Knight Worthy News St. Joseph Council 10627, High Bridge, New Jersey A Catholic men s organization promoting Charity, Unity, Fraternity, Family and Patriotism February 2019 (Area Code 908 unless otherwise noted) (Red indicates change) Brothers all, I want to welcome Fr. Rick Rusk to St. John Neumann Parish on behalf of the council. Fr. Rick is a Fourth Degree Knight and is coming from Blessed Sacrament Parish in Martinsville. St. John Neumann also was fortunate to have Fr. Maurice Carlton available to help them until Fr. Rick could leave his former parish. I also want to thank Fr. James Kyrpczak for agreeing to serve as our council Chaplain. While I m thanking them, I also need to thank you brothers who have helped at the council activities lately and especially thank the members who sent us their 2018 fraternal activity survey. Let s all get behind the many activities coming up beginning with the Free Throw Tournament that concludes next week and our first Pizza on the Knights this Friday, February 1. We need to continue the great work of our council. Vivat Jesus, Tom Officers: Grand Knight Tom Corrado 328-9440 Chaplain Fr. James Kyrpczak 303-6243 Deputy G. K. Mario Bernardo 797-6344 Chancellor Jim McCloskey 328-5176 Advocate Greg Boyle 730-8737 Recorder Steve Bauernfeind 638-4285 Fin. Sec. Robert Young 832-2721 Treasurer Peter Sandrian 236-2711 Warden Tom Klawunn 246-3722 Inside Guard Jim Codd 892-1089 Outside Guard Andy Kin 617-5621 Past GK Kevin Loughney 797-0061 Trustees: Bill Cerwinski, PGK (732) 715-0057 John Furnari, PGK 693-2782 Kevin Loughney, PGK 797-0061 Faith In Action Program Directors: Faith Bill Cerwinski (732) 715-0057 Family Chris Dietrich 797-0243 Community Jim McCloskey 328-5176 Life Rich Mirocco 638-4804 Fraternal Programs Directors: Program Mario Bernardo 797-6344 Membership Mario Bernardo 797-6344 Dist. Deputy: Ed Schilke (973) 886-3884 Ins. Agent: Gerry Tatarka (973) 713-3394 Website: www.kofc10627.org 1
Fr. James Kyrpczak has agreed to serve as Chaplain for St. Joseph Council! He replaces Fr. Abraham Orapankal who was reassigned to St. Matthias Parish in Somerset. Fr. James was introduced to us in the July, 2018 Knight Worthy News when he arrived at St. Joseph Parish. Soon after his arrival, he transferred his Knights membership to our council. We thank Fr. James for his willingness to help move the council forward. We also thank Fr. Abraham for his years of fraternal service to the council, and the wonderful Reflection messages in each issue of our newsletter. 2
Father Richard M. Rusk has been named Pastor of St. John Neumann Parish in Califon, effective February 2018. Fr. Rusk has served as the Pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church in Martinsville since 2012. He had previously served Blessed Sacrament Parish as Associate Pastor for four years and later served as Pastor of St. Patrick s in Belvidere and St. Rose of Lima Churches in Oxford from 2001 to 2012. He also was the Episcopal Vicar for Warren County. Fr. Rusk, became a Knight in 1994 and is currently a 3rd Degree member of Our Lady of the Hills Council 5959. 3
March for Life 2019 Mainstream media claimed that far fewer than 100,000 pro-lifers attended the 46th annual antiabortion march in Washington, DC on January 18, 2019. They lied! (Does that surprise you?) Of course the mainstream media lied because they preferred that their readers and viewers would focus on the Women s March at Federal Plaza the day following the March for Life. The same thing was evident at pro-life and Women s Marches elsewhere. Only the Women s Marches were newsworthy. Pro-life events received only a smattering of media attention. The Washington March for Life event is largest of nearly 100 such pro-life events that occur in 35 states, most of them during January. Few are covered by mainstream media. The media prefers to focus on the Women s March perhaps to bolster the pitiful number of expected marchers as compared to the March for Life. (Leading up to the two events, organizers had estimated there would be 10,000 supporting the Women s March 10% of the estimated 100,000 that were expected to attend the March for Life.) According to Curtis Houck of Newsbusters.org, NBC Nightly News devoted a full 11 seconds to the March for Life, meanwhile giving three minutes and 51 seconds to the Women s March. Houck tells us the 2019 Women s March.... received nearly 15 times the broadcast network newscast coverage of the 47th annual March for Life. If you prefer to make your own guess at how many attended the March of Life, look at the Students for Life time lapse film. (Click on the image below or go directly to the link at https:// twitter.com/twitter/statuses/1086392692425310208 ) I can t begin to guess at the actual numbers but the Washington March