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

My Dear Parishioners,
     Are you ready to celebrate the Holy Sacrament of Confirmation with our children?  Please Pray for our All Saints 2021 Confirmation candidates to be Confirmed this Saturday, May 22nd at our 4pm Holy Mass:  Delarue Jayda, Dinh Ky, Do Thanh, Estrada Daniella, Galarza Milagros, Hesse Elaine, Kucera Andrew, Moreno Fatima, Mosqueda Isaa, Murguia Mia, Nguyen Catherine, Nguyen Lac, Nguyen Matthew, Nguyen Thinh, Pham Thao, Pham Tjaden, Rangel Avery, Rayappa Anne, Salcedo Benjamin, Tran Leann, Bates Gabrielle, Brown Faith, Cash Nautica, Cruz Victoria, Do Thien-Y, Fisher Blair, Goheen Jonathan, Hay Ethan, Hengel Johnny, Hernandez Adriel, Le Abigail, Logan Lily, Meier Olivia, Nguyen Christine, Nguyen Faustine, Nguyen Kevin, Pham Alex, Pham Skyler, Rocha Daniel, Sanchez Christopher, Stewart Alexandria, Tran Lia, and Tam Pham.
     These children of ours have been preparing their bodies, minds, and souls for the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them since last September.  They will receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit as the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles on Pentecost.  They all will be empowered by God to be disciples of Jesus in the world.  Let us pray that they, themselves, willingly and freely, open their hearts, minds, and souls to receive the Holy Spirit and to live with God in them.  With this sacrament, they will complete their sacraments of initiation and be fully capable of being spiritual soldiers for Christ in the world to teach and to defend our Catholic faith.  May they be people of love, life, and hope to others in the world.  Come Holy Spirit, upon our children. PS. A special thanks to our children’s parents, teachers, helpers, and sponsors for inspiring them and preparing them for this special day, Fr.Hien

My Dear Parishioners,
     How was your Mother’s Day weekend?  Were you nice to your moms?  Did you remember to pray for them and all your loved ones?  Please remember that God gave them to you so that you may shower them with love, kindness, and prayers.  Keep it up, one day at a time, ok?  God is with us to love us and to bless us all.  Love God always for He is our love and life.  Don’t forget to pray to Mother Mary to intercede for your intentions.  She loves to help you and all of us until we are all in heaven with her.  Holy Mary, pray for us sinners until we are all in heaven with you, Amen.
     Please join me in thanking our Lord and the many good-hearted people of our parish and friends of our parish who helped raised $30,000 for our school’s endowment with their food sales.  It was so amazing to see the hard work, the helping hands, and the generosity of so many donors to make this event a great success.  This is a reminder to all of us that with the help of God all things are possible.  Thank you everyone for your love and service to our Lord at All Saints.  Your stewardship of time, talent and treasure are greatly appreciated. 
     Finally, I am so ready to celebrate my first confirmation Mass with a large group of children, our seventh and eighth graders on Saturday, May 22nd at 4pm Holy Mass.  As you recall, Bishop wanted all children to be confirmed at a younger age, starting when they are in sixth grade.  This means that in the future, year 2023, we will confirm as young as sixth grade.  We are blessed to have so many young children in our parish and school.  I am very excited to celebrate the Holy Sacraments for our children; please join me for this special day.  All students wishing to be confirmed, along with their sponsors (parents are encouraged), are required to be in church on Saturday, May 22nd at 9am for the rehearsal, retreat, and confessions for about 90 minutes.  This special time will help you to be spiritually ready for the coming of the Holy Spirit upon you at our 4pm Holy Mass.  Come Holy Spirit, renew the face of the earth, especially in our confirmands, so that they will be your true and faithful disciples to the world, Fr. Hien

My Dear Parishioners,
     How are you doing, have you been enjoying each day and every moment of your life?  We are in the month of May, and throughout this month, many wonderful things are happening, such as this weekend is Mother’s Day weekend.  May God bless our moms and families with His heavenly love.  May every family always have each other now and forever in heaven.  Thank you, moms, for your great love, sacrifices, and examples of faith for all of us to imitate.  As your pastor, I will bestow a special blessing upon all mothers at every Mass this weekend.  Please come to church to receive this special blessing from our Lord.  Everyone, please make your mom happy this weekend with your love, kindness, and appreciation.  Thank you!
     Again, let us congratulate our second graders for their sacraments of First Confession and First Holy Eucharist last week.  We are happy for you and truly proud of you all.  One most beautiful thing about our second graders this year at All Saints is that they have been faithfully attending daily Mass every day.  I am very proud of them and their teacher, Mrs. Cris Ouano.  She came to us to love our children and to help them grow in their love for Jesus. 
     As a pastor, I do wish that everyone of us would love Jesus as much as our First Holy Communion children.  They were so excited to receive Jesus and to love Him through Holy Communion.  Yes, I have been talking to them a lot about the importance of daily prayer to Jesus and that we all must tell Jesus that we love Him.  Jesus is the Holy Bread from heaven, and we will have eternal life because of Jesus.  He is our only way to heaven; therefore, we all, including myself, must love Him every day, especially today more than ever before.  To live is to love Jesus, to become one with Him, and to love Him in our hearts, minds, and souls more than ever before.  Jesus, we love you so much---parishioners of All Saints, Fr. Hien