Newsletter – June 24, 2012

Dear Parishioners,

We had a wonderful week with all the Priests from the Archdiocese of Seattle for the annual Priest’s Day. We enjoyed every minute of it. We prayed for you and thank you for your support of our ministry in the parish and for your continuing support of the local church as well as your sup- port of the various and numerous events (from different ministries) of the Archdiocese and of the Universal Church. It is a blessing for the Priests to pray together and get to know each other. The annual Priest’s Day workshops are the rare opportunities for us, priests, to meet each other.

We have a big event at St. Ann’s Church this Sunday. We thank the core team of the Long-Range-Plan for working hard in organizing this event, and we thank those who have shown interest in attending it.

Please share your dream, hope, and expectation on how to make your parish community a place that you can call home. We (the Task Force Committee) will study carefully the information that you have shared with us. May the Spirit of the Lord continue to guide us as we work together and unite us in the One Body of Christ!
I would like share with you, as I promised, about my trip to Vietnam to attend Sister Trinh’s final vow with her religious community of the Lovers of the Holy Cross of Go-Vap. There were over three hundred Sisters attending this celebration, and in addition, their relatives and friends were there to share in the joy. It was a big celebration, and I was happy to be a part of it. I am very pleased and proud of our Sisters who offer their ministry to serve us in our parishes. Their main ministry focuses mostly in education (starting from Pre-K) and the parish ministry (families). Their religious community used to run their own school before 1975. After 1975, the government took control of the school. Despite this, generations of Sisters have continued since and are still doing what they do best: serving in this ministry to assist the community.

It was an inspirational time and an eye opener for me to learn more about this religious community of the Lovers of the Holy Cross of Go-Vap. This religious community has a vast number of members. It has many different houses throughout different Archdioceses, Dioceses, Parishes, and countries. Her Mother’s House has three different communities in the United States.

During my time there, I got to learn and know more about the religious community to which the Sisters who serve our parishes belong to. In my meeting with their Mother Superior, I informed her that we are taking good care of the Sisters and we thank them for their vocation. In return, she sends us her greetings and thanks us for supporting the Sisters with their ministry in our parishes.

While in Vietnam, I had a chance to visit some of the Sisters’ convents in different locations in the country, some Shrines of the Lady of Tai Pao, and one of the Shrines of the Parish Priest who was executed because he witnessed his faith to protect his parishioners. This Shrine of the Parish Priest, especially, has so many people come to pay respect and pray, and I was informed that this priest is a high potential candidate for sainthood canonization. Furthermore, I visited one of the bishops of central highland of Vietnam who is also my relative. And, after all I was able to fit into my busy schedule a short visit to my mom on the way to the airport to return home.

Back to our community, we congratulate all the couples who made their vow last weekend and this weekend. We congratulate them as they begin their life together. We are very blessed to have wedding celebrations each weekend during June and July. To all the couples who are celebrating this sacrament, we send our congratulations and also keep them in our daily prayers so they can find happiness and joy with each other.

We are planning to have the parish picnic, and we will not let our summer fly by without having our wonderful parish picnic. So, please join us if you are not away for this summer. We need to join with each other in the beautiful outdoors to thank God for this creation. The abundance of food and all the bountiful blessings on our country is very special and we need to celebrate this. Please do not let your summer joy pass by without celebrating it.

We thank you for coming to join with all the fathers to celebrate their lives and their work. We pray for our fathers, all those who are with us today and also those who have deceased, that they enjoy the love and happiness from their children. Thank you for coming to the Church to pray for them.

You have read the quarterly report and we thank you for taking your time to read it and for supporting our parish. We thank the staff and parish leaders who assisted us with it so that we could share with you. We will begin the new budget on the 1st July, and you will receive the Annual Re- port in September or October. The staff will work on it during this summer.

We thank you for supporting the “El Progreso Spanish Newspaper” (in the Spanish language) to assist the Spanish community to learn the Good News from the Catholic Church in Western Washington. We are very blessed to have “El Progreso” to assist us in sharing the Good News of our Faith.
We thank you for your support of our Annual Catholic Appeal. We need your commitment card. The entire amount over the parish’s goal will be given back to the parish to be used to support our local ministry. Please send in your commitment card so we have 100 percent participation. We thank you for your continuing support even when you are away for the summer. May the Lord continue to support you and your family, and may you have a peaceful summer and good health!

Sincerely Yours in Christ,

Fr. Tuan Nguyen, D. Min
Pastor