ST MARY KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS COUNCIL 6993, PO BOX 2, MOKENA, IL 60448 Volume 7 # 12 JUNE, 2013 TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ST MARY COUNCIL CALL Donald Zich @ (708) 606 4273 or Donald Bauc @ (708 479 8160 WWW.MOKENAKNIGHTS.ORG OFFICERS 2012-2013 2013 SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR: Deacon Nabil Halaby GRAND KNIGHT Donald Bauc DEPUTY GK Richard Ciancio CHANCELLOR Donald Zich ADVOCATE David Adams RECORDER Michael Baker TREASURER Tim Cosgrove FIN. SECRETARY Daniel Michalak WARDEN Thomas Lulinski INSIDE GUARD: Vincent DiFiori OUTSIDE GUARDS: Lino Sbragia Dennis Borkowski TRUSTEES: 3 YEAR Al Sparks 2 YEAR Jim Peppmuller 1 YEAR Peter Baker FIELD AGENT: Todd Minard KNIGHT OF THE QUARTER Mark Welch FAMILY OF THE QUARTER Bob and Virginia Strezo MOKENA KNIGHTHOOD With God all things are possible SATURDAY JUNE 1 AND SUNDAY JUNE 2: PARISH FOOD DRIVE: Help is needed after all Masses to handle food and prepare it for delivery. Contact Deacon Nabil Halaby at (708) 326 4598 MONDAY JUNE 3: JOLIET ASSEMBLY MEETS: The Joliet Assembly will meet at Council 4400. A list of the new officers for the 2013-2014 fraternal year is on page 2. The STEAK FRY starts at 5 pm. TUESDAY JUNE 11: COUNCIL MEETING, FIRST DEGREE AND ELECTION: The Council will meet at 7:00 PM in the Church Hall. Candidates for the First Degree should arrive at 6:30 PM. Officers for the 2013-2014 fraternal year will be elected. SATURDAY JUNE 15:ROAD CLEANUP: Our second road cleanup of the year. Meet at the St Mary Cemetery at 9:00 AM for about an hour of our civic duty. Materials are provided.. SATURDAY JUNE 15: SOCIAL NIGHT: We meet this time at Greg Quinn s house for an evening of poker and camaraderie. Greg lives at 9930 Cambridge Drive, Mokena. Phone (708) 479 4864 SATURDAY JUNE 22: FLAG RETIREMENT CEREMONY: Old United States flags will be destroyed in a solemn ceremony at 7:00 PM by the Thomas Hartung American Legion Post on Cedar Road near Laraway Road in New Lenox (Article Pg 6) TUESDAY JUNE 25: OFFI- CERS MEETING: In the Church Hall at 7:00PM. FRIDAY JUNE 28: CHAPTER MEETING: The Joliet Chapter will meet in the St Mary Church Hall at 8:00 PM. All knights are welcome to attend and learn about the Chapter. SATURDAY JUNE 29: FAMILY MASS: The Council will attend the 5:00 PM Mass with members of the Joliet Assembly and the Joliet Chapter. Bishop Siegel will celebrate the Mass. There is a Fourth Degree honor guard for this Mass. (4:30 PM show up) SATURDAY JUNE 29: INSTAL- LATION OF OFFICERS: After the 5:00 PM Mass officers will be installed for Council 6993, Joliet Assembly 0204 and the Joliet Chapter. The installation is followed by a dinner for all knights and their families. There is no charge for the meal. District Deputy Greg Quinn will install the new council officers. Master Paul Isherwood will install the Assembly officers and State Deputy Rich Spada will install the new Chapter officers. Greg Quinn is coordinating. If you and your family plan to come, call him at (708) 479 4864 or sign up at the council meeting.
