THE KNIGHT LAMP OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS SANTA MARIA COUNCIL September 2016 VOLUME XX ISSUE 4 Grand Knight s Report Upcoming Events. Worthy Brother Knights, The 2016 2017 Fraternal year is in full swing and there are a lot of exciting events that have happened or will happen in the near future that help those Most In Need, our Parish, our Seminarians, our Veterans, our Community and our K of C Council. You can read all about these events in this September issue of the Knight Lamp. On September 13 th, we held a great Monthly Council Business Meeting. We had the honor of having both Father Cook and our Worthy District Deputy Jean Dion in attendance. Jean told us about the very impressive Supreme Convention in Toronto that he attended after being named Knight of the Year for the State of North Carolina in May. Then Jean presented an award to Matt Pisano for starting up a new Council in Eastern N.C. before he came to Winston-Salem. Finally, Jean presented us with a check for $1,570 for the hard work of the volunteers from our Council who helped make the State Convention very successful. Sunday September 25 th Parish Picnic, Tanglewood Shelter #4 10:30 A.M. Mass, 11:30 A.M. Picnic Soccer Challenge at the Parish Picnic K of C Membership Table at the Parish Picnic Wednesday September 28 th Start 40 Days for Life across from Planned Parenthood 5:00 7:00 P.M. Saturday October 1 st Pasta Dinner in St. Leo Parish Activity Center 6:00 8:00 P.M. Sunday October 2 nd Life Chain on Hanes Mall Blvd. Father Cook told us about the time he spent in Washington DC under Bishop Curlin in a facility started up by Saint Mother Teresa to care for AIDS patients (at a time when there was no treatment and no hope for people with AIDS). Their mission was to show these people who were in a hopeless situation that someone indeed did love them and care about them. Father challenged us as Knights to always strive to help those most in need. Based on the descriptions of the events in the following pages, I think we should all be very proud of what we accomplish, while always looking for new and different ways to help those who are less fortunate among us. Vivat Jesus! GK Rich Dissosway Saturday October 15 th Council Family Dinner, Time and Location TBD Saturday October 22 nd St. Benedicts Feast Day and 75 th Anniversary Celebration 10:00 A.M. Mass by Bishop Jugis followed by Luncheon at 1:00 P.M. at the Hawthorne Inn
AUGUST KNIGHT OF THE MONTH Michael Ferrin has been selected as the August Knight of the Month. Michael is the Director of Family Activities for our Council and he organized and led the execution of the K of C Council Family Picnic in late August. Michael planned the activities for the picnic, sought out volunteers for grilling and other duties, procured the food for the event and led the set-up and clean-up. As you will read in the following pages, the picnic was a very enjoyable and successful event. Please congratulate Michael for being named Knight of the Month for our Council. AUGUST FAMILY OF THE MONTH August Family of the Month The Nichols Family has been selected as the August Family of the Month. As Director of Operation Lamb for our Council, Craig was in charge of the Yard Sale in mid-august. Being the smart guy Craig is, he enlisted his whole family including his Wife Kim and Daughters Ashley and Addison to help. From setting up, to folding clothes, to locating items on tables, to printing receipts for the donors, to working at the actual sale and cleaning up after, Craig, Kim, Ashley and Addie all made very meaningful contributions to the success of the Yard Sale. They were a great example of the Family Full Alive. Please congratulate the Nichols Family for being named Family of the Month.
SUMMARY OF COMPLETED EVENTS Yard Sale On Saturday August 13 th, the K of C Santa Maria Council held our 4 th Annual Yard Sale to benefit Operation Lamb. We had outstanding participation with 41 people volunteering to help out with this event including Brother Knights, several Wives and several Children of our Brother Knights. Volunteers spent 176 hours on this event, and those efforts were very worthwhile. In total, $1,777 was deposited into the Operation Lamb account to help individuals with intellectual difficulties. In addition, we filled up a 20 foot truck with the leftover items not sold at the Yard Sale and these items were donated to the Winston Salem Rescue Mission to be used or sold to help those in need. Thank you to the volunteers who participated in this event. This event benefits many people and all those who volunteered should be very proud of the results accomplished.
