The Burmese people who live in Battle Creek come from Chin State, Burma. We are from a small village where there are no residential phone lines, no electricity, and not much running water. There are few paved roads and hardly any vehicles. People either walk or ride bikes. There are hardly any jobs, which is why we left. We wanted to find work and support our families. Many people in Burma (Myanmar) know America is a country of great opportunity. Coming to America is fulfilling one of our greatest dreams.
The very first Burmese Catholic person who came to Battle Creek is Paul Sanglyen. Paul is one of the five thousand Immigrants Diversity Visa winners. The first people to introduce the Burmese Catholic Association to St. Joseph Parish were Monica Sansui, Monica Cuai, Mya Htwe, Khuang Sui’s family, Dennis Vumzathang, and Robert Aung.
St. Joseph Parish has welcomed us warmly. We now have ninety-two households and over three hundred people belonging to the St. Joseph Parish family. Just like Jesus taught his disciples how to love one another and help each other, our church family has loved, helped and supported us.
Each year, we have been able to celebrate Christmas and Easter together. After celebrating the Mass, we would gather at St. Joseph’s school cafeteria for a meal and enjoy various entertainment to celebrate the occasion. We celebrate Parents’ Day as well on the feastday of Sts. Joachim and Ann in the same way. As we honor the parents of our Blessed Mother, Mary, we honor our parents as well.
On a wider scale, each year we celebrate our faith together with other Burmese Catholics across the country at the National Conference of Burmese American Catholics (NCBAC) .
The link can be found here: NCBAC – Myanmar Catholic Conference.
In 2027, we hope to celebrate another conference here in Battle Creek. We will be doing different fundraisers for it soon.
Information about the Burmese Community Events is available here.
Burmese Choir
The Burmese choir sings at the Tri-Lingual Masses held for the Special Feasts Day of the Church and also for Burmese Masses, Weddings, Funerals, and sing song services at the end of each month. Normally, we rehearse on Saturday right after the rosary prayer.
Burmese Prayer Group
There is a rosary prayer on every Saturday at St. Joseph’s Parish Center basement at 7 pm. At 5 pm we have Burmese language religious class. The purpose for this is to teach the young kids to have a better understanding and knowledge about God. Also, to have the children not to forget their mother language. Sometimes, when a Burmese priest visits our community, we have Mass celebration but most of the time we pray rosary. The prayer lasts till 8:30 pm.