Knights of Columbus Annual Tootsie Roll Drive

The Knights of Columbus Annual Tootsie Roll Drive to benefit the mentally impaired will take place on Palm Sunday weekend. We are once again asking for your help.  You generosity in the past has allowed us to help many local agencies for the mentally impaired (Neil Reid High School, Macomb County Special Olympics, the ARC of Macomb County Special Olympics, Glen Peters Elementary School, CVLL Challenger Baseball, Dakota High School CLP program and Lutz School for Work Experience).

We will be collecting in a number of locations on that weekend, but we also established this QR code to make it easier for you to donate.  Once again, your generosity is most appreciated.

DONATE NOW

Ralph Colosimo: February 25, 1942 – March 25, 2025

Ralph Colosimo 

of Sterling Heights, Michigan 

passed away peacefully

 on March 25, 2025 at the age of 83.

Obituary

 

The Knight Shield - April 2025

    Easter is right around the corner and Fish Fries are well in process. Hope you’ve had an opportunity to enjoy a wonderful meal with the Knights. We will continue to need volunteers as we go into the second half of Lent. And April brings some coinciding events, so we’ll need Knights to step up and assist as others move to other events. It’s always challenging to maintain the energy to put on a Fish Fry for 6 weeks, but the kitchen staff in particular is doing a great job. After just missing a sell out on the first week, the next two fish fries sold out well ahead of schedule. And the food is always hot and tasty ! Thank you for your sacrifice to support our local charities.

    Charity Poker was another big success last month. Thanks to our new Chairman Don Kosnik for the great work and of course the volunteers who came out and gave up their day (or two in some cases). Part of the funds will go toward purchasing more KC the Teddy bear gifts for sick children in the hospital. 

    It was another good turnout for the 1st Corporate Communion of the year last month at the 4:00 p.m. Mass. As always, our District 1 color guard came out in force to support our efforts. The 4th degree is looking for more color guard members. Please consider this request and contact Robert Greening (also a member of our Parish) 

    Be apart of the Easter Egg hunt here at St Paul’s run by the Knights. That happens on April 4th. Bring out your children / grandchildren for a fun event with prizes and of course Easter Eggs filled with favorite candies. 

    MI Drive (or Tootsie Roll Drive) is coming up on Palm Sunday weekend. Several spots are still available on both the streets and local stores. Jeff Gapczynski and Ken Krause can get you set up. Please contact them if you haven’t already volunteered. This is an extremely important event as we support seven sep arate charities that provide assistance to mentally impaired and physically challenged people in our community. Our goal is to exceed the totals from last year and that may be more achievable this year due to better weather conditions that affected last year’s results.

    It's once again time for Easter Meat sales. Get your holiday covered with your favorite hams, kielbasa and other selections from the Dearborn Brand. It’s an easy way to prepare for Easter dinner or in our case Easter morning !

    Reminder to book your Addison Oaks Camping Site for Site C for July 31st to Aug 4th. We hope to get (10) sites selected for our Council Camping event and resume our Potluck get together on that Saturday. Please inform us as to what site you have booked so we can track those attending.

    Due to the packed schedule for April, the next Exemplification of the 1st thru 3rd degrees will occur in May prior to the general meeting.

    Mark your calendars for the next Fraternal Benefits Night on May 1st. New members especially should join for this educational night of information on how to protect yourself and your families with insurance and retirement planning. We’ve got two of the best leading the discussion including Don Wesley and Attorney Charles Shaw.  

    On a personal note, I’d like to thank Mike & Karla Hartel for all the significant work they’ve done for this Council and the community at large. Mike is a Past Grand Knight, Recorder and Program Director. Karla has supported virtually every Council program being one of the founding members of the “Ladies of the Knights.” They both have been instrumental in the success of our programs for many years. The Council wishes them good luck in their transition to the west side of the state and we will miss them dearly. 

God bless our Council and God Bless the Knights of Columbus 

Vivat Jesus! 

Vincent Ursini 

The Knight Shield - March 2025

    The Coats for Capuchin 2nd weekend was nearly as big as the first weekend. The Capuchin Center was appreciative of the voluminous donation. Our friends up at Sts John & Paul in Washington Township took another load up north. We estimated roughly 1,500 coats and 1,000 other pieces of winter apparel donated to those in need. Great job to our Chairman Rob Amsler and the guys that helped deliver the goods!

