Knights of Columbus 50 Pine Road, Saratoga Springs, New York Phone:

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1 Knights of Columbus 50 Pine Road, Saratoga Springs, New York Phone: Saratoga Council #246 Grand Knight Tom Gurka tom_gurka@yahoo.com Assembly #745 Faithful Navigator Stephen Toussaint srtmorningside@hotmail.com Vol. XXII, Issue 7 M arch 2017 Upcoming Events at the K of C March 3 Fri. Lenten Fish Fry 6 Mon. Council Mt g. 7:30 P M Rosary 6:30 PM 7 Tue. Catholic Daughters 6:00 PM 10 Fri. Lenten Fish Fry 12 Sun. 3rd Degree Exemplification, Noon Fri. Lenten Fish Fry 20 Mon. Council Mtg. 7:30 P M 24 Fri. Lenten Fish Fry 27 Mon. Assembly Mtg. 7:30 PM 31 Fri. Lenten Fish Fry April 3 Mon. Council Mt g. 7:30 P M Rosary 6:30 PM 4 Tue. Catholic Daughters 6:00 PM 6 Thu. Fundraiser Soup & Sandwich 4:30-7:00 PM 7 Fri. Lenten Fish Fry 17 Mon. 1st Degree Exemplification, 6:30 PM 20 Mon. Assembly Mtg. 7:30 PM Bingo Every Wednesday at 7:00 pm Grand Knight s Message Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Groundhog Day. You k now what that means, six more weeks of winter. So ra ther tha n being depressed or disa ppointed, let s ta lk about all of the grea t things tha t happened a t our Council this month. Results of the ChowderFest Day in Sara toga Springs brought excellent results for all those who organized and supported this fundraising event. I thank everyone involved tha t ma de this event successful. Additional details a re provided later in the newsletter. Recruitment conti nues to be our highest priority. A recruitment drive is pla nned for the weekend of Ma rch for St. Peter s Parish. We expect simila r results as in our St. Clements ca mpa ign a nd will be reporting on this in our April issue. A 1st Deg ree Exemplificati on will be a dded to our calenda r a nd will take pla ce a t our second Council meeting of the month on April 17th. In addition, plans are underway to have a New Member O rientation meeting a t our Council home. Given the a mount of new members, I believe this will be an excellent way for new members to meet each other, answer any questions they mig ht have, discuss the mea ning of each degree and provide some first step ideas on how they ca n get involved. Later on in the newsletter I will provide an AT -A- Glance calenda r look of what is g oing on in Ma rch at the Council and provide ways volunteers can support their fra terna l mission. (continued on next page) Detailed Upcoming Events changes and additions at:

2 Grand Knight s Message (continued) Lastly, the rollout of Coats for Kids for the S NACpack Progra m is underway at the a rea schools. We are extremely excited that we can help this cause and look forward to growing this relationship in the future. A final report on the success of this progra m will be reported in our A pril issue. Februa ry 2017 Highlights & A ctivities The Knig hts served 1704 cups of V eterans Freedom Chowder at the 19th A nnual ChowderFest on Sara toga S prings on February 4th. I t was our second time at ChowderFest and most successful! A 2nd Degree Exemplification was held at our Council home on February 20th, with 18 ca ndida tes. The rollout of Coa ts for Kids for the SNA Cpa ck Prog ram is underway at the a rea schools. The Fish a re F rying at the Fish Fry F ridays. Thank y ou for your conti nued support. Remember, F ryday Nig ht Lenten Fish Fry will conti nue every F riday during Lent. Together we a re a n enormous force for g ood in a world tha t so obviously needs the love of God and love of neig hbor, which must be reflected in our work. --Ca rl A nderson, Supreme Knight Vivat Jesus! Tom Gurka, Grand Knight Columbian Report Congratulations to Joe, Frank and all of the volunteers that made our participation in Saratoga ChowderFest a big success. This was our second year and they sold over 60 gallons of chowder. They also got a lot of information out to the public about the Knights. The Columbian will be having a fish fry every Friday in March. Because of the success of our fish fries, they have been moved to the main hall. Our revenue for the first two months of 2017 are down a little and expenses are up. The main driving force in e xpenses being up is the amount of money being spent on snow removal, up about 50 % over last year. March revenue looks promising so we should be getting back on financial track. Dick Grimm has filed our paperwork with the city assessor to reduce our taxes. It will be ruled on sometime in March, keep your fingers crossed for a favorable outcome. Thanks Ken Davis, Columbian President

