07 06 19 Vol. 40 No. 1

THELEAVEN.ORG | VOL. 40, NO. 1 | JULY 6, 2018

Father Carter Zielinski and Father Viet Nguyen emerge from the Church of the Nativity in Leawood to thunderous applause from their fellow priests following their ordinations to the priesthood on June 30. The two new priests started their new assignments on July 5.

Double ordinations a joyful occasion for family and friends

L

STORY BY JOE BOLLIG / PHOTOS BY LORI WOOD HABIGER

EAWOOD — It’s only natural that an ordination Mass might be a somewhat nervous occasion.

And so it was when Father Quoc-Viet Minh Nguyen and Father Carter Paul Zielinski were ordained to the priesthood on June 30 at the Church of the Nativity in Leawood.

The ordinands were ready, calm and collected.

Their parents were the nervous ones.

“I’m very excited and, at the same time, nervous,” said Anna Pham, Father Nguyen’s mother. “I’m so happy and so thankful.”

Deacon Paul Nguyen, who was just ordained a permanent deacon for the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph on June 9, talked to his son that morning.

“He was not nervous at all,” said

Deacon Nguyen.

“He told his brother, ‘I feel fine,’” said Pham.

Father Nguyen told his parents he had been ready for this day for four years.

The same was true for the Zielinski family.

“We’re very proud of him, a little nervous, but very proud of him,” said Jennifer Zielinski, Father Zielinski’s mother. “We’re just looking forward to everything.”

They, too, had a chance to talk to their son that morning.

“He seemed relaxed,” said Ray Zielinski, his father.

“He’s doing OK,” said Jennifer.

Years of prayer, study and discernment brought Father Nguyen and Father Zielinski to this day. They had been looking forward to it with eagerness.

Additionally, they had already >> See “VIETNAMESE” on page 8

Carter Zielinski sits with his parents, Jennifer and Ray Zielinski, and his sister Kylee as his ordination Mass begins.

Anna Ngoc-Mai Pham, mother of Viet Nguyen, wipes away a tear as she watches her son become a priest.

JULY 6, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG

LOCAL NEWS

Interested in becoming a deacon? Come take a look

By Joe Bollig joe.bollig@theleaven.org

ARCHBISHOP NAUMANN July 8 Baptism of third or more children — Cathedral of St. Peter, Kansas City, Kansas

K

ANSAS CITY, Kan. — Do you have the “right stuff” to be a permanent deacon?

You won’t know unless you start on the journey of discernment — a process of prayer and self-discovery. And that journey begins with attending a deacon’s information night, said Leon Suprenant.

“A lot of guys feel that they’re not worthy, and in some sense they should feel that,” said Suprenant, co-director of the office of the permanent diaconate for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. “This is not something you can just will yourself into being. This is a call from God.” No man comes to the diaconate as “the complete package,” fully formed in knowledge and spiritual development.

“It’s not like God calls the qualified, but he qualifies the called,” said Suprenant.

Men who are curious, interested or feel called will have an opportunity to take that first step of discernment during a series of eight permanent deacon information nights from late August to late October, sponsored by the office of the permanent diaconate. (See sidebar.)

The information nights will lead to the formation of the fourth cohort (or class) of permanent deacons, who will undergo a five-year process of formation.

The first cohort was ordained in 2011, and the second in 2017. The third cohort is two years away from ordination.

Currently, there are about 40 permanent deacons serving in the archdiocese.

Suprenant expects that the fourth cohort will consist of 20 to 25 men.

Men are encouraged to begin a conversation about their interest in the permanent diaconate with their wives (if married) and children — before and after the meeting.

No one can sign up for the program after just one meeting. These information nights are just the beginning of the process, said Suprenant. But these meetings are designed to answer questions and provide information.

“We give a presentation about what the diaconate is, and then about what our program entails, and some of the

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July 12 Johnson County Serra Club’s annual seminarian Mass and barbecue July 19 Mass for Confraternity of Catholic Clergy — Savior Pastoral Center July 23 “Shepherd’s Voice” recording July 24 Royals Vitae baseball game July 28 Echo of Kateri Award Mass and dinner — Prairie Star Ranch, Williamsburg LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER

The archdiocese is hosting a series of eight permanent deacon information nights from late August to late October in anticipation of a fourth cohort of deacons. The third cohort of deacons, above, was installed as lectors on June 3. requirements for admission into the program,” said Suprenant. “We provide tools for discerning a possible vocation to the diaconate.”

A lot of information is provided, and usually a few deacon candidates — as well as some deacons with their wives — are present to answer questions and talk about formation and the diaconate.

“I don’t think it’s a waste of time for anyone to go,” said Suprenant. “As an archdiocese, there’s a benefit for us to come to a deeper collective understanding of the permanent diaconate — especially for parishes who don’t have deacons.”

Usually, men who are already active in the church and want to make a deeper commitment of service to the church are good prospects for the program.

“Men might be impatient about getting started, but this is a major undertaking, so we move forward with all deliberate speed,” said Suprenant.

“We want to make sure this is right for them, their spouse, the church, and seems to be what God is calling them to do,” he continued. “Figuring these things out can’t be arrived at in the course of one evening.”

There is no cost to attend the information nights, nor is registration required.

Information nights All information nights begin at 7 p.m. Attendance is required for potential candidates who wish to advance to the next step and ultimately apply for admission to the program.

• Aug. 23, Savior Pastoral Center • Aug. 28, Annunciation Church in Frankfort • Sept. 10, Holy Cross Church in Overland Park • Sept. 18, St. Francis Xavier Church in Burlington • Sept. 20, Christ the King Parish in Topeka • Sept. 24, Cathedral of St. Peter Parish in Kansas City, Kansas • Oct. 16, St. Benedict Parish in Atchison • Oct. 24, Corpus Christi Parish in Lawrence

July 29-31 Seminarian pilgrimage

ARCHBISHOP KELEHER July 8 Mass — Federal prison camp July 9 Mass — Camp Tekakwitha July 14 Mass — St. Francis de Sales July 15 Mass — Federal prison camp July 22 Mass — Federal prison camp St. James Academy auction dinner July 23 Mass — Camp Tekakwitha

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For additional information, contact Suprenant at (913) 647-0358, or by email at: diaconate@archkck.org, or visit the website at: www.archkck.org/deacons.

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LOCAL NEWS

3

“If you take a look at his resume, you see that everything Vince has touched in the nonprofit world he’s made more successful.”

PRIMED FOR SUCCESS Catholic Education Foundation has a new leader

By Jill Ragar Esfeld jill.esfeld@theleaven.org

K

ANSAS CITY, Kan. — The new executive director of the Catholic Education Foundation, Vince Anch, has grand plans for the

future.

“My hope is that we build one of the premier nonprofit organizations in the Kansas City metropolitan area,” he said.

If past experience is any indication, Anch can make that happen.

“Vince has performed at a very high level over the course of his 30year career in nonprofit leadership and fundraising,” said CEF board chair Terry Sexton. “He’s had deep experience leading both Catholic and secular nonprofits.

“And that was very attractive to our executive committee.”

Anch’s resume is full of his accomplishments for nonprofits, but that wasn’t always his goal. In college, he studied business with a plan to enter the corporate world.

“But I’ve always had a strong faith,” he said. “And I’ve always had a heart wired to want to give back.”

His first job was with the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

“I got it really to get experience working in fundraising and special events and working with volunteers,” he said. “I thought I’d go back into marketing or the corporate world.”

He ended up working with ADA for 19 years. He’s also worked for Catholic Charities of Kansas City–St. Joseph and for Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City, Missouri.

“If you take a look at his resume,” said Sexton, “you see that everything Vince has touched in the nonprofit world he’s made more successful.

“Frankly, this is a candidate with a strong record of success in nonprofit leadership and development.”

Sexton had high praise for the executive committee of the CEF for its diligence in finding the best person for this important position “I’m grateful for their effort,” he said.

“The executive committee has worked incredibly hard and interviewed many excellent candidates.

“In Vince Anch, they have found the right leader to take us to the next level.”

That’s exactly what Anch plans to do, and he wants to see growth in both numbers and in faith.

“We want to grow financially,” he said. “Grow in the number of people we serve and the number of volunteers we attract.

“And then, ultimately, [we want to]

LEAVEN PHOTO BY LORI WOOD HABIGER

Vince Anch is the new executive director of the Catholic Education Foundation.

“

“MY HOPE IS THAT WE BUILD ONE OF THE PREMIER NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IN THE KANSAS CITY METROPOLITAN AREA.” grow the faith of those who are touched by the organization — whether they’re a student, a family, a volunteer, donor or even a staff person.”

Anch is a member of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Gladstone, Missouri, along with his wife Carolyn, who is the parish youth minister.

“We have a daughter, Adriana, who is 10, and three others that we lost, but they’re still our children,” he said.

The executive committee valued Anch’s deep commitment to the Catholic faith.

“That’s very important to us,” said Sexton. “We wanted a leader who understood the value of a Catholic education

President Most Rev. Joseph F. Naumann

Publication No. (ISSN0194-9799)

Editor Rev. Mark Goldasich, stl frmark.goldasich@theleaven.org

and the importance of transmitting the faith to future generations of Catholics.”

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann agreed.

“I am delighted that Vince Anch has agreed to serve as the executive director of the Catholic Education Foundation,” he said. “The foundation is so important in our efforts to keep Catholic education affordable and financially accessible to everyone in the community.”

As Anch researched the position, met with board members and prayed over the decision, he became more convinced this was a move God wanted him to make.

“I loved what I was doing in the previous job,” he said. “But because [CEF] is faith-based and it helps children — especially children from low-income families — it just had an immediate appeal to me.

“I felt in my heart this was God really calling me.”

Anch was especially impressed by the commitment and passion he saw in staff, volunteers and board members.

“That really sold me,” he said. “They were just so inspired by God and the church’s mission and education.

Managing Editor Anita McSorley anita.mcsorley@theleaven.org

Senior Reporter Joe Bollig joe.bollig@theleaven.org

Reporter Olivia Martin olivia.martin@theleaven.org

Production Manager Todd Habiger todd.habiger@theleaven.org

Advertising Coordinator Beth Blankenship beth.blankenship@theleaven.org

Social Media Editor Moira Cullings moira.cullings@theleaven.org

“Once I met them, I thought, “This is amazing — this is a really special organization.’”

Like the CEF board, Anch views Catholic education as an important piece of the new evangelization.

“We’re evangelizing the entire family by bringing Catholic education to their children first,” he said. “That has a beautiful ripple effect.”

After only a few weeks on the job, Anch is convinced he made the right decision and is looking forward to his future with CEF. “I certainly understand and appreciate the value of what [Catholic education] did for me,” he said. “And I want to share that and give that gift to as many people as possible.

“I just can’t wait for each day to come so I can continue to do that.”

The archbishop agrees with that plan, too.

“I am grateful for Vince’s background in development,” he said, “but also for his personal commitment to the church and the importance of Catholic schools.

“I think he will be a great leader for the foundation.”

