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Up • Dec 2008 • Nov 2008 • Oct 2008 • Sept 2008 • Aug 2008 • July 2008
Grand Knight's Report:
Dear
Brothers:
From the messy, cluttered desk of
your Worthy Grand Knight…
Greetings, Brother Knights and faithful readers!
It never stops to amaze me… the number of
Brother Knights who come forward when there is something to be done… the smiling
greetings of one Brother Knight to another… when a Brother Knight is having a
difficult time, and they offer words of hope and encouragement to another
Brother who is also having a hard time… the acknowledgement of the K of Cs
everywhere we go… the deep spirituality that so many of you have… while trying
to be macho and not show it… the faith so many of you have, as evidenced by
walking through the hallways of church and seeing many of you in there all hours
of the day and knight, and praying… the number of you who really do carry the
Rosary of Mary that was given to you are your First Degree… or the 5th
or 10th replacement as
you have simply worn them out… the care shown when a loved one or a friend is
hurting, one way or the other… the friendship of each other’s family members to
another Brother Knight… the way we can have disagreements, but never fail to
part friends, because we ARE Brothers… the sorrow we feel and show when we hear
of the illness of a Brothers spouse or family member… the pride we show at the
good news of a Brother’s child’s accomplishments… the way we band together and
share our sorrow and tears with each other at the passing of a Brother… the joy
of hearing one is going to be a grandparent, whether for the first time or the
tenth time…
I dare one Brother Knight to read these
comments and not see himself somewhere in them, often in many of them. But we
don’t shout and wave and pat ourselves on the back, because we are just
Brothers. Brothers one and all in a common goal. I have been asked, as so many
of you have, “What are the Knights?” Not who, but what… I have my answer and I
think we all do.. that answer is not “You mean who we are, not what we are!” But
it is what we are that truly defines us. And we know the answer to that and what
it means because the answer is we are Knights.. what we do is God’s work … after
all, isn’t it a very common comment that God works in strange ways? Let’s
continue doing God’s good works to bring peace and joy to all in need. We have
more events coming up. Soon you will get your annual Vocation Raffle Book, which
Brother Frank Willy
has again agreed to run for us. He has always been
successful in the past, let’s help him continue that this year.
Oh, and come to the next meeting and meet
the new
Financial Secretary!
Peace, and see you around.
Vivat Jesus!
John Stefani Grand Knight,
Fr. McCormick Council 3880
jstefani44@aol.com
Deputy Grand Knight's Report:
Dear
Brothers: 
From the empty mind of the DGK:
Wow the last six weeks have been busy as
council events go. September was extremely busy with golf, MH drive, Johnny
Appleseed and almost a Murder Mystery dinner. Then we turn the page of the
calendar to October and the Columbus Day weekend Pasta Dinner comes along to
test whether you have family life on the weekends. Just as that happens there’s
e-mail and phone calls that help is needed at the monthly breakfast. One event
that did need help and died for lack of a quorum was the Soccer challenge. Chris
did all the leg work up front for that event just that everyone had something to
do on a beautiful fall weekend.
Well sit
back and relax until the first weekend in November. Clean your gutters put your
lawn furniture away and get ready for winter. The first weekend in November is
our membership blitz weekend. Rick has pulpit announcements and has permission
to setup a table in the narthex of the church Nov. 1 and Nov. 2. What better way
to start the month out then to recruit new members just in time for the
Christmas tree sales.
At our
October meeting the Memorial mass was mentioned in passing, as most of the
directors and officers were not present. The Mass is scheduled for the night of
the social meeting November 18th. The mass is to be held at Elizabeth
Ann Seaton church at 8:00 p.m. Peter Harren is in charge of the details.
Speaking of
Peter he will be getting area billboards for our annual Keep Christ in Christmas
campaign. The ad usually runs from mid November to the end of the year.
As mentioned
above the October meeting was light and not much information was available about
this event.
The Jesuit
retreat also is taking place the first weekend of November. The 5th
Sunday memorial mass will be held on the 30th at 9:00. Wear your blue
council shirt to mass.