3 Chaplain s Message Well it is that time of year again. March 1 is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Every year I pretty much say the same things but I believe anything that is good is worth repeating. To begin with Lent is a forty day liturgical season of fasting, special prayer and almsgiving in preparation for Easter. It has been the custom to give things up for Lent and that is good but we can also take things on for Lent like trying to attend daily Mass and the Stations of the Cross on Fridays. A good Lenten practice is to drop a few dollars in the poor box as we leave Church. Last month I talked about the Sacraments, what a sacrament is and I listed the seven of them. This month I would like to talk about the sacrament of Baptism, which is the first sacrament we receive as Catholics. This usually occurs soon after birth. While water is being poured on the head the Trinitarian words must be spoken. They are; " I baptize you in t he name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." The one baptized is cleansed of Original Sin and becomes a child of God. Also, They are infused with grace which is the presence of the Holy Spirit within them. The symbols of Baptism are: water-cleansing, candles- the light of Christ, oil- strength and the white cloth- dignity. The norm is to have two Godparents but one must be a practicing Catholic. Baptism is referred to as a sacrament of initiation and can only be received once. "The Spirit works, the Son fulfills His ministry and the Father approves; and man is thus brought to full salvation." - St. Irenaeus Just a few notes: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence. This year Daylight Savings Time begins March 12. Spring officially begins March 20 Vivat Jesus Deacon Bill Gaul, Chaplain Pro Life Corner The use of political language to confuse, deceive, and whitewash -- to defend the indefensible," in [George] Orwell's terms -- is, however, most obvious in the abortion debates. In language as in life, baby is the first victim: the word is uncomfortably concrete, real, and human. No one would kill a baby -- and thus fetus and pregnancy become the preferred terms. In many instances, defenders of abortion avoid using the word abortion at all; even the old standby "terminating a pregnancy" has increasingly fallen out of favor. The new watchword is health -- as in "critical health services" or "reproductive health care" or "personal health decisions." By Prof. Ben J. Reinhard, Christendom College Submitted by Wendell Neugebauer The Knights of Columbus newsletter is published monthly, except July and August. Knights of Columbus System: All Council # 246 & Assembly # 745 News will be tra nsmitted to our Membership using our new Knig hts of Columbus System. This System will provide members with our monthly newsletter a nd various bits of K of C and member news, noti ces, calenda r changes, fundraiser reminders, etc. Any member-prov ided news and/or upda tes can be sent to our enti re membership by sending a n ema il to GRAND KNIGHT tom_gurka@yahoo.com for immedia te distributi on. Newsletter Inclusions: Please submit items you wish to have published in the newsletter NO LATER tha n the 18th of each month. Please provide A LL details you wish to have included and deliver to Grand Knig ht a t tom_gurka@yahoo.com

4 REWIND --- Back in the Day! Two things happened since my last article. First, I followed my own advice when you are looking for something to do. Second, I never knew what I would find. Well, I mentioned four things that could happen and two things did. At this point you re probably thinking I found that hidden money. No, that s wishful thinking. I was not looking for anything that day I was just cleaning up the bedroom area. By now there s only two left: clothes that don t fit anymore and under those clothes I found a picture which is the subject of this month s REWIND--- Back in the Day! story. I dropped off the bags of clothes in our new Used Clothing Drop Off Shed on the way to our last Council meeting. A few days later I thought about writing a story that this picture reminded me of the past and today. Looking back is when things get quite interesting. My Dad owned John M. Ryan Beer Distributor located at Chelten & Boyer in the East Germantown section of Philadelphia, Pa. Every day after school and on Saturday s I would help my Dad at the store. On Saturdays, I would drive around with my older brother Al and deliver beer to our wholesale accounts, one being the Knights of Columbus located two blocks away at the corner of Chelten & McMahon streets. When we made our deliveries at the K of C, a few things come to mind. They always ordered 7oz nip bottles with 42 to a case and the only beers they carried were Schmidt s, Ballantine and Schaefer. They kept their empties in a garage in the back that always was infested with mice and lastly, my brother and I always had time to play a quick game of shuffleboard on their tables in the basement. Not knowing anything about the Knights until a few years later, my wife Mary and her sisters worked every weekend when they were kids bussing tables and serving food to support their weekend fundraisers. Mary s dad, Art, became a 4th Degree Knight in In 1965, Mary s family moved to Dallas, Texas because of her fa-