Students for Life Our nation s colleges are the principal teaching ground for the anti life movement. Almost all pregnancies by college women end in abortion. The ecumenical Christian Students for Life organization is working to change that and save babies. They are wonderfully organized and adept at creating activist groups on college campuses. To our shame, the group is presently active at supposedly Catholic universities including De Paul and Loyola. A banquet held at St Petronille Parish in Glen Ellyn on Wednesday May 8 was well attended by brother knights from our council and their ladies. The three hundred or so guests from many Christian denominations met the college activists and were treated to some of their testimony. The banquet raised a significant amount of money for their effort. David Avignone, Larry s son, is Deputy Director of Students for Life. He is a well spoken and effective young man with great talent. He and his team deserve our support! Contact David at the web site and address above. TURTLES! The annual turtle race will soon be upon us. Our turtle trainers have been hard at work and assure us that all will be ready on July 20 for the great event. Now is the time for all knights to start selling the tickets. Every year we sell about five hundred chances on the race. Each chance is numbered and each has a corresponding turtle that is also numbered. When a turtle with a particular number passes the finish line, the winner is notified by checking the numbered ticket stub and prizes are paid. The race takes place in Marley Creek. The turtles are placed in the water together and float to the finish line. Helpers are needed to assist turtles that get stuck on branches, collect the turtles at the finish line, etc. It is a lot of fun. Start now to plan your ticket sales. Tickets will be available at the June meeting so you can sell them and turn in the cash at the July meeting. Volunteers will also be asked to sell tickets at Berkot s and other stores the week end of July 13. This is a major fund raiser for the council be part of it! NEW JOLIET ASSEMBLY OFFICERS The Joliet Assembly of the Fourth Degree conducted the annual election of officers at the May meeting. Elected to serve for the 2013 2014 fraternal year were: Father John McGeean has agreed to remain as Faithful Friar Faithful Navigator: Peter Baker Inner Sentinel: Richard Ciancio Faithful Captain: Steven Joutras Inner Sentinel: Nathan Redwitz Faithful Admiral: Joost Sluis Outer Sentinel: Bernard Lawrence Faithful Pilot: John Dehm Outer Sentinel: Martin Dragovan Faithful Comptroller: Timothy Cosgrove 3 year trustee: Donn Anderson Faithful Purser: Martin Lepacek 2 year trustee:* Leon Williams Faithful Scribe: James Sniegowski 1 year trustee:* Roy Gesell * = automatic move from previous trustee rank.
MARTYRED FOR THE FAITH The memorial displayed above is located in the cathedral of Otranto, Italy. The city is located on the eastern shore of the heel of the Italian peninsula on the Strait of Otranto that connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea. The skulls commemorate 800 martyrs killed by Ottoman Muslims. A confederation of tribes called the Ottoman fought to control what is now modern day Turkey starting about the year 1300. They were merciless killers who routinely crucified men at random in order to establish control through fear. The areas they conquered had been Christian for a thousand years but the Ottoman forced all to worship Allah. Those who refused were killed or made slaves. Ottoman conquerors captured many smaller cities and laid siege to the great city of Constantinople. In 1389 they captured Kosovo in Serbia after a mighty battle. By 1431 they had gained control of the lands across the strait from Otranto in what is now called Albania. In 1453 the greatest church in the world, the Hagia Sophia of Constantinople, was captured. The domes on mosques commemorate the victory. The city was renamed Istanbul and became the capitol of the Ottoman Empire. Twenty three years later, in 1480, a fleet of about 100 Ottoman war galleys captured the ancient city of Otranto. The men of Otranto had fought valiantly and refused to convert to Islam. Eight hundred of them were taken to the top of a hill and beheaded for their faith. The Ottoman were driven out of the city after thirteen years and the cathedral was repaired and rebuilt with this memorial to the heroic men. On May 12, 2013, Pope Francis canonized the eight hundred Otranto heroes in recognition of their heroic virtue for Christ Viva Cristo Rey
Greg Quinn Honored Sir Knight, Past Grand Knight, Past Faithful Navigator and District Deputy Greg Quinn was honored at the annual state convention of our order with the Illinois State Council K of C Award. The award is presented to a few knights each year, as chosen by the State Deputy for distinguished service to the Knights of Columbus. This is the highest and most prestigious award presented by the Illinois State Council. The only other member of Council 6993 to receive this award was Steve Sitzberger in 2009. The award (front and back views) is shown at right. Greg was also selected to be a delegate to the 131st Supreme Convention in San Antonio, Texas August 6 through 8, 2013. The Illinois delegation consists of only eight delegates and it is a great honor to be selected for a spot. Previous delegates from our council were Steve Sitzberger in 1989 and Tim Cosgrove in 2007. Greg has accepted these honors in his usual humble way. There is concern, however, that the State Council K of C Award may be damaged in the shower since we hear that Greg has not taken the medallion off since receiving it at the convention. Congratulations Brother Greg!. FOOD FOR FAMILIES Our council supports the Frankfort Township Food Pantry with $200 worth of food every month. The food is purchased from Berkot s in Mokena at a substantial discount. Berkot s generously discounts the food purchased to share in our effort to help the poor. Additional money is raised at the annual Pizza party and the knights help with parish food drives as well. We do our best for the poor. Joe Kral is Community Activity Director for the St Mary Council. He makes the