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Knight Writer - January 2012
Grand Knight Report
Grace and Peace be yours,
Happy New Year! May 2012 be a healthy and prosperous year for you, your family and our council. May it be a year of the rich harvest of renewed confidence and hope in our future, confident of God and his grace through Our Savior, Jesus the Christ.
A heart full of thanks for all the volunteers throughout 2011 for all our council has accomplished. I especially want to acknowledge all our council officers and 1039 Club Company officers for their efforts and jobs well done.
Upcoming events in January are as follows: Jan. 2nd: Euchre, Jan. 4th: Officer’s & Building meetings, Jan. 6th Fish Fry, Jan. 8th: Pancake Breakfast, Jan. 11th: council meeting, Jan. 15th: Basketball Free Throw Contest, Jan. 20th: Fish Fry and Jan. 23rd the March for Life here in Defiance and Washington D.C.
A special thank you to Deacon John Weber from St. Mary’s who stepped in for Father Randy Giesige who was severely ill for our November Remembrance of Faithful Knights Departed in the past year with a Communion Service; about 50 people in attendance.
Have you been to the hall lately? We now have a display case for plaques for all the awards our council has received recently. It is displayed above the bar on the public hall side. It is there to share with the community at large our accomplishments and enlighten the public as to who & what the Knights of Columbus do. Thank you for a job well done by Richard Kahle & Co. of the Kitchen Center. Kevin Kahle designed and made it. Kevin and Bruce Kahle installed it.
March for Life: We need to continue to pray for an end to abortion and overturn Roe vs. Wade. Abortions in Ohio continue to decrease in Ohio with 28,123 performed in 2010, a decrease of nearly 600 from 2009. According to the Guttmacher Institute based on government data, 52,008,665 have lost their lives through abortion from 1973 to 2009. We will march here in Defiance at the Courthouse on January 23rd sponsored by the Mother Teresa Respect for Life group. The scheduled speakers include: Ed Sitter, Executive Director of Foundation for Life; Our 4th Degree Sir Knight Joe Tumeo; Pastor Stark from Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church; Cheryl Westrick from New Bavaria; and Deacon George Newton from St. Mary’s in Defiance. Defiance Holy Cross Catholic School students will lead in a pro-life song & prayer. Also singing pro-life songs will be Gary Seibert, Jim Zipfel and Livvie Paholak. Paulding’s 4th Degree Sir Knight Chris Bercaw who is the Toledo Diocese Membership & Retention Chairman is taking a bus full of 50 people to Washington D. C. to March for Life. This is Chris’s 15th trip to Washington and the 3rd year he has organized the bus trip. Thank you Chris for all you do. Contact myself to contact Chris to be on a waiting list for a cancellation if you wish to go with a group. You can always make the trip on your own also. Here in Ohio we need to support H.B. 125, also known as the Heartbeat Bill; call and e-mail our state legislators.
Our Numbers Make a Difference: The Knights of Columbus as a group last year has: 70 million hours of volunteer service, $154 million in charitable contributions, 428,457 blood donors and more than $1.4 billion in charitable contributions in the last 10 years. You Make a Difference! Thank you for all you do.
Father Anthony Batt, originally from Defiance &N.W. Ohio, now Parish Priest at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 212 West Main Street St. Clairsville, Ohio 43950 has started Knights of Columbus Council called “Our Lady of Carroll County Council 15401”. Congratulations Father Anthony. Please consider sending him a congratulations card.
In closing, I invite all men to the Northwest Ohio Men’s Fellowship Breakfast’s Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. at St. John’s Catholic on January 14th & 28th. This is an ecumenical event; however a lot of good Catholic men participate including the St. John’s Renewal of the Heart Men’s team of which I also participate. A priest once gave a homily that we should only pray for one thing: Holy Families. He explained that with this one simple intention, we could change the world. May God Bless You on your journey and renew your spirit with every sunrise. Every sunrise is a new opportunity to make a difference in this world; our home, communities, and of course Our Council.
Fraternally Yours in Christ,
Grand Knight
Bruce Gamiere
Events coming in February
1 Officer & Building Board meetings
3 Fish Fry
5 Pancake Breakfast
6 Euchre
8 Council Meeting
10 Fish Fry
15 Free Throw Contest
17 Fish Fry
22 Ash Wednesday
24 Fish Fry
Generations of Faith
Come to Holy Cross Catholic School Sunday January 8 at 12:45 pm or Wednesday January 11 at 6:30 pm. GENERATIONS OF FAITH will host Sr. Anne Mary Molyet, SND who will provide a meditative prayer experience entitled “INTEGRATION OF MIND, BODY & SPIRIT AS A PRAYER FORM”. The session will teach you how to access God who dwells within each of us. It’s a session you don’t want to miss.