Last but not
least Christmas tree lot set-up will take place on November 22 at 9:00 am. We’ll
make sure to stay out of the grassy knoll (anybody who doesn’t get the last
comment are just way too young). Christmas trees arrive on the 28th
and sales start that day. Scott Popp and John Scott will have sign sheet at the
November meeting.
We start the
month of November celebrating all the saints in heaven and the faithfully
departed souls. We end the month crowning Jesus Christ as King and start all
over again waiting for the coming of the Messiah as the season of Advent begins
on the 30th.
Remember to
adorn your abode with your advent wreath and hold off on the Christmas
decorations. Advent is a time in the church year of waiting and preparing just
as Lent is in the spring. Enjoy the Advent season and prepare mentally and
spiritually for the coming.
Let me be
the first to wish you all a happy and blessed Thanksgiving and I hope your
favorite football team wins.
Vivat Jesus,
DGK Vince Esposito
VPEsposito@comcast.net
Membership Report:
Upcoming Membership Blitz to
be held at St. Thomas
November 8-9, 2008!
The
following article is from the Membership and recruitment section of the
www.KofC.org web site. We will be holding a membership table after all of the
Masses November 8-9, 2008. Please help us recruit and meet our membership goal
for Fraternal Year 2008-2009.
This is
geared for the Membership Director, but aren’t we all part membership 0f the
membership committee?
Conduct a Church Drive
Your parish
is probably the best location for finding potential Knights. Through holding a
church drive, you have the opportunity to reach a large audience of qualified
men who are committed to their faith. Like any project, the success of your
Church Drive will depend on detailed planning and execution by your council as
well as your commitment and example as a council leader.
Start by
obtaining your pastor’s approval to hold a membership drive at all Masses on the
target weekend. Prepare an announcement for the parish bulletin and ask that it
be run during the two weekends before the drive. Order quantities of Prospect
Cards (#921A), Membership Documents (#100), posters and flyers such as “As
Knights we not only act on faith...”
flyer (#4497), “Our Future
Knights...” flyer
(#9116),
“The Potential of a Man...” flyer
(#4496),
“What this organization stands for...” booklet
(#4547), “Make a Difference” recruiting poster
(#4498), Fraternal Membership folder
(#4494), “Did You Know?” flyer
(#1267), Family Fraternal Benefits flyer
(#2761), Member/Spouse Fraternal Benefit
flyer (#2773), etc., from the Supply
Department. Distribute flyers and Prospect Cards to men as they enter the
church. Leave sharpened pencils in each pew for men to use when completing
Prospect Cards.
On the day
of the event, post teams of two to three Knights at each church door before each
Mass to distribute flyers and prospect cards. On the day of the event, post
teams of two to three Knights at each church door before each Mass to
distribute flyers and prospect cards.
Arrange for
the pastor, grand knight or membership director to make a brief announcement
before Mass, explaining the Order and encouraging men to complete the Prospect
Cards and
turn them in as they leave the Church. Read a letter of support (if available
from the state council or local bishop) or use a Sample Pulpit Announcement
(#2678) available from the Supreme Council Supply Department. Have Knights in
position at church exits to answer questions from prospects, collect Prospect
Cards and assist interested men in completing membership documents. Restock
tables and supplies for each Mass.
After the
event, deliver membership documents and completed Prospect Cards to the
membership director for follow-up. Men who signed membership documents should
be immediately informed of the date and time of their meeting with the Admission
Committee and the next First Degree exemplification.
To make your
BLITZ a success you will need the right tools. Here is a quick guide to what
every council needs to have on hand for their recruitment BLITZ:
Prospect Cards (#921A):
These 3”X 5”
cards help councils collect the contact information on prospects in a very
unobtrusive manner. They serve as a great recruitment tools to place in pews
before Mass, having prospects complete them and then they can be collected after
Mass.
Membership Documents: (#100):
This is what
it is all about: getting those prospects to sign up and join you as brother
Knights. Next stop — the First Degree, and then your prospects and their
families can Start being active within the council and in the Order as a
whole.
