THE PITTSBURGH KNIGHT A PUBLICATION OF THE OF THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS Editors: Don Turowski (daturowski@verizon.net) & Robert Conroy (bobconroy15065@verizon.net) Volume 39, Issue 11 www.pittsburghchapterkofc.org November 2015 A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAPLAIN My dear brother knights, (Due to Father McCool s recent illness, we are revisiting one of his previous columns) When my mother died, I asked for three things of hers: her wedding band, the glass that she used to serve me a drink every time I went home and a very colorful sweater that she hand-knitted for my father. These items are one of a kind. I handle the ring from time to time. Every morning, after I get up, shower and shave, I put a few lumps of ice in the glass and open a bottle of Club Soda and fill the glass, I hold the glass tight for a few moments and pray to my mother. She used that glass for over twenty five years. Now, when I hold the glass, I feel I am touching my mother s hand. On cool days, I wear the short-sleeved sweater for about 30 minutes. As I sip the Club Soda, it makes me appreciate my mother and father and I feel the great love they had for each other. When I do this, I feel close to them. I practice these simple rituals not only to feel close to my parents and to remember them but also with the hope of absorbing some of their spirit. They lived a simple life. They had few possessions but they were very rich in the things that really matter faith, love and integrity. Then, I empty my glass and pray: Jesus help me to share my true riches with others today. Fr. Naos McCool, C.S.Sp. A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAPTER PRESIDENT Brother Knights of the Pittsburgh Chapter, November is the month where we as Catholics reflect and continue to pray for the repose of the souls of our beloved deceased, honor their memory, and thank them for the positive impact they had on our lives and others they touched. Take time this month to honor our deceased Brother Knights in our Councils they ve laid the groundwork for all the positive Service being done by the member Councils of the Pittsburgh Chapter. As we do so, let s honor the memory of our deceased Brothers by recruiting a new Member to our ranks.what greater honor can we grant to them by bringing to bear additional Catholic Men devoted to the principle of Charity, motivated by the spirit of our Founder, the Venerable Fr. Michael J. McGivney. The Pittsburgh Chapter will not meet in November in part to allow our members to participate in the great gift bestowed on the Founders of our Nation to participate in the electoral process. Let s be thankful for this great gift and continue to strive for protection of rights to Religious Freedom for all citizens of this great Nation. This newsletter (see page 2) includes details for the upcoming Pittsburgh Chapter Memorial Mass and Dinner, which will again take place at Bellevue Council Home on Friday, December 4, 2015 (mass at 6:30 pm, dinner to follow). We thank Bellevue Council for their continue support of this great tradition, and we welcome and thank their Chaplain Fr. Peter Murphy for offering to celebrate this year s Memorial Mass. Continued prayers for our Chaplain Fr. Naos McCool he is planning to return to his native Ireland to be with his family to continue his recovery from his recent stroke. Be comforted that he has been blessed with many visits and prayerful support while recovering at Marion Manor in Greentree. In November, we also give thanks for our many blessings..i m thankful to be a member of this great Order and the trust bestowed upon me by the Pittsburgh Chapter to serve as your President. Jim Maochi Chapter President MEETING CHAPTER MEETING FOR Tuesday, September 3, 2013 Holy Ghost NOVEMBER Council #10812 Duquesne University IS CANCELLED! 7:30 PM
Page 2 MEMORIAL MASS AND DINNER INFORMATION! The Pittsburgh Chapter Memorial Mass and Dinner will take place at our traditional location Bellevue Council #1400 Home on Friday December 4th. Mass at 6:30 pm with dinner to follow. Fr. Peter Murphy, Chaplain of Bellevue Council #1400 will be our Celebrant. Cost for the Dinner is $10 per person for advance reservation...$12.00 per person for those attending at the door. Reservations should be placed by emailing Bellevue Grand Knight Mike Kernan at grandknight@kofc1400.com. Our members are encouraged to place their reservations by 11/27/15...reminder that spouses and family members are welcome.