Published weekly September through May, excepting the Friday the week after Thanksgiving, and the Friday after Christmas; biweekly June through August. Address communications to: The Leaven, 12615 Parallel Pkwy., Kansas City, KS 66109. Phone: (913) 721-1570; fax: (913) 721-5276; or e-mail at: sub@theleaven.com. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Leaven, 12615 Parallel Pkwy., Kansas City, KS 66109. For change of address, provide old and new address and parish. Subscriptions $21/year. Periodicals postage paid at Kansas City, KS 66109.

JULY 6, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG

LOCAL NEWS

4

Wamego history instructor’s journey to learn and teach

By Susan Fotovich McCabe Special to The Leaven

W

AMEGO — These days, the U.S. Constitution is a hot-button discussion topic in homes and businesses and on both sides of the political aisle.

Its interpretation fuels passionate debates — even within school classrooms where students are first exposed to the historical document and its impact on current events.

High school teacher Ross Conner is front and center for those discussions.

He teaches world and American history, as well as AP European history, at Wamego High School.

Conner, a member of St. Bernard Parish in Wamego, was recently awarded the James Madison Fellowship by the James Madison Memorial Foundation in pursuit of his master’s degree in history.

The fellowship is designed to strengthen teaching about the Constitution in the nation’s secondary schools and provides up to $24,000 toward the cost of earning a master’s degree.

As part of the competition, applicants must submit an essay explaining why studying the history and principles of the Constitution are critical in sustaining American democracy.

“American democracy and the principles of the Constitution are not only intertwined, they are co-dependent upon one another; without one, the other withers,” Conner wrote in his essay for the fellowship.

“The truth is that without the expression of individuals in American democracy,” he wrote, “the principles of the Constitution, such as limited government, will disappear. The themes of the Constitution hinge on the American people’s involvement in the democratic process.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TROY HEMPHILL

Ross Conner, center, a member of St. Bernard Parish in Wamego, was recently awarded the James Madison Fellowship by the James Madison Memorial Foundation in pursuit of his master’s degree in history. He is pictured with other Madison fellows, Troy Hemphill, left, and Shawn Hornung.

“In studying history and the Constitution we find both the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ to become part of the American story.”

Conner has been teaching at Wamego High School for the last three years.

Prior to that, the former Prince of Peace, Olathe, parishioner and St. Thomas Aquinas, Overland Park, graduate taught theology at a Catholic middle and high school in Junction City.

Two of his co-workers, who are former recipients of the same award, encouraged Conner to apply. They described the experience as “life-changing,” he said.

“I was motivated by the opportunity to talk with top scholars in the field. It will make me a better teacher and will be a tremendous opportunity to take what I’ve learned into my classroom,” he said.

This summer, Conner will begin his master’s program by taking courses on campus at Ashland University in Ash-

land, Ohio, and then online during the school year. The emphasis will be on the study of America’s founding documents — the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

Next summer, he will complete his education during a one-month stay at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Throughout the experience, Conner will reflect on the impact history has in the classroom. In this time of tremendous polarization in our country, he believes teaching history to young people is more important than ever.

“For so long, we’ve been taught to avoid discussing religion and politics at the dinner table,” Conner said. “But what has happened is that we’ve forgotten how to talk about it in a civil way.”

In his essay, Conner emphasized that teaching the principles of the Constitu-

tion is vitally important.

“It is not a set of rules or even just a primary source document from 240 years ago,” he wrote. “It is a living, breathing document, and the first word of the Preamble, ‘we,’ denotes who exactly gives it that life.

“It not only outlines our individual rights and liberties, but it provides a means for active popular sovereignty. My job as a teacher is not just to explain the importance of rights, amendments and court decisions, but rather to demonstrate how to live out the liberties they ensure.”

Despite the separation of church and state, Conner believes a fundamental understanding of religion is integral to teaching the history of the Constitution and he relies on his faith to put it into perspective for others.

“My Catholic faith acts almost as a lens through which I view the Constitution and the other founding documents,” Conner said. “I have a certain perspective about the importance of freedom of expression of speech and religion.

“For some people, those ideas don’t matter as much, maybe because they don’t feel like they have much to lose.

Being able to discuss these differing viewpoints in the classroom gives students a working example of constitutional principles.”

Teachers are often plagued by doubts as to whether they are making a difference. However, Conner says most teachers choose to stay in the field because of the positive impact they feel they can make on students. It’s a challenge Conner welcomes.

“My hope is that my students will get something out of my history lessons,” Conner said. “A lot of kids are disenchanted with politics and are sick of it.

“Ultimately, they will either check out or change it.”

Faith, family at heart of Topeka’s Fiesta Mexicana

By Marc and Julie Anderson mjanderson@theleaven.org

T

OPEKA — It was the depths of the Great Depression — but the Hispanic community here still had something to cel-

ebrate.

In 1933, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Topeka, in what would become an annual tradition, held its first Fiesta Mexicana, a celebration of Mexican culture.

And it crowned its first queen, 28-year-old Marie Mendoza, only six years later.

Now, 85 years after its inception, the annual event will kick off on July 7 with a parade in downtown Topeka, and then continue from July 10-14 with Mexican food and culture, music and dancing.

The fiesta is open to the public and has become one of the largest community celebrations of Mexican culture in the nation.

For a few Catholic Topekans, however, the crowing of that first queen is more than history — it’s family history.

At age 87, Juanita “Jennie” Barron still remembers hearing the news of her aunt’s royalty status as a young child.

“I was 9 years old, and I remember when I heard she was elected queen,” said Barron. Her parents were partic-

LEAVEN PHOTO BY MARC ANDERSON

The family of Marie Mendoza recently gathered at the home of Faustino and Rita Mendoza to reminisce about family life and the fiesta. Pictured from left are: Rita Mendoza, Ronnie Barron, Juanita “Jennie” Barron and Faustino Mendoza. ularly thrilled to learn that the many hours spent by the entire family selling tickets to family, friends and neighbors had paid off.

Unlike most royalty contests, the title of fiesta queen is not based on popularity, but on the amount of fundraising done by the candidate.

In Marie Mendoza’s case, her brothers had helped sell tickets.

“It took a lot of money and effort,” said Billy Terry, one of Mendoza’s nephews.

Recently, members of the Mendoza family gathered at the home of Faus-

tino and Rita Mendoza — some in person and some via technology — to reminisce about what the fiesta has meant to their family.

Faustino is also one of the nephews of Marie Mendoza.

Although it took a lot of money and effort, according to those gathered, Marie took all the work in stride, recognizing and thanking everyone for their generosity and support.

According to Rita Granado, Marie’s daughter, her mother was loyal to her parish and her community, but especially to her faith.

It was her faith that propelled Marie, Granado said, to encourage and inspire others within the parish, community and her own family to give back.

“Her commitment to the church was so important to her,” said Granado. “She remained very religious her whole life and would want people to support the endeavors of the church through raising funds every year.

“She was very humble and hardly ever spoke about being the first queen.”

When she was crowned, said Terry, no one in the family expected the royalty contest to become an annual part of the fiesta.

But the contest, like the fiesta, has now turned into a tradition nearly 80 years old, one in which numerous families have established two and three generations of fiesta royalty. In fact, Barron’s sisters became a queen and princess at later fiestas, and, like her great-aunt, Barron’s daughter also became a princess.

Although Marie Mendoza eventually moved away from Topeka, Faustino Mendoza remembers Granado and his aunt returning to Topeka to participate in the 75th anniversary of the fiesta, one in which former royalty were honored at the coronation ball for their legacy and commitment to the parish.

For more information about Fiesta Mexicana, including a complete schedule of events, go online to: www.olgfiesta mexicana.org.

JULY 6, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG

LOCAL NEWS

5

Service work ‘helps shape you,’ says Paola senior

By Olivia Martin olivia.martin@theleaven.org

P

AOLA — It was a quiet summer morning whose peace was interrupted only by the occasional sound of chattering voices, the rustle of garbage bags and a roaring leaf blower.

What sounded like a typical lawn maintenance team, however, was anything but.

These were teams of junior high and high school students from Holy Trinity Parish youth group. And they were offering up a “Day for Christ” — 24 hours total — in works of service.

The youth gathered at Holy Trinity Parish each morning from June 4 to 8 to give back to God and the community.

Luci Kennedy, the youth minister at Holy Trinity Parish and a teacher at the parish grade school, thought of the idea while brainstorming ways to help her group interact with the community and recognize that they make a difference in the parish and beyond.

The chance to give a day for Christ posed both an opportunity and a challenge to the youth.

“Christ gave his life for us,” said Kennedy. “Can’t we give him a day?”

Participants gathered at the church each morning to receive instructions on the work at hand.

To start the week, the kids redistributed wheelbarrow loads of rubber chips across the surface of the playground.

On another day, the volunteers gave the youth room a fresh coat of paint.

Others helped run vacation Bible school for the young children the whole week.

But on June 5, landscaping around the church and rectory was the task of the day.

With nearly 20 kids present and ready to work, the group was split into two workforces: one at the rectory and another at the church.

Patrick Lange, a senior at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Over-

LEAVEN PHOTO BY OLIVIA MARTIN

Holy Trinity youth, Mason Kubec (left) and Jace Hensley, help improve the landscaping around the church and rectory of Holy Trinity Parish in Paola.

The youth were offering up a “Day for Christ” in works of service. land Park, kept busy trimming limbs by the church, cutting vines and pulling weeds — all tasks he was happy to do for the church and community.

“I think it really gives you some perspective [by] coming out and just helping the community,” he said. “We have a really good community and I like to give back to it.”

Mason Kubec, a freshman at St. James Academy in Lenexa, who was raking and pruning shrubs at the rectory, agreed. “[Volunteering] is important to me,” he said, “because I feel like it’s a way to give back since Jesus died for us.”

He added that the accompaniment of the parish youth group has been vital in this discovery.

“It’s really helped me in my faith,” said Kubec. “It’s like a home away from home.”

Lange has also seen how doing works of service as a result of involvement with the parish youth group has helped him mature.

“It helps shape you as a person and gives you an idea of who you are supposed to be,” he said.

Lange, who has done previous mission work in the Appalachian Mountains, has learned to recognize the value of supporting the community and the church through selfless giving.

“It helps foster the spirit of giving and giving back to the community,” he said, “helping the church, especially.”

For Kennedy, organizing and

supervising a Day for Christ has been just one project she’s enjoyed working on with the youth of the parish.

“I think they’ve really helped me grow in my faith,” she said.

But they sure don’t hold back — nor do they sugarcoat the questions they ask, said Kennedy.

“Sometimes they’re brutally honest.

But at the same time, they do make you think . . . and that’s been wonderful.

“They’re a great group of kids.”

The youth will complete their Day for Christ hours by the end of summer, helping the church and community and fulfilling the required hours for those receiving the sacrament of confirmation in the fall.

Annual men’s conference set for Aug. 11 in Hays

By Karen Bonar Special to The Leaven

H

AYS — Some familiar faces will be here for the seventh annual Diocesan Men’s Conference on Aug. 11.

