SFA announces new Parish Building FundJUNE 2019

Wichita, Kansas

This quote was a cornerstone as we launched our Faith Forward goal to improve our parish facilities and support our parish mission. One key component of goal #3 of our Faith Forward five-year plan was to continually assess all facilities and to make repairs and upgrades and to improve inefficiencies. This goal is well underway.

As you can see around our parish grounds, improvements are being made. Building foundations are being repaired and stabilized. Automated doors have been installed for security. The playground area is being upgraded with age-appropriate equipment, and the surface will be turfed for year-round usage. Our maintenance staff, along with many good stewards, is working to improve our campus this summer.

As we move forward, faithfully, in this five-year strategic plan, we

want to invite all parishioners to be part of this effort to transform our parish facilities. It is with much planning and prayerful consideration that we want to announce the formation of a St. Francis Parish Building Fund.

This fund is being established to address specific facility needs that have been brought forward as part of the Faith Forward process and the Facilities Assessment that was conducted over the past year.

Stewardship as a way of life will continue to be the primary source of funding for our parish operations. Each parish member, making that commitment to give 8 percent of their gifts of treasure, has sustained our parish life for the past 50 years. This will not change.

There have been times throughout our history that we have asked for extraordinary stewardship. This is one of those times. The act of tithing is a gift of 10 percent of our material wealth. We are asking you to consider as part of your extraordinary stewardship, the 2 percent normally given to other charities, to consider a gift to the St. Francis Building Fund. This fund is being established to assist in the current

projects for this coming fiscal year and future projects as identified as part of our facilities assessment.

For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2019, we have budgeted $300,000 or an additional $6,000 per week for these current projects. The Operations Council continues to work on planning projects that arose as part of the Faith Forward initiative. It is our hope, soon, to share a comprehensive plan of improvement with the parish in fulfillment of our parish mission and have an open dialogue about it.

The time is here to move forward on these projects. Our facilities are here to serve our greater mission – to go and make disciples of all within our parish family. This will require the participation of many souls to accomplish this goal.

Stewardship is a call to each one of us to respond to where and how the Lord is calling us to serve. It is our turn to recognize the gifts that we have received and to share those gifts in love of God and our neighbors. May our parish continue to be blessed as we move our Faith Forward.

– Pat Burns, Director of Stewardship & Finance

Wichita, Kansas

ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC CHURCH

THE V E R N A C U L A R

"In the end, everything has been entrusted to our protection, and all of us are responsible for it. Be protectors of God’s gifts."

– Pope Francis

June 2019 THE VERNACULAR

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Vince and Misty Vopat are St. Francis parishioners. The following is from their testimony during SFA’s annual stewardship renewal last November.

My name is Vince Vopat, and this is my wife, Misty. We have a daughter, Amelia, who is a junior at Bishop Carroll, and a son, Jack, who is a seventh grader here at SFA.

Fr. Jarrod asked us to share our thoughts with you about Stewardship as we prepare for our annual Stewardship Renewal with this year’s theme: Fully Alive as Missionary Disciples.

Our most intense feelings and thoughts on the Stewardship Way of Life really can’t be explained unless we tell you about our family history of parish life over the past 20 years. We were married in 1997 and set up our home and family here in the SFA parish.

I had grown up in SFA parish, so I was well acquainted with the Stewardship Way of Life. After hearing about it for the past 25 years of my life, I will confess it seemed quite normal and unremarkable and our participation was uninspired and mechanical.

In 2006, my employment situation was uncertain, and we considered moving to Tulsa, Okla. Our number one concern was finding a Catholic parish that had a school for our children because Amelia was set to start kindergarten soon. We found a very nice

parish there that welcomed us with overwhelming hospitality. We moved to Tulsa in 2007 and settled in about as well as we could have hoped.

Beginning in our first year there we had made a good network of friends at our parish, but we couldn’t help but notice some of the significant differences in this parish that was not familiar with the Stewardship Way of Life. All Catholic schools there are tuition-based. We did not see any problem with that

when we had arrived, but we discovered

that it has profound consequences for the parish.

We met several families, most of them large ones, who said they liked being members of the parish but couldn’t afford the tuition to send their children to Catholic school. As a result, we did not get to know those families nearly as well as those involved with the school.

