Knights of Columbus. Patriots for God and Country. Volume 3 Issue 6 March 2015

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1 Knights of Columbus Patriots for God and Country Volume 3 Issue 6 March 2015 Next Meeting Saturday, March 21, :00 am Our Lady of Fatima Parish Michigan Center See pg 9 Inside Masters Rpt 1 Ladies Rpt 3 Friar s Rpt 4 Color Corps 5 Souvenir Book 6 Membership 4 69th Exempt 9 Meeting 10 Contacts 12 Newsletter Editor: SK Ken Watterson aarrdy@sbcglobal.net Worthy Brothers and Lovely Ladies of Michigan District II May this Lenten season find you prayerful and peaceful and warm. While lent is a time for reflection, alms giving, and sacrifice; it is also a time of great hope and anticipation as it marks the beginning of the Season of Renewal, a time when we can put behind us our past failings and sins as we look forward to the Resurrection of our Lord at Easter. At time of year, (despite how things are outside as I write this article), we will also soon put behind us the harshness and brutality of another Michigan winter as spring arrives and once again the earth is renewed with the greening of the trees and the rainbow of colors found in the spring flowers and the warmth of the spring sun. Spring is a very busy time of year as the birds return, the animals awaken from their winter hibernation, and we as Sir Knight s and Ladies of Michigan District II host a new class of Sir Knights with their Ladies, and three living Rosaries all capped off with our annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama. This does not even take into consideration all the Corporate Communions, Retreats, Parades and alike done by the local Assemblies. However, I must not get too carried away with the upcoming events as I must pause to thank everyone who contributed to our special Christmas Drive for our Homeless Veterans. I knew Michigan District II would come through, but I was not prepared for the unbelievable magnitude of the generosity of the families of our District. We collected well over 4,000 items, everything from hand soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste to socks, underwear, and even winter coats. Special mention goes out to the Brother and Ladies of the Bronson Assembly whose donations filled a U-Haul trailer, and to the Brother and Ladies of the Ann Arbor Assembly who put together a couple of dozen personal care baskets for our Heroes. And a special thanks also to our Worthy and Faithful Friar Father Tim for allowing us to store everything in the old Church at Our Lady of Fatima until we were able to sort through everything and deliver your gifts to our Heroes. I also thank all the Assemblies who completed their Fraternal Surveys on time and for the four Assemblies who have not yet done so you are now officially over one month late. Please get them in and soon! This spring we are welcoming our 22 nd Assembly to Michigan District II as the Councils from Buchanan, Dowagiac, Edwardsburg, New Buffalo and Niles have come together to form the Saint John XXII Assembly. My congratulations go to the Brother Sir Knights and Ladies of our newest Assembly. A special thank you goes to Brother Sir Knights Bill LaBre and Bill Grover for all the hard work and hours they spent to make this happen. Our next District Meeting will take place at Our Lady of Fatima in Michigan Center on March 21, We will begin promptly at 9:00 am. There will be breakout sessions for the Commanders and Comptrollers. This will be a very busy day as all the paperwork is due for the Michigan District II 69 th Exemplification of the Fourth Degree and we will be discussing the final arrangements for the Exemplification. Adding to this will be a discussion of the upcoming Living Rosaries beginning in Kalamazoo Continued on page 2

2 on May 2 nd, then in Lansing on May 16 th and at the State Meeting on Friday May 22 nd. We will decide which and how many projects we will undertake as a part of our Operation Patriotism program for the Fraternal Year. We will also be discussing the Our Annual Pilgrimage to Hanceville this June. We will conclude the Meeting about Noon with a Corn Beef and Cabbage luncheon. (Again we are asking for a $5.00 per plate donation to help cover the costs for the meal) In just three very short weeks following the District Meeting the Ardon F. Dubie Assembly from Davison will host our Spring Exemplification on the weekend of April 10 & 11. It is very important that all Comptrollers attend the District Meeting and turn in all the paperwork and monies for the Exemplification up to date as any paperwork turned in after March 21 st will carry a $10.00 sir charge per meal excluding only Candidate meals. This includes any paperwork mailed in and not received by