Page 3 Knights of Columbus Holy Rosary Council 13421 245 Muse Bishop Road P. O. Box 477 Muse, PA 15350-0477 October 25, 2015 Pittsburgh Chapter Worthy Chapter President Jim Maochi, Our Council is in Cecil Township, Washington County approximately three (3), miles from the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies. This is the third year that we have been a Fundraising Group Sponsor for the Wreaths Across America program to honor our deceased veterans and their families. From the formal dedication in 2005 until the present the National Cemetery has grown to approximately 11,000 grave sites. The total wreaths sponsored in 2014 by organizations, businesses, families and friends totaled 5,500. Last year thru our fundraising efforts there were 435 wreaths sponsored on our council's behalf. As you can see by the numbers, wreaths were only available for one-half of the graves. We feel that our deceased veterans at the cemetery deserve a better chance to receive a wreath on their grave, so we increased our goal to sponsor 1,000 wreaths for 2015. Hopefully by working a little harder and contacting more Knights of Columbus members, we will all be proud to say that we helped to meet the goal. Please consider sponsoring wreaths for this worthy cause. Go to wreathsacrossamerica.org and follow the online instructions. Location ID PANCAB - National Cemetery of the Alleghenies, Bridgeville Fundraising Group ID PA0017 - Knights of Columbus Holy Rosary Council 13421 We are participating in the 3 for 2 fundraising option. For every 2 wreaths purchased at $15.00 each a third wreath will be provided. WAA will calculate the totals. Deadline for placing wreath orders is December 2, 2015. The theme for 2015: "Remember, Honor, Teach - Don't Say I Should Have, Say I Did" Wreath Laying Ceremony is Noon Saturday, December 12, 2015. Everyone is welcome! "Thank You" Jim Milbower, WAA Fundraising Group, Team Captain
Page 4 October 26, 2015 As the Chairman of the 2015-2016 Bishop s Project I would like to encourage all Councils in the Bishop s Project to have a Council representative attend the monthly meetings held on the third Friday of the Month at Council #491 in Brookline at 7:30 P.M. The dates for this year s Project are: Friday November 20, 2015 Friday December 18, 2015 Friday January 15, 2016 Friday February 19, 2016 Friday March 18, 2016 Additionally, as a reminder all requests for Goal Reductions must be received by October 31, 2015 in writing for consideration by the Project Advisory Board. This request must be made annually and contain a suggested goal and justification. A copy of the current spreadsheet listing your Council s Goal is attached. Please submit goal requests to both myself at sean.petrisko@gmail.com and to the Project Treasurer Tom Behrmann at tombehrmann@reagan.com. Tom has also a new address 1000 Melrose Place, Dravosburg, PA 15034. Finally, Project Secretary Joseph Greco has resigned as Project Secretary. So if anyone is interested in the position please attend the next meeting to inform the Advisory board of your intention. Sincerely, Deacon Sean Petrisko 2015-2016 Bishop s Project Chairman
Page 5 KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS INSURANCE INSURANCE FOR YOUNG KNIGHTS Protecting our families from financial ruin is not just a task for the oldest among us. Whether they are 18 or 81, all Knights should be thinking about how they can and should protect the ones they love. But young Knights are different. Their needs are different. Their priorities are different. Their preferences are different. Their budgets are different. That s why we ve designed our Young Adult Insurance program for Knights and their spouses, ages 18-29. The program maximizes flexibility, convenience and affordability to enable young brother Knights, and their spouses, to get the coverage they need. Through it, members can receive an annual renewable term life insurance policy that will help protect their families and their futures.* Many of you may think you re simply too young for life insurance, but you re not. Here s why: 1. You ve got debt. Maybe you have student loans. Maybe you re paying off your car. Maybe you have some credit card debt. Not all debts are forgiven when you die. Depending on the type of debt, the state you live in, and whether or not the loan is cosigned, your family could be responsible for that money. And, even if you don t have any debt, what about funeral costs and final expenses? 2. You want to protect the ones you love. You don t want your family to be saddled with your debt if something happens to you. So why not make sure they won t be? It's easy. It's affordable. It's what Knights do. 3. You re on a budget. Young Adult Insurance is affordable. How affordable? Very affordable. The amount you pay is based on your age and medical condition, but you could get $25,000 of coverage for as little as $1 a week. 4. Your time is valuable. Young Adult Insurance is quick and easy. It s an annual, renewable term insurance product that you reevaluate and renew every year. It s designed with Knights ages 18 through 29 in mind, to maximize affordability and flexibility. 5. You re a Knight. Our founder, Venerable Father Michael J. McGivney, started the Knights to protect Catholic families from financial devastation. Ever since, we ve gone on to issue more than $99 billion of life insurance to members and their families. They trust us with this important task. As a Knight, you ve got a dedicated agent a brother Knight to help you. Why not begin that relationship today? 6. You re Catholic. There s an advantage to buying Catholic. You get the comfort of knowing that your money is going to a charitable organization that stands resolutely behind the Church and conducts its business in an unapologetically Catholic way, with strict rules on ethics and investments. 7. You won t live forever. We will all meet our end hopefully not soon, of course! But what if it comes sooner than you expect? What will happen to those you love? Would you protect them if you could? *Eligibility is based on age, medical condition and other factors. The Young Adult Insurance Program is not yet available in California. Spouses, while eligible for insurance through the program, are not able to request a quote online. They can apply directly through their Knights of Columbus agent. Ken Scott / General Agent / (724) 719-2324 / kenneth.scott@kofc.org
Page 6 November 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 All Saints Day ; Daylight Savings Time ends!; Steelers vs. Bengals (H) 8 Steelers vs. Raiders (H) 2 All Souls Day 3 Election Day 9 10 11 Veteran s Day 4 5 6 7 12 13 14 15 Family of the Month Report for October Due; Steelers vs. Browns (H) 22 Steelers BYE week 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 Thanksgiving Day 27 28 29 Advent Begins; Steelers vs. Seahawks (A) 30 December 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 2nd Sunday of Advent; Steelers vs. Indianapolis (H) 13 3rd Sunday of Advent; Steelers vs. Cincinnati (A) 7 8 Feast of the Immaculate Conception Holy Day of Obligation 14 15 Family of the Month Report for November Due 9 10 11 12 16 17 18 19 20 4th Sunday of Advent; Steelers vs. Denver (H) 21 22 23 24 Christmas Eve 25 Christmas Day 26 27 Steelers vs. Baltimore (A) 28 29 30 31 New Year s Eve