Archbishop Charles Chaput, OFM Cap., who hails from Concordia and attended St. Francis Seminary High School in Victoria, will be one of two speakers at the conference, which is themed: “Men of God.” He will be joined by nationally known radio personality John Martignoni, who hosts “EWTN Open Line” on EWTN Radio.

Archbishop Chaput said he is delighted to be returning to his home diocese for the conference.

“Kansas has its own special beauty, and a lot of that beauty comes from the people who live here,” he said. “You can take the boy out of Kansas, but not Kansas out of the boy.”

The annual men’s conference is hosted by the Salina Diocese’s office of family life. The event will feature the speakers, as well as Mass, eucharistic

CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING

Archbishop Charles Chaput, OFM Cap., of Philadelphia, will be one of the featured speakers at the men’s conference in Hays. Archbishop Chaput hails from Concordia in the Salina Diocese. adoration, reconciliation and lunch.

The conference is open to men, aged middle school and older.

“Everybody should come,” Archbishop Chaput said. “This will be an extraordinary conference; an opportunity not

just to learn but to reinforce each other with good will, humor and fellowship.

“Men need fraternity, and the conference is an ideal place to deepen or begin building it.”

Martignoni said the talks will enrich

many aspects of a man’s life.

“If your Catholic faith truly means something to you and you really want your faith to impact your family’s faith, then my question is: What are you willing to do to strengthen that faith?” he said. “Are you willing to come to a men’s conference? Are you willing to give up one day to strengthen that faith?

“It’s not just about you. It’s about your wife, it’s about your kids. If you’re single, it’s about your future wife, future kids. If you will be a priest, it’s about your people and the people you will be pastoring one day.

“It’s not just about you.”

Fathers are encouraged to register and attend with their sons. Seminarians, deacons and priests attend for free, but must RSVP. The cost for the conference is $35 for an adult. Middle school, high school and college students may register for $15. Register early for a discount. After Aug. 1, registration increases by $10 per person, but registration is available at the door.

For more information or to register online, go to: salinadiocese.org/ family-life.

JULY 6, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG

LOCAL NEWS TOOLS FOR FAMILIES Growing as Disciples of Jesus

Summertime memories In July 1968, Pope Paul VI issued “Humanae Vitae” in which he wrote: “Children are really the supreme gift of marriage.” Family fun celebrates that gift. For summertime fun on a Sunday afternoon after Mass, consider: • Water balloon tosses or ARTWORK BY NEILSON CARLIN, 2015 Super Soaker challenges that help you cool off in the heat and bond through family fun.

• Use an ice cream maker to whip up the family’s favorite flavor to share.

• In a clear, plastic bottle (small holes in the lid!) catch lightning bugs and watch them light up.

(Release before bedtime!)

— Deacon Tony Zimmerman, lead consultant for the archdiocesan office of marriage and family life

Want to help someone heal from an abortion?

Call or text 913-621-2199

Nancy (Price) and Joe Peschel, members of St. Gregory Parish, Marysville, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on July 21 with an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Marysville. The couple was married June 15, 1968, at St. Gregory. Their children are: Lisa Walker, Robert Peschel, Susan Deraney, Matthew Peschel and Michael Peschel.

They also have 14 grandchildren.

Gene and Betty Cunningham, members of Prince of Peace Parish, Olathe, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on July 5. The couple was married at St. Patrick Church, Parsons. Their children are: Brenda Swayne, Steve Cunningham and Derda Albers (deceased). They also have six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

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Carolyn and Don Kuckelman, members of Most Pure H e a r t of Mary Parish, To p e k a , will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary with family. The couple was married on July 4, 1958, at St. Ann Parish, Effingham. Their children are: Kathy Woolpert, Topeka; Susan Morrison, Oak Grove, Missouri; Tom Kuckelman, Atlanta; Sara Criswell, Gun Barrel City, Texas; and Tim Kuckelman, Hartland, Wisconsin.

They also have 14 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

ANNIVERSARY submissions ANNIVERSARY submissions

POLICY: The Leaven prints 50, 60, 65 and 70th anniversary notices. They are for parishioners in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas DEADLINE: eight days before the desired publication date.

WHERE TO SUBMIT: Email: todd.habiger@theleaven.org.

Respite care program needs volunteers

O

VERLAND PARK — BREATHE Respite Care is looking for volunteers for the program.

BREATHE Respite Care provides the gift of time away from caregiving for families who have a loved one with a disability age 5 and older.

A special-needs respite care program is scheduled from 4 to 8 p.m. on July 21 at Holy Cross School, 8101 W. 95th St., Overland Park.

For questions regarding the program, contact Tom Racunas, archdiocese lead consultant of the special-needs ministry, at (913) 647-3054 or by email at: tracunas @archkck.org; or Audrey Amor, archdiocesan respite care coordinator, at (816) 739-1197 or via email at: aamor@sjakeepingfaith.org.

To register a loved one or to volunteer, go to the website at: www. archkck.org/specialneeds and complete the online forms.

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JULY 6, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG

LOCAL NEWS

Savings program helps refugees achieve the

AMERICAN DREAM PHOTO COURTESY OF CATHOLIC CHARITIES

Bawi Hrin Thang, a refugee from the Chin State in Burma, met with Jessica Alwine, the Individual Development Accounts coordinator at Catholic Charities, and was able to use IDA grant money to purchase a home in western Kansas City, Kansas, with a large backyard.

By Jacob Loel Special to The Leaven

K

ANSAS CITY, Kan. — Ramesh Karki looks comfortable, leaning on a desk in his new office in Kansas City, Kansas’ Argentine neighborhood.

He’s sporting a fashionably cut beard and a blue button down. When he landed at KCI in July 2012, he had every reason to feel scared, defeated and nervous. He was a refugee, in debt to the International Organization of Migration for the cost of his flight from Nepal, where he was living in a refugee camp along with thousands of other members of ethnic minorities expelled from Bhutan.

But he was not scared. Instead, when he arrived, he had been “already thinking about the land of opportunity.”

Like most refugees resettled to Kansas City, Kansas, Karki was assigned a case worker at Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas. After hearing Karki’s motivations, his case worker suggested he meet with Jessica Alwine, the Individual Development Accounts (IDA) coordinator at Catholic Charities.

IDA is a savings program for refugees who have been in the United States for five years or less. Known as “double money,” the program helps refugees set up a savings account and then matches their earnings — up to $4,000 for families or up to $2,000 for individuals.

Unlike other refugee resettlement programs, which generally focus on the immediate needs of recently arrived refugees such as housing, first jobs, medical needs, English classes and American document assistance, the IDA program focuses on long-term financial independence.

“We’re really trying to teach them about the whole process of saving money,” said Alwine.

Alwine believes the program encourages her refugee clients to work harder. To be accepted into the program, refugees are required to have

PHOTO COURTESY OF CATHOLIC CHARITIES

Ramesh Karki was expelled from Bhutan and in debt to the International Organization of Migration. With the help of the IDA program, he opened Druk-National Home Care, a home health company. held a job for two months. Also, there are minimums for savings account deposits in order to remain in good standing and continue to receive funds.

Unlike other Catholic Charities’ programs, the IDA program is completely funded by a public grant. All funding comes from the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a division of the U.S. Administration for Children & Families, which is responsible for providing charitable agencies funding for benefits for recent arrivals into the United States who are considered refugees, asylees and other persecuted migrant populations.

The IDA program is extremely helpful to refugees, added Alwine, since they often come from countries where the education system is defunct or inaccessible, and many had to leave what little assets they had in their home country before fleeing.

The money earned from the program can be used for school tuition, house or car payments or startup funds for businesses.

Karki, who taught 9th- and 10thgrade mathematics in Nepal, had no business experience before coming to the United States. He had pursued

a bachelor of arts in India, but had no training about American workplace expectations or business practices. He taught himself business etiquette and business practices with online classes.

With the help of the IDA program, he opened Druk-National Home Care, a home health company. He currently has seven employees; two registered nurses and five caregivers.

Within the office, he also operates a small accounting firm and hopes to open a personal insurance company within the same walls.

Bawi Hrin Thang, a refugee from the Chin State in Burma, arrived in Kansas City with his wife and three children in June 2016. Like Karki, he also was happy, not scared, he says in broken English, to be in the United States. Thang and his growing family spent 10 years in Malaysia, where life is difficult for refugees.

According to the Seattle-based nonprofit The Borgen Project, the Malaysian government has never signed the U.N. Refugee Convention and, under Malaysian law, there are no rights or protections for refugees.

While refugees are not allowed legal work permits in Malaysia, many work

unofficial jobs. However, Malaysia cooperates with the U.N. High Commission on Refugees, allowing them U.N. refugee status, which will usually — but not always — protect them from deportation back to the country they fled from.

In February, Thang and his family were living in an apartment which didn’t adequately accommodate a growing family. He and his wife decided to meet with Alwine and enter the IDA program.

Soon after enrolling, they began preparing for their fourth child, the first to be born in America. They chose to use their IDA grant money to make a down payment on a house.

Thang and his family are now settling into their newly purchased home in western Kansas City, Kansas, in a quiet neighborhood with a large backyard. The house is simply decorated, mainly with religious art, and very tidy, although Thang humbly gestures to a small pile of clutter in the garage and apologizes.

Thang is a diminutive man by American standards, perhaps as a result of food shortages in his native Chin state in Myanmar, where one in three children suffer from stunting, according to the U.N. World Food Programme.

Although he drives approximately 50 miles a day to his job, where he assembles heating and cooling units for houses, he is happy with his situation.

It’s a good job, he explains. There are no shutdowns, and he gets generous paid time off for Christmas and New Year.

Though some refugees struggle to successfully integrate quickly into the United States, the IDA program gives refugees the support they need to achieve their goals in what Karki — and so many hard-working immigrants before him — have considered the land of opportunity.

Loel is an AmeriCorps VISTA member working at Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas, assisting with the Refugee and Immigration Services program.

7

Vietnamese traditions add international flavor to Mass >> Continued from page 1 been primed for that day when they were both ordained transitional deacons. Father Nguyen was ordained a deacon on May 20, 2017, at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Kansas City, Kansas. Father Zielinski was ordained a deacon on Sept. 28, 2017, at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

Now that the big day had finally arrived, members of the Nguyen and Zielinski families reflected on their sons’ journey to the priesthood.

“It’s quite amazing,” said Ray Zielinski.

“Looking at it from this end, it would seem like a long time. But at this juncture, it seems like only yesterday that he went to Rome.

We were nervous about that. It worked out exceptionally well for him.

“It’s been a very developing experience for him and for us, too, with opportunities to visit him [in Rome]. The time has flown by.”

With the benefit of hindsight, Truong Nguyen, Pham’s oldest brother, recalled the first hints of his little brother’s vocation.

“He was always very devout,” he said.

“Sometimes, we [older brothers] would want to leave church a little early to go to lunch, but he would say, ‘No, I want to finish this up,’ and he stuck with praying every Sunday.”

The ordination Mass even had an international flavor, courtesy of the Nguyens.