the District Comptroller on or before March 21 st. All Form 4s will be verified at the District Meeting and any incomplete forms will be returned to the Assembly Comptroller for completion. As I write this newsletter our host hotel only has a couple of rooms left, if you call for a room and are told they are sold out, then please call the Master at and I will direct you to a second hotel or find a room for you. I am very excited to be able to welcome two outstanding Sir Knights as our Class Honorees, Reverend Sir Knight Francis Faraci and our Immediate Paste State Deputy Sir Knight Michael J. Malinowski. This promises to be an outstanding event beginning with the Friday night party at the Davison Hall where we will be entertained by the Singing Knights who will also join us for Mass on Saturday. The Davison Brothers have promised us an outstanding meal as a great way to start our weekend as we celebrate our Exemplification Class. On Saturday morning we will begin registration in the hallway of the Activities Center at Saint John the Evangelist Church in Davison at 10:30. Father Andy has agreed to allow us to process our Lord from the Tabernacle to the Ante Chamber so our Candidates may sit in the presence of our Lord as they contemplate the honors they are seeking and the obligations they will undertake as Sir Knights. Deacon Carol will again lead the Candidates in the Rosary of our Lady just prior to processing our Lord back to the Tabernacle and the taking of the Class Picture. We will then have a short Lunch Break prior to the Exemplification of the Fourth Degree. Following the Exemplification we will honor our Heroes in a special ceremony where our Candidates will receive their Flag Pin. We will then assemble for Mass before heading to the Davison Hall for the Exemplification Banquet. As always there will hospitality in the Master s Hospitality Room after the Friday Night Dinner and the Banquet of Saturday. Please see Lady Vicki s article as she has again put together an outstanding program for our Ladies and Candidate wives. Membership recruitment has been down the past couple of years, every Assembly should shoot to reach their Membership Goal as today more than ever our Catholic way of life is being threatened abroad and at home. We simply must grow the numbers of men, Catholic Gentlemen who will stand as a Patriot for God and Country. The war is not lost, we may have been hurt in a few skirmishes, but remember it was out of minor defeats almost 250 years ago a small group of Christian men forged a nation that was destined to become the most favored nation in the world. Yes we need to build our Order with those who are willing to defend our Catholic American Heritage with every ounce of strength and might they have. Brother Knights who will say Here I am Lord I am ready and able to serve you with all my heart and strength, if you lead me I will go. If every Assembly would bring in just 10 new Sir Knights we would have a class of 220 new Patriots for our God and Country. It is not too late to ask that 3 rd Degree Brother to become a Patriot for our God and Country at our April Exemplification, but YOU must ask! Please do not forget the Souvenir book, we need every Assembly to fully participate and earn a rebate, All Ads are also due on March 21 st and again Brother Sir Knight Dave Buick will be on hand at the District meeting to collect your Ads and monies. This is a great way to say thank-you and welcome your new Sir Knights with a very nice keepsake. Remember to ask the companies that advertise in the Sunday Bulletin at Church, may would welcome a chance to have their ad be viewed all across the Kalamazoo and Lansing Diocese. I look forward to see each of you as the spring events unfold, beginning with our District Meeting on the 21 st. May God Bless each of you and these United States of America George George Walrath Master, Michigan District II 2

3 Calendar of Events 3 March Meeting March 21 March 21 March 21 April Meeting April 8 April May Meeting May 1 May 2 May 16 May June 1 June 5-8 July 18 First Nominations for Assembly Officers Michigan District II District Meeting at OLF District II Souvenir Book Ads Due to SK Dave Buick Paperwork and Money for Spring Exemplification Due to District Comptroller Second Nominations for Assembly Officers Special Exemplification for Clergy & Religious Spring Exemplification of the Fourth Degree in Davison Elections for Assembly Officers To be a Patriot Award Packets due to Master Living Rosary at Saint Augustine Cathedral in Kalamazoo Living Rosary on Capitol Lawn in Lansing Michigan State Meeting on Mackinac Island 1. Form 186 Report of Assembly Officers Due to Master 2. State Directory Form Due to State & Master 3. Key