The Knight's Shield - December 2017

As we celebrate the true meaning of Christmas…the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ...may we give thanks in every way that we live in a community where we can celebrate our faith. I know the holidays can create added stress as everyone travels, shops for gifts, and prepares meals for get togethers; but just take some time to reflect and remember that Jesus is the reason for this season. I wish you all a Blessed Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year! I would like to thank Brother Fr. Ron Essman for the fourteen years of service to St. Paul of Tarsus and his continued support for the Knights of Columbus. I believe we all have grown in our Catholic Faith from Fr. Ron’s spiritual guidance and wonderful stories (Homilies). Congratulations Fr. Ron on achieving Senior Priest and Semi-retirement!

We welcomed our fourth pastor here at St. Paul of Tarsus on November 13th, Brother Fr. Jerry Slowinski. I have spoken with Fr. Jerry a few times. He is a very energetic and uplifting person. He told me that he has been a Knight for longer than he can remember! Make sure to introduce yourself to him as a Brother Knight and a proud member of St. Paul of Tarsus Church.

Congratulations to the following brothers for their achievements in our order:

Admissions Degree: Bobby Morrison
Admissions and Formation Degree: Zach Abbott
Formation and Knighthood Degree:
Bill Gowland
William Hill
Craig Thomson
Larry Young

I encourage you to invite your Catholic family members or friends to consider becoming a member of our Council. Not only will it assist us in making our programs run easier, but new members bring in new ideas to infuse into our council. Please realize that being a Knight is not only a benefit to our council, it is a benefit to that person and their family. It is my hope that the Knights make us better husbands and fathers, better friends and co-workers, and better people in general. When you join the Knights, you’re joining an organization that thrives on true Catholic family values. An organization that is deeply rooted in our faith with a strong bent toward charity, and also supports each of their members through good times and bad.

We had a luncheon after 11:30 am Mass on November 19th for any prospective Knights and their families. I am very disappointed to report that we had zero members bring in anyone, nor did we have any walk-ins after Mass. We are continuing to look for ideas on how to get the point across to all men of the parish as to why we became Knights, but we need your help in doing this task.

Our District Corporate Communion was November 19th at the 11:30am Mass. There wasn’t a good turnout from other councils, but 11689 had a substantial amount of Knights and families. Thank you! Just a reminder to all Knights, when you attend a Corporate Communion Mass you are invited to process in and sit with your brother Knights and their families.

On November 12th my wife Janice and I attended the K of C Memorial Mass at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. This was a very touching Mass and it was a privilege being there with the families to honor the memories of the Knights who went home to our Lord in the past year. These are pictures of the plaques that will forever be on the walls of Sacred Heart Major Seminary.

Another honor was bestowed upon us when we were invited to sit at our Worthy State Deputy Ken Unterbrink’s table for breakfast, along with his wife Eleanor, Msgr. Todd J. Lajiness, a Deacon and his wife, and a seminarian (sorry not good at remembering names).

Mike Hartel and I went to Erie Elementary Tuesday, November 21,st with coats from our “Coats for Kids” program. We met with the school social worker and passed out 22 coats to children in need. The look in the children’s eyes and knowing they will be warm this winter was priceless and touched our hearts. The remaining coats will be given out on December 6th at Meijer along with the food pantry and choir at the annual Christmas Wrapping @ Meijer’s.

Thank you to all that donated to the annual Sweatshirt Gifts and Gift Cards for HCCS at last month’s meeting. Our Worthy D.D. Gary Kopp was very excited in the amount of gifts, gift cards and money that was donated. If you still want to donate a gift, please bring it with you to the December meeting and Gary will make sure it goes to the right place.

On Saturday October 21,st 12 brother Knights came to the road clean up headed up by Brother Greg Csernai. It lasted about an hour and a half. He sends his thank you to William Hill, Steven Kargenian, Art Krygowski, Gary Skarb and Dan Steele for helping to keep our roads clean for us and the environment. At our November general membership meeting, because of the loss of Brother Joe Bono who was our Inside Guard, an election was held to fill his position. Leon Berdy was elected to serve as our Inside Guard for the remainder of the year. Congratulations.

A very heartfelt thank you to all that donated their time at St John the Apostle Anglican Church Thanksgiving week to participate in their annual McRest project. Knowing that we helped ease the lives of 29 men of all ages is a really good feeling. It’s only with the assistance of local volunteers such as yourself that we can rise to meet the challenge.

A couple of months ago Brother Gerry Vento was approached by one of his customers at Big Boy restaurant here in Mt. Clemens and wanted to donate a car to the Knights of Columbus. Gerry contacted me, then I contacted Brother Phil Bryant at Russ Milne Ford, and he gave us $300.00 for this vehicle. Thank you Gerry and Russ!

In late September, our neighboring church, St. Michaels St. Vincent De Paul contacted our Pantry Coordinator, Darlene Siefert, and asked if the Knights would be able to deliver a bed to a needed person. So Hank Leflere, George Sakorafos, Rob Tusset and I stepped up to this worthy assignment. Then in late November, Gary Skarb and I delivered another bed to a disabled veteran. Thank you all that were involved!

Please add this to your calendars: On the weekends of December 2nd - 3rd and 9th - 10th , Brother Jerry Hund will once again be heading up the ham and kielbasa fundraiser for Christmas. He and other Brother Knights, will be taking orders for your holiday meats. All products; Hams, kielbasa, turkey, etc. are the Dearborn Brand. Ham & Kielbasa Pick Up is from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm on December 21st.

Everyone should have received their dues letter from our Worthy Financial Secretary, Ray Ignatowski, by now. Ray has added a questionnaire on the back of the form for you to fill out. We need this to keep our files up to date and keep me from hunting you down in the New Year…LOL. We only have about 142 Email addresses from over 230 Brother Knights, which tells me we are not reaching all. This would help to get information to you like the passing of a Brother Knight, special notices or any other information you may need to know. If you don’t have an Email address, please put down someone that can get a message to you.

You should have also received your State Raffle tickets in the mail. If not, they’re on their way. Sell what you can...it is for a very worthy cause. If you can’t sell them, mail them back in time or consider taking them to DeCarlo’s Banquet & Convention Center in Warren on the day of the raffle. Gary and Patricia DeCarlo offer the Knights and their families a nice lunch before the drawings.

The Holy Cross Children’s Services Raffle Calendars are here! These calendars – which are perfect for home, office or as a gift – continue to be priced at only $25 each, with the proceeds going to support HCCS. The calendar offers the possibility to win daily and monthly, as well as the grand prize of $5,000. Please contact me or see me at a meeting to acquire a calendar.

In closing, on behalf of my family...Janice, Krystal, Jeremy and our cats Shadow & Simba, I wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year.

Vivat Jesus
Art Krygowski
Grand Knight