Grand Knight's Report:

Dear Brothers:

From the messy, cluttered desk of your Worthy Grand Knight…

Greetings, Brother Knights and faithful readers!

Well, summer is winding down now, and maybe that’s good. The weather was certainly summery, we had a lot of activities, but for many of us, and the

Council in general, it may not go down as the best of all summers. We certainly lost with young Mark Allen, Jr. I guess I don’t know anyone who didn’t know him. And I never heard anyone talk about him except in awe. He was the kindest, gentlest, bravest and most heroic person I have ever met. I won’t dwell on this any more other than to say God is the lucky one to now have Mark at his side. Please keep his entire family in your prayers.  And Dick is not at any Council meetings or breakfast or even at the Gala this summer.

I am writing this the day after the August Social meeting, where the Immediate Past Grand Knight was there all in smiles because he had good news about Dick, from a Monday meeting with his son. But I spoke with Lenore for a while before the meeting, only to hear that he had taken a turn for the worse. She said he lost a lot of weight, but was eating again, and getting around, with a cane, but getting around. And the hopes were high for him coming home soon. But Tuesday was a bad day and the leukemia was back with a vengeance. So like so many of us, I am typing this up and trying to work and praying at the same time. It’s hard. The two of us planned to have a lot of fun this year… I guess it will just have to wait for next summer. Pray for Dick, and all our sick, their families and their loved ones, and pray some more.

And then there is the Gala … on an entirely different plane, but there none the less… I have another article on that inside somewhere.

But we go on… that’s what defines us. And we have so many things just happening and coming up. We had the August breakfast which had a pretty good turn out, and we had the annual Parish Picnic, both on the same day. We seem to be getting pretty good at that… there will be a few more articles on that further on, but it was a great success for both the Parish and for us. And then we have great things coming up .. the Corn boil, the ML/RD (Tootsie Roll) drive, PGK Steve Haugh’s Murder Mystery Dinner, Johnny Appleseed, The Columbus Day Italian Dinner, and before you know it, we are selling Christmas Trees again!!!  All things and events to keep us together, to keep us working side by side, things to let us get to know each other.. for as sad as it is to part, it is sadder still to not have known each other…

I am very down right now as I am doing this, and that is not good. But I also think of all the new Brother Knights we have been getting these past couple of years, and I see all that they have done and are trying to do.. we can’t get in their way, but we can certainly joint in with them, that’s our underlying goal, to continue with our mission. To help those who need our help.   

Peace, and see you around.       

Vivat Jesus! 
John Stefani
Grand Knight,
Fr. McCormick Council 3880
jstefani44@aol.com

Deputy Grand Knight's Report:

Deputy Grand Knight’s Rants and Raves.

From the uncluttered mind of the DGK.

Brothers,

I just returned from the parish picnic. We had more than enough help with this event.

Considering the monthly breakfast was running almost simultaneously with this event, show how strong our commitment is to our first degree which is works of charity. Thank you to all the council members that attended both these events.

School is back in session; fall sports are in full swing. Songbirds have stopped singing and the caw of the crows has taken over.  Autumn leaves soon will be displaying their vibrant colors. The days are getting shorter and the “life” of summer is coming to an end.

It’s time to sit back and take inventory of our goals and dreams.

The Jesuit retreat is coming at the end of October what better way to evaluate what we have then to first search our souls.  Please take advantage of the retreat and See Pat Bradley or Pete Harran for details.

The last quarter of the year seems to be the busiest for both council functions as well as personal functions. September is one of the busiest months of the fall season. We start out with a blood drive on September 6. Then we have the Jack Venezia Memorial Golf Outing on September 12. Other events in just September include the MR/LD or Tootsie Roll Drive on the 19^th and 20^th, Johnny Appleseed Festival with the downtown association on the 27^th. I’m not quite done with the September events I forgot to include the Murder Mystery dinner on the 27^th, the Back to School Buffet Breakfast on the 21^st.

Our council is very active and it takes more than just a few of the members to run these events. The MR/LD drive will need every one of us to volunteer at the least two hours of our time sometime over that weekend. See Ted Duda or PGK John Orso to sign-up.

If time permits you to help with one of the other events this month the breakfast will need more help than usual because of it being a buffet. The new kid on the block for September is the Murder Mystery dinner we’re going to need help with this event too please mark your calendar and help where you can.

Chris Krambeer is getting ready to put on the K of C Soccer challenge in the first week of October or late September.  Some help will be needed for this event.

Looking forward, October sees our first PADS Dinner this event runs October through April. We need volunteers to cook one dinner the last Sunday of month. See John Orso Sr. he can set you up with the details. And lastly November we see set-up and sales of Christmas trees. Look for a weekend or weeknight or two where you can help with this event. See Scott Popp or John Scott for more details.

Is there an angel present in your life? Is there someone who helped you when you were most in need then suddenly vanished and you never saw them again? Angels are present we only have to look. The church celebrates the feast of the archangels Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel, and Saint Raphael on Monday September 29^th.