Officers Report Due to Master 4. Civic Award due to Master 5. Sir Knighht of the Year Due to Master 6. Newsletter of the Year Due to Master Pilgimage to the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Hanceville, AL Michigan District II Annual Family Picinic for updates go to: It is March, Easter and Spring is near and hopefully the cold weather will be gone. We will begin to see the spring flowers growing and buds on the trees, a new beginning to our season. Our district will also begin the new season with many events as you can see from the following news. On March 21 st, we will have our District meeting beginning at 9 am. We will begin with refreshments, have a short meeting to discuss the April Exemplification and then Officer Stowe will be returning to teach the ladies in self-defense. He will continue with more information and details from his last visit. Many of the ladies asked if we can have him return and he kindly accepted. Regarding our April Exemplification, it will be held on April 10 th and 11 th. Our host hotel is the Best Western Davison Inn. Since the hotel is totally booked, you will need to call Master George Walrath (614) and he can assist you in a room. The weekend begins with a Friday night dinner at the Davison Hall in Davison beginning at 6 pm for a social hour. The entertainment for the evening will be the Singing Knights. We will have hospitality at the Best Western at 9:30 pm. At St. John the Evangelist parish, Saturday will begin with a ladies continental breakfast at 10:30, lunch will be served at noon and entertainment to follow. We will have the Royal Oak High School flute choral. This group of students will provide an enjoyable afternoon of various musical numbers that you will enjoy. They are a talented group of students. After our program, we will join our Knights for Mass at 4 pm. Then the banquet will be after Mass at the Davison Hall. The complete schedule will be in the newsletter. Attire for the ladies is business dressy to semi -formal. I also have sent letters to all the assembly navigators asking them to please bring a basket to raffle for the ladies. This helps defray costs for the ladies program. You may bring the baskets to the ladies program and thank you for your contribution. I need to thank all the ladies who helped collect items for our homeless veterans and veterans at our Battle Creek hospital. You all have gone over the top and out done yourself. The total count of items was well over 4000!!!!!! There are not enough words that I can say to thank you all. God Bless you and our Knights. This is one project that I hoped and prayed would continue in our four year term and you have continued to help me attain this goal. Thank you, thank you and thank you again. This is our way to say thank you to our veterans. As I watched the movie American Sniper I saw how the war affected our men. Some of these men are living at the Battle Creek hospital and our simple acts of thank you and kindness help these heroes. We will be collecting items again for the Ann Arbor hospital and you may bring your collected items at the March District meeting or at the Best Western hotel in April. Hope to see all our ladies at the March meeting. As always, if you have any comments, suggestions or questions; please call me. (517) God Bless Vicki

4 Brother Knights and Ladies of Michigan District II 4 VIVAT JESUS! As your district friar, I pray a blessed Holy Week upon you all. All of Lent's sacrifice, self-denial, prayer, penance and almsgiving pays off in a big way when we enter into the Sacred Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. We are forever reminded that Jesus gave his life for us and for the forgiveness of our sins. Please consider participating in all the liturgies of Holy Week, that you may experience anew the many blessings of our faith during this holy season. I wish the degree team well in preparing for our upcoming 4th Degree Exemplification to be held in Davison on the weekend of Divine Mercy Sunday. As a native of Flint and Genesee County, it is always a joy to return to my hometown and an honor to participate in the degree with such a fine staff of dedicated Knights. As long as Lent has lasted, the Easter Season is even longer, clocking in at 50 days, concluding with Pentecost on Sunday May 25th. As we desperately await a much-needed spring, may the joys of the Risen Christ inspire us to greater acts of charity and greater fidelity to the work of the Order. God's blessing to you all, Fr. Tim MacDonald Membership Membership is such a vital part of our assemblies that I trust you are discussing it at each of your assembly meetings. Your membership chairman should never have no report. At least discuss the exemplification. Give