle, District 2: BTuttle@wichita.gov
 
Jared Cerullo, District 3:    JCerullo@wichita.gov
 
Jeff Blubaugh, District 4: JBlubaugh@wichita.gov
 
Bryan Frye, District 5: BFrye@wichita.gov
 
Cindy Claycomb District 6: CClaycomb@wichita.gov
 

My Dear Parishioners,
    Happy 4th of July.  God bless America and all those who live in it.  May all Americans throughout the world and especially those living in America, love our God-blessed nation.  We have been blessed with countless heroes who fought for our country and sacrificed their lives for our country.  One of them was Father Emil Kapaun, who volunteered to serve as a chaplain priest for not only the Americans soldiers during the Korean War but also especially for his enemies with his love, forgiveness, sacrifices and prayers.  May Father Kapaun and all those who lived to know God, to love God, and to serve God be with God forever in heaven.   
     As pastor of this church’s family, I would like us to join the many people of our diocese, especially the Father Kapaun Guild led by Fr. John Hotze, to pray daily for the canonization of Father Kapaun.  I have already visited with our school principal, and we will dedicate this coming school year to learn more about the life and the love of Father Kapaun in our classrooms, to pray for his sainthood, and to follow his footsteps of service to God and neighbors.  In September, we will join our diocese for Father Kapaun’s funeral Mass once his remains arrive.  I am planning to be there to represent all of us at All Saints.
     Please enjoy this Independence Day weekend with your families, friends, and neighbors.  Yes, you can light up America with your happiness, love, prayers, and lots of fireworks; however, please don’t hurt yourself or burn down anyone’s house or mine, I need it 😊.  Love you all and happy 4th!  “I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.” Fr. Emil Kapaun, pray for us--Fr. Hien

My Dear Parishioners,
     I am writing this message before my trip to Cheyenne, Wyoming for a priestly ordination.  I am excited to attend this special day for Fr. Linh Vu.  He came from Vietnam at least 13 years ago and attended Conception seminary, MO where I met him and two other Vietnamese seminarians from his group.  One of them was ordained a priest about 6 years ago, who is now a pastor in Wyoming; and the other is still studying to become a priest.  These men used to come to my parish in Marion and visited me.  Thankfully, none of them gave up learning English or discerned in the seminary to become priests.  Due to covid, Fr. Vu’s parents from Vietnam will not be able to attend his ordination.  How sad!  He said that in 2022, he will travel to his home parish in Vietnam to celebrate Holy Mass for his family.  Let us pray for all priests, seminarians and all religious brothers and sisters throughout the world in every place of the earth.  They are role models for all of us Catholics and others in the ways of faith with their daily prayers, dedications, sacrifices and for their love of God and others—the salvation of all souls. 
     Thank you everyone for joined me for our Holy Masses last weekend to worship God and to pray for our families, especially our dads as we celebrated Father’s Day weekend.  Please trust that God is always good to all of us, especially thru our parents, siblings, relatives, and many wonderful friends.  We are all blessed to have one another.  May we will always have each other today and eternally in heaven.
     Finally, a reminder to those who normally attend Saturday noon mass that this Saturday, June 26th is our last vigil noon mass.  Please make arrangement to attend our 4pm Saturday, Sunday at 9am or 10:30am Vietnamese Mass.  Surprised to me that every weekend we do have none-Vietnamese speaking people attended the Vietnamese Mass.  I guess people love to hear us chanting the prayers and the Vietnamese music.  Remember that in God there is not east or west, north or south, Asian or African, etc.…  He knows us all inside and out; and He loves us all, all the time, and eternally--Fr. Hien 

My Dear Parishioners,
     Blessings from the Holy Family be with you as you celebrate Father’s Day this weekend.  Yes, God so loved us that He blessed us with one another, especially our family members.  Each one of us is dear to one another.  May we always love each other with respect, love, kindness, prayers, and daily sacrifices.  Today, let us give our honor and thanks to our parents, especially our dads who have loved us and did so much for us.  Let us also pray for dads that are in need of our love, forgiveness and prayers so that they too can be good dads again to their wives, children and families.  Please remember that no one has to be away from their loved ones.  God wants us to be together today and eternally in heaven as a family.  We live to help each other to be saints before God with our faith in God and our love for one another.  Happy Father’s Day to all dads!  A special blessing will be bestowed upon our dads at the end of our Masses this weekend. 
    This week, June 22-25, there will be no daily Mass as I will be out of town for a priest ordination.  Please pray for my safe travels and that I enjoy my time away.  Of course, I will be home for our weekend Masses.  A reminder that next Saturday, June 26th will be our last Saturday vigil noon Mass.  Take good care of yourself and family, love you all—stay cool, Fr. Hien