for Life goes on-andon, for a very long time. The largest gatherings of people I ve ever attended were college football games and the largest football stadium I ve been to is Ohio State s (which holds 105,000). It appears to me as though there are a LOT more marchers for life than if a sell-out crowd of Ohio State s football fans were similarly marching across the playing field! (Knock yourself out if you want to try to figure it out!) But the mainstream media despite what they wished were wrong (a.k.a. lying ) when they said there were far fewer than 100,000 March for Life marchers! Meanwhile, among the media coverage of the Women s Marches is this photo from Wisconsin. (The photo reminds me of Sen. Chuck Schumer s frequent addresses to the senate when he speaks to an empty chamber!) So, how many actually attended the March of Life? No one really knows, but Heavy.com reported that as many as 200,000 to 300,000 might have been at the event. By any standard that s a lot of people (even though it s not newsworthy as far as the mainstream media are concerned)! 4
Photos from the 2019 March for Life Thanks to George Mehaffey for the photos! 5
Lighting Hearts on Fire Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego (an Indian convert to Catholicism), as a woman resembling the people of the Mexican community. Her clothing contained the Gospel message written in Aztec codex. Those who saw the miraculous image on Juan Diego s tilma (cloak) were so profoundly impacted, that nine million converted to Christianity within eight years practically the entire population of Mexico at the time! Through the collaboration of Juan Diego, she unleashed a grass roots wave of evangelization, the likes of which have never been seen before or since. Today, our world is in need Our Lady of Guadalupe s intervention once again. Times are dark and the faith of so many has been weakened or lost, putting many souls in jeopardy. Who can help us get back on track and spread the Gospel message anew if not the one who came at the inception of Christianity in the Americas, Our Lady of Guadalupe? She is The Patroness of the Americas, as well as The Star of the New Evangelization. Prayer to our Lady of Guadalupe God our Loving Father, We lift up our hearts in gratitude for sending Our Virgin Mother of Guadalupe to set hearts on fire in the New World with the saving message of the Gospel. We are invited by Bishop James F. Checchio, Diocese of Metuchen,.. to become kindling so that we might be set on fire by the Holy Spirit. She is our compassionate Mother and she desires to remedy our troubles, miseries and pain by bringing us into a saving friendship with her Son Jesus Christ. We turn again with renewed confidence and outstretched arms to our Virgin Mother of Guadalupe to set our hearts on fire in our Diocese of Metuchen as we prepare to be consecrated to her maternal care. Give to each one of us a desire to be a missionary disciple so that the world may come to know the transformative love of Christ through us. Mother of the Americas and Star of the New Evangelization, Pray for us. 6
The Officers of the council thank the members who submitted the amount of time they devoted to volunteer activities during 2018. Here s what our members accomplished last year: Our council s total disbursements/contributions in the four Faith in Action activity categories were $26,913. More importantly we reported 7,848 volunteer hours among those activities an all-time record for our council! According to Independent Sector, a nationwide coalition of charities, foundations, corporations, and individuals, one hour of volunteer time is worth nearly $30 in New Jersey! Thus, we can determine that what our members did was worth more than $235,000 in addition to the money we disbursed. Approximately $262,000 in one year something we can be proud of! In addition, members reported spending 1,172 hours in fraternal service to members and the council. Most of those hours indirectly contribute to the specific Faith in Action activities, adding another $43,000 in value to our efforts meaning we contributed more than $300,000 last year supporting our principles of Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Family. The economic value of what we do is significant and important. Activity Disbursements Volunteer Hours Faith $3,260 2,933 Family $900 3,335 Community $19,750 1,127 Life $3,003 453 It was probably even higher than we reported! Our council now has 120 members. Only 56 of us less than half took the time to report our individual volunteer activities for 2018. We know that some of our members for a variety of reasons simply cannot actively participate in Faith in Action activities. But what about YOU? Are you doing what you pledged to do when you attended your degrees? If not only you can deal with that. If you are engaged in activities whether or not you do it as part of an organized council activity or individually in your community, church, etc., we thank you. Just remember to report it when asked NEXT January! 7