5 REWIND --- Back in the Day! (continued) ther s job relocation. They did return to Philadelphia a year later when Mary s Aunt died suddenly and they decided not to return to Texas. That s when I met my future wife Mary and the story starts to take shape. I became a Knight back on January 17th, I heard continuous stories from my mother-in-law and wife about all the good times they had at the Knights in East Germantown and how Dad served the Knights honorably. When I was asked to become a 4th Degree Knight, my mother-in-law told me that she had her husband s sword that he used for his 4th Degree. On March 24th, 2012, I was Knighted at the 4th Degree ceremony in Troy, NY using the same sword my father-in-law used 48 years ago. That was a very special day in my life being touched on my shoulder using my father-in-law s sword. The picture I found was my father-in-law Art with his wife Anne back in Dad was 46 years old. The Parish the Knights supported was Immaculate Conception a few blocks away. The church and that chapter of Knights are no longer there. What is here, are the memories. I hope you enjoyed my REWIND--- Back in the Day story. I thank God for leading me to the Knights again in a different way to serve. Instead of delivering beer to the Knights back in the day, I m now a Fraternal Leader on a mission to serve as your Grand Knight. I m looking forward to the next REWIND--- Back in the Day story. Please provide your story and/or pictures by 3/15/2017 so I can include them in our April issue. Volunteers Always Needed Our biggest and longest standing fundraiser BINGO on Wednesday nights continues to struggle finding enough volunteers to support the weekly event. With members passing, others dealing with health issues and members going south during the winter months, we need more support to keep this revenue raising activity operating. Below find a list of duties that require support every week: Bingo Preparation Games Selling Clean Up Money To learn more about the BINGO operations, please show up at 5:30 pm to be assigned a duty. Some duties last an hour, some two hours and others lasting the entire ni ght about four hours. If you are a new member, this is a great way to start your fraternal mission and meet other members of the Council. The most important thing is to make sure we have enough volunteers to cover a BINGO night. Very Truly Yours, Tom Gurka Grand Knight Charity Prayers... Unity Fraternity Patriotism Please keep in your hearts and prayers the many Brother Knights and their family members who are ailing and recovering.

6 ChowderFest 2017 Fundraiser Joe Fredette and Frank Bunch reporting on this years ChowderFest Fundraiser held on Saturday, February 4th. Below is the listing of members that made this years ChowderFest a success!. Pre-chowder preparation week from January 30 thru February 3rd. Joe and I had help from Bobby Hamlin, Rich Gorman and Gus Ross with the chopping of, pota - toes, celery and onions. We also steamed 12 bushels of clams, cleaned and chopped during the pre-chowder week. On Saturday Chowder Day the team gathered at 7:30 AM for the moving of all the needed supplies and 60 gallons of Chowder to our downtown site at the Civic Site. Trucks were supplied by Emery Taylor, Jason Munafo, Elwin Rivenburg and Tom Sawicki. The first time Chowder team were tasked to set up of our booth while Joe and I attended to other tasks. The site set-up was super when I returned with the second load of buckets of hot Chowder. All the buckets of Chowder had to be kept warm in the Hot Boxes provided by the Civic Center in the lower storage room. Buckets of hot chowder were moved outside to our heating station as needed during the day. Chowder was hot and ready for serving at 10:17 AM, Official start was to be 11:00 AM. We continued to serve Chowder until we ran out at about 3:34 PM. The above transportation and set-up team was supported by the serving crew of Joe and Karen Powers, Joe Flack and Derek Sawicki. It was nice to see Tom and Derek working side by side for the entire time talking money and serving our 3 oz cups of chowder as a Father and Son bonding experience. Rich Gorman provided verbal support in sell - ing the Veterans Freedom Chowder to all the

7 patrons on the streets of Saratoga Springs. ChowderFest (continued) The entire team returned all the equipment to the Hall. We reported 1704 cups of chowder sold. Net profit to the K of C should be at around $ to $ An additional $ was collected in our donation jars. This money will go directly to support our Thursday meals for the two local Veterans homes in Ballston Spa. Special thanks goes out to Gus Ross for his cleaning up the dirty buckets of chowder on Sunday. Needless to say it was a lot of work for everyone. The e fforts show the team work from the Knights when asked to step up for a good cause. Long term friendships were built through this experience for the new members who were first time supporters of a K of C fundraiser.