    The January Pancake breakfast was a tremendous success from the standpoint of volunteers and customers. The result was a terrific donation to Turning Point in Mt Clemens which focuses on empowering victims of domestic violence, sexual violence and hu man trafficking. Turning Point came to our February general meeting to further discuss how their programs improve lives in our community. They expressed gratitude for the donation provided by our Council. See picture depicting Kurt Buhlinger (chairman) and Jerry Hund PGK delivering the check to Turning Point representative Denise.

    The District Basketball shoot out was pretty well attended. (3) children from St Paul of Tarsus participated and one became a district winner who moved on to the Regional event at the same St Thecla’s gym. Thanks to Art Krygowski for his efforts and to William Hill for his assistance during the event. 

    Get ready Council! Our biggest fundraiser is here in March, the Fish Fry Event. We need many volunteers in every capacity during the 6 weeks of Lent. Great event to have your “Lady of the Knights” join you. Step up and join Ray Coughlin and team to support our Church and Council.

    The February General Meeting voted Vince & Andrea Ursini and Stan & Ann Marie Labuda to be the Council’s representatives at the State Convention this year. It’s an honor to represent you guys. Thank you. 

    Reminder to book your Addison Oaks Camping Site for Site C for July 31st to Aug 4th. We hope to get (10) sites selected for our Council Camping event and resume our Potluck get together on that Saturday. 

God bless our Council and God Bless the Knights of Columbus 

Vivat Jesus!

Vincent Ursini  

 

The Knight Shield - February 2025

    Christmas Eve Mass was a very special event thanks to Father Jim Lopez. Father Jim requested that a group of Knights escort the “Baby Jesus” statues up to the altar for blessing prior to being placed out in the Nativity scenes (indoor and outdoor). Thanks to our District 1 color guard captain, SK Bob Greening, for assisting, and the (8) Knights accompanying Art Krygowski and Dan Steele, who held the “Baby Jesus” statues. Father Jim equated the modern day Knights to the Shepard's that first laid eyes on Jesus and greeted him and the Holy Family into the new world. What an honor this was, and we hope to make this a new tradition here at St Paul’s.

    Another good group of Knights came out to take down the Christmas decorations and store them away. And yes, that includes the nativity enclosure outside and all those large Wreaths that we put up around the church. There was excellent distribution of support with several Knights taking care of the back of the church, front of the church and coiling the lights in the Food Pantry. Thanks to our chairman, Ken Krause, who was there directing all that needed to be done. Great job gentlemen.

    The Parish’s generosity shown bright once again during the Coats for Capuchin Center Program. We were overwhelmed with a tremendous amount of new and slightly used winter gear for both Men and Women. Chairman, Rob Amsler, was extremely grateful and has coordinated deliveries to the Capuchin center. It took several trucks and a 6 x 10 ft trailer full to get them relocated to the people in need during this cold winter snap. Thankfully, we entered into an agreement with St John & Paul Parish K of C, to assist with taking some excess coats for their own charity in Romeo / Washington Township area. Eddie Sacks Grand Knight, and Steve Belinski, their chairman for the clothing drive, drove down to grab a couple trucks full of garments to assist needy families in their area. Nice to see we can spread the love when it comes to staying warm.

    I would like to recognize a few Knights who stepped up to fill a couple of positions our Council is in need of. Rick Okerhjelm volunteered and was accepted to become the new Program Director following on from Mike Hartel. Don Kosnik stepped up to become the new chairman for the Charity Poker events. This will take a little load off the program director and enable a level of consistency as we move forward with this program. Past Grand Knight and program director, Michael Hartel, has done a terrific job over many years and the Council thanks him for his efforts.

    The January Pancake breakfast is shaping up to assist another great local charity – Turning Point in Mt Clemens which focuses on empowering victims of domestic violence, sexual violence and human trafficking. We will report on the results of this activity in next month’s Newsletter.  

    Thanks to our Youth Programs Chairman, Art Krygowski, for his Christmas Poster program and the recent basketball free throw contest recruitment. The Children are our future. Let’s encourage them to participate in church programs.

    Reminder to book your Addison Oaks Camping Site in early February for Site C for July 31st to Aug 4th. We hope to get (10) sites selected for our Council Camping event and resume our Potluck get together on that Saturday. 

    On a personal note, my niece Eva Sanchez, reminded me of a terrific program done here at St Paul’s several years ago. She was going thru her things at home in California and found a Rosary that was sent to her in Iraq when she was in Army intelligence. That Rosary comforted her when she was in active duty and she was very thankful to have received it. Our Council may want to consider something similar with Rosary bracelets as we move forward in this new year. (See the photo and letter from Ben Pitlock attached below).

