January 26, 2020

My Dear Parishioners,
 
   How are you doing?  Are you loving your life?  I am doing great and enjoying my life.  It’s a happy occasion for me and all of our Vietnamese parishioners as we are celebrating our Vietnamese New Year this weekend with a special New Year Mass this Saturday, January 25th at 10 am, follow by a reception luncheon in the Fischer Center.  Everyone is invited to Holy Mass and to celebrate with us with lots of food and fun. 
 
   Did you know?  Recently, we paved with concrete many areas around our church, rectory and school buildings.  The biggest piece was the parking lot by the church’s office.  This parking lot is for everyone coming to our office.  Now you can park and walk to the office door in seconds with ease.  It’s also handicapped accessible.  This parking lot is needed for convenience and safety, especially on school days.  Sometimes the traffic backs up to this area.  The second parking lot is by the Fischer Center-North.  Of course, we can use more parking lots in front of the church and for the Fischer Center.  Now this area is very open and safer for everyone.  Please feel free to park there and enjoy what we have. 
 
   We also paved many small areas for different reasons.  One long piece is by the school and the powerhouse.  We had to pave over the area of the 50 feet pipelines that had to be removed and part of a sidewalk to fix the steam line.  We also paved another sidewalk north of the powerhouse, where we had to dig down to fix the broken water line a year ago.  Another important piece was by the school’s playground to keep weeds out around the drain area.  About 90 percent of the drainpipes were plugged up with weeds and dirt; therefore, it caused water backing up to the school offices, etc.… We also paved a small area in front of the church where people walk by day and night.  Now, it’s a little safer for them to walk there.  We finally paved five additional areas to keep the weeds out and for better visibility such as the All Saints sign in front of the church/Fischer Center.  When I have time, I would like to paint the sign and put a nice cross on top of it.  In addition, we also hauled most of the dirt from the new parking lots and placed them north and east of the powerhouse to keep rainwater from coming into the powerhouse.  We also hauled some of the dirt to the football and softball fields to fill up some low areas.
 
   Again, we are so blessed with what we have since the day this parish was established.  However, the hardest part of every building or house is maintenance.  We are blessed with much and there is so much more maintenance to be done.  If you want to help or to donate your time, talent and treasure, please let us know.  Now that we have fixed the broken steam line, about 50 feet, it’s time to fix some leaks in our roofs.  Can I take a vacation yet?  Every priest has one day off a week plus 30 days off in a year for vacation. 
 
Love you all & love All Saints, Fr. Hien