monthly purchases of food in response to lists of needed items given to him by the food pantry. The Supreme Council has a program to reimburse part of the cost of donations to food pantries. The program is called Food for Families. For each $500 in food donated, the Supreme Council will reimburse $100, up to a total reimbursement of $500 for $2500 worth of donated food. Our council effort exceeds the $2500 limit so that we receive a reimbursement of $ 500. Along with the reimbursement, recognition in the form of a plaque is also provided. Joe Kral is the manager for the council effort but many others are heavily involved. Tim Cosgrove manages the Pizza Party that raises money for the food pantry by asking for donations at a party. Deacon Nabil Halaby is in charge of the annual parish food drive. Most members work at spaghetti dinners, pancake breakfasts and so on so that the money being spent for the Frankfort Township Food Pantry comes from us all. At right, District Deputy Greg Quinn presents the Food for Families award to Joe Kral. Vivat Jesus
St John s Church on Second Street in Mokena was packed Sunday night May 19 with supporters of Journey. A choir made up of volunteers from multiple churches and denominations sang wonderful traditional hymns and The Calvary Quartet performed. Accompaniment was provided by a small orchestra called the Frankfort Brass Band. It was a wonderful Christian event. Christine LaVine and Margie Doorn, co-founders of Journey, discussed their ministry. They explained that theirs is the first pro life counseling and assistance center for young women in the Lincoln- Way area. Lincoln Way High Schools are together the largest high school in Illinois. Within a twelve mile radius of our high schools there are 49 abortion providers. There are about 450,000 abortions annually in Illinois. There is a desperate need to balance the scales so that young women can be helped to avoid unwed motherhood if possible or helped to save their baby if they become pregnant. Christine has many years of experience as a counselor working with PASS (Pregnancy Assistance South Suburbs), which has an office in Tinley Park. The two ladies have developed a new, open facility that provides a welcoming environment for young girls. The facility resembles a boutique with attractive items for sale and changing rooms. Young girls who visit are welcomed and befriended. Relationships are cultivated to help the girls become strong as individuals through life change. The girls are encouraged to return because of friendship and each visit earns the visiting girl a Journey Certificate that can be used toward merchandise on a return visit. Journey counseling includes teaching about Christianity and the Lord Jesus. Girls being counseled are taught to avoid sin in the form high risk behavior. Help is made available in case a girl finds herself in a threatening environment. Through counseling, referrals and strategies, girls are helped to grow into strong capable and moral women. If a girl is or becomes pregnant, her Journey will include help to save and keep her child. Journey is worthwhile. The ladies running it are enthusiastic and capable. Visit Journey and see for yourself! (They have pretty good coffee and cookies) The facility is located on US 45 about 200 feet North of Nancy s Pizza on the east side of the road. (in a building set far back from the road). The facility is closed on Monday and generally opens at 11:00 AM the rest of the week. As a pro life organization, the Knights of Columbus should support this project. Questions? visit the web site: www.journeyhub.com
FLAG BURNING The Thomas Hartung Post of the American Legion in New Lenox conducts annual ceremonies to retire old American flags. An impressive ceremony is conducted near the Post to burn each flag in accordance with proper protocol. This year the flag ceremony will be held at 7:00 PM on Saturday June 22. Members of the Legion Post will be in attendance along with boy scouts and others who participate. The Joliet Assembly of the Knights has scheduled a formal honor guard for the event. The post is located on Cedar Road south of New lenox, about 1/4 mile north of Laraway Road. Come out and participate in this important patriotic ceremony. The bar will be available to all participants. VOLUNTEERS! The Knights of Columbus are always the most active group of volunteers at any parish in which they serve. Knights work as ushers, Eucharistic ministers and lectors. Many work to keep the parish running smoothly in numerous capacities. If you are not an active volunteer in the parish, consider doing some volunteer work. To become an usher, you just have to tell the other ushers at a Mass that you will help. Other jobs require that you formally sign up for training with the Parish Office this is easy also. There is presently a need for more money counters to open envelopes and count the money collected each week. If you can spare some time on Monday mornings starting at 9:00 AM, contact Alice Wierbinski at the parish office. The money is counted each week by a pleasant group of men and women who are assigned on a schedule by Alice. Many of our brothers do these volunteer jobs ask a knight. Vivat Jesus Participants in the training program The May meeting included a special training program about member retention. The Knights Advocate Program was presented to the council by a representative of the state office and by District Deputy Greg Quinn. The program works by assigning new members to an advocate who helps them become active knights. Advocates keep in touch with the new men and encourage them to come to the meetings to become more aware of K of C activities. When the program was finished, several knights volunteered to become advocates. Past Grand Knight Jim Peppmuller has volunteered and will be the Knights Advocate Director to run the program. Vivat Jesus
BASEBALL NIGHT JOLIET SLAMMERS Versus Silver Cross Field SOUTHERN ILLINOIS MINERS Silver Cross Field Joliet Friday August 16, 2013 Game time 7:05 PM FANTASTIC FIREWORKS! TICKETS $10 A fund raiser for the charity work of St Mary Knights of Columbus Tickets: Jim Peppmuller at (708) 479 8715 or (708) 516 9084 (cell)