8 Membership Scorecard Council #246 10/01/16 = /01/16 = /01/16 = /01/17 = /01/17 = /01/17 = 421 OPEN For BUSINESS Assembly #745 10/01/16 = /01/16 = /01/16 = /01/17 = /01/17 = /01/17 = 174 Membership Birthdays - March Allen A Hills Jr Vincent J Vines Jeffrey A Koppi Bertram Barber Christopher Querrard Stephen R Toussaint James E Lambalot Paul J Gagnon Vincent J Verro Paul J Drezelo Emory E Taylor Dennis J De Sain Timothy M Breen Wendell Neugebauer John Mc Namara Allan P Perry John P Franck Christopher A Signor Anthony A Dematteo Thomas F Galliher Timothy K Rascoe Joseph D Freshwater Robert W Reinhardt Michael J Smith Norman A Morey Michael B Fitzgerald Frank Scarpinato Vincent D Cunningham Jr Todd C Spratt Catholic Daughters Court McLaughlin will meet at the Knights of Columbus on Tuesday, March 7th. We will be having a Birthright Shower at this meeting. Refreshments are at 6PM with our meeting immediately following at 6:30PM. I would like to invite, on behalf of our Members, the Knights of Columbus Members and their families to join us for our Court s Morning of Reflection to be held in the small meeting room at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Saturday, March 4th at 9AM. Our Court s Spiritual Advisor, Deacon Ed Solomon, will be presiding over this event. I hope you will join us. All Catholic women are welcome to join our Court! Our Court always welcomes new members or anyone who would like to attend a meeting to find out what we are about. If anyone has questions regarding membership please call Eileen Tuohy, Membership Chairperson ( ) or me, Aileen Thomas, Regent ( ). Thanks, Aileen Thomas, Regent

9 Weddings Parties Meetings Shows Exhibits Attractive Affordable Convenient F riendly Staff Food Donations Please bring a food donation to the meetings. Thank You for last month food contribution... It was great! Let s keep a good thing going. Charitable Outreach Programs Supported What does our Council do for our Churches: St. Clement s, St. Joseph s, St. Mary s and St. Peter s, our Community and mankind? Below please find a partial list of what we have accomplished this Columbian Year. I thank you for your commitment to the principles of our order, CHARITY, UNITY, FRATERNITY, and PATRIOTISM. BirthRight B allston Sp a Ballston Spa Homeless Sh elter for Vets Thursday night dinners Veteran s Fundraising Golf Tourn ament at Brookh aven Catholic Charities Festival of Trees Center for Disabilities C apital District Telethon Community Hospic e Foundation Support Services Saratoga Sprin gs Code Blu e Thursday night dinners EOC Saratoga County Adopt a Family Gateway House of Peace Support Services HOBY N ew York East Youth L ead ership Program Coats for Kids at St. Clements Regifting Store Coats for Kids at SN ACpack Saratoga School District Ladies of Charity Saratoga Christmas Giving Program Make-A-Wish NE New York Monthly Food Drives to Support loc al food banks Saratoga Bridges Foundation Saratoga Central C atholic Winter Gala Saratoga Central C atholic Tuition Scholarships Saratoga Central C atholic Support Catholic Schools Program Saratoga County RPC Christmas Gift Card Program for Homeless Vets Saratoga War Horse Foundation Shelters of Sarato ga Stratton VA M edical C enter St. Mary s Winter Gala St. Mary s School Support Catholic Schools Program St. Clement s Our L ady of P erpetual H elp Icon construction pro ject St. Clement s School Support Catholic Schools Program Dr. Diane Rademacher General Dentistry Compassionate, Affordable 10% Senior Citizen Discount New Patients Welc ome 7 Union St., Ballston Spa, NY OPPORTUNITY KNOCKING! Ad space ava ilab le here... call the K of C Wilton Funeral Home, Inc. William J. Mevec Mary Ann Mevec William J. Mevec, Jr. 395 Ballard Rd. Wilton, NY (518) Income Tax Preparation 48 Years Experience S. K. John Cowan 75 Claire Pass, Saratoga Springs, NY BUS/FAX (518) CELL (518) William J. Burke & Sons Bussing & Cunniff, Inc. Funeral Homes Mark Phillips Thomas Armer Daniel De Celle Thomas Simone 628 North Broadway Saratoga Springs, N Y bur (888) Fax (518) LaMarco Physical Therapy, PC Pro viding, Personalized, Hands-On Care for over 22 years. Call or visit our website for more information com Geyser Road, Ballston Spa 30 Gick Road, Saratoga Springs OPPORTUNITY KNOCKING! Ad space ava ilab le here... call the K of C Showroom and Greenhouse Beekman St. Saratoga Springs, NY (518) We Deliver!