There were two distinct communities within the parish that didn’t mix well, the school community and the church community. This even went so far as certain parishioners wanted to give only to the “church” or only to the “school.” Some school families left the parish after their students graduated from eighth grade.

Other differences were noticed as well, such as fewer priests to go around. This led to less opportunity for the sacraments and for adoration.

We don’t mean to paint an unfairly harsh picture of our parish in Tulsa. Our family grew in our faith while there, and I felt called to share what I

could about SFA and the Wichita diocese with our Tulsa parish leadership. Some of the parishioners there had already heard about the SFA story, and they want for their parish what we have here.

It wasn’t until I had worked with them for about six years that I realized how difficult it is to initiate what Fr. McGread and the first Stewardship Committee at SFA had accomplished. It was then that we realized how beautiful, how unique, how uncommon, and how fragile the Stewardship parish is.

In 2013 my employment situation changed again and an opportunity to come back to Wichita appeared. It turned out to be a very bumpy ride for our family to uproot ourselves again, but we cannot overstate the gratitude we have for being part of this parish again.

We are grateful to be part of a single, unified Catholic community again. Grateful to have easy and plentiful access to Adoration and Reconciliation. Grateful to be where the formation of our youth is not reserved for only those parishioners who can afford it.

We no longer feel burdened or put out about filling out our Annual Stewardship Renewal forms each fall. We believe this is our most fundamental way of showing that we value being a part of St. Francis of Assisi Parish. The discernment process that each of our family members go through to determine where we will devote our time and talent still takes some effort, but there is a certain joy in submitting that form now.

We hope that all of you will prayerfully consider what gifts you have and how you can share them with your very special and very rare St. Francis community.

Stewardship Witness: Vince & Misty Vopat

Photo courtesy of Lifetouch

June 2019THE VERNACULAR 3

Dear parishioners of St. Francis – Thank you! What a tremendous blessing and joy it has been to be your priest. As I end my time here at St. Francis, my heart is filled with a plethora of emotions: excitement for my future ministry as both the parochial vicar and the chaplain of the parish school in Pittsburg, gratitude for this wonderful first assignment, a healthy sense of nerves and anxiety at what the future holds, and sadness at having to leave an assignment and a flock that I have truly loved.

This transition has caused me to reflect a lot on my ordination day (May 27, 2017). One of the memories that I have of that day is receiving my first assignment. After the Ordination Mass, the newly ordained priests processed out of the Church and into the parish’s conference room. Once Bishop Kemme and the 10 of us had been seated, the Bishop gave each of us an envelope. In unison, we opened them to find out where our first assignment would be.

When I opened my envelope and read quickly through my letter, I saw in big, bold letters: “St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church.” All I remember is that I did a mental fist pump inside my head and said to myself “Let’s go!”

I could not have asked for a better way to start my priesthood! I have been blessed with a wise and holy pastor who has been patient and kind as I’ve learned the ropes of the priesthood, helping to form me into the priest I am today. I have been blessed with wonderful fellow associates (Fr. Walsh and Fr. Isaac) and brother priests who have lived in our rectory (Fr. Sam and Fr. Haake); each has been a friend, a mentor and a brother.

I have been blessed with a fantastic parish staff who have taught me much about the ins and outs of administering and being present to a parish, and who have had an equally important role in

forming me as a priest. I have been blessed to be so closely associated with our parish grade school, Bishop Carroll, our PSR program, and our CYM; working with the youth has simply been a joy!

And finally, I have been blessed to be your priest! I have treasured the opportunity to get to know each of you and your families,

to visit with you before and after the Masses, and to pray with you and for you.

And so, I end as I started, by saying “Thank you!” (Although, I was tempted to say, “Go Big Red” instead!) It has been an honor, a joy and a blessing to be your priest!

– Fr. Labenz

Fr. Labenz departs for Pittsburg assignment

Most High, glorious God,

enlighten the darkness of my heart

and give me true faith,

certain hope and perfect charity,

sense and knowledge,

that I may carry out, Lord,

Your holy and true command.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

June 2019 THE VERNACULAR4

Congrats, farewell to SFA Class of 2019Parents, relatives and friends of

77 St. Francis of Assisi School eighth graders attended a Farewell Mass at St. Francis on May 21 to celebrate and give thanks for the completion of the students’ grade school years. Our congratulations and prayers for the future go out to these students and their families.

