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St. Anne Catholic Church

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St. Anne Catholic School

Welcome

Fr. Thomas Leland - Pastor


A priest's first Mass in a newly assigned parish is like a young man's first
date.  There is lots of joyful anticipation but also a certain nervousness
and awkwardness.  There is a lot for me to learn as I get to know you and
all the ins and outs of the parish.  But I am so grateful to the Bishop to
assigning me to St. Anne's - there is no other place I would rather be than
right here.

The first thing on everyone's mind - I am six foot seven, my shoe size is 16
and I did play basketball - in high school.  After that my interest was in
other things.  I have been known to still play occasionally but a
combination of bad knees and bad back has pretty much put an end to all
that.

I am the youngest of 5 siblings - with 3 brothers and one sister.  I grew up
in Kingman County in the small town of Spivey.  My Father was an electrical
engineer who fled the rat race of Southern California in the early 70's to
raise his family in a more wholesome environment.  He took a big pay cut,
moved to Kansas and began homesteading on 5 acres.  Some of you may recall
the "Back to the Land" moment in the 70's which advocated getting back to a
simpler life, getting a piece of land,  raising everything yourself, and
providing a wholesome environment for your children to learn down-to-earth
virtues.  My parents did that.   We fixed up an old house that hadn't been
lived in for 20 years, we built our own barn and out buildings from local
materials.  We planted an orchard, raised own fruits and vegetables, milked
our own cow, had chickens, goats, pigs and even bees.  We heated and cooked
with wood stoves and my mother made her own soap, cheese, cottage cheese and
my father made his own wine from whatever we happened to be harvesting.
Real homesteaders.   It was a hard life as we did most everything by hand
like the Amish, but it was a great way to grow up.   I remember one year we
were digging up a row of potatoes.  It was a terrible year for potatoes - we
would dig and dig and dig and only get a couple measly potatoes.  One of the
neighbors came by, noticed what we were doing and how hard we were working
and said to my Dad:  "John, what are you doing?  Why are you killing
yourself raising potatoes?  Don't you know they are 10 cents a pound in the
store?"  My Father looked up, looked at us kids and said, "I'm not raising
potatoes.  I'm raising kids."

Religion was very important in my family.  I grew up Protestant.  My mother
was born and raised in Holland as Dutch Reformed.  She brought Christianity
to my Father who grew up, what I call a noble pagan.  There were no Dutch
reformed churches in the area but we attended a small Reformed Presbyterian
church in Park City.  We made the 80 mile trip each Sunday, all seven of us
packed in a small Honda Civic.  And church lasted all day with church in the
morning and afternoon with Sunday school for all ages and family pot-luck
lunch in between!  We left before sunrise and returned home in the dark.  It
was a close knit church community and we were very happy until the church
finally closed its doors because it was unable to replace a departing
pastor.    My mother unknowingly to the strict Calvinistic elders of the
Church, had begun to read more about the Catholic faith.  She came across a
book written by Cardinal John Henry Newman on the development of Christian
doctrine which explained the origins of all these Catholic beliefs and
traditions going back to the time of the Apostles.  Her eyes began to open,
as it were, to the Catholic Faith.  One day some of the elders came to our
house and noticed the book lying on the coffee table.  My mother was sternly
warned that she was putting her soul in jeopardy by reading such material.
When the church in Park City finally closed, there we were in the middle of
German Catholic country.  God works in marvelous ways.    My mother began to
attend Catholic Mass and she took me along with her.  To make a long story
short, my father, Mother and I were received in the Catholic faith on the
Feast of Corpus Christi in 1984.  I was 17.

I entered Seminary two years later at the age of 19.  I wanted to be a
priest in the Missions and so I applied and was accepted as a seminarian
student by the diocese of Ponce Puerto Rico.  Much to my amazement the
bishop there sent me to Rome, and there I studied Philosophy for two years.
After two years in the seminary in a whole different world, I began to doubt
my vocation as a priest and left the seminary.  I returned home to the
States, finished my bachelors at a small Catholic Great Books type college
in New Hampshire, got a masters degree in English at the University of
Dallas and began teaching Middle School in my home parish of Kingman.  I had
found my calling!  At least so I thought.  I loved teaching and I was as
"happy as a lark" as they say.  There was only one problem.  The Lord began
to get on my case in Adoration.  I would go to make my hour of adoration and
"There He was gazing at me in the Eucharist.  He never said a word but His
gaze became almost unbearable.   Silently he was telling me:  I have given
you all this happiness, will you now give it all back to me?"  It was
terrible.  I got to the point that I even dreaded going to see Him, but I
just couldn't stay away because I knew that He was the only peace my soul
would ever have.

I finally surrendered.  I entered the seminary a second time in 1995, this
time for the Diocese of Wichita, and I never looked back.
 I was ordained by Bishop Gerber in 1999 with two other men.  I was assigned
for two years as an associate pastor at St. Thomas Aquinas during which I
filled in one year as chaplain at. yes its tough to say it out here on the
West Side, Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School.

In 2001 when my father was dying of cancer I requested of Bishop Gerber to
be closer to him.  Bishop assigned me as pastor of Lyons and Little River
nearer to my parent's retirement home.  I remained pastor of these two
parishes for three years and was once again "happy as a lark" when the
invitation came to volunteer to be a priest in the Army.  It was a very hard
to leave the good people of ice county, but God's hand was clear and I tried
not to look back.

For the past three years I have served as a Catholic Army Chaplain.    After
12 weeks of Chaplain Basic Training I was assigned to a post in Fort Gordon,
Just outside Augusta GA.  Shortly after arriving there I was deployed for 12
months to the Middle East in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and
Operation Iraqi Freedom.   About six months after my deployment when I was
back at Fort Gordon Bishop Jackels called and asked if I wanted to extend my
tour or return home.  After convincing him to allow another priest come in
to replace me - he assigned me the parish of St. Anne's, and so here I am.

It is a new phase in my life as a priest, not only to be back in civilian
life, but assigned to be pastor of a parish that is 5 times as large as any
congregation I have ever had.  But I am excited and the Lord willing I hope
to make this my home for at least the next 10 years.  I wouldn't want to be
anywhere else!

When I first visited St. Anne's I was very much impressed with the great
work my predecessor has done, Fr. Kent Hemberger.  He has really done an
outstanding work here as is evident in many ways.  Everything seems to be
working so well I am afraid to touch anything!  I am sure you all are very
grateful as am I for his 16 years of good service here, as well as for the
temporary leadership of Fr. Nolan.  I am sure you all will continue to keep
him in your prayers as he prepares for his next assignment, whatever that
may be.
 
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