THE PITTSBURGH KNIGHT A PUBLICATION OF THE OF THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS Editors: Don Turowski (daturowski@verizon.net) & Robert Conroy (bobconroy15065@verizon.net) Volume 37, Issue 10 www.pittsburghchapterkofc.org October 2013 A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAPLAIN My friends in the Knights of Columbus, It was great seeing so many of you at Duquesne for our September chapter meeting. You encourage us so much and we appreciate it very much. Over the past weekend, I came across the following encouragement piece by Mother Teresa. I am sure many of you are familiar with it but it is worth reading and praying it over and over again. I love it and here it is: NEVER GIVE UP! Discipleship is an unusual undertaking: The better you become at it, the more difficult and challenging it will be. Be a disciple anyway; never give up! The people you are called to serve may be unlikable, Ungrateful and unimpressed by your dedication. Love and serve them anyway; never give up! If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Do good anyway; never give up! The good you do for Christ will be forgotten tomorrow; Do good anyway; never give up! Honesty, humility and simplicity make you vulnerable; Be honest, humble and simple anyway; never give up! CHAPTER SURVEY RESULTS Below are the results of the Chapter survey (showing only the highest answer for each question). Meeting Day 40% said 1 st Tuesday Where should the Chapter meet? 60% said rotate the meetings Would your Council host a Chapter meeting? 50% said yes Time Chapter Meeting Should Start? 87% said 7:30 P.M. More likely to attend a chapter meeting if a meal was served before the meeting? 74% said no. Would you be interested in attending a Baseball Game with the Chapter? 45% said maybe Would you be interested in a Lenten day of prayer? 72% said yes Would you be interested in a Day of Service sponsored by the Pittsburgh Chapter? 52% said yes <continued on page 3> MEETING CHAPTER MEETING OCTOBER 1 Tuesday, September 3, 2013 Holy Ghost Council Council #4029#10812 Duquesne University NORTH HILLS 7:30 PM 7:30 PM A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAPTER PRESIDENT My Brother Knights, Well, the Survey results are in. The consensus is to keep the meetings on the first Tuesday of the Month. Additional details of the survey are published in this newsletter. Chaplain Father Naos McCool is celebrating his Fortieth Anniversary of his ordination. Fr. Naos noted that he is unique in that he has only had two positions while he has been a Spiritain Father - one in Dublin and his current position at Duquesne University. Father McCool wishes no gifts. but you can make a donation to the Duquesne University Scholarship Fund in his name. Speaking of anniversaries Father Ben Vaghetto, Spiritual Advisor to the Bishops Project, is celebrating 35 years as a priest. I hope they have many, many <continued on page 2> <continued on page 4>
Page 2 DIRECTIONS TO COUNCIL MEETING AT Council #4029 NORTH HILLS & ST. NICHOLAS CHURCH SITE OF CHAPTER MEETING For those of you with a GPS unit, St. Nicholas Church is located at 24 Maryland Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15209. For others.follow these directions! From the East: Use Route 28 South to the Millvale Exit #3. At the bottom of the ramp, go straight ahead through the traffic light at Lincoln and stay left around island at Grant St. Just beyond that intersection go toward Route 28 again In a very short distance, you will see a road on the right going up the hill. At the top St. Nicholas Church will be on the right (limited parking there) and the Convent is on the left. Use the convent parking lot and cross the street to the church. Street parking is permitted but limited. From the South: Use Route 28 North to the Millvale exit #3 ramp and at the bottom of the ramp at light turn left and follow instructions above past island. From the North (if not using Route 28): From McKnight Rd, use Babcock Blvd.into Millvale at Hardees, stay straight on North Avenue to Grant Street (One block past Lincoln Drug). Go left and proceed down Grant to Sheridan Avenue and turn right, go up to top of the hill 2 blocks to top) and turn left to church. more years serving the Church. If you attended the Bishop s Project Kickoff Dinner, you know that the Goal for this year s Project is $200,000. That seems like a large sum, but if every council in the project would get the full participation of its membership the goal would be easily met. I hope to see a good representation of the Pittsburgh Chapter Councils at the Western Section Columbus Day Dinner on Sunday October 13 th in Cranberry. Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 1, 2013 at North Hills Council #4029, St. Nicholas Church in Millvale. The November meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 6th at the Byzantine Catholic Seminary located at 3605 Perrysville Avenue, Pittsburgh. The meeting is not on Tuesday because of Election Day. This is a first for the seminary location. Look for more details in next month s newsletter. We still need host councils for the February, March, April and May chapter meetings. If your council is interested please contact Second Vice-President Joe Ferruzza. Fraternally, Deacon Sean Petrisko, FM Chapter President UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE!!! October 1 Council #4029 North Hills November 6 Wednesday Byzantine Catholic Seminary 3605 Perrysville Avenue Pittsburgh December 13 Council #1400 Memorial Mass Bellevue January 7 Council #4242 Penn Allegheny Memorial Mass & Dinner Reservation Information Date: December 13, 2013 Dinner Time: After the 6:30 PM Memorial Mass Cost: $12.00 with advance reservations, $15.00 at the door; chicken or fish. Contact: GK Ralph Vojtecky Kofc1400@yahoo.com 412-761-6663 Mail reservations to: K of C #1400, 450 Lincoln Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15202. BISHOP PROJECT SEAL PICKUP INFORMATION... Bishop s Project Seal Pickup will be Friday October 11 th at Bentleyville Council #5826. The Bishop s Project meeting will be held that night at 7:30 P.M. at Bentleyville Council.