information to the members for the website where forms can be found or have a few available so members can take them with them to give to potential candidates. Membership chairmen can contact the Grand Knights of the councils assigned to your assembly and offer to help identify potential candidates. If the Grand Knight is receptive, maybe give a presentation at their monthly meeting, or information nights detailing the exemplification and answering questions about the Fourth Degree. Remember the things that the Fourth Degree has to offer: Support for like- minded men to interact and participate in order by practicing the virtue of Patriotism and defending our faith and religion. The title of Lady is given to the spouse of our members and they can play an active role in the programs and social events for the Assembly, District and Province. Members of the Fourth are encouraged to participate in the Honor Guard. While voluntary, this is called the visible arm of the order as it is seen at various church events, community events, as well as funerals and other appropriate events that occur in the life of a Forth Degree Knight. While not all assemblies present an actual Chalice to its members families in the event of their death, many do. The Chalice ceremony is a beautiful tribute to our deceased members. Many who have witnessed the Chalice Ceremony wish to join the Knights because they too want to be honored in this manor upon their death. Remember that many of these things are common knowledge to you but not for potential candidates and new members so don t hesitate to discuss them at your meetings. We are now within 1 month of our March 27 th deadline to submit paperwork for the exemplification on April 10 th and 11 th in Davison at the beautiful St. John the Evangelist Parish. If potential candidates cannot make this exemplification, sign them up for our fall exempt. Fraternally, SK Gaylend Meeks Membership Director

5 From the District Marshall 5 District Color Corps article for the Michigan District 2 Mar newsletter It has been a long time since we had commanders training at a district meeting. I am looking forward to it on March 21. Commanders should come with any questions or concerns they may have. Better yet, you can contact me before the meeting with your questions or concerns or anything you would like covered during the training. I have been asked a number of times how the Honor Guard should escort the gifts at Mass. My response has been, it is not specified in the Color Corps Drill Manual but it should be liturgically correct and kept simple so it is performed correctly. I will give my suggested way of escorting the gifts and my logic in it. First of all, and this is probably a change for most of us, the Honor Guard escorts will not draw their swords. This is at the request of the Supreme Chaplain, Archbishop William Lori, and was part of the instruction at the Michigan District 2 and Provincial Color Corps training this past August and September respectively. During Mass the emphasis is on the altar where the sacrifice of the Mass occurs and the priest celebrating Mass. With this in mind when the Honor Guard escorts the gifts they should direct their attention toward the altar and the priest, which translates to facing forward. The order of procession is the same as the procession into Mass and the procession out of Mass. The Honor Guard will lead, followed by the altar servers and the gift bearers. To keep it simple I suggest two Honor Guard lead the altar servers and gift bearers. When they get in front of the first pew they halt and take two side steps (15 steps) away from the aisle. The altar servers and gift bearers will come forward between them. After the gifts are handed to the priest he will bow and the gift bearers will bow to the priest. The Honor Guard should also bow to the priest at this time. If the gift bearers do not bow the Honor Guard should still bow together. Give the gift bearers enough time to return to their seats or at least get well ahead of the Honor Guard so as not to interfere with them returning down the aisle they came from. Once the gift bearers are clear the Honor Guard should face each other and take one step forward, and like the recessional collapsing, halt, face down the aisle they are returning, halt, and step off on their left foot and march down the aisle to the rear of the church. These are all simple movements and with the exception of the side steps, we do these movements during every Mass. If you want to use four Honor Guard to escort the gift bearers I would suggest two follow the gift bearers and halt a few steps behind the gift bearers when they stop in front of the priest. This positions the rear Honor Guard in the aisle. When the front two Honor Guard bow to the priest the rear Honor Guard also bow. When the front Honor Guard does their facing movement to the rear of the church the rear Honor guard does an about face and steps off on their left foot and march down the aisle. The front Honor Guard will step off in unison with the rear Honor Guard. As I said, the movements are simple but it will take a little practice to perform the movements in unison for that professional touch we strive for. Keep it simple and practice and I guarantee your Honor Guard will look good. Bill Currie Senior Marshal

