Diocese of Wichita Feasibility Study
This is an exciting time in the Diocese of Wichita as together we discern and plan for the future of our local Church. During the early weeks of a campaign feasibility study, the Diocese is inviting feedback from every Catholic family across our diocese. Bishop Kemme wants to hear from us! 

Take a few minutes to learn more about the proposed goals and priorities we are testing during the study and participate in the online survey today.  ​Visit CatholicDioceseOfWichita.org/Feasibility-Study to read the complete feasibility study fact sheet and access the online survey.

Local Free Throw Championship.
On Sunday, January 29, Council 760 hosted the local Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship.  With some other athletic competitions active in the area, our field of contestants was a little smaller.  But we had an active contest, leading up to next weekend's District Championship which will also be hosted in the St. Paul School gymnasium.  This year's medals went to:

• Bryton Beachner — 1st place, 9-Year-Old Boy 
• Daxson Byrnes — 2nd place, 9-Year-Old-Boy
• Jackson Burke — 1st place, 10-Year-Old Boy
• Benson Aday — 1st place, 11-Year-Old Boy
• Ian Spielbusch — 2nd place, 11-Year-Old Boy
• Jayden Kirkpatrick — 1st place, 12-Year-Old Boy

Next week's District Championship will be held on Sunday, February 5.  Doors will open for registration at 11:00 a.m.  Shooting will start at 12:00.

Many thanks to the group of Knights and family members who supported this important annual event.  Also, thanks to District Deputy Bernie Collins for driving down from Chanute to support us.

Council 760 Exemplification of New Members. On Saturday evening, January 21st, Knights of Columbus Council 760 inducted five new members.  Congratulations are extended to:

• Brock Aday
• Rick Coomes
• Brenden Doherty
• Kyle Huser
• Koby Spielbusch

The Exemplification Ceremony was held in the closed east room of St. Francis Parish Hall.  During the Exemplification each of the candidates were given a rosary, a Knights of Columbus pin and a cross.  They left the room being among the newest members of Father Michael J. McGivney's world-wide mutual benefit organization. [1]

Following the Exemplification, our council hosted a social for new, existing Knights and their families in the west dining room.  The social included a delicious pulled-pork dinner with trimmings, beverages and deserts.  In addition to congratulating our new Knights, we want to thank several existing or past Kansas state and district officials who attended and supported the membership effort:

• Russell Bunnel - Southeast Kansas Membership Chairman
• Jim Carlson - Past District Deputy #15
• Bernard Collins - District Deputy #15
• Ed Miller - State Advocate, Membership Director
• George Miller - Past State Deputy
• John Schibi - Assistant General Agent, Pierce KofC Insurance Agent

​We also want to extend special thanks to Keith and Elaine Van Leeuwen for preparing and serving a delicious dinner, our team of members who helped with the Exemplification and social, and the small army of young girls who worked hard to distribute left-over deserts to nearly everyone in the building!​

Some Reference Information:
1. Follow THIS link for more information about the Knights of Columbus history and organization; our council; and our most esteemed Knight (who was also awarded a Vatican Knighthood).

The Drag-and-Drop tiles are used to place text blocks, images, documents (such as the bulletin), videos, section dividers (like the one above), etc. 

For More Information:  https://www.americaneedsfatima.org/

​Being handed a roll of this candy is a reminder that you can make a difference in the lives of women facing crisis pregnancies.

​The familiar Life Saver candy was invented in 1912 by Clarence Crane of Garrettsville, Ohio. He was looking for a hard-candy alternative to chocolate that melted during hot Ohio summers.  Their shape was similar to life rings used on boats and around swimming areas.  As they became popular, a roll of the candies was a "lifesaver" for the occasional sweet-tooth attack.

A New Meaning.
In recent years, the word "Lifesaver" has taken a more literal meaning.  Knights of Columbus members, across the nation, don their familiar aprons and meet parishioners at church doors, after Mass, with the cash-can in hand.  Being handed a roll of the candy is a reminder that you can make a difference in the lives of women facing crisis pregnancies.  