K of C Family Picnic On Sunday August 28 th, we held our Annual K of C Council Family Picnic at Leinbach Park. It was a very enjoyable event as we had a nice day with a lot of great people. I would guess that we had somewhere around 60 people attend. There was a lot of great food thanks to Grillmasters Charlie Moosbrugger, Jack Major and Matt Pisano and everyone who brought some very tasty side dishes and desserts. There were also a lot of fun games including a water balloon toss won by Scott Hennessee and his son. There was also a serious (or somewhat serious) volleyball game that went on for quite a while on a warm day. Thanks to Michael Ferrin for organizing the Picnic, and to all of the volunteers who made it a very successful event.
Bill Pearson s 100 th Birthday Party and Celebration of Bill s Life On Sunday August 28 th before our Family Picnic, Bill Pearson celebrated his 100 th Birthday. Bill was a Brother Knight for 67 years and a Sir Knight for 30 years and he was truly honored on his 100 th Birthday. About 100 people attended his birthday party including about 20 Knights from our Council and Assembly (see picture of Bill with some of the Knights that attended the party). Dan Stanley presented Bill with a plaque honoring and expressing our appreciation for all Bill did for our Council and Assembly. Bill was very appreciative of the Knights attendance and friendship. Sadly, Bill passed away 3 days after his 100 th Birthday. Again the Knights showed their support of Bill and his family (including Sister Joan) with a beautiful presentation by the Honor Guard at his funeral (as witnessed by the picture supplied by Sister Joan). It was a wonderful ceremony with a very moving eulogy provided by Deacon Bob. It was an honor to celebrate Bill s Life.
VHVH Picnic On Sunday September 18 th, the Santa Maria 4 th Degree Assembly sponsored a Picnic at the Veterans Helping Veterans Heal (VHVH) home on Glenn Ave. in Winston-Salem. The VHVH home has 24 rooms where Veterans who have returned from Active Duty and who have had a difficult time making the transition from active service to civilian life can come to live for 24 months. During that time, the residents are provided with life skills lessons, opportunities for education and training, and volunteer and job opportunities. The goal is that after 24 months the individuals can find housing and jobs to live on their own and to become contributing members of society. Last year, between the 4 th Degree Assembly and the Lodge Legacy Fund, we donated a total of $1,500 to help the VHVH buy a large gas grill and to fix up an outside area (along with donations from Lowes Home Improvement). The result was a very nice area with picnic benches, horseshoes, and a sand volleyball court in a very nice wooded area. The picnic was attended by about 20 Knights and their Wives and provided a great opportunity to meet the residents and share stories with them and thank them for their service. Grillmasters Matt Pisano, Chuck Deluca, Jack Major and Dan Stanley served up a great meal along with all of the wonderful side dishes (including a salad made by Sister Joan that was a work of art). Dan Stanley gave a very moving speech that the residents really appreciated and then Dan presented them with another $1,000 check as a donation for this year. These donations and the picnic were made possible by the revenues we receive working at the concession stand at the Winston-Salem Dash Baseball Games (and the Veterans worked with us at most games). Anyone who has worked at a Dash Game over the past two years should be very proud. As Father Cook challenged us to do, this is a prime example of helping those most in need. Your efforts (and Dan s pleas as he was in dire need, desperate need and an occasional tears on the keyboard ) made this day and these donations possible.