Alyssa Avant, Mia Bachman, Adam Becker, Liana Becker, Michael Bitting, Braxtyn Brough, Nathan Brown, Nicholas Brummett, Madison Carroll, Lauren Carter, Audrey Daigle, Audrey Damm, Lydia Dugan.

Cooper Eaton, Audrey Engel, Landon Forbes, Mason Fouquet, Alayna Fox*, Madeleine Gallant, Claudia Gonzales, Ethan Gregg*,

Caitlyn Hampel, Reed Haneberg, Alexandra Harter, Eli Henke, Gage Hosford, Camden Hudspeth.

Elias Iseman*, Allyson Larkin, Cooper Law, Nicholas Le, Harrison Lee, Hudson Lee, Isabella Levaggi-Villanueva, Makaila Lopez, Harper Lubbers*, Danielle Lyle, Kennedi McClure, Monica McMullen†*, Jaedynn Miller, McKenzie Mitchell.

Braden Munk, Lilyanna Munoz, Ean Neville, Angela Nguyen, Sarah Ostrom, Brodie Overlie, John Pearson†*, Graham Petersen, Bella Petty, Vincent Poggi, Nicole Powell, Karis Reynaga, Austin Riedel, Zachary Rogers.

Johnny Sanburn, Andrew Sauer, Morgan Schrandt, Christopher Seiler, Luke Shelton, Amber

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Simon, Madeline Simon, Alex Soward, Amelia Sponsel, Barrett Steven, Chase Strunk, Kate Stuckey, Colin Tran, Vanessa Tran, Erica Unruh, Blaise Voegeli*, Brooklyn Wadlowe, Emily Wankum, Jack Weakland, Leah Zarchan, Trent Zimbelman, Mabel Zwenger.

Names marked with † were recipients of the Msgr. Leon McNeill Eighth Grade Scholar Award. This diocesan award recognizes eighth graders who are A students who have no more than one B+.

Names marked with * were recipients of the President’s Education Award, which honors students whose hard work and dedication have allowed them to meet very high standards of excellence.

Names in bold are the last family members to attend SFA School.

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June 2019THE VERNACULAR8 5

BAPTISMS

Augustine Xavier, son of Spencer & Melissa Shellhammer, May 25

Anderson Michael, son of William & Ashley Shell, May 25

Matthew James, son of Christopher & Katherine Hellman, May 25

Ava Elowyn, daughter of Sean & Zoe Hamlin, May 19

Zoey Diane, daughter of Kelly & Alyssa Standridge, May 18

Ryne Patrick, son of Ryan & Angela Graf, May 18

Owen Thomas, son of Brian & Karen Pracht, May 12

Adam Charles, son of Sean Ballinger & Adrienne Willey, May 12

Treyton David, son of Nicholas & Jaylen Meyer, May 11

Hank Robert*, son of Justin & Emily Schuster, April 13

*Correction from April

FUNERALS

John Uphaus, April 30Marie Wood, May 5John Keogh Swonger, brother of

Johnette Swonger, May 12Mary Silhan, mother of Laurie

Silhan, May 18

NEW PARISHIONERS

Julie Buresh, 3 children

Michael & Jessica Jerman, 1 child

Nolan & Therese Mans, 1 child

Clint & Amanda May, 2 children

Jason & Evamaria Richey, 1 child

Tony Thompson

Ciara Wellbrock

SFA Family Picnic 2019

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June 2019 THE VERNACULAR 56

Boy Scouts: We don’t monkey around

Ok, so maybe we do! April was a great month, testing our skills to make a “Monkey Bridge,” and these boys made a great one! They used teamwork, knots, ingenuity and a ton of ropes to erect a fine Monkey Bridge, then everyone took turns crossing it. What a blast! Plenty of courage, laughter and fun.

What made this weekend even more special was that we had the privilege of using “Baden Powell Park” for this annual pioneering campout. Located on Circle W Ranch, this park honors the legendary life of Lord Baden Powell, the founder of Boy Scouts.

The ranch belongs to one of our

former Scoutmasters and longtime SFA parishioners, Bernard and Doris Wells. The SFA Troop has been a part of their lives for decades, with four sons (two Eagle Scouts) who spent many fine years in Troop 762.