Their family, which had been scattered at the end of the Vietnam War, was reunited by the ordination.

“We had relatives come here from California, New Orleans, Texas and Wichita,” said Deacon Nguyen.

One uncle, a priest, came all the way from the Republic of China (Taiwan).

There was also a lot of support in evidence from the Vietnamese community of the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area.

The designated Vietnamese parish is Holy Martyrs in Kansas City, Missouri. The parish’s women’s choir sang, all dressed in red Vietnamese traditional dress, the áo dài.

Many women in attendance also wore áo dài in honor of the day.

Anna Pham’s was of light gold silk with darker gold embroidery, and floral embroidering in dark red, pink and green thread.

After the ordination Mass and reception, the Nguyen family held a traditional, Vietnamese whole-pig roast dinner at the Church of the Ascension in Overland Park.

“In our culture, to have a man become a priest is something for the Vietnamese community to celebrate,” said Father Nguyen’s mother. “We’re very grateful, so we all come to pray for and support the priest.”

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann was the ordaining minister, homilist and main celebrant. Several priests of the archdiocese concelebrated the Mass. Several deacons and archdiocesan seminarians also took part.

Father Zielinski was vested by Father Francis Hund, pastor of the Church of the Nativity, and Father Al Rockers, retired.

Father Nguyen was vested by Father Patrick Marshall, director of the Newman Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The first assignments for Father Nguyen are as associate pastor at Sacred Heart Parish in Shawnee and chaplain to St. James Academy in Lenexa. The first assignments for Father Zielinski are as associate pastor at Christ the King Parish in Topeka and as chaplain to Hayden High School in Topeka.

Deacons Viet Nguyen (left) and Carter Zielinski and stand before the altar at the beginning of their ordination ceremony to the priesthood on June 30 at

Father James Shaughnessy, pastor of St. Michael Parish in Axtell and Holy Family Parish in Summerfield, performs the ancient rite of the laying on of hands on Father Zielinski.

The Catechist Choir of the Church of the Holy Martyrs from Kansas City, Missouri, provided an international flair to the 2018 ordination of Deacons Viet Nguyen and Carter Zielinski to the priesthood.

Church of the Nativity in Leawood.

Father Viet Nguyen kneels before Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann and gives his promise of obedience.

Father Carter Zielinski gives his first blessing as a priest to Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann. Father Zielinski is the new associate pastor at Christ the King Parish in Topeka.

Archbishop Naumann lays hands on Father Viet Nguyen, who will be the associate pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Shawnee.

JULY 6, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG

NATION

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Bishops end border visit, call reunification of children urgent

By Rhina Guidos Catholic News Service

S

AN JUAN, Texas (CNS) ­— In less than 48 hours, a group of Catholic bishops saw the faces of triumph and relief from migrants who had been recently released by immigration authorities, but ended their two-day journey to the border with a more “somber” experience, visiting detained migrant children living temporarily within the walls of a converted Walmart.

Widespread outrage in the weeks following led to President Donald Trump essentially rescinding the policy in mid-June. But the stroke of the pen could not automatically reunite the children and parents who had been and remain apart.

“The children who are separated from their parents need to be reunited. That’s already begun and it’s certainly not finished and there may be complications, but it must be done and it’s urgent,” said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles, USCCB vice president, celebrated Mass in Spanish with about 250 children, including some of those in question, at the detention facility on

what once was the loading dock of the Walmart superstore.

“It was, as you can imagine, very challenging to see the children by themselves,” Archbishop Gomez said during the news conference. “Obviously, when there are children at Mass, they are with their parents and families. . . but it was special to be with them and give them some hope.”

He said he spoke to them about the importance of helping one another.

The visit to the facility known as Casa Padre capped the bishops’ brief journey to the border communities of McAllen-Brownsville near the southern border.

Bishop Joseph C. Bambera of Scranton, Pennsylvania, along with Auxiliary Bishop Robert J. Brennan of Rockville Centre, New York, also were part of the delegation July 1 and 2, led by Cardinal DiNardo, and were present at the Mass at Casa Padre.

The building houses about 1,200 boys ages 10 to 17, said Bishop Bambera, and though the care they receive seems to be appropriate — it’s clean, they have access to medical care, and schooling and recreational facilities — it was clear that “there was a sadness” manifested by the boys, he said in a July 2 interview with Catholic News Service.

“We can provide the material environment to care for a person and it’s

CNS PHOTO/CHAZ MUTH

Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, left, and Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles talk to members of the media following a July 2 news conference at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle in San Juan, Texas. provided there, but that doesn’t nurture life. That takes the human interaction with the family or a caregiver,” he said.

Cardinal DiNardo said the church was willing to be part of any conversation to find humane solutions because

even a policy of detaining families together in facilities caused “concern.”

Archbishop Gomez said the Catholic Church was willing to help speed along the process of getting children back to their parents and to stop it from happening to others.

“I think if we want something from the administration, [it] is family unity,” he said, because “that’s essential for the human person. Whatever it takes, we’re willing to help.”

“Our visit is a pastoral visit,” said Cardinal DiNardo. “That has to be kept in mind,” he said. “We have had a full two days and they’ve been a very beautiful two days, and, in some parts, painful, but very, very beautiful.”

The bishops also had taken part in a mission, he said, handed on from the highest rungs of the church: to “share the journey” with migrants and refugees, referring to a campaign by Pope Francis and charitable Catholic organizations such as the U.S. bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services calling on Catholics and others of goodwill to build bridges of understanding and hospitality with migrants and refugees.

“Pope Francis has invited us all on a journey with the migrant and refugee and we’re glad we’re part of the trip,” Cardinal DiNardo said.

Year ends for Supreme Court with all eyes on next term

By Carol Zimmermann Catholic News Service

W

ASHINGTON (CNS) — “That’s a wrap” could have been said late morning June 27 at the U.S. Supreme Court after the court issued its last two decisions of the term.

Except that it was not a wrap by a long shot.

Just a few hours after the court released its final decisions, Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement.

Almost immediately, President Donald Trump said he would move quickly to fill the spot, saying he already has a list of candidates in hand.

And the day after this announcement, the court released another handful of cases on the docket for its next

term that begins Oct. 1.

Big cases this year involved the president’s travel ban, a same-sex wedding cake, gerrymandering, sports betting, cellphone tracking, union dues and pro-life pregnancy centers.

The court, near the end of this term, announced its 5-4 decision upholding Trump’s travel ban preventing people entering the U.S. from some Muslim-majority countries.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Charities USA and Catholic Legal Immigration Network expressed disappointment with the ruling and also had filed a combined friend-of-the-court brief with harsh criticism of the president’s order, saying it showed “blatant religious discrimination” and was a major threat to religious liberty.

In the case of the same-sex wedding cake, the U.S. bishops sided with the court’s 7-2 decision in favor of the

CNS PHOTO/TYLER ORSBURN

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington is seen Jan. 31, 2017.

Colorado baker who cited religious beliefs in declining to make the wedding cake for a same-sex couple. The narrow ruling said the baker’s religious freedom had been violated by the state’s Civil Rights Commission, but it did not determine if a small business can invoke federal freespeech and religious-exercise rights

Announcement Joseph A. Butler & Son Funeral Home has re-opened as

to deny services to same-sex couples.

One case that might have seemed under the radar for Catholic leaders was the 6-3 ruling that cleared the way for states to legalize sports betting, striking down a 1992 federal law, but editorials in at least two Catholic archdiocesan newspapers warned about some potential dangers of this decision.

In its next session, the court already has agreed to three death penalty cases.

In other abortion decisions, the justices threw out a lower court’s ruling that allowed a 17-year-old last year to obtain an abortion while she was in a detention center after an illegal border crossing. The court also said it would not hear a case against an Arkansas abortion law, thus letting the state’s restrictions on abortion-inducing drugs stand.

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JULY 6, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG

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‘Laudato Si” provides framework for schools’ green projects

By Steve Larkin Catholic News Service

W

ASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si’,” which was promulgated June 18, 2015, has provided both a motivation and a framework for Catholic universities implementing sustainability projects.

The encyclical, which has acquired a reputation as the “environmental encyclical,” has made Catholic universities more aware of their connections to and impact on the natural world.

Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical “Caritas in Veritate,” which “Laudato Si’” draws on, says that “the book of nature is one and indivisible: It takes in not only the environment but also life, sexuality, marriage, the family, social relations: in a word, integral human development. Our duties towards the environment are linked to our duties towards the human person.”

St. John’s University in New York, the University of Dayton in Ohio and the University of San Diego have all received a gold STARS rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education in the time between the promulgation of “Laudato Si’” and now.

The STARS program, which stands for Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System, is a transparent and self-reporting framework that includes both short-term and longterm sustainability goals for all kinds of colleges and universities.

According to Michael Catanzaro, director of sustainability at the University of San Diego, “Laudato Si’” was “super present to our minds” when the university instituted a Climate Action plan in 2016.

The plan builds on previous progress by the university, which has cut its energy consumption by 20 percent since 2010 and used less water in 2016 than it had in any of the previous 25 years. From this starting point, the plan aims to reduce the environmental footprint of the university from a baseline of 2010 by 15 percent by 2020, 40 percent by 2030, and 50 percent by 2035.

To Catanzaro, the smaller pieces of the plan, such as reducing food waste, are just as important. He mentioned

CNS PHOTO/COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON

Recycle bins are seen on the campus of the University of Dayton in Ohio. Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment has prompted some U.S. Catholic universities to undertake green projects. that reducing food waste had a special resonance to him.

“The first level of defense is eliminating waste,” he said, and eliminating food waste is immediately visible in a way that eliminating other kinds of waste is not.

“A culture of consumption creates a lot of the challenges we’re facing,” he said. He thinks it links together several other ideas discussed in “Laudato Si’,” such as the quickening pace of human life, a throwaway culture, and the subjection of politics, especially in the Third World, to technological and financial interests.

At the University of Dayton, “Laudato Si’” served to encourage further sustainability efforts. The school already had been working on sustainability efforts for many years and had divested from fossil fuels in 2014, but the school “took ‘Laudato Si’’ to heart” when generating a report in every department looking for ways to become more sustainable, according to Steve Kendig, the executive director of energy utilization and environmental sustainability.

Kendig sees the school’s efforts against food deserts in the Dayton area as an important part of the sustainability efforts. Since studies have shown that Dayton is the second-worst

CNS PHOTO/COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON

Food leftover from the school cafeteria is composed for use in gardens. city in the nation for food insecurity in households with children, the university views its work in this area as an important part of supporting the Dayton community.

For example, some students in the department of engineering management, systems and technology worked on the logistics of trucks driving to and

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from a food shelter, and they ended up cutting several hundred miles of driving each week. The food shelter ended up saving enough money to provide 400 additional meals every week.

The university’s work in Appalachia reflects the understanding of “Laudato Si’” that care for the environment and care for the poor are intertwined.

“During move-out week we collect furniture, small appliances, and food, and take it down to Appalachia,” Kendig said.