UPCOMING EVENTS Parish Picnic / Soccer Challenge / K of C Membership Table This Sunday, September 25 th, we will hold the St. Leo Parish Picnic. At the Parish Picnic, we will hold the Annual K of C Soccer Challenge and we will also set up a K of C Membership Table. As Father Cook has told us, the Parish Picnic started out as two Knights around a Webber Grill serving about 15 Parishioners. This year we expect more than 300 Parishioners attending the Parish Picnic, and they will be served by 20 Knights. The picnic will be at Tanglewood Shelter #4 where it was last year. If the crowd at the picnic continues to grow, it will remind me of that famous line from the Jaws movie I think we re gonna need a bigger boat. Thank you to those who have volunteered to serve the people of our Parish. In addition to a great meal, the Picnic includes the playgrounds and games for kids. The games include the K of C Soccer Challenge which drew about 30 participants at the Parish Picnic last year (a big increase in participation by holding it at the Parish Picnic). This event is always a lot of fun for the kids of our Parish. Finally, we will have a Membership Table set up at the Picnic. This is a good opportunity to attract new members as the attendees get to see first-hand, the great work that the Knights do for the Parish and it gives us a chance to provide information for the attendees to take away. We will hold a 1 st Degree at our October Council Meeting, so hopefully we can generate some interest and find some candidates at the picnic. All in all, thie Parish Picnic is a great event, and we encourage you to come out and enjoy the day and we thank the volunteers who will help make this a successful event. 40 Days for Life 40 Days for Life is a national campaign of prayer to end abortion and support respect for all human life. For more information please visit the website www.40daysforlife.com. Our local efforts focus on the Planned Parenthood clinic at 3000 Maplewood Avenue, Winston-Salem, NC 27103. Our council has committed to participate from Wednesday September 28th through Monday October 10th (excluding Saturdays). Please note that the time we will be present has been reduced from 3 hours to 2 hours so participants will arrive at 5:00 P.M. and depart at 7:00 P.M. This is a great opportunity to spend time with your Brother Knights in a small group in support of a great cause. If you have never participated, it is very worthwhile as most responses are very positive with the occasional dissenting opinion. We still need a lot of help with volunteers on 40 Days for Life. At present, we have 16 out of the 33 volunteer slots filled and our time slots start in just 6 days. Please consider signing up for this very worthwhile event. Please sign up on the e-mail request for volunteers or contact Lou Valente Sr. at lvalente@triad.rr.com.
Pasta Dinner On Saturday October 1 st from 6:00 8:00 P.M., we will hold our Pasta Dinner in the St. Leo Parish Activity Center to raise money to help support our Seminarians. We will serve salad, pasta, meatballs, bread, dessert (cake) and non-alcoholic drinks all for only $6.00/person. Mario s Pizza has generously donated the pasta, meatballs and salad for the event. Please see the flyer for more details. Please come out and enjoy a great meal while you help support the Seminarians of our Diocese. K of C Council Family Dinner Our K of C Council will hold a Family Dinner on Saturday October 15 th. The location and time will be announced in an e-mail in the near future. The idea is to find a location that can be enjoyed by family members of all ages so that we can meet and socialize with our Brother Knights and their families in a nice relaxing atmosphere. There will be more to come on this event in the near future.
St. Benedict s Feast Day and 75 th Anniversary Celebration Saturday October 22 nd will be a very special day as St. Benedict s celebrates its 75 th Anniversary starting with Mass at 10:00 A.M. featuring Bishop Jugis. Our 4 th Degree Color Guard will appear in Regalia for this special occasion. Following the Mass at 1:00 P.M. there will be a luncheon at the Hawthorne Inn at a cost of $25/person. We want to show our support for St. Benedicts (our Round Table partner), so please consider attending the Mass and Luncheon. Tickets are available through the St. Benedict s Church Office. Columbiettes Casino Night The Columbiettes from Holy Family will be holding a Casino Night on Saturday October 29 th to raise money for Active Minds (a Mental Health Advocacy Group on College Campuses). Casino Nights are always a lot of fun and the Columbiettes include the Wives of some of our Brother Knights such as Danielle Rose and Kim Nichols. Please see the flyer for more details.