10 Knights of Columbus Council No. 246 / Assembly No. 745 March Fraternal Mission Service Opportunities Februar y 2017 March 2017 April 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Bingo 5:30pm Preparation, 6pm Selling, Supless Vets Dinner Prepa- Prep. Code Blue and Home- 10am - Lenten Fish Fry port Games, Clean-up Contact: GK Tom Gurka for more information ration 9am 4pm Kitchen Cleanup 5pm Delivery 3pm Prepare Salads,etc. 5 8pm Fish Fry Open (h) For exact times - Contact Need Kitchen help, (c) Joe Fredette at 518- servers, bussers, cleanup crew Contact Joe F (c) or Frank Bunch (c) or Frank B. for up to date information 5 6 6:30pm Rosary 7:30pm Council Meeting Bring Food Donations 7 8 Bingo 5:30pm Preparation, 6pm Selling, Support Games, Clean-up Contact: GK Tom Gurka for more information (h) (c) 9 Code Blue and Homeless Vets Dinner Preparation 9am 4pm Kitchen Cleanup 5pm Delivery For exact times - Contact Joe Fredette at (c) or Frank Bunch (c) 10 10am - Lenten Fish Fry Prep. 3pm Prepare Salads,etc. 5 8pm Fish Fry Open Need Kitchen help, servers, bussers, cleanup crew Contact Joe F. or Frank B. for up to date information 11 Noon 3rd Degree Food Preparation for 3rd Degree Dinner Need Kitchen Help Food Preparation/ Cleanup Contact Joe Fredette or Frank Bunch for exact hours 12 11am 3rd Degree Exemplif ication sign-up helpers needed contact Dan Matrazzo at (c) Noon 3pm Ceremony/ Dinner Need Kitchen help, servers, clean-up volunteers Contact Joe F. or Frank B. for more info Bingo 5:30pm Preparation, 6pm Selling, Support Games, Clean-up Contact: GK Tom Gurka for more information (h) (c) 16 Code Blue and Homeless Vets Dinner Preparation 9am 4pm Kitchen Cleanup 5pm Delivery For exact times - Contact Joe Fredette at (c) or Frank Bunch (c) am - Lenten Fish Fry Prep. 3pm Prepare Salads,etc. 5 8pm Fish Fry Open Need Kitchen help, servers, bussers, cleanup crew Contact Joe F. or Frank B. for up to date informatiom :30pm Council Meeting Bring Food Donations :30pm Assembly Meeting Bring Food Donations Bingo 5:30pm Preparation, 6pm Selling, Support Games, Clean-up Contact: GK Tom Gurka for more information (h) (c) Bingo 5:30pm Preparation, 6pm Selling, Support Games, Clean-up Contact: GK Tom Gurka for more information (h) (c) 23 Code Blue and Homeless Vets Dinner Preparation 9am 4pm Kitchen Cleanup 5pm Delivery For exact times - Contact Joe Fredette at (c) or Frank Bunch (c) 30 Code Blue and Homeless Vets Dinner Preparation 9am 4pm Kitchen Cleanup 5pm Delivery For exact times - Contact Joe Fredette at (c) or Frank Bunch (c) am - Lenten Fish Fry Prep. 3pm Prepare Salads,etc. 5 8pm Fish Fry Open Need Kitchen help, servers, bussers, cleanup crew Contact Joe F. or Frank B. for up to date informatiom 31 10am - Lenten Fish Fry Prep. 3pm Prepare Salads,etc. 5 8pm Fish Fry Open Need Kitchen help, servers, bussers, cleanup crew Contact Joe F. or Frank B. for up to date informatiom Notes: Contact Grand Knight: Tom Gurka (h) (c)