    Although, February is a relatively quiet month, the activity will be ramping up in a big way come March with Fish Fry events. Start getting the word out.

God bless our Council and God Bless the Knights of Columbus.

Vivat Jesus ! 

 Vincent Ursini 

 

Karl F. Sziisz - March 11, 1937 – December 15, 2024

 

The Knight Shield - January 2025

 Welcome to 2025 (I can’t believe I just said that).

    This month’s message has to start with another excellent exemplification conducted at our December General meeting. (4) New Knights entered our council Mike Lauretti, Marvin Lehman, Frank Lucido and Robert Haapasaari. These gentlemen have in some cases already contributed to the works of our council and will continue to foster the work Knights do in our local communities and charities. Thanks go out to George Loewen, Mike Hartel, Phil Mularski, Gary Skarb and Joe Phillips for doing such a great job with the exemplification ceremony.

    An early donation of Coats for Capuchin center came in and we’d like to thank Sandra Weitzel for the generous donation of (90) coats. Rob Amsler assisted me in bringing the coats down to Brother Rob at the Capuchin center and he was thrilled to get them as the weather had gotten cold and they were in need of them. In addition, Sandra provided a gift of $76 from coat sales out of her garage to the Knights which will be put into the Rosary Bracelet fund (charity yet to be identified).

    The Respect Life Baby Bottle drive for the Compassion Pregnancy center of Mt Clements raised over $11,000. Wow. Our parishioners are terrific!  Thanks to all that contributed and in particular, Mary Fiorini and Ray Coughlin for their work over the several weeks this happened. Thanks also to Lori Coughlin, Andrea Ursini, Sheri and Ted Czarny who helped pack up coins (which there were many).

    It was nice to see so many Knights show up for the Christmas Lights installation. Turned out to be a nice day (it wasn’t raining) and all got done in two and a half hours. The new LED lights look great. Come back out and assist on January 6th to bring them back down and package them up. Don’t worry, you’ll get a notice.

    Rob Tusset and Jeff Gapczynski delivered (48) KC the Teddy Bears to Henry Ford hospital for sick children.  It’s a great program that brings more than a smile to the children, it gives them a friend to get thru there healing process.

    Charity Poker was conducted over at the new Paradise Banquet Hall (near the Target Store just off of Hall road) the week prior to Thanksgiving. This program contributes greatly to our Charity funds and is essential to do twice a year. Thanks to Mike Hartel and his hard work organizing the event and all those that spent (8) hours a day there over the 4 days of the event. As Mike moves on to the west side, we are in need of a new Director for this program to handle the paperwork submission to the state, organize the crew and start out each of the (4) days with cash in hand, etc. Please contact Mike or myself if you are interested.

    Christmas Meat sales did well once again this year.  Thanks to Jerry Hund, Ray Coughlin, Ted Czarny and team that received the orders, packed the orders and distributed them out to our customers. The program has raised more than $17K for our local charities since it’s inception.

    And lastly, I hope you had a chance to bring out your kids / grandkids to the “Cookies with Santa” program sponsored by the Men’s group and supported by the Knights. There were 80+ attendees this year. They were entertained by Christmas Magic, watched Santa get delivered by the Fire Department, sang Christmas carols with Santa and the Elves. The kids learned more about Jesus’s birthday, the evolution of a Saint Nicholas and had a blast decorating cookies and having pictures with Santa. If you’ve not yet had an opportunity to join us for this terrific event, plan on it next year.

    One last note. Our Michigan State Deputy Regional Representative (SDRR) Paul Thorn, joined us for the December General meeting and presented the Council an Award for having been selected the east side Council of the month! It’s nice to see that our Council’s work is being recognized across the state. Congratulations all!

  Looking forward to a fruitful and joyous new year of community programs and charitable contributions!  And, we couldn’t have a better group of men and women to do it with!

God bless our Council and God Bless the Knights of Columbus

Vivat Jesus!

Vincent Ursini

Supreme Council Star Council Award for the 2023 - 2024

 December 12, 2024 was a fun night at St. Paul of Tarsus Council 11689 in Clinton Township.

The night began at 6 p.m. with an Exemplification of Charity, Unity and Fraternity.  Four new members were welcomed into the Order during the ceremony.  The Council has now brought in 13 new members this Fraternal Year and are at 108% for their Membership Growth.