The difference an ultrasound machine makes is frequently the difference between a mother keeping or aborting her baby. It is hard to deny the humanity of an unborn baby when confronted with a face, a nose, a heart, ten fingers and ten toes.  To date the Knights of Columbus have donated more than 1,500 ultrasound machines, worth more than $72 million  — in all 50 states, Mexico, Canada and countries in South America and Africa.  Thousands of babies have been saved and and the lives of countless mothers, fathers, and families have been enhanced thanks to the work of the Knights.

PARISH SURVEY:
The Disciple Maker Index Survey opened Friday, April 1, 2022 and we need your help. Your participation in this survey is critically important and will be helpful for Fr. Theodore. Please help us participate by completing a 10-15 minute survey as soon as possible. To complete your survey go to https://portal.catholicleaders.org/dmi/survey/y71a4y You may also use the QR Code, shown here, with your phone. There are paper copies of the form in the back of the churches that you may return to the parish office. The survey will ask you to reflect on your own spiritual growth and enable you to provide feedback on our parish’s efforts to help you grow. All responses will be confidential and the parish will only receive information about the community as whole. We will receive the results this summer at which time we will share what we have learned with the entire parish. 

On Monday, February 28, the Senate will vote on the Women’s Health Protection Act, H.R. 3755. This deceptively-named, extreme bill would impose abortion on demand nationwide at any stage of pregnancy through federal statute. Even worse, it would eliminate modest and widely supported pro-life laws at every level of government -- the federal, state, and local level -- including parental notification for minor girls, informed consent, and health or safety protections specific to abortion facilities. It would force all Americans to support abortions here and abroad with their tax dollars. It would also likely force health care providers and professionals to perform, assist in, and/or refer for abortion against their deeply-held beliefs, as well as force employers and insurers to cover or pay for abortion.

We need to send an unmistakable message to the Senate that this horrible bill must never be enacted. Join Archbishop Lori, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities and Cardinal Dolan, chairman of the Committee for Religious Liberty in urging the Senate to oppose H.R. 3755.

​Check out the chairmen’s letter and this fact sheet to learn more about this radical bill.

Click the link below to log in and send your message:
https://www.votervoice.net/BroadcastLinks/dup78voj74oEKsEuAHWNmw

Reminder/RSVP - First Degree Exemplification & Social.
​Knights of Columbus Council 760 will host a First Degree Exemplification Ceremony and social on Saturday, January 22, at the St. Francis Parish Hall.  

The Exemplification Ceremony will be held in the east room of the parish hall  beginning at 6:00 pm, lasting about one hour.  

Following the Exemplification, at 7:00pm, there will be an evening social.  The Knights will provide grilled burgers with the trimmings and beverages including adult beverages.  The social is for all Knights and their wife or friend.   Knights not involved with the Exemplification and guests may gather in the west room during the Exemplification. 

Please RSVP, if you plan to attend, by calling*:

• Charles Schettler (620) 423-6635 or
• Keith Van Leeuwen (620) 423-6747​

* Or, if you have thought it over and have decided to join after all, call and let them know. It is not to late to be a part of the Exemplification!

About the Knights:
Pope John Paul II once referred to the Knights of Columbus as the “Strong right arm of the Church.”  There were reasons for his comment and when you Join the Knights, you are placing yourself in the company of a well-respected Catholic fraternal organization.  Follow THIS LINK for more information about the Knights of Columbus on a local, national and world-wide basis.
​

Schedule of Christmas Masses at St. Ambrose and St. Francis:

Christmas Eve:

• Friday, December 24, 5:30 p.m. at St. Francis
• Friday, December 24, 8:00 p.m. at St. Ambrose

Christmas Day:

• Saturday, December 25, 10:00 a.m. at St. Francis
• Saturday, December 25, 5:30 p.m. at St. Francis

First Degree Exemplification:​
Knights of Columbus Council 760 will host a First Degree Exemplification and social on Saturday, January 22, at St. Francis Parish Hall.  This is a perfect opportunity to become a Knight; and introduce your spouse or a friend to our Council 760 fraternity and their wives.