At St. John’s University, Thomas Goldsmith, the director of environmental and energy conservation, sees the sustainability program as a part of fulfilling the obligations to future generations discussed in “Laudato Si’.”

To support that goal, St. John’s has taken advantage of a number of programs offered by both New York City and New York state aimed at reducing its carbon footprint.

“We’ve taken advantage of statewide technical assistance programs to find out what is achievable in energy efficiencies,” said Goldsmith.

The university also has tried to bring about a cultural change with its food waste program, which started in 2009 and was expanded in 2012. In addition to composting food waste and using the resulting soil in gardens, the program also aimed at getting students to take less food and scrape their plates into the compost bins, and it succeeded.

The program also takes both leftover food from the cafeteria and food grown in the gardens made with the composted soil and takes it to food kitchens. Goldsmith referred to the idea embodied by this part of the food waste program as “conserve to serve,” showing that the programs that protect the environment and those that aid other people are interconnected.

At all three universities, students have been receptive to sustainability efforts and, in some cases, requested even more. While progress has been made, Catanzaro wants to make sure that “Laudato Si’” continues to encourage them and that universities not become indifferent to their sustainability efforts.

“Higher education often focuses on making students comfortable,” he said, “but they learn the most in discomfort.”

JULY 6, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG

CLASSIFIEDS

EMPLOYMENT Drivers - Ready for the summers off? Join our school transportation division and live like a kid again! Our drivers have the opportunity to serve our community and still get those precious summer breaks. Assisted Transportation seeks caring and reliable drivers to transport K - 12 students in Johnson and Wyandotte counties in our minivans. CDL not required. $12 per hour. Retirees encouraged to apply. Learn more or apply online at: assistedtransportation.com or call (913) 262-5190 for more information. EOE. Do you enjoy driving? - The Kansas City Transportation Group is looking for chauffeurs to drive our guests to events, airport, dinner, etc. Business is growing and we are in need of workers with flexible hours, those who are retired, etc. Great pay and benefits. Send resume to: jkalbert@kctg.com or in person at Carey, 1300 Lydia Ave., Kansas City, MO 64106.

Teachers - Infant/toddler teachers needed for our growing child care needs at St. Joseph, Shawnee, Early Education Center. Good benefits, great environment. Call (913) 248-4589.

Preschool teaching positions - St. Ann Young Child Center in Prairie Village is looking to fill staff positions for the 2018-19 school year. Seeking a part-time 3-year-olds preschool teaching position for Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:45 a.m. - noon. A degree in education is required.

Also seeking a part-time preschool aide for Monday - Friday from 8:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. Experience preferred but not necessary. Finally, seeking an extended-day aide for Monday through Friday from 3 - 6 p.m. If you love working with children and are looking for part-time work at our distinguished Young Child Center, call Tati at (913) 362-4660.

Music minister/assistant youth minister - Holy Trinity Parish is seeking to fill this full-time role of leadership that integrates music into all aspects of youth ministry.

Responsibilities include leading worship; organizing and rehearsing the band for our Sunday night youth Mass; coordinating and implementing music into other aspects of the youth ministry (prayer meetings, core meetings, retreats, special events, etc.); assisting in the planning and implementation of weekly Life Nights and periodic adoration/song/prayer events; and participation in weekly staff meetings and monthly core meetings.

Applicants must have experience leading a band and be familiar with contemporary Christian music and the Catholic Mass. Sight reading skills, experience as a worship leader, and experience and knowledge of Life Teen a plus. College degree in related field preferred. Competitive compensation based on experience. Email questions and/or resumes to: kwalters@htlenexa.org.

Technology director – Church of the Nativity, Leawood, is seeking a full-time director of information technology.

Applicants will be responsible for the management and reliable operation of network devices; Microsoft servers (including Exchange and SQL); student information system; Mitel telecom system; 4th-8th 1:1 Chromebook using Google apps; Apple devices; staff laptops and end user training and support for all these functions. The Director will have responsibility for all IT operations. Qualified applicants will have knowledge of Microsoft Server domain environment; demonstrated trouble shooting and problem-solving skills; experience providing “hands-on” IT support; experience managing external partners and vendors; excellent interpersonal skills; and ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with students and staff. This is a full-time position with medical, dental, vision, etc., benefits. Qualified applicants may submit a resume and work history to: jobapplication@ kcnativity.org.

Bus driver needed - The Goddard School, Olathe (northwest), is accepting applications for a part-time before/ after school care BUS DRIVER. Applicant must be professional, mature, responsible and punctual. Applicant must have a clean driving record and enjoy working with young children. Driver will be responsible for transporting school-age children to/from our facility each morning and afternoon to several local elementary schools. May consider a different driver for a.m. and p.m., if necessary.

Great position for a retired “grandma/grandpa.” Minimum qualifications and requirements: Must be at least 21 years old; have a valid Kansas driver’s license without indication of a criminal record; a clear background check; no driving-related convictions or citations in the last three years; be familiar with the area; be organized, punctual and a self-starter; have good communication skills; meet state licensing requirements for health history; participate in reporting and implementation of the child abuse and neglect policy; participate in any professional development activities (i.e., CPR, first-aid training); previous teaching and/or driving experience preferred; CDL not required - 14 passenger bus.

Clinic manager - Olathe Pregnancy Center (part of the Wyandotte Pregnancy Clinic network) is seeking a full-time clinic manager to provide Christ-centered leadership to our new pregnancy center opening late this summer. Bilingual in Spanish a plus. For a complete job summary and application, send an email to: mmason@ wpcnetwork.org.

Associate director of planned giving - The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas is seeking an associate director of planned giving for the office of stewardship and development. This position is responsible for advancing the mission of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas through professional stewardship and relationship-building activities, as well as developing, organizing and implementing a spiritually based archdiocesan planned giving program.

Duties include developing operational and program goals, communication for all planned giving initiatives and managing planned giving programs within the office of stewardship and development. The ideal candidate will be a practicing Catholic in good standing and have a minimum of five years in planned giving, marketing or related field.

Requires bachelor’s degree in finance, communications or marketing; master’s degree preferred in business, law or accounting. Position requires a strong knowledge of Catholic Church organization and procedures; principles and practices of planned giving; building and maintaining relationships with staff, parishes and potential donors; and strict confidentiality. A complete job description, application and benefits information are available on the archdiocese’s website at: www.archkck.org/jobs. Interested individuals should send cover letter, resume, application and pastor’s letter of support. Send via email to: jobs@arch kck.org; or mail to: Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, Office of Human Resources, Associate Director of Planned Giving Search, 12615 Parallel Pkwy., Kansas City, KS 66109.

Application deadline is Aug. 15.

Lay counselor - Wyandotte Pregnancy Clinic is seeking a full-time lay counselor to serve clients and their families in our Kansas City, Kansas pregnancy clinic. Bilingual in Spanish is a plus. For a full job summary and application, send an email to Mary Mason at: mmason@ wpcnetwork.org.

Business manager - Work with others to support Christ’s work in a rural mountain community. The parish includes St. Columba School, which has ministered for over 100 years to preschool - 8th grade students. Saint Columba is located in the scenic, historic and charming southwest Colorado town of Durango. Residents experience an exceptional quality of life with music, cultural events, outdoor recreation including snow sports, river sports, hiking, biking and more. As business manager, you will be responsible for leading and coordinating the human resource, finance and facilities-related work of our parish. You will collaborate with the pastor, parish leadership and volunteers within our ministries. Expectations of this position include basic business operations experience related to finance and human resources. This role requires excellent organizational skills with the ability to multitask. You must excel at communication with the pastor, school personnel, parish staff, leadership and various ministries. You must participate in the life of the parish by attending Mass and parish functions. Past experience volunteering or working in a Catholic parish preferred but not required. The position is full time and comes with a full benefits package. Salary is based on qualifications and experience. To apply, send resume to Father Kevin Novack, 1800 E. 2nd Ave., Durango, CO 81301, or by email to: knovack@stcolumbacatholic.org.

Teachers - St. Joseph, Shawnee, Early Education Center is seeking a teacher for a half-time three-yearolds classroom. The hours are from 7:30 - 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Good benefits and great environment. Call (913) 248-4589.

Executive director – The Johnson and Wyandotte Counties Catholic Youth Organization of Kansas is seeking a faith-filled, proven leader and administrator to become executive director for the Johnson and Wyandotte counties pastoral region of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. Responsibilities include providing strategic and energetic leadership for all grade school and high school athletic program offerings. The new director must also be skilled in financial management, strategic planning and development. The executive director will also be expected to be a registered and active member of his or her Catholic parish. Complete job description, application and benefits information available online at: www. archkck.org/jobs. Interested individuals should send cover letter, resume and application to: JWACYO Executive Board, c/o Human Resources Department, Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, 12615 Parallel Pkwy., Kansas City, KS 66109. Documents may be emailed to: jobs@archkck.org. Position open until filled.

Cafeteria worker - Nativity Parish in Leawood has an opening for a part-time cafeteria worker, approximately 15 - 20 hours per week for the 2018-19 school year. Prior experience working in a school cafeteria is preferred, but not required. Compensation is based on experience. Applicants must have dependable transportation, be Virtus trained and pass a background check. Interested applicants should contact Patti Post, cafeteria director, at: patti.post@kcnativity.org with resume and work history.

Choral accompanist - Bishop Miege High School has an opening for a part-time piano accompanist for the 201819 school year. This position will assist in the music department to accompany all vocal music classes, Masses, programs and contests for the large group/solos as well as assist with other organizational needs. Send letter of interest and resume to: mjaksa@bishopmiege.com.

Administrative coordinator – Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas has an immediate full-time opening for an administrative support coordinator for the emergency office in Topeka. This position will be 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., five days per week, with a full-time benefits package. The ideal candidate will be organized with strong communication skills; the ability to maintain confidentiality; data entry experience; and proficiency using Microsoft Office.

Responsibilities will include training front desk volunteers on site procedures for answering phone calls and relevant site policies and procedures; before each shift, update each front desk volunteer on any daily change in policy or service; manage volunteer front desk and pantry schedule. To apply, go online to: catholiccharitiesks. applicantpool.com, scroll down to “Administrative Support Specialist - Topeka” and click on the link. Include a resume with application. For more information, contact Angelie Rodriguez at (913) 433-2066.

Extended day care assistant - Holy Spirit School is seeking an enthusiastic person to be the assistant in our after-school care program. This well-established program runs from 3 - 5:45 p.m. each school day. Applicants should be responsible and creative and enjoy working with children. The ability to communicate clearly with children, colleagues and parents is most important in order to foster positive relationships. The applicant must attend a Virtus training and be at least 16 years old. Interested persons should contact Eileen Colling at (913) 492-2582 or send an email to: ecolling@hscatholic.org for more information.

Preschool teaching positions - Holy Spirit School is seeking a preschool teacher for the Tuesday/Thursday morning 3-year-olds class and a teacher for the M - F afternoon 4-year-olds class. Qualified applicants must have an early childhood education degree, a CDA or a degree in a related field with an emphasis in early childhood education. Prior experience in a child care facility is preferred but not required. If you love working with children, are faith-filled, enthusiastic, energetic an seeking part-time work, email your interest and resume to: mwatson@hscatholic.org.

