The Knight Shield - July 2024

    The Splash pad tragedy of this past month was horrific, and families within our Council and others in the local area were directly affected. Honestly, these moments shake our faith, but be strong. Continue to trust in God. There is light in this world, and it is through God’s son Jesus Christ. We pray for a quick recovery for those directly impacted. It was encouraging to see how people rallied to support those in need so that they may move on with the beautiful life. As Knights of Columbus, it is our mission to assist those in need through prayer and action. Let us continue to be there for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

    The Michigan State Knights of Columbus convention was a great opportunity to learn more about the organization and participate in voting a new officer into the ranks. The Eucharistic procession and Living Rosary were can’t miss events and fortunately the weather smiled on us. There were over 1,300 in attendance of which 390 were delegates sent from their individual Council’s. Numerous priests and Bishop’s were in attendance and led the masses on each day. The succession of leadership from Christopher Kolomjec to our new State Deputy Barry Boresnik occurred. The order is strong and in good hands.

    The Michigan K of C Family of the Year was the Ampe family from Gwinn Michigan. They have (13) total children of which (2) are special needs kids adopted from Ukraine. They also raised over $200,000 for medical supplies packed in duffle bags for Ukraine hospitals and flew over to deliver those themselves.

    June was also our Tree and Shrub trimming activity. Thanks to the hearty few that showed up and got a lot of work done in a short period of time!  Timely in that our new Priest Father Jim Lopez will be here next month. The grounds look great ! 

    The Council’s annual Potluck dinner this past month was a lot of fun. Roughly (65) of our Knights and families came out for socialization, a good meal and an opportunity to award those that helped make the year so successful. If you want to recruit people to your Council, be a council worth belonging too. That means have some fun as you carry out the work of the order. Thanks, have to go out to our kitchen staff lead by Kurt Buhlinger and Stan Labuda. Some last minute “adjustments” were necessary as the chicken order got messed up. Quick thinking by the group and Robert Hannigan got us all fed and happy. The numerous side dishes and desserts were awesome. Thanks to all those that brought the goods.

    Special awards were handed out for the Knight of the year (Jim Hubbard) and Family of the Year (Kurt and Jane Buhlinger). Also, Lifetime Achievement awards were handed out to Bruce Arnold (our first 3 time Grand Knight), Ralph Pullis (chairman of the Pancake breakfast for years) and Ron Marrese (current Recorder and involvement in virtually every Council program) for their efforts that go beyond the call of duty. It was quite a celebration for the year just completed.

    We recognized the new slate of 2024 / 2025 Fraternal Year officers. But still have one position to fill (that of Recorder). Please volunteer for this important role and get more involved in directing the course of the Council’s programs.

    The Challenger baseball McGivney field dedication occurred last month as well. Thanks to Gary Skarb  DGK, Mike Hartel PD and Art Krygowski for representing our council at this fun activity. The athletes will have a wonderful field tailored to the handicapped for sporting events sponsored by the Knights of Columbus.

God bless our Council and God Bless the Knights of Columbus

Vivat Jesus ! 

Vincent Ursini