4th Degree Update:
 Bishop
Boylan Assembly 0198 4Th
Degree Update.
Greetings Sir
Knights and Worthy Brother Knights of Council 3880 and all of our faithful
readers!
The recent 4th Degree
Exemplification was held at the Crystal Lake Holiday Inn on Saturday, October
18, 2008. This as hosted by the Mitchell Assembly of DeKalb. The only Brother
Knight form 3880 to participate was Sir Knight
Dan O’Connell. Congratulations, Sir Knight!
I had hoped that we would have had a few
more joining Dan, but no luck this year. There will be another 3 or 4 chances
for next year, although our ‘local’ exemplification will be held in Rockford
next October.
We still have our short 4th
Degree Business meetings on the second Tuesday of the month at Holy Apostles
center, starting at 7:30 PM. Maybe some of our current Sir Knights can attend
one of those.
We are into the fall of the year, so dues
notices for the 2009 calendar will be going out within the next month or so, so
keep an eye out for those!
We are hoping that we can hold another
fund-raiser dinner in the spring, as we did a year ago.
Please visit our web-site as well for
additional info.
http://www.maxpages.com/bba198
Peace!
SK John Stefani,
Faithful Comptroller,
Bishop Boylan Assembly 0198
Boy Scout Report:
Pack 127 and Troop 127 Update
It’s hard to
believe that Fall is well upon us with the changing leaves and cooling
temperatures. Makes you want to stay inside and become a couch potato. But not
if you’re a scout.
The Cub
Scouts of Pack 127 are planning a hike in November, bell ringing as a service
project in December and cave camping in January. They will have plenty of
opportunities to be outdoors and enjoy the fresh air. They just wrapped up
their popcorn sales and it appears they had a banner year. Thank you for those
who supported them in their efforts.
The Boy
Scouts of Troop 127 are also welcoming the change of the seasons. They will be
staying active with YMCA overnight in November filled with activities and a
December cabin outing with several winter hikes, sledding and hot chocolate on
tap. Last year we had 12 inches of new snow to enjoy on our outing.
Speaking of
winter, the holiday season is fast approaching and the Boy Scouts will be
selling wreaths and poinsettias to make your home or office a festive holiday
scene. This is a way they can pay for their camping fees and high adventure
outings. If you know a Scout and have a need for any of these items, please let
them know you are interested. If you do not know a Scout but would like to take
advantage of this opportunity to support Scouting, please let me know and we can
get your order placed.
We would
like to thank the Knights for their continued support of the Pack and the Troop.
Pro-Life Report:
Bishops Ask
Catholics To Pray Election Novena
WASHINGTON—The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) invites U.S.
Catholics to pray before the November election a novena for life, justice, and
peace called Novena for Faithful Citizenship. It is a podcast and available for
download.
Joan
Rosenhauer, Associate Director for the USCCB’s Department of Justice, Peace and
Human Development, said that the special novena is part of “the bishops’
campaign to help Catholics develop well-formed consciences for addressing
political and social questions.” The bishops issued their statement on forming
consciences for faithful citizenship in November 2007.
Helen Osman,
USCCB Secretary of Communications, expressed hope that the novena could help
“Catholics enter into prayerful reflection as they prepare to vote.” Seventy-one
percent of all visitors to the USCCB’s web site download the free podcasts of
the daily NAB readings. These same visitors are encouraged to use the novena
podcast for prayer. Osman said that the USCCB wants to support Catholics as they
weigh pre-election issues and that “providing a prayer resource on the Web can
help us focus on our common values and identity as Catholics.” The novena
emphasizes the dignity of life, justice, and peace.
The Novena
for Faithful Citizenship runs for nine days and can be used consecutively, one
day each week, for nine days prior to the election, or “in any way that works
best for a community or individual,” said Rosenhauer.
The novena
will be available for download until the election and it can be downloaded
online at
http://www.faithfulcitizenship.org/resources/podcasts.
For other
Faithful Citizenship resources and materials visit
www.faithfulcitizenship.org. |