The Exemplification ceremony will be held in the east room of the parish hall.  It begins at 6:00 p.m. and should last about one hour.  

Following the Exemplification, at 7:00, there will be an evening social, the Knights will provide grilled burgers with the trimmings and beverages including adult beverages.  The social is for all Knights and their wives or a friend.   Knights not involved with the Exemplification, and guests, may gather in the west room during Exemplification. 

Interested?  If yes, contact:  

• Charles Schettler (620) 423-6635 or
• Keith Van Leeuwen (620) 423-6747

​About the Knights:
Pope John Paul II once referred to the Knights of Columbus as the “Strong right arm of the Church.”  There were reasons for his comment and when you Join the Knights, you are placing yourself in the company of a well-respected Catholic fraternal organization.  Follow THIS LINK for more information about the Knights of Columbus on a local, national and world-wide basis.

During the past weekend KofC Council 760 replaced the fourteen The Lord's Prayer signs, that stretch about 4/10th's of a mile east from Xavier Road, on the north side of highway 47.  A group of Knights took on the job of: removing the old signs; scraping and repainting the existing posts; and remounting a set of new 2' x 4' sign panels.  They also repaired a couple of posts and replaced a few of the trim strips finishing off the installation.
​
The project actually started several weeks earlier when artwork from the earlier signs was located.  Those earlier images were enhanced to make the lettering more prominent on the backgrounds.  Then the new images were printed on vinyl covered aluminum plates mounted on a corrugated vinyl core.
​

This Was the Third Iteration. 
We don't know the exact timing, but the new signs are the third set that have graced The Lord's Prayer along K47 during the past 25 or more years:

1. Felix and Ruth O'Brien installed the first set about twenty-five years ago [1].  These original signs were hand painted and installed along the same 4/10th's mile stretch as the newer ones.
2. About ten years ago, the Kroenke family had signs made and installed that were very similar to the new ones.  Over the past few years, those vinyl-on-aluminum sign panels began to crack and fade.
3. Hopefully the new KofC versions of the signs will last another 10 years, or until the Council or someone else extends the tradition.

​The signs can be difficult to appreciate at 65 miles per hour.  Here is a slide-show gallery of each of the new panels.  Hover the mouse over the pictures to see the slide navigation controls.

​ROSARY IN THE CHURCH GARDEN!
Respect Life Sunday is October 3rd. This is a day set aside to pray for all human life, especially for an end to abortion. We also pray for a greater respect and value of each human life. Our 6th-8th grade PSR classes will lead a pro-life rosary in the church garden at 4:00 p.m.

Homemade ice cream and cake will be served in the shelter house afterwards by the Knights of Columbus. Please join us as we ask Mary’s blessing for our prayers!

​This is a Confirmation stewardship project for our junior high students.

THE FUNERAL VIGIL AND MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL FOR SERVANT OF GOD, EMIL KAPAUN, will both be broadcast on EWTN; and livestreamed from the Diocese of Wichita YouTube Channel.
​

• The Vigil will be on Tuesday, September 28 at 7:00 p.m.
• The Funeral Mass will be at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, September 29.

Please tune into EWTN on your TV, or go to: www.youtube.com/user/dioceseofwichita to livestream the liturgies.

More information can be found at:  frkapaun.org/kapaun-comes-home

Some tickets may still remain for the liturgies.

In addition, a Memorial Mass will be held at the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu this Thursday, September 23 at 11:00 p.m. It can be streamed at:*
​ www.cathedralofourladyofpeace.com/LiveStream.html 

*  Note:  The Memorial Mass link from Honolulu might not remain active on their site.