Fish Fry
We’re back from the Christmas break with two fish frys this month. We will have fish (and BAKED chicken) on the first & third Fridays this month (6th & 20th). We can always use more help with this project. Come on out! In February we will have fish three Fridays but the chicken will be replaced with macaroni & cheese once Lent begins.
Youth of the Month
This month our Youth of the Month is Anjelica Moreno. She is the daughter of Jesus and Lucy Moreno, and a junior at Ayersville High School. She is an honor student and very active at school and at St. John Catholic Church. She sings in the Youth Choir and is a Eucharistic Minister. She is friendly, funny, and caring. Congratulations Anjelica!
Address changes
If your address changes or we have your name spelled wrong, or you want the Knight Writer sent by email, please let us know. Email Terry Murnane at murnanet@copper.net or leave a message at 782-4256.
Pancake Breakfast
Team 1 is on duty January 8, the SECOND Sunday of the month. We pushed the date a week due to New Year’s. From 9:00 to 11:30 we will be serving pancakes, baked hash brown potatoes, scrambled eggs, ham, sausage links, cinnamon rolls, milk, juice and coffee. Please tell your friends and neighbors about it and plan to attend. Suggested donation $5/adult. Schedules for 2012 have been distributed to all team members and if you need another copy give Mike or Terry a call.
Team 1 Members: Mike Berry, Pat Bloomfield, John Hancock, Richard & Janice Harrison, Mike McGuire, Virgil Willitzer, Joe Burgei, Chris Gentit, Rob Giesige, Pete & Dora Gonzales, Jeff & Jane Meyer, Joe Singer, and Chip Baker. If you can’t work on the assigned day, please call another team member and work out a trade with them. Many hands make light work.
Mother Teresa Respect for Life organization will hold its annual March for Life on January 23, Monday beginning at noon outside the Defiance County courthouse. Pictured are speakers promoting the event at the monument Pastor Stark of Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church, and Cheryl Westrick with her 14th child within her womb. (picture taken by Jaclyn Snyder)
March for Life, Defiance Ohio
Defiance County Courthouse will be the starting point for the annual March for Life sponsored by Mother Teresa Respect for Life. The march will start at the same time as the March for Life in Washington DC to unite in prayers and walking for the voices of the unborn who cannot speak up for themselves.
This year's event, which marks the 39th anniversary of the U. S. Supreme Court decision in Roe vs. Wade, will be held Monday January 23.
The day's activities begin with Mass at St John's Catholic Church at 10 a.m. celebrated by Father Al Fillman. Following Mass, there will be Exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament ending with Benediction at 5:00 pm. Rick Small, who is director of operations for Clear Channel in Defiance and Napoleon, will be the host and master of ceremonies at the march. Some of the speakers will be Ed Sitter, who is the executive director of Foundation for Life, speaking on the right to life in our constitution, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Another speaker will be Joe Tumeo who will touch on our culture's penchant to be a culture of disposables and death. Pastor Stark, who is pastor of Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church in Defiance will speak on Isaiah 1:17, God's Plan to defend the orphan and plead for the widow and how God is calling His people to defend those who have no voice. Holy Cross Catholic School students, Defiance, will lead in a pro-life song and prayer. Gary Seibert will share a pro-life song he composed and with him will be singing Rebecca Mansel-Pleydell and Emily Hammon. Jim Zipfel and Livvie Paholak will also be singing other pro-life songs.
Cheryl Westrick, from New Bavaria, will speak on what it means to be 100% pro-life in today's culture of death. Deacon George Newton, from St Mary's Catholic Church, Defiance will conclude with talking about how the entire universe is affected by abortion, not just Christians then ending with prayer. There will be a police escort to lead the march from the courthouse to the Monument for the Unborn on Jackson Ave. After the march, all are invited in the church basement at St John's Catholic Church for hot chocolate.
Free Throw Contest
All area youth age 10 to 14 (as of January 1, 2012) are invited to participate in our annual Free Throw Contest, held at the hall on Sunday January 15. Best score of 15 shots wins. Registration begins at noon with the first group of shooters to start at 1:00 pm. Please bring your birth certificate (we don’t keep them). Boys and girls shoot in separate classes, and everyone who participates gets a certificate. Registration forms are available at area schools, or you can pick one up at the fish fry or register the day of the event. Winners move on to the District competition February 12 also held at the hall.
Card Parties
Come to the Members Room at 1:30 p.m. the first Monday of the month and play some euchre. Everyone is welcome; you don’t even need to bring a partner. Free refreshments. The games continue monthly through May.
2012 Membership Dues
Statements have been mailed and it’s time to pay your dues. There are also some outstanding prior year’s dues to be paid. If you lost the bill and don’t remember what you owe, or have any questions about your dues, give Terry a call 782-4256.