See you all at the meeting on September 2 at 8:00. The Rosary will be said at 7:30 so come early and pray with your fellow Knights.

Vivat Jesus,

DGK, Vince Esposito
VPEsposito@comcast.net

Chancellor's Chants

This has been another fabulous month. All of the directorships have been filled. At the August Business Meeting the last remaining open directorship was filled. Joe Coley stepped forward to take the Public Director position. To date, he has taken pictures of the Parish Picnic and our strong involvement and plans on sending them to both the Columbia Magazine and the Observer. This is a great way to show what the Knights do from the best council in the state of Illinois. I also want to thank brothers John Walsh and Mike Kebr who sent me e-mails stating they’d take the position as well. It’s great to have willing brothers step up when help is needed.

At the August Business meeting it was great to see the new directors present their programs. Still, there were a few jitters and insecurity, but that is to be expected. Remember, the prior Directors are still here and are more than willing to help you out.

Upcoming events will be the Corn Boil, August 30; Fifth Sunday Memorial Mass, August 31; Jack Venezia Memorial Golf Outing, September 12; MH/LD Tootsie Roll Drive, September 19-20; and the Johnny Appleseed Festival Downtown Crystal Lake, September 27.

Hope to see you there.

Membership

‘‘Follow Me’ – Join us in answering his call

The end of August and all of September will be a very busy time for Council 3880. We have many events coming up – Our annual Labor Day Corn Boil, 5^th Sunday Council Mass, the Jack Venezia Memorial Golf outing, our M/H drive, the BIG buffet breakfast, Johnny Appleseed Day (I can smell those brats a cookin’ already) and our new Murder Mystery Theme dinner.

What better way to recruit new members? We need to take the opportunity each of those events offers to reach out to those men we know who would like to be a member of the Knights, but haven’t made that first step.

Why not invite your friends to the golf outing and/or Mystery dinner? Strike up a conversation with people at your breakfast table. Share with them what it is like to be a Knight, and especially in this council. How about shaking a can for an hour or two during the M/H drive? Let people in the community see what good we do and the fun we have doing it! Keep a Form 100 handy and you will be sure to use it.

Remember, there are a lot of qualified Catholic men just wanting to be asked to join. Being an active member, involved in the community, will be a great tool in increasing their interest in becoming a Knight.

Rick Kendzior
rekendzior@aol.com

4th Degree Report:

Bishop Boylan Assembly 0198 4^Th Degree Update. Greetings Sir Knights and Worthy Brother Knights of Council 3880 and all of our faithful readers!

The Assembly had it’s first Meeting of the new Fraternal Year on Wednesday evening, August 13^th, at Holy Apostles Parish Center. Wow! With the new church open, they had a lot of people in there changing everything from the long time church /  meeting room / anything and everything else room, into actual meeting rooms. Meant our first surprise was that our normal meeting room was not available. So we did have room for another 250 to 300 Sir Knights…. But they didn’t show.. BUT, we did have a really good crowd for the Assembly.. we had over 25 Sir Knights show up (eventually)!

It was a normal 4^th Degree meeting, meaning fairly short, but we did get a few things done.

As you should be well aware of by now, there is going to be a 4^th Degree Exemplification being held at the Crystal Lake Holiday Inn on Saturday, October 18, 2008. So all you 3^rd Degree Brother Knights out there, come on Down (!!!!) This is a golden opportunity to achieve that last milestone.

Anyone who has been a 3^rd Degree Knight for at least 6 months prior to October 18^th is eligible. Just see me and get a BLUE 4^th Degree application and we can take care of the rest. Yes there is a cost… I don’t like surprises either… the initiation fee is $70.00 which covers your entrance, your dinner, your Social Baldric, and of course, your 4^th Degree pin and U.S. Flag pin. You do need to rent (or buy) a tux for the day. Wives have a choice of the Ladies Luncheon and Program and/or the dinner. A celebratory Mass will be held right here at St. Thomas the Apostle.

SEE ME!!!!

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
JStefani44@aol.com

Boy Scout Update:

Cub Scout Pack 127 and
Boy Scout Troop 127
Update

The Pack 127 Cub Scouts participated in the 4^th of July parade in Crystal Lake and will be picking up their schedule starting with the new school year.  Many exciting things are planned for the coming year and if you have a son who is age 6 (1^st grade) or older and who would be interested in finding out more about Cub Scouting, please let me know.  I can get you in touch with the right folks.

Troop 127 has been busy over the summer.  We had summer camp at Canyon Camp near Stockton, IL; Philmont high adventure in New Mexico; just wrapped a canoe outing on the Wisconsin River in August and are looking forward to our Court of Honor in September when many of our Scouts will be receiving rank advancements on their road to becoming an Eagle Scout.  We continue to look for young men who are interested in becoming a Boy Scout.  If you have a son who is 11 years of age or completed the 5^th grade and he has an interest in becoming a scout, please let me know.

