Members of three Catholic churches in Elk and Chautauqua and Montgomery counties were seen and quoted in a television news feature last week from KSN - Wichita.

TV reporter Stephanie Bergmann traveled alongside parish priest, Father Sixtus Myint, as he made his rounds to churches in Moline, Sedan and Caney — a weekly trek for the native of Burma.

The three-church parish was a part of KSN’s feature series, “Faith at a Crossroads - Saving Rural Kansas Churches.” Cameras followed Fr. Myint as he read mass in each church, stopping to briefly interview local parishioners.

The TV reporter pointed out that Montgomery County has experienced a 4.6% drop in population over the past six years and Chautauqua County has lost 9.1% while Elk County has lost 5.6% in population. That means fewer to filling the pews in these rural counties, and it comes at a time when Catholic churches are having difficulty finding priests to serve small parishes.

It is quite the opposite in the country of Burma (now called Myanmar) where there is an abundance of clergy being trained for the priesthood. So, over the past decade, several Burmese priests have been recruited to serve in rural American parishes such as the Moline-Sedan-Caney group.

“They can use some of the priests that we can spare, you know,” Fr. Mylint said. “It’s a win-win situation that way.”
While small town life is not for everyone, it’s exactly what the priests from Burma prefer. They say the focus on farming and family reminds them of home. The only difference, of course, is the language.

“We are even,” Mylint said. “They don’t understand us too well. We don’t understand them too well.”

It’s a challenge Father Myint is still facing after five years in southeast Kansas.

But last Sunday, known as “Priesthood Sunday,” the church celebrated what is not lost in translation – a shared faith and friendship.

“It is good, and I think we do try harder to understand him,” said Janette Buster who attends Sacred Heart Church in Caney.

Moline is served by St. Mary’s Church and Sedan is home to St. Robert’s Church.