Bernard, his Eagle Scout son Ken, and his Eagle grandson Reid were excellent hosts, and we enjoyed their company throughout the weekend. Ken and Reid got the campfire blazing Friday night, and the boys were able to get popcorn popping in Dutch ovens.

Saturday the added excitement was the launching of the catapults the boys had worked on over the past couple months at Scout meetings.

The grand finale was the judging of the Dutch oven dessert competition. We had delicious entries of cobblers from two patrols and strawberry shortcakes from the adult patrol, and the big winner of the coveted “Dutch Oven Bead” was John Rongish and the Pyro Dragon Patrol with baked apple dumplings! Delicious!

Once again, another fantastic campout is in the books. Any boy who thinks this might be his kind of weekend is welcome to come find out more any Monday evening at 7 p.m. in Stewardship Hall or call Sandy at 990-6647.

– Sandy RongishPh

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This monthly newsletter is published by and for the parishioners of St. Francis of Assisi Parish. It is mailed to each registered parish household by the end of each month. It can also be emailed to parishioners upon request.

To submit articles, high-resolution photos or story ideas, send an email to sfavernacular@gmail.com. Deadlines are the 10th of each month. Contacts for the Vernacular are news editor Lanette Belton, 722-3952, and copy editor Ann Walden, 249-2430. New volunteers are always welcome.

The Vernacular

June 2019THE VERNACULAR 7

‘Flame of Love’ rosary is antidote to turbulent times St. Francis hosts the opportunity

to pray the Flame of Love rosary every Thursday at 6:10 p.m. in the church. Please consider joining us or downloading the Flame of Love Cenacle Prayers from the Internet.

Throughout salvation history, God has manifested His glory through fire. Many of us are familiar with the Holy Spirit prayer, “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful and enkindle in them the FIRE of your love ….” We know YHWH appeared to Moses at “Horeb the mountain of God … in a fire flaming out of a bush … that was not consumed.”

In Deuteronomy Moses again exhorts the Israelites to follow YHWH’s commands and declares, “For YHWH your God is a consuming fire.” Dt 4:24 Jesus states in Luke, “I have come to ignite a fire on the earth, oh how I wish it was already

ablaze.” Lk 12:49 In the books of Acts we read of the Holy Spirit descending as “… tongues as of fire” Acts 2:3

God is a burning consuming love, yet we see destruction in the burning flames of Notre Dame Cathedral, raging forest fires and fire bombs on the news. The answer for our turbulent age comes in the form of a Mother’s love for her besought children.

This Marian Age, beginning in 1830, has witnessed the “Miraculous Medal,” the great Miracle of the Sun at Fatima 1917, WW I and WWII, communism, and a decline in the faith and morals of our western culture.

Nevertheless, our Blessed Mother will continue to intercede for us in a greater way through a signal of grace for us, “The Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”

Mary states, “We will put out fire with fire. Satan’s hatred hurls its flames so high that he believes victory is secure. But, my Flame of Love will blind Satan. I have given this Flame into your hands. Soon, it will arrive at its destination and will quench the fire of hell. The Spirit of Pentecost will flood the earth with the Spirit’s power, and a great miracle will gain the attention of all humanity. This will be the effect of grace of the Flame of Love.”

The Spirit of Pentecost is believed to be the “Triumph of Mary’s Immaculate Heart” spoken of at Fatima.

The Flame of Love has full Ecclesiastical approval; meaning it contains nothing contrary to faith and morals. It was promulgated, and the diary given the Imprimatur in 2009; in 2012 the Imprimatur was given to the English version; and Pope Francis imparted his Apostolic Blessing to the Movement in 2013.

Mary asks us to pray the Flame of Love rosary, which includes the petition in the Hail Mary, “Spread the effect of grace of the Flame of Love over all humanity.” As well as, “Come Holy Spirit; come by means of the power of the Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”

– Amy Law

SAVE THE DATE

Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of

Mary RetreatAug. 25, 2019, 1 - 5:30 p.m.Begins with Mass and ends

with healing serviceFeaturing retreat director

Fr. James Blount, SOLT

NONPROFIT ORGU.S. POSTAGE PAID

WICHITA, KSPERMIT #152

Catholic Diocese of WichitaSt. Francis of Assisi861 N. SocoraWichita, KS 67212-3237