We would like to thank the Knights for their continued support of the Pack and the Troop.

Murder Mystery Dinner and Play:

STEPHEN M. HAUGH, P.C.
Attorney at Law
103 W. Sumner Street
Harvard, Illinois 60033

815/943-4929 Facsimile 815/943-4966

August 17, 2008

Rev. John Lovell

St. Thomas Parish

Re: Right to Life March

Dear Fr. John:

You requested information on the Knight’s plans for the Right to Life fundraising.

We plan a murder mystery dinner.  It will follow the Sept. 27,2008 4:30 Mass.  We would open the doors at 5:30, start serving dinner at 6 to 6:15, finish an hour later, and then have our drama.  We have retained the St. Sebastian (Chicago) Players, who have done this many times.

Tickets will be $25.00 each or $40.00 for a couple.  We budget 200 tickets, or 100 couples, to break even with $2,000.00 for the March.  We hope your youth will sell some tickets, maybe serve some food, and maybe have someone there who can inform the attendees about why we are hosting this.  We would hope you and all our priests will attend, although your typical second and third meal might cut into our profitability.

Please call with thoughts and questions as soon as possible.  My home phone is 815-459-4447 and my work number on Monday and Tuesday will be 815-334-8294.

Sincerely,

Steve

Copy attached
CC: Phil Weyna
Tim Hicklin

ssp_

SAINT SEBASTIAN PLAYERS

St. Bonaventure. 1641 W Diversey Parkway. Chicago. IL 60614.773-404-7922. saintsebastianplayers.org

Each of these shows works well in a restaurant or dinner setting. Each typically involves a combination of scripted and improvised material, but the real fun is

the degree to which the audience gets involved in solving the crime.

Our fee for providing this entertainment is $500. (For non-profits, the fee is $2.50/person, $250 minimum) In addition, there may be expenses for transportation and equipment rental, depending on the location of the

event and the technical requirements of the script selected.

Politics Can Be Murder

Congressman Tensin's wife and some of his close friends have whipped up a surprise birthday party for him, highlighted with a special "cocktail" he's supposed to drink. But who becomes the "ghost" voter?

Mary Statue Follow-Up:

Brothers,

Just a summary of the Blessed Mother Statue out front of the church. My last year as Grand Knight I got an idea from listening to Relevant Radio about putting the 10 commandments in the new community room  leading into the church.  I ran my idea of the officers, and they liked the idea, and then I talked to Monsignor Dan. Monsignor Dan suggested we put the Statue of the Blessed Mother.  I went back to to officers about putting the statue of the Blessed Mother up instead of the 10 commandments.  The officers said yes, and then we took it in front of the council and was voted on and approved. Once approved, I set up a committee I had as follows—Bob Kosin Chairman; Jim Kratochvil electric; Joe Gottenmoller Legal; John Butterfield Concrete; Dan Diamond  Parish Maintenance; Scott Popp; Mark Elmore Architect. We had a few meetings to discuss sites—The orginal plan was to go on the corner of 176, Oak St.  The 2nd plan  was to go east of where the old sign was.The plan was changed due to the new lighted signed erected by the parish.The statue is the at the location where the old sign is today.The statue was competed in late April and the dedication was held in May. I want to especially thank Monsignor Dan, and these committee people put in long hours of work. Bob Kosin, Scott Popp, and Dan Diamond. The statue project is not done there is still work to do with landscape, and the flag pole.

John Orso
Past Grand Knight.

Pro-Life Report:Phil Weyna, PGK

HOW DO THE CANDIDATES
COMPARE
ON THE SANCTITY OF LIFE?

As Knights and as Catholics, it behooves us to educate ourselves on the important issues in the up-coming presidential, congressional and local elections.  We have an obligation to support candidates whose positions most closely conform to official doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church.  In the matter of human life, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI repeatedly urged all societies to work for the Culture of Life and oppose those laws which relegate human life to a life-style choice of the expectant mother.  The infamous Supreme Court decision of 1973, known as Roe v. Wade, made abortion legal anytime during pregnancy.  

There are some actions that are intrinsically and morally evil, that is, they must never be promoted by civil law.  And if such civil laws are passed, Catholics incur a serious sin when and if they give deliberate support or endorsement to such laws and may not support candidates who do.

Among these intrinsically evil actions are the following:

• Abortion is the intentional and direct killing of an innocent human being and therefore a form of homicide.

• Euthanasia, often disguised as mercy killing, that is, when the ill or elderly are killed, is also a form of homicide and can never be tolerated.

• Embryonic stem cell research is the use of human embryos for harvesting of stem cells for any reason because the embryo is killed in the process.  This is always condemned by the church as morally evil.

• Human cloning is the attempted manufacture of human beings through artificial means.

• Homosexual “marriage”.   True Marriage is the legal union of one man and one woman.  Legal recognition of any other union as “marriage” undermines true marriage and is a serious distortion of the purpose of marriage.      

Phil Weyna, PGK