George Carlin s (alleged) Views on Aging! George Carlin s Views on Aging began circulating on the Internet in November 2002. In 2004, a Chicago Daily Herald article asserted that the Author of the tips for staying young is unknown. * Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions. 'How old are you?' ' I M FOUR AN A HALF!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key. You GET INTO YOUR TEENS. 'How old are you?' I M GONNA BE 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life! You BECOME 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. You BECOME 21. YESSSS!!! But then you TURN 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed? You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50, and your dreams are gone... But! wait!! You MAKE IT TO 60. You didn't think you would! So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50, and YOU MAKE IT TO 60. You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that, it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! You GET INTO YOUR 80's, and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.' Then a strange thing happens.. If you MAKE IT TO OVER 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!' May we all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!! Enjoy the ride. There is no return ticket. HOW TO STAY YOUNG 1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them. 2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. 3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's family name is Alzheimer's. 4. Enjoy the simple things. 5. Laugh often, long and loud.. Laugh until you gasp for breath. 6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves Be ALIVE while you are alive. 7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies whatever. Your home is your refuge. 8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help. 9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is. 10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. AND, REMEMBER: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. We all need to live life to its fullest each day!! Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally used up and worn out, shouting '...man, what a ride!' *George Carlin may or may not have said any of the above, but it doesn t matter!! Just enjoy it! 8
Happy Birthday! John Gearity February 3 John Gargas February 15 Don Branflick February 14 Mylene Mariano February 17 Andrew Clarke February 17 Alan Shultz February 20 Cindy Titus February 20 Mark Kucharski February 22 Mark Ayotte February 22 Ann Whalen February 23 Jim Wilmott February 23 Mike Uss February 28 Happy Anniversary! Peter & Kathy Sandrian February 13 Mario & Deborah Bernardo February 18 Sean & Monika Boyle February 20 Pizza on the Knights Friday February 1 CCD Spelling Bee St. John Neumann Sunday February 3 Holy Hour for Life-Thursdays, 7:30pm February 21, March 21 Family Bowling Sunday February 24 Men s Social Friday, March 1 Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Parade, Clinton Sunday, March 10 Pasta Supper Friday, March 23 Chapter 4 Degrees Admission (First): February 12 Whitehouse (cancelled) February 18 Watchung February 27 Monmouth Junction (with Formation Degree) March 12 Basking Ridge Formation (Second): February 27 Monmouth Junction ( with Admission Degree) Knighthood (Third): None Patriotic (Fourth): None See latest statewide degree information at: www.njkofc.org and click the Degrees Tab All the News That Fits. Knight Worthy News is published monthly and distributed via E-mail. Send letters & comments to: gaboyle1 @ comcast.net Find St. Joseph Council at: www.kofc10627.org 9
February 2019 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat NJ State Bowling Feb. 9-10, 16-17 1 3 Super Bowl SJN Spelling Bee District Free Throw? PIZZA ON THE KNIGHTS 4 5 6 7 8 SJN Valentine Dinner Dance 10 11 12 13 14 Valentine's Day Membership Meeting 17 18 Presidents Day 19 20 21 Holy Hour for Life 24 K-Club Begins (to 7/7) FAMILY BOWLING 2 Groundhog Day 9 15 16 22 23 25 26 27 28 Membership Meeting Knight Alert Notices March 2019 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Scholarship Announcements 1 2 MEN S SOCIAL 3 4 5 6 Ash Wednesday 7 8 9 10 Daylight Saving Begins FSSP Parade 17 Saint Patrick's Day 11 12 13 14 Membership Meeting Golf Committee 18 19 20 Spring Begins 21 Holy Hour for Life 24 25 26 27 28 Membership Meeting 15 16 22 23 Pasta Supper Baby Shower begins 29 30 31 5th Sunday Rosary Calendar updates available at www.kofc10627.org/council-calendar.html 10