Counselor - Keeler Women’s Center is seeking a full-time clinical mental health counselor. Duties include supporting the mission of Keeler Women’s Center (empowering women in the urban core); supervising master-level interns; facilitating support groups and/or classes; scheduling approximately 20 clients per week; maintaining records; coordinating other volunteer counselors; and other duties as needed. Qualified candidates must have an LCPC license; experience working with women and men of all ages and life experiences; prefer bilingual (Spanish); strong interpersonal skills; being hospitable to a diverse population; self-starter; able to multi task, problem solve, detail oriented, compassionate and empathetic; guided by principles of Catholic social teaching and the ACA code of ethics; and pass a background check. To apply, send a letter of interest and resume to Sister Bridget Dickason at: KWC@mountosb.org.

Lead pre-kindergarten teacher - St. Patrick Early Education Center in Kansas City, Kan., is accepting applications for a lead pre-kindergarten teacher for the 2018-19 school year. The hours for the position will be 6:45 a.m. - noon, M - F, August - May. The applicant should be a practicing Catholic who loves working with preschool-age children. Primary responsibilities include supervision of children, lesson plan implementation, parent communication, and cleanliness and organization of the classroom. The applicant must have an AA or BA in early childhood education, child development or elementary education. Experience is a plus. For more information or to request an application, send an email to: stpatearlyedcenter@stpatrickkck.eduk12.net.

HOME IMPROVEMENT Swalms organizing - downsizing - cleanout service - Reduce clutter – Any space organized. Shelving built on-site. Items hauled for recycling and donations. 20 years exp.; insured. Call Tillar at (913) 375-9115. WWW. SWALMSORGANIZING.COM. Decked Out In KC - We fix decks. We repair, power wash and stain wood decks and fences. We power wash and seal concrete drives, walkways, pool decks and more. Call Brian at (913) 952-5965. Member of Holy Trinity Parish.

Father-and-son home exteriors and remodeling - Celebrating my 15th year in The Leaven as a small business owner! We do decks, siding, windows, doors, tile work, floors, wood rot, and interior and exterior painting.

We can remodel bathrooms, kitchens or basements. We also reface cabinets and redo pesky popcorn ceilings.

Call Josh at (913) 709-7230.

EL SOL Y LA TIERRA *Commercial & residential * Lawn renovation *Mowing * Clean-up and hauling * Dirt grading/installation * Landscape design * Free estimates Hablamos y escribimos Ingles!! www.elsolylatierra.com Call Lupe at (816) 935-0176

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STA (Sure Thing Always) Home Repair - Basement finish, bathrooms and kitchens; interior & exterior repairs: painting, roofing, siding, wood replacement and window glazing. Free estimates. Call (913) 579-1835. Email: smokeycabin@hot mail.com. Member of Holy Trinity, Lenexa.

Water damage restoration - Framing, insulation, painting, Sheetrock, mold treatment and lead-safe certified. Insurance claims welcome. Serving Wyandotte and Johnson counties for 25 years. Call Jerry at (913) 206-1144.

Concrete construction - Tear out and replace stamped, stained or colored patios and drives. Retaining walls, footings, poured-in-place safe rooms, excavation and hauling.

Asphalt drives and lots. Fully insured; references. Call Dan at (913) 207-4371 or send an email to: dandeeconst@aol.com.

NELSON CREATION’S L.L.C. Home makeovers, kitchen, bath. All interior and exterior remodeling and repairs.

Family owned, experienced, licensed and insured. Member St. Joseph, Shawnee. Kirk Nelson.

(913) 927-5240; nelsport@everestkc.net Rusty Dandy Painting, Inc. – We have been coloring your world for 40 years. Your home will be treated as if it were our own. Old cabinets will be made to look like new. Dingy walls and ceilings will be made beautiful. Woodwork will glow.

Lead-certified and insured. Call (913) 341-9125.

DRC Construction We’ll get the job done right the first time.

Windows - Doors - Decks - Siding Repair or replace, we will work with you to solve your problems. Choose us for any window, door, siding or deck project and be glad you did.

Everything is guaranteed 100% (913) 461-4052 www.windowservicesoverlandpark.com drcconswindows@gmail.com.

Local handyman - Painting int. and ext., staining, wood rot, power wash, decks, doors and windows, masonry, hardwood floors, gutter cleaning, water heaters, toilets, faucets, garbage disposals, ceiling fans, mowing and more!! Member of Holy Angels Parish, Basehor. Call Billy at (913) 927-4118.

Masonry work - Quality new or repair work. Brick, block and chimney/fireplace repair. Insured; second-generation bricklayer. Member of St. Paul Parish, Olathe. Call (913) 829-4336.

HARCO Exteriors LLC Your Kansas City fencing specialists Family owned and operated (913) 815-4817 www.harcoexteriorsllc.com The Drywall Doctor, Inc. – A unique solution to your drywall problems! We fix all types of ceiling and wall damage — from water stains and stress cracks to texture repairs and skim coating. We provide professional, timely repairs and leave the job site clean! Lead-certified and insured! Serving the metro since 1997. Call (913) 768-6655.

SERVICES Custom countertops - Laminates installed within five days.

Cambria, granite and solid surface. Competitive prices, dependable work. Call the Top Shop, Inc., at (913) 962-5058.

Members of St. Joseph, Shawnee.

Mike Hammer local moving - A full-service mover. Packing, pianos, rental truck load/unload, storage container load/ unload and in-home moving. No job too small. Serving JoCo since 1987. St. Joseph, Shawnee, parishioner. Call Mike at (913) 927-4347 or send an email to: mike@mikehammer moving.com.

Speedy Guzman Moving and delivery Licensed and insured Anytime (816) 935-0176 Ceilings - Renew your old textured, yellowed ceilings! Interior painting. No mess. Call Jerry at (913) 206-1144.

Senior hairstyling - Haircuts, perms, roller sets.

Savvy Salon, 5910 W. 59th Terrace Mission, KS, one block south of Johnson Dr. $5 off any service on 1st visit. Bonnie (816) 769-8511.

Win disability benefits - Disabled and no longer able to work? Get help winning Social Security disability benefits.

Free consultation. Eight years’ experience. No fee unless you win. Call (785) 331-6452 or send an email to: montemace2000@yahoo.com or visit montemacedisability.com.

Bankruptcy consultation - If debts are overwhelming you, seek hope and help from compassionate, experienced Catholic attorney, Teresa Kidd. For a free consultation, call (913) 422-0610; send an email to: tkidd@kc.rr.com; or visit the website at: www.teresakiddlawyer.com. Please do not wait until life seems hopeless before getting good quality legal advice that may solve your financial stress. >> Classifieds continue on page 15

JULY 6, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG

CALENDAR GARAGE SALE St. Michael the Archangel (gym) 14209 Nall Ave., Leawood July 6 from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

July 7 from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.

This is Gotta Have Hope’s 11th annual sale.

All proceeds benefit St. Joan of Arc School in Uganda, area villages and medical clinics.

For more information, go to the website at: www.gottahavehope.org or call (913) 2266958.

HOPE Queen of the Holy Rosary Parish 7023 W. 71st, Overland Park July 7 at 8:15 a.m.

Join the Daughters of St. Francis de Sales for first Saturday Fatima Mass in the church, followed by the monthly meeting in the convent as we reflect on the virtue of hope. Coffee and light refreshments will be served. For more information, call Ruth Owens at (913) 492-7250 or send an email to: rowens4853@gmail.com.

CARD PARTY Holy Cross Parish 8311 W. 93rd St., Overland Park July 24 from 11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.

St. Benedict’s Circle will host a card party and luncheon (or game of your choice). The cost to attend is $12. Men are welcome. For more information or to RSVP, call LuAnn at (913) 888-5534 or Judy at (913) 732-2435.

BINGO NIGHT Sacred Heart Parish 2646 S. 34th St., Kansas City, Kansas July 14 at 7 p.m.

Sacred Heart Knights of Columbus will host bingo. There will be cash prizes, and concessions will be sold. For more information, call (913) 850-3348.

HEALING MASS Curé of Ars Church 9405 Mission Rd., Leawood July 19 at 7:30 p.m.

A Mass with prayers for healing, sponsored by archdiocesan charismatic prayer groups, will be held. Father Justin Hamilton will preside.

For more information, call (913) 649-2026.

BREATHE RESPITE CARE PROGRAM Holy Cross School 8101 W. 95th St., Overland Park July 21 from 4 - 8 p.m.

CHURCH PICNIC Sacred Heart Parish 357 3rd St., Baileyville July 8 at 5 p.m.

The cost for a dinner of roast beef and ham is $10 for adults and $5 for kids ages 5 and under. There will be games for people of all ages and an auction that begins at 9 p.m.

GRIEF/BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT GROUP Sophia Spirituality Center 751 S. 8th St., Atchison July 12, 19 and 26 from 7 - 8:30 p.m.

Those who have experienced a loss are welcome to attend a new grief/bereavement support group at Sophia Center. The group is coordinated by Sister Susan Holmes, OSB, who has been a hospice bereavement coordinator for more than 16 years. For more information or to register, call Sister Susan at (913) 360-6173.

‘FINDING ADAM FINDING EVE AUTHENTIC LOVE IN THE HOOKUP CULTURE’ Church of the Ascension (St. Luke Room) 9510 W. 127th St., Overland Park July 13 at 6:30 p.m.

A real discussion for singles ages 19 - 35. For more information, send an email to Michael or Katie Palitto at: calledtolove143@gmail. com.

CHRISTMAS IN JULY Christ the King Early Education Center 5973 S.W. 25th St., Topeka July 14 from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

There will be more than 50 vendors with unique craft items and raffles. For more information about booth rental or any other information, call Dawn or Melissa at (785) 272-2999.

N NSO

BRA

BLB

L LOCA ESS IN BUS

GOING TO BRANSON CHECK OUT www.bransonlocalbusinesses.com Help support Local Businesses In Branson visitus@bransonlocalbusinesses.com

BREATHE respite care provides the gift of time away from caregiving for families who have a loved one age 5 years or older with a disability.

Volunteers are needed! Prayerfully consider offering your time. Contact Tom Racunas with at (913) 647-3054 or send an email to: tracunas@ archkck.org, or Audrey Amor at (816) 739-1197 or by email at: aamore@sjakeepingfaith.org if you have any questions. To register a loved one for the program, or to volunteer, go the website at: www.archkck.org/specialneeds and complete the online form.

MEMORIAL LITURGY Curé of Ars Church (Father Burak Room) 9401 Mission Rd., Leawood July 21 at 8 a.m.

There will be a memorial liturgy for deceased loved ones followed by a grief support meeting in the Father Burak Room. The topic will be: “Tears and Laughter During Grief.” For more information, call (913) 649-2026.

BLOOD DRIVE Knights of Columbus Hall 11221 Johnson Dr., Shawnee July 23 from 1 - 7 p.m.

