Make a difference. Give more than you take. Be Christ in the world for someone in your community. Don’t judge and provide service to others. My Journeymen brothers shared that lesson recently with Father Larry and the 22:23 Men’s discussion. It’s something we need constant reminders of in today’s world. If you were to pass from this world, would anyone beyond your immediate family know it or feel it. There are people in need everywhere. The Knights can help. Be a part of it. The last two months were filled with tremendous Council programs that will benefit our local community today. And those that benefit will know that you made it happen.
The Fish Fry events wrapped up in April as the most successful in this Council’s history. Success is measured in the number of people that enjoyed the dinners, the number of volunteers that assisted, the number of new recruits to our Council that resulted, the number of new members to our Parish that were encouraged to join and of course, the number of charities that will benefit. The proceeds of +$19,000 was extraordinary and the return to our church of $6,500 for the use of facilities and support is fantastic. Thanks to all of you that made it happen. As a side note, a young family with two children approached me and mentioned that they had been going to our fish fry’s and they were so impressed with the level of welcome and encouragement that they joined the Parish. Wow, now that is evangelism at it's best!
Easter ham and kielbasa sales once again came thru with another $1100.00 for our General fund. Since it’s inception a total of $19,500 has gone to local charities from this program alone. Thanks to Jerry Hund & Ted Czarny and team.
The MI drive, otherwise known as the Tootsie Roll drive, suffered from some bad weather and lack of access to Walmart this year. Nevertheless, K of C Council members did their part to raise thousands in support of Mentally Challenged adults and children in our local communities. The Council voted to supplement the profits so that we don’t let down any of our local charities this year. Thank You Jeff Gapczynski and team. Macomb Special Olympics comes up on May 8th. Join Joe Phillips to bring joy to the Olympians participating and have some fun in the process.
May General meeting is our annual election of officers for the next Fraternal Year. We will need a new recorder in addition to other positions as officers rotate out and into new roles. Please consider running for office. You will be further engaged in the Council affairs and help lead the activities moving forward. If you are unaware of some of the officer positions (as I was a few years ago), visit KofC.org “Understanding Council Officer Roles and Responsibilities” on line.
Another great exemplification in April. Welcome John Vollmer and Robert Hannigan to 11689 Council. Their addition meets our goal of (12) new members for this fraternal year. Thanks for all your help recruiting these gentlemen to our order. I would like to thank our Degree team headed by George Lowen, Mike Hartel, Ron Marrese, Art Krygowski, Joe Phillips and Father Joe Hund. It’s great to see all these new men joining the ranks of the Knights of Columbus to continue our great works in the church and local community. God bless our Council and God Bless the Knights of Columbus.
Vivat Jesus!
Vincent Ursini