6 Exemption Souvenir Book 2015 Spring Exemplification 6 Greeting Brother Sir Knights we have less than a month left to meet the Souvenir Book goals set for us by our Worthy Master, as of this writing, I have very few ads and payments submitted. Therefore, it s time to get out and sell, sell, sell. If you ve already sold, sold, sold, then please contact me and turn in your ads and payments (and continue to sell, sell, sell). As I ve done in the past, I am again offering the seller that turns in the highest dollar volume of ads (ad being defined as the ad copy, agreement, and payment) by the March 21, 2015 District meeting, 4 box seat tickets to the Lansing Lugnuts Crosstown Showdown baseball game (April 9th between the Lansing Lugnuts and MSU Spartans). In addition to serving as a way to congratulate our Class Honorees, Reverend Sir Knight Francis Faraci and Past State Deputy Sir Knight Michael Malinowski, the Souvenir Book also congratulates our new Sir Knights and Ladies and provides them with a remembrance of their special day. Additionally, ad sales are a great and simple fund raiser for your Assembly, as well as an important fund raiser for the District that helps defray the costs of the Exemplification. If your Assembly sells between $501 and $1,000 in ads, 40% of the sales over $501 are rebated to your Assembly, while the sales over $1,001 receive a rebate of 50%. As an example, if your Assembly sells $2000 in ads, your Assembly would receive a rebate of $700 (40% for the $501 - $1000 sold and 50% for the second $1,000 sold) enough to cover the cost of a couple chalices for your Assembly. Who buys ads? Each Assembly should purchase a full page ad to congratulate their new Sir Knights and Ladies. The Councils that make up your Assembly are also a great source for ads. Additionally, parishes, local merchants, and Brother Sir Knights with businesses, all can benefit for this relatively inexpensive advertising, while supporting Michigan District II. Where can you find the best leads list for advertisers that support Catholic related activities the back cover of your local parish bulletin! What s the quickest and cheapest ad a quarter page ad of a clean business card (preferably without background graphics)! Save yourself a trip this fall and sell the advertiser a second ad for the fall book! Some important reminders Financial Products or Services we cannot accept advertising that is directly or indirectly related to the sale of financial products or services that are offered by the Knights of Columbus (however, we can accept and should encourage ads from Supreme General and Field Agents). Advertising Agreements each ad must be accompanied by a completed advertising agreement (available on the District s web site under the Exemplification button). Electronic Submission of Ads - the preferred method for submitting ads is electronically. Ads submitted in MS Publisher, Word or PowerPoint formats or as a.pdf file are much cleaner when reproduced in the book and can easily be edited if needed. However, if you need to submit hard copy ads (including business cards) - please do not staple or otherwise deface the ad since the scanners used by the printer are very sensitive and pick up markings which require edits (and additional publication costs). Please have all ads and payments submitted to me before March 21st (the sooner the better batch ads and make multiple submissions please do not wait until the last day). Ad Payments - all payments from advertisers are to be made directly to your Assembly and turned over to your Comptroller for deposit. Your Assembly should then issue a check payable to Michigan District II for all the combined ads sold by the Assembly. Front Cover/color cover ads if you have a suggestion for the front cover, please contact me. The inside front and back covers are available for this Spring s book. Please contact me if you have an interested purchaser. Patron Ads Patron ads are $5 per name listed in the ad, with a minimum of $100 per ad, for which your Assembly receives credit toward your rebate. Please share your comments, questions, ideas, and suggestions for improvement with me at dabuick45@gmail.com or Thank you SK Dave Buick