BURGERS, BRATS AND BINGO St. Pius X Parish (Kelly Hall) 5500 Woodson, Mission July 27 at 6 p.m.

Concessions and bar will be available. There will be burgers, brats, chips, popcorn and much more. The cost to play bingo is $10 for one card, which gets 12 games. There is also one card for $1 for one game. There will be three special games, and the cards will be $2. For more information, call Marisa Snook at (913) 244-5732 or send an email to: marisa.r.snook@gmail.com.

NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING COURSES Topeka July 28 at 7 p.m.

A reasonable course fee is charged, and online registration is required at: www.ccli. org. Call Dana or Eric Runnebaum at (785) 380-0062 for more information and for the class location as well as the availability of online classes at: nfptopeka.blogspot.com.

Lunch will be served at 11 a.m. followed by a noon shotgun start. The tournament is a four-person scramble for men and women.

To participate, visit the website at: www.

VitaeFoundation.org/events or call Vitae at (573) 634-4316. Registration deadline and receipt of payment is due July 9, with a fee of $330 per golfer.

10 and under. There will be a home-cooked chicken dinner, a raffle, children’s activities, a cakewalk, bingo and fun.

PILGRIMAGE Sanctuary of Hope Retreat Center 2601 Ridge Ave., Kansas City, Kansas Aug. 10 - 12

Father Joseph Arsenault, SSA, will lead a pilgrimage to the Marian shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. Participants will leave from the Sanctuary of Hope Retreat Center. Pilgrimages to holy places help us on the most important pilgrimage of all: our journey through our human life on earth to our eternal destination with God in heaven. For more information, call Julie at (913) 321-4673; send an email to: julie@ sanctuaryofhope.org; or go to the website at: www.sanctuaryofhope.org.

CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT Ironhorse Country Club 12700 Overbrook Rd., Leawood Sept. 17 at 1:30 p.m.

Tee off is at 1:30 p.m. The cost of $125 per person, $500 per team, includes golf, driving range, dinner awards banquet and refreshments on the course. This is a four-person scramble with age-handicapped tee offs. Contact David Whitaker by email at: dwhitaker416@gmail.com or call him at (913) 626-2676 for registration information and corporate sponsorships.

RETREAT: POPE FRANCIS’ APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION ON HOLINESS Christ’s Peace House of Prayer 22131 Meagher Rd., Easton July 28 and 29

The retreat will begin on July 28 at 9 a.m. and end on the 29th at 4 p.m. There will be several talks, Mass on Saturday evening at the local parish, daily eucharistic adoration and private time for prayer. The cost is $85 per person or $125 for couples. To attend, send an email to: info@christspeace.com or call (913) 773-8255.

SUMMER SIPS FOR SCHOLARSHIPS Boulevard Brewery 2501 Southwest Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri July 29 from 5 - 8 p.m.

Tickets are $50 each. Proceeds from the event will go toward scholarships for Resurrection School in Kansas City, Kansas. For more information, send an email to Julie Mayfield at: jmayfield@rcskck.org. Tickets and sponsorships are on sale online at: www.rcskck.org.

LECTIO DIVINA Christ’s Peace House of Prayer 22131 Meagher Rd., Easton Mondays at 10 a.m.

Come be transformed by learning the sacred art of lectio divina. Participants are welcome to stay afterward and enjoy the peace and beauty of the grounds. RSVP by calling (913) 773-8255.

DIVORCED: CALLED TO LOVE AGAIN Church of the Ascension (St. Luke Room) 9510 W. 127th St., Overland Park 2nd and 4th Sundays from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

What’s next after divorce/annulment? Join us for a formation series on the gift of self, which helps us fulfill the call to love again.

Visit our Facebook page at: www.facebook. com/giftofself143 or send an email to: calledtolove143@gmail.com.

Schedule an appointment online at: www. savealifenow.org using sponsor code: stjoseph catholic. Walk-in donors are welcome. Call Virginia Wiedel at (913) 268-3874.

JERRY AND KAYE MEINERS’ 24TH ANNUAL PRO-LIFE GOLF CLASSIC Shadow Glen Golf Club 26000 W. 104th Terr., Olathe July 23

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CALENDARsubmissions submissions CALENDAR SUMMER FEST St. Lawrence Church 211 W. Riley, Easton Aug. 4 from 4 - 7:30 p.m.

St. Joseph-St. Lawrence Parish is hosting this event to celebrate summer. The cost for a meal is $8 for adults; $5 for kids ages

DEADLINE: Noon, Thursday, 10 days before the desired publication date.

INCLUDE: time and date of event; street address; description of event.

SEND SUBMISSIONS TO: blankenship@theleaven.org.

beth.

Wagner’s Mud-Jacking Co.

Specializing in Foundation Repairs Mud-jacking and Waterproofing.

Serving Lawrence, Topeka and surrounding areas.

Topeka (785) 233-3447 Lawrence (785) 749-1696 In business since 1963 www.foundationrepairks.com

JULY 6, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG

COMMENTARY

It’s kind of a big deal

FOURTEENTH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME July 8 FOURTEEN SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Ez 2: 2-5 Ps 123: 1-4 2 Cor 12: 7-10 Mk 6: 1-6a July 9 Augustine Zhao Rong, priest, and companions, martyrs Hos 2: 16, 17b-18, 21-22 Ps 145: 2-9 Mt 9: 18-26 July 10 Tuesday Hos 8: 4-7, 11-13 Ps 115: 3-10 Mt 9: 32-38 July 11 Benedict, abbot Hos 10: 1-3, 7-8, 22 Ps 105: 2-7 Mt 10: 1-7 July 12 Thursday Hos 11: 1-4, 8c-9 Ps 80: 2-3, 15-16 Mt 10: 7-15 July 13 Henry Hos 14: 2-10 Ps 51: 3-4, 8-9, 12-14, 17 Mt 10: 16-23 July 14 Kateri Tekakwitha, virgin Is 6: 1-8 Ps 93: 1-2, 5 Mt 10: 24-33

I

can only imagine the look of shock on my face.

I was in St. Joseph, Missouri, for some R&R on a rare weekend off at the parish, due to the annual summer mission appeal. (Thank you, Father Arul Carasala, for the break!)

Why St. Joe? Well, it was close and I wanted to see a couple of things there, like the National Pony Express Museum and the Jesse James house.

In addition to those stops, an added gem was the Patee House Museum, which one visitor described as “like a Smithsonian American History Museum.”

Although all of those sites were well worth the trip, none was responsible for the shock I received on the Friday night after I arrived in town. Craving seafood, I popped into a Red Lobster. A reader like myself never dreads dining alone as I had a magazine and a newsletter for company.

Since it was beastly hot outside, I was dressed casually in shorts and a comfortable shirt.

FIFTEENTH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME July 15 FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Am 7: 12-15 Ps 85: 9-14 Eph 1: 3-14 Mk 6: 7-13 July 16 Our Lady of Mount Carmel Is 1: 10-17 Ps 50: 8-9, 16-17, 21, 23 Mt 10:34 – 11:1 July 17 Tuesday Is 7: 1-9 Ps 48: 2-8 Mt 11: 20-24 July 18 Camillus de Lellis, priest Is 10: 5-7, 13b-16 Ps 94: 5-10, 14-15 Mt 11: 25-27 July 19 Thursday Is 26: 7-9, 12, 16-19 Ps 102: 13-21 Mt 11: 28-30 July 20 Apollinaris, bishop, martyr Is 38: 1-6, 21-22, 7-8 (Ps) Is 38: 10-12, 16 Mt 12: 1-8 July 21 Lawrence of Brindisi, priest, doctor of the church Mi 2: 1-5 Ps 10: 1-4, 7-8, 14 Mt 12: 14-21

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“W

MARK MY WORDS

FATHER MARK GOLDASICH Father Mark is the pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Tonganoxie. He has been editor of The Leaven since 1989.

After my food arrived, I tucked into it with gusto. As I was enjoying the last few morsels, the waitress came by the table. I was expecting her to ask the inevitable question — “Did you save any room for dessert?”

Instead, she smiled and said, “There’s no ticket for you.”

Seeing my puzzled look, she added, “The family that was sitting there paid for your meal.

They told me to tell you, ‘Have a wonderful evening.’”

I was absolutely shocked . . . and grateful . . . and humbled. I’d not said a word to that family, which consisted of the parents and two boys, one of whom appeared to be confined to a wheelchair. We didn’t know one another. They ate and exited without fanfare. They obviously didn’t expect any recognition or thanks from me.

I sat there for quite a few minutes, marveling at that family’s kind action. I wondered what motivated them to do it. Did they think I was some lonely old guy who was forced to eat alone and needed assurance that someone cared?

Did they picture me as some down-on-myluck dude (after all, my

attire was clean, but not fashionable), splurging on a good meal for a change?

Ultimately, the simplest reason won out: The family just had a huge heart and wanted to brighten someone’s day with a “random act of kindness.”

It worked. The waitress and I chatted for a bit about how good and unselfish people can be.

The family didn’t look rich materially, but they had hearts of pure gold.

Their goodness was contagious.

Right away, I left a tip for my waitress, based on what I figured my bill would have been. And the rest of the time in St. Joseph was marked by my smiling more, looking for opportunities to compliment people, holding elevator and restaurant doors open for others, and generally focusing on the many things right with people and the world in general.

Don’t you think our world could use a life-giving infusion of kindness? Perhaps this is the one big sin of omission that we’re all guilty of: failing to leap on the many opportu-

nities that come our way to make the lives of others, especially strangers, brighter and more joyful.

That kindness doesn’t need to be complicated.

Patronizing a kid’s lemonade stand, giving a cold beverage to an outdoor worker, making exorbitant use of “please” and “thank you,” sharing a hot dog or hamburger with a neighbor while grilling out, or even sliding to the center of the pew at Mass (instead of camping out at the end and making others crawl over you) are all acts of simple kindness.

These actions help form our hearts into the Sacred Heart.

The late Father Ed Hays had a beautiful prayer that read in part: “Envelop me, [Divine Beloved], in your flaming Spirit, that my lukewarm prayers and acts may spring alive with the fire of faith. Make my heart, like the heart of Christ, burn with compassion for the outcast, with comfort for the lonely and all who are in need.”

Even if it’s just a guy dining alone at a Red Lobster.

Faith is the key to all of Jesus’ miracles

ho does he think

he is?”

The crowd in Sunday’s Gospel reading, Mk 6:1-6, dismisses Jesus’ teachings and his miracles because of his occupation as a carpenter and because they know his relatives.

He has returned to his hometown to teach in the synagogue.

At first, they had been impressed by Jesus: “What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!”

But when they remember his human origins, they reconsider their opinion: “And they took offense at him.”

The crowd will not honor Jesus as a

THE GOSPEL TRUTH

FATHER MIKE STUBBS Father Stubbs is the pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Overland Park and has a degree in Scripture from Harvard University.

prophet, much less as the Messiah, the Son of God. That is why Jesus says, “A prophet is not without honor except

in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.”