My Dear Parishioners,
     How are you doing?  Are you enjoying your summer?  I am doing well, and I am very happy that we are returning to normalcy.  This means that soon, I will be able to see your whole face again.  There is nothing happier for me than to see that everyone is doing well and putting all their love and trust in God.  Please always join me for our worship to God at our Holy Masses.  God is our everything, and He alone we serve and put all our trust in.  Now that Easter season is over and all the solemnities are behind us, we are celebrating the 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time.  Let us remember that every Sunday is the Lord’s Day.  We are to be together as individual families as well as a church family to celebrate our faith.  Together, we will proclaim the death and resurrection of the Lord until He comes again to take us to be with Him for eternal life.  May we love Jesus dearly and receive His holy sacraments in our lives, especially the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
     Sympathies and Prayers:  To the families of Doris Pauline Draut, who passed away on Thursday, June 3rd.  Her funeral Mass was on Tuesday, June 8th.  Henry Gallardo, who was 88 years old, passed to eternal life on Friday, June 4th.  His funeral Mass was on Thursday, June 10th.  Both funeral Masses were celebrated at All Saints.  May they and all of our deceased loved ones rest in heaven with our Lord.
     Next weekend is Father’s Day, June 20th.  Please start planning to celebrate Father’s Day with love and prayer for your family, especially for your dad.  Let us pray that they will be like St. Joseph, full of trust in God and full of love for their families.  May our dads be great role models in words and in deeds at home, at work, and specially at church by giving of their time, talent, and treasure to serve God’s families at All Saints.  We need more handymen in our church and school.  Thank you to all those who have been contributing their time, talent, and treasure to our church’s family, Fr. Hien

My Dear Parishioners,
     Blessings from our Lord be with you all.  God alone and He alone we serve, with love and with all our might.  He is our life now and forever.  Let us all love our Lord and worship Him at our Holy Masses, to become one with Jesus and to be saved by Him.  A reminder that everyone is obligated to return to Sunday’s worship this weekend, June 5-6.  Here’s Jesus’ promise, "Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day."  Jesus loves us so much that He is longing and waiting to become one with us through Holy Communion at Holy Masses, daily as well as Sunday’s obligatory Masses.  Of course, daily prayer is important to the life of a person but receiving Holy Communion at Holy Mass is a million times more fruitful and spiritual.  Holy Communion is like your heart that gives life to you at every moment with heavenly peace, love, joy, happiness, etc...  No heart, no life; no Jesus, no life either now or later.  For this reason, Holy Communion is the heart of our Catholic faith—it’s Jesus Himself that we are united with and become like.  Please return to the Lord with your families and friends to worship and to become one with Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
     Seating in Church: When you come to church, the section of pews on the far right and on the far left are for anyone who might need social distancing.  We also have plenty of chairs along the walls for your needs.  The four sections of pews in the center are for seating with no social distancing (the red and yellow signs are removed).  Communion Lines and Collection Baskets: There will be three communion lines with three baskets for you to place your gifts to the Lord in as you are coming up for Holy Communion or before or after Mass.  Please take your time as you come forward for Holy Communion.  Be sure to bow to Jesus when you are in front of the minister to receive Jesus.  Don’t bow to the back of the person in line, but to Jesus only.  We would greatly appreciate it if you would receive Holy Communion with your hands.  If you would like us to bring Holy Communion to your seat, please sit up front so that we can see you and bring Holy Communion to you.  The ministers and I should not have to walk to the back of the church for any reason unless it’s an emergency. 
     Finally, beginning July 1st, all vigil Masses cannot start prior to 4pm; therefore, our last Saturday noon Mass will be June 27th.  Thank you for your understanding and cooperation with all these changes from the diocese and for the good of our parish family.  God loves you and I love you too, Fr. Hien 

My Dear Parishioners,
     Please join me in thanking God, our beloved teachers, and staff of All Saints’ church and school for a blessed and successful academic year.  We concluded our school year on Thursday, May 27th.  Throughout this pandemic year, we survived the virus and were able to move forward with our mission of forming and educating the children entrusted to us.  Yes, God was super good to us for He kept all of us safe, healthy, and always able to center our everyday life on Jesus, especially in our worship, prayer services and the prayers we said throughout the day in our classrooms.  We prayed for one another, especially for the victims of the virus, and Mrs. Duke, when suddenly, our Lord called her to Himself.  May Mrs. Duke and all our loved ones be with our risen Lord for eternal life. 
     Another special person from our church and school that we need to appreciate is Mr. Jerry Richardson.  Mr. Richardson has been a faithful member of our church and worked in our school for so many years.  Jerry will officially retire on July 2nd from his job.  As many of you know about Jerry, he will never retire from serving God at All Saints’ church and school.  He is that dedicated and committed to his faith and the children of our parish.  Thank you, Jerry, for your true love and stewardship to our parish.  God bless you in your retirement to grow in holiness and to have more time with your family.
     Reminder from Bishop: every Catholic is obligated to observe and to attend the Lord’s day of Holy Masses beginning next weekend, June 5/6.  If you have a medical/special condition that requires a special dispensation from attending Sunday’s Mass for the time being, please contact me so that I can visit with you and give you some guidance.  We cannot forget that Sunday is the Lord’s day, “Thou shall keep Holy the Sabbath,” third commandant in the Law.
     Finally, please join me in thanking God for my 21 years of priesthood on May 27th.  We also thank God for the newly ordained priests for our diocese on Saturday, May 29th.  On Memorial Day, Monday, May 31st at 10am, please join me for an outdoor Mass at Cavalry Cemetery.  We are expecting about 300-400 people to attend.  If the weather is not favorable, we will move the Mass to our church.  Let us thank God for our deceased loved ones, especially those who laid down their lives for our faith and freedom.  PS. We are super proud of our confirmation students for their faith and love for the Holy Trinity.  God bless them all, Fr. Hien