A light dinner was served after the Exemplification.  The Council earned the Supreme Council Star Council Award for the 2023 - 2024 Fraternal Year.  The award, along with several Thank You letters from those helped by the Council, were displayed for those in attendance to view.

The Council business meeting followed dinner.  During the meeting, it was my pleasure to present Grand Knight Vince Ursini with the October Council of the Month Award.  Also in the presentation picture are Council Chaplain Fr. Jim Lopez, District Deputy Dan Nowakowski and Deputy Grand Knight Gary Skarb.

Congratulations to Council 11689.

Paul Thorn

State Deputy Regional Representative 

Detroit Archdiocese East

St. Mary of the Hills Council #13950

ALL ARE WELCOME -- K OF C CHRISMAS PARTY

 

The Knight Shield - December 2024

    The Trunk or Treat Halloween event was fun for all. Again this year, the Council hosted over 100 kids in the North Parking lot of St Paul of Tarsus. Hot dogs and chips were served, hayrides, games and of course lots of trunks. It was great to see Knights embrace the season and go for it with some terrific outfits ! Lot’s more trunks this year as well. Thanks to Art and Mike for organizing the event. Thanks to Kurt, Ray and Ken for preparing and serving the food. Thanks to our Webmaster Ken Dudley for the photos and postings on “spotknights.com.” A special thanks to Ron Marrese who came back to drive the hay wagon. And of course, to all that partook in preparing the “Trunks,” you make it special for the children of our Parish !

    A Memorial Mass for Fallen Knights was held on Nov 3rd at Sacred Heart Seminary. Our Council honored the contributions of Ken Gonko and Tom Murray and provided plaques. Families of both Knights were there to share in the Mass and subsequent breakfast. Thanks to Gary Skarb, our Deputy Grand Knight, for his work coordinating these efforts.

    Ladies of the Knights delivered 42 coats to Erie Elementary School for the annual Coats for Kids program. Katie Lefever at Erie was very thankful for the donation. The kids were excited exclaiming, “That’s amazing,” “So Comfy, “It’s so pretty,” “Thank you.” Thanks to Andrea Ursini and Christine Krause for supporting that activity.

    Sir Knight Phil Kwasny collected exactly 100 retired flags over Veteran’s Weekend for proper disposal. Phil was at every Mass and is one of our Council’s veterans. Thanks to Phil and all our Veterans for your service! 

    Our 4th quarter Corporate Communion this year was a bit earlier than usual. But, thanks to a terrific turn out by our District 1 Color guard, was very memorable. Eight color guards turned out including the District Master, Gene Suchyta and our very own District Marshal Bob Greening. Thank you gentlemen!

    The Respect Life Ministry put on a Baby bottle drive for Compassion Pregnancy center in Clinton Township. This organization provides free of charge medical support including ultrasound screening, infant supplies, counseling and after birth support in our local community. With the generosity of St Paul of Tarsus congregation, the group was able to raise over $12,000 for the organization with the support of our Council Treasurer and spouse, Ray & Lori Coughlin. Thanks also to Ted and Sheri Czarny for support in counting and packaging coins (there were a lot of them)! Congratulations to RLM for such a successful drive!

    The Council is off to a great start with the Charity Poker event at the new venue, Paradise Restaurant and Banquet center in the Target strip mall. Our Council does this Charity Poker support twice a year and is one of our larger fund raisers of the year. Looking forward to a great report on the charity raise for what started out as a strong week. This gaming revenue will be used for various charity activities during the year including; Coats for Kids, Gleaners, For gotten Harvest, Disaster Relief, Right to Life, Cantana Choir.

    The Men’s Group is putting on their 8th annual “Cookies with Santa” program on December 8th this year. Please join in Christmas magic, coloring, prizes and caroling. Bring your children / grandchildren to this fun filled event. And, get your family picture taken with Santa!

    With the holiday’s coming up expect to see the Holiday Meat sales starting up in the Gathering space before Masses in the next few weeks. This is another important fundraiser and one that accumulates substantially over the years to support our local charities.

    It’s been an awesome year of Charity, Unity and Fraternity for our Council. My family will be travelling so that we can all be together for both holidays coming up. There is no better time of the year. On behalf of the Council Officers, I personally would like to wish each one of you a bountiful Thanksgiving and wonderful Christmas season.

God bless our Council and God Bless the Knights of Columbus 

Vivat Jesus! 

Vincent Ursini