We should remember that in the Gospel reading only a few Sundays ago, some of his relatives were declaring that he had lost his mind and they wanted to commit him.

The crowd’s lack of faith puts up an obstacle to Jesus’ working miracles: “So he was not able

POPE FRANCIS Behind the indifference toward human life lies a contagious illness that blinds people to the lives, challenges and struggles of others, Pope Francis said.

Like the mythical figure Narcissus, people risk becoming infected by a “contagious spiritual virus” that turns them into “mirrored men and women who only see themselves and nothing else,” the pope said June 25 to members of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.”

Notice that the Gospel reading does not say that Jesus merely refrains from working miracles, or that he decides not to work miracles as a punishment for the crowd’s lack of faith.

Rather, his ability to work miracles depends upon their faith.

Similarly, when someone requests a miracle of healing from Jesus, he often will link the possibility of a miracle to the person’s faith.

For example, he says to the woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages, “Daughter, your faith has saved you” (Mk 5:34).

He tells the synagogue official Jairus,

whose daughter is deathly ill, “Do not be afraid; just have faith” (Mk 5:36). And he tells the man whose son is suffering from convulsions, “Everything is possible to one who has faith” (Mk 9:23).

For Jesus, faith is the key. Ultimately, it is faith in Jesus as the Son of God. To this point, the Gospel according to Mark reaches its climax when the Roman centurion witnessing Jesus’ death proclaims, “Truly, this man was the Son of God” (Mk 15:39).

The centurion’s proclamation about Jesus answers the questions that the crowd in Sunday’s Gospel reading poses about Jesus: “Who does he think he is?”

He is the Son of God, the savior of the world.

“Evil looks to persuade us that death is the end of all things,” he said, “that we have come to the world by chance and that we are destined to end in nothingness.”

“By excluding the other from our horizon, life withdraws in itself and becomes just a good to be consumed,” he added. The Pontifical Academy for Life began its June 25-27 general assembly reflecting on the theme: “Equal beginnings, but then? A global responsibility.”

The pope told members that the “ethical and spiritual quality of life in all its phases” must inspire the church’s “behavior toward human ecology.”

— CNS

JULY 6, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG

CLASSIFIEDS >> Continued from page 12 Clutter getting you down? - Organize, fix, assemble, install!

“Kevin of all trades” your professional organizer and “Honey-do” specialist. Call or email me today for a free consultation at (913) 271-5055 or KOATorganizing@gmail.com.

Insured. References.

Rodman Lawn Care Lawn mowing, aeration, verticutting, mulching, Hedge trimming, leaf removal, gutter cleaning Fully insured and free estimates John Rodman (913) 548-3002 Cleaning lady - Reasonable rates; references provided. Call (913) 940-2959.

8 to Your IdealWeight Get Real, Get Healthy, Get Empowered.

Release your weight and restore your power in 8 weeks!

Certified coach: kathioppold.8toyouridealweight.com.

Quilted memories - Your Kansas City Longarm shop Nolting Longarm machines, quilting supplies and machine quilting services. We specialize in memorial quilts - custom designed memory quilts from your T-shirt collections, photos, baby clothes, college memorabilia, neckties, etc. For information or to schedule a free consultation, call (913) 649-2704. Visit the website at: www.quiltedmemoriesllc.com.

Tree Trimming Tree Trimming/Landscaping Insured/References Free Estimates/Local Parishioner Tony (913) 620-6063

Professional window cleaner - Residential only. Fully insured. Over 40 years experience. Free estimates. Contact Gene Jackson at (913) 593-1495.

WANTED TO BUY Will buy firearms and related accessories - One or a whole collection. Honest evaluation and top prices paid.

Contact Tom at (913) 238-2473. Member of Sacred Heart Parish, Shawnee.

Wanted to buy - Antique/vintage jewelry, paintings, pottery, sterling, etc. Single pieces or estate. Renee Maderak, (913) 475-7393. St. Joseph Parish, Shawnee.

FOR SALE Residential lifts - New and recycled. Stair lifts, porch lifts, ceiling lifts and elevators. St. Michael’s parishioners. KC Lift & Elevator at (913) 327-5557. (Formerly Silver Cross - KC) For sale - Located in Floral Hills Cemetery at 7000 Blue Ridge Blvd., KCMO. Four plots located in the Garden Of Prayer in section 11, lot 18, markers 24, 25, 26, and 27.

Asking $2800.00 per lot . We are willing to negotiate pricing if you would want all 4 lots. Call Lilly (816) 5018053 or (918) 964-7079.

For sale - Two lots at Resurrection Cemetery, Queen of Heaven, section B, spaces 1 and 2. Value is $8900 plus two interment fees. Make an offer. Call (480) 830-6440.

For sale - Two plots at Resurrection Cemetery, Ascension Garden. $2000 each. Call Dick at (913) 384-5833.

VACATION Branson condo - Newly updated. Perfect for couples or families. Sleeps six; fully furnished; WiFi; no stairs; close to entertainment; pools; exercise room, tennis and golf available. Call (913) 515-3044.

CAREGIVING Child care services Oskaloosa.Child.Care@gmail.com 707 Liberty St. M - S, 6 a.m. - midnight.

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JULY 6, 2018 | THELEAVEN.ORG

LOCAL NEWS

16

BETTER THAN CHEDDAR

Leaven takes home 12 CPA awards from Green Bay

By Olivia Martin olivia.martin@theleaven.org

K

ANSAS CITY, Kan. — What do “lives well-lived” and the scribblings of a “compulsive doodler” have in common?

Both contributed to a total of 12 Catholic Press Association awards won by The Leaven staff at its annual convention June 12-15, held this year in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Freelancer writer Jill Ragar Esfeld received an honorable mention in the category of Best Reporting on a Special Age Group for “Welcome Central,” a piece on the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth and the volunteer transportation system that a handful of the nuns run for their clients.

But Esfeld also won a first place in the category of Best Personality Profile for “100 Candles,” an article she said was a joy write.

“I was delighted this article got recognition because it brought attention to a wonderful Catholic gentleman, Willie Hall of Our Lady and St. Rose Parish in Kansas City, Kansas, who lived a long life grounded in the ethic of reciprocity,” said Esfeld.

Writing personality profiles is especially important to Esfeld because “they give us real examples of lives well-lived.”

In the meantime, senior staff writer and undercover cartoonist Joe Bollig won second place for his illustration of the infographic “Do’s and Don’ts of Confession.”

The key to a good infographic is creativity and digestibility — a combination the judges of the Best Use of Art or Graphics category saw in Bollig’s collaboration with production manager and designer Todd Habiger.

“Joe did a wonderful job breaking down the aspects of confession and drew a great cartoon which really anchored the infographic,” said Habiger.

Bollig, however, characteristically deflected the praise.

“I wouldn’t consider myself an artist or an illustrator,” said Bollig, “but I am a compulsive doodler.”

In fact, he used to get in trouble in school for doodling instead of taking notes — a power that McSorley noticed and encouraged him to use for good.

Teaming up against trafficking But the big winner for the paper at this year’s convention was a special investigative piece on human trafficking

by Topeka freelancers and husbandand-wife team Marc and Julie Anderson. Their four-page piece won the paper three awards: a first place for Best Writing on a National or International Event, second place for Best In-Depth News/Special Reporting and third place for Best Investigative/Analysis News Writing.

Marc Anderson said he was surprised and humbled by the wins.

“It was such a powerful story to be a part of, for both Julie and me,” he said.

The article investigated human sex trafficking as more than an issue that is gripping the world and nation, but as something that is happening right here

HUMAN TRAFFICKING by Marc and Julie Anderson • First place: Best News Writing on a National or International Event • First place: Best Layout of Article or Column • Second place: Best In-Depth News/Special Reporting • Third place: Best Investigative/Analysis News Writing

100 CANDLES

DO’S AND DON’TS OF CONFESSION

First place: Best Personality Profile

Second place: Best Use of Art or Graphics

by Jill Ragar Esfeld

by Joe Bollig and Todd Habiger

in northeast Kansas.

“There are two aims of any article that we write,” said Julie. “To inform and to inspire to action.”

The Andersons said one of the gifts of reporting on this issue was that they were better able to join the fight against sex trafficking by sharing their knowledge and awareness with others.

“I’ve mentioned some of the things I’ve learned to co-workers,” said Julie, “and they’re, like, ‘Whoa, I didn’t realize that’s happening right here in Topeka.’”

Habiger also took home an award for the design of the Andersons’ “Human Trafficking” piece: a first place in Best Layout of an Article or Column.

The layout includes informational sidebars, stark headings and a blackand-white aesthetic.

“Human trafficking is a really sobering topic,” said Habiger, “so I think the black-and-white design helped set the mood for the piece.”

It was a story, Habiger said, that needed to be told.

“Marc and Julie did a great job researching and writing the story. . . . I’m just happy to have a small part in this great article,” he said.

In addition, Habiger took home a third place for his layout of “Generations,” and third place in Best Sports Journalism for his own reporting on Bishop Miege quarterback Carter Putz called “Simply the Best.”

Not to be outdone, freelance photographer Lori Wood Habiger won a third place in the category of Best Use of Photos in Social Media. The winning gallery featured images of a hard-fought football game between St. Thomas Aquinas in Roeland Park and Bishop Carroll in Wichita.

Impactful stories

HOPE AMID THE ASHES GENERATIONS

SIMPLY THE BEST

Second place: Best News Writing on a Local or Regional Event

Third place: Best Sports Journalism

by Joe Bollig

by Todd Habiger

Third place: Best Layout of Article or Column

by Todd Habiger

HONORABLE MENTIONS

• Best Reporting on Vocations to Priesthood, Religious Life or Diaconate: Joe Bollig, “These are my best Masses” • Best Reporting on Special Age Group: Jill Ragar Esfeld, “Welcome Central”

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS VS. BISHOP CARROL

by Lori Wood Habiger

Third place: Best Use of Photos in Social Media

* All of these articles can be found on The Leaven’s website at: www.theleaven.org.

Winning two writing awards on subjects particularly important to him was like icing on the cake for Bollig.

The first, an honorable mention in the category of Best Reporting on Vocations to Priesthood, Religious Life or Diaconate, was called “These are my best Masses.”

For the assignment, Bollig accompanied Archbishop Emeritus James P. Keleher to the Leavenworth federal prison camp, one of the archbishop’s regular stops on the circuit of prison ministry he has undertaken since his retirement.

Bollig then took a second place for Best Writing on a Local or Regional Event with “Hope Amid the Ashes,” a story reporting on the aftermath of the fire that charred massive amounts of land in southwest Kansas.

Being from western Kansas himself, Bollig had seen similar destruction before, but nothing compared with the vastness of destruction in the southwestern region of the state.

“The things [the interviewees] saw and the stories they told were very dramatic — and tragic,” he said. “I was tremendously moved.”

But he was inspired, as well.

“It was a story of hope, faith and resilience,” he added, “not mere victimhood.

“I thought readers ought to know what the people went through and how they responded.”