7 7 Hats, Sweat s, Golf Shirts, Jacket s, etc.. "we also sell women's blouses" SK Paul and Lady Sharon Dorland We sell several styles and colors of golf shirts plus the light blue cotton shirts.. In addition we carry sweaters in various colors. They all have the double emblem on the front. We sell them at various functions and the proceeds go to District 2. Sweatshirts in many sizes and colors.. TUX PLUS INC.. Traditional Tuxedo & Accessories See us for a Tuxedo, Shirts, Bow Tie, Links & Studs, Cummerbunds, Suspenders, White Gloves and White Dinner Jackets. Perfect gifts for Birthday, Anniversary or Christmas! SK Dave Gibson & Lady Cheryl 4431 Cedar Lane Muskegon, Mi cell wdgibson2@comcast.net

8 69 th Michigan District II Exemplification of the Fourth Degree The 69 th Michigan District II Exemplification will take place on April 11, 2014 in Davison, Michigan. This will be a two day event with a Friday night party with the Singing Knights, and the Exemplification, Wreath Laying Ceremony, Ladies Program, the Exemplification Mass, and the Exemplification Banquet taking place on Saturday April 11. Our host hotel will be the Best Western Inn in Davison. As I expected at this time the Best Western is almost completely sold out and we have begun discussions with two other hotels for overflow. I will have details at the District Meeting in March. If you need a room or rooms please contact the Master if the Best Western tells you they have no more rooms. Thank you We are very excited to have Reverend Sir Knight Francis Faraci and our Immediate Past State Deputy Sir Knight Michael Malinowski as our Class Honorees, when you see Father Faraci and Brother Malinowski be sure to congratulate them. Now is the time to get those last couple of candidates signed up as all paperwork is due at the March 21 st District Meeting. Late registrations will be accepted as we have seating and meals for. In addition all Sir Knights and guests whose paper work id received after March 21, 2015, will be accessed a $10.00 late fee, they not guaranteed a seat with their Assembly, and most likely will be seated in the overflow area. The reason for this is that our caterer will allow only a 5% increase after the final numbers are given 14 days prior to the event without a surcharge of up to $10.00 per plate, and once the final numbers are given no decrease is accepted. For the last two Exemplifications to insure we did not to run short of food the District has ordered and paid for more food than was required. Had we only ordered what was requested by the Assemblies at the time the food order was placed then we would have run out of food. Now is also the time to finalize the ads for the Souvenir Book. Hopefully many Assemblies will earn rebates this spring. It is still not too late to get those last couple of ads. Remember to contact the businesses listed on the back of the Parish Bulletins as they are already supporting Catholic Programs. Also contact the Councils you serve to buy an ad to congratulate the members of their councils who will be completing their journey. As a reminder each Assembly should sell or buy $ in ads as an absolute minimum as this holds down the cost per person to attend the Exemplification. This spring all ads will be due at the District Meeting on March 21, 2015 due to Holy Week and Easter. All the required forms for the Exemplification are included in this Newsletter and you may copy and/or print as many as needed. You will also find the forms on our Michigan District II web site If you need any assistance with your recruiting or ad programs please contact Sir Knight Gaylend Meeks for Membership and Sir Knight David Buick for the Souvenir Book. 8

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12 Michigan District II 7045 Country View Jackson, Mi Knights of Columbus Hennepin Province This Newsletter is published to our Website at by the 1st week of every odd Month. Please contact SK Ken Watterson at if you have any problems. Contact Information Membership: Souvenir Books: VAVS Program : Color Corps: Newsletter & Website: Sir Knight Gayland Meeks at or meeksgm@acd.net Sir Knight David Buick at or dabuick45@gmail.com Sir Knight Gus Groat at or jngroat@gmail.com Sir Knight Bill Currie at or curriewmm@aol.com Sir Knight Ken Watterson at aarrdy@sbcglobal.net For all other questions: > after addressing them with your Faithful Navigator < Master, Sir Knight George Walrath or george.walrath@saint-gobain.com (Please remember the Chain of Command and check with your Assembly contacts first.) Our NEXT District Meeting will be March 21st Our Lady of Fatima Parish Michigan Center, Mi Begins at 9:00 am Doors open at 8:30 am