Page 3 KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS INSURANCE ASK ELIGIBLE MEN TO JOIN THE ORDER! Today, I want to address the growth of the Order. Membership growth is the fuel that keeps this great fraternal engine running. All of our charitable works in the council, state, national and international level are thanks to our hard-working members. We also recognize that the membership blitz is a tried and true way for councils to increase their numbers. We see these pushes often in March, in celebration of Founder s Day, and again in October. These drives are successful because brother Knights are more visible than normal, during and after Masses and at special events. We must remember to ask each and every Catholic gentleman to join our ranks for the good of the Church, the community and the Order. During the rest of the year, we often forget to ask men to join our ranks and bring their families into the Knights of Columbus family. You probably know an eligible Catholic man you could ask today. Chances are that the only reason he hasn t joined already is because no one asked him. When telling a prospect about the strengths of the Order, don t forget our greatest fraternal benefit: our insurance program. This is often an interesting selling point to a potential member who is on the fence. Many members come into the Knighthood simply to be able to buy coverage for their family. Soon after, they realize the good our charitable works do for their community and they are proud to be members. As your professional Knights of Columbus insurance agent, I look forward to helping us grow in fraternity in any way that I can. If you are interested in life insurance, annuities, or other products, give me a call. Ken Scott General Agent (724) 719-2324 kenneth.scott@kofc.org Would you be interested in serving as a chapter officer? 65% said no Thanks to all who participated in the survey. This will greatly assist the Chapter officers in planning chapter activities in the future. OCTOBER 14
Page 4 What you spend years building may seem insignificant in the eyes of others; Build anyway; never give up! People really need help but may attack you if you help them; Help them anyway; never give up! Give the world the best you have and you may get kicked in the teeth; Give the world your best anyway; never give up! Mother Teresa God bless you all! Fr. Naos McCool, C.S.Sp. Chaplain On Sunday, Sept. 8, several thousand Knights of Columbus and their families traveled to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Filling the Great Upper Church of the nation s preeminent Marian shrine, they gathered for the a Year of Faith Pilgrimage, as music from the 56-bell carillon of the Knights Tower called them to prayer. The pilgrims joined Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson and Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, together with other K of C leaders and guests, at America s Catholic Church to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Knights Tower Carillon and to re-consecrate the Order to the Blessed Virgin Mary. A n h o n o r g u a r d o f approximately 500 Fourth Degree Knights led the opening procession for the Solemn Mass. <see more info at www.kofc.org> Seminarian Support! "Get Out, Go Forward, Keep Going" In the words of our Holy Father, we must get out and "Go Forward" in our support of the thirty seven seminarians in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Go to the Pittsburgh Chapter web site for all of the latest information on our seminarian support program. You will find the latest up to date listing of all seminarians, their home parish and their school of study. You will also find the latest "Unit" questionnaire to be completed by all councils, assemblies and circles. These should be returned to me ASAP so we can balance out the support of each seminarian, adjusted to his individual needs. This information has previously been forward out to all units two times since August 1, 2013. As of September 18, 2013, we have questionnaires returned from thirteen units in the Pittsburgh Chapter, indicating support for 19 seminarians, some are receiving support from 2 or 3 of our councils. If your council has not returned the questionnaire at this time, we ask you to do so immediately. For more information, questions on seminarians in most need, etc., contact me and I will help you out. Vivat Jesus Joe Cummings, PSD "Remember, the seminarian you support today, is the Pastor that you will deal with tomorrow"
Page 5 October 2013 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Pgh Chapter Meeting at North Hills Council #4029 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Bishop s Project Seals Pickup at Bentleyville Council #5826 12 13 Western Region Columbus Day Dinner, Pgh Marriot North; 6 PM 14 Columbus Day 15 Family of the Month Report for September 2013 due 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Halloween November 2013 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 3 Daylight Savings Time Ends Turn clocks back one hour! 1 All Saints Day Holy Day of Obligation/ COAL Deadline for books at $3.25 2 All Souls Day 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Veteran s Day 12 13 14 15 Family of the Month Report for October due 16 Central West Section Meeting, Location TBA 17 Central West Region Semi-Annual Meeting in Erie PA at 12 Noon 18 19 20 21 Great American Smokeout Day 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Thanksgiving Day 29 30