St. Paul of Tarsus Knights of Columbus Blog

Monday, January 22, 2024

The Knight Shield - February 2024

"The Darker the night, the brighter the stars. The deeper the Grief, the closer is God"

These are words from a former homeless person quoting Fyodor Dostoevsky. Do you believe in God? There will be tribulations. No one has a free unobscured path to Heaven. This gentlemen’s path was quite challenging, but through the help and love of Catholic services, this man saw the light of day and is helping those that are where he was, desperate and destitute.

And so, our Council answers the call. Men’s Coats, sweaters and blankets were collected to provide to the Capuchin center to assist those in need of cold weather gear. The Pancake Breakfast this past January was to assist the SPOT Food Pantry in providing meals to the hungry and in need of assistance. We service our Church and our Community at large.

A week of Charity Poker resulted in a significant increase in the Charitable funds we have available to administer to the charities our Council supports. One new group in particular, is the Detroit Catholic Campus Ministry, which strives to keep Christ in the lives of college students who are away from home. Their latest endeavor is to have students attend a Eucharistic Revival Retreat for which the State’s K of C’s councils (of which 11689 is one) pledged over $15,000 at the recent Diocesan Winter Meeting in support.

We are embarking on another fabulous Fish Fry season, which marks one of the Council’s largest fund raisers. Starting Feb 16th and running thru to Palm Sunday weekend. Remember we serve up to 500 people in a 3 hour window. The need is great for volunteers, both Knights and their wives to assist. The “Ladies of the Knights” make a huge impact to the success of our Fish Fry service and are much appreciated. Ask your family members to assist, they will be welcome. And for those of us that have an open Friday, come early as prep work goes on all day. Join the team and make a difference.

God bless our Council and God Bless the Knights of Columbus

Vivat Jesus !

Vincent Ursini

Friday, December 29, 2023

The Knight Shield - January 2024

It’s a new year. Wow 2024 is already here. My wife Andrea and I moved to Detroit area in 2002, when my nephew was 1 year old. He just graduated from Central Michigan University ! We also attended another ceremony recently for another nephew who is 20 years old and just graduated from the Police Academy. He will be joining the Roseville police force to “Protect and Serve”. He was just a sparkle in his Mother’s eye when I first moved here. You get the point, our mission is great and time doesn’t wait for us. We have little time to make an impact in this world. Let’s get out there and make use of our God given talents.

Some reflection on words from the Roseville Commander who talked about the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. When you can do something good for people and help them in their journey, celebrate those accomplishments loudly. He talked about the Bad where you are unable to help or assist people in need. And he didn’t need to talk about the Ugly (we all know what that looks like). The fact is that we must learn from those bad experiences and apply the lessons moving forward to further help people. Take action. Take your wins where you can get them.

That’s a call to participate in this Council’s awesome programs. Proceeds from the Pancake breakfast in January will go towards our SPOT Pantry and their mission to feed those in need. We have 180+ Knights in this Council and I’d like to see a majority come out in support of this worthy cause. Get with our Brother Knight Kurt Buhlinger to sign up for a task. And don’t forget the Charity Poker Event in January, contact Michael Hartel our Worthy Program Director for that duty. If you enjoy playing cards, you’ll love this duty.

The Council’s biggest fund raisers are coming up in February and March with the Fish Fry event and the MI Drive. We will need all you Brothers for these activities. The Social Hall Fish Fry takes several prep people, cooks, dinner sales personnel, servers, take out organizers and dining room support. Bring your spouse along as the "Ladies of the Knights" do a great job and find a way to enjoy their time while serving. These programs provide great opportunities to recruit and evangelize as well. Plus, you are raising money for our multiple charity organizations.

Let’s get 2024 started off on the right foot. I’ve confidence this Council will do an excellent job to make these programs successful.

Welcome, to our newly exemplified Council member Robert Hurlbert. Looking forward to working with you in this next year.

Wishing all of you Brothers and your families a most blessed and successful new year!

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

Sunday, December 3, 2023

Susan Hund - August 25, 1943 - December 2, 2023

Obituary link

Saturday, November 25, 2023

The Knight Shield - December 2023

My favorite time of year is upon us. Even when we lived in Northern Michigan, my family would come down to Detroit area to celebrate Thanksgiving and then roll into the Christmas holiday with family time. There is a spirit of Christmas in the air and it just seems that everyone is a little bit nicer this time of year.

Congratulations to the Women of Faith and our very own Ray and Lori Coughlin for the tremendous success on the Baby Bottle Drive. Both Gianna House and Abigale Ministries will both receive over $4,800 to continue their work with pregnant mothers and the support of the unborn child.

Thanks also, to you brothers, for supporting the MCREST program. A significant amount of food was acquired and prepared by St John the Apostle team. And our Council did its part in delivering the food and on some days, serving the food to homeless women and children. What a noble cause, aligned with the Holiday season.

Looking forward to the Council’s Christmas Meat sales in December raising money for the general fund. Worthy PGK Jerry Hund and team could use some help. If you can’t assist with sales, please buy some of these delicious product(s). Look for Rosary Bracelets as well !

The Knights are assisting the Men’s Group with the “Cookies with Santa” program on Dec 10th. Last month’s K of C children’s programs had awesome turn out’s. We’re expecting nothing less for this year’s program which has been growing in leaps and bounds over the last 5 years. Bring your children / grandchildren and enjoy the fun in a program that has a little Magic and emphasizes the Reason for the Season.

The Memorial Mass last month was well attended by our Council. Several family members of those wonderful Knights we lost last year came out to celebrate their lives. The K of C Color Guard came out in force and added to the wonderful Mass and Program. However, the Knights we lost did a great job for our Council and will be missed. Step up gentlemen, there are big shoes to fill.

For those of you that participated in the Rescue Project, we’ve learned a lot in a short period of time. Now it’s our turn to pass on that knowledge and continue our efforts to further evangelize and spread the good news. Thanks goes out to the Journeymen and Deacon Marc for putting on the program.

If you’re looking to get into the Christmas mood, nothing sets that off like putting up Christmas lights and decorations. See Ken Krause on Dec 1st to assist decorating the church grounds.

On a personal note, my wife Andrea and I would like to wish each of you a wonderful Christmas Season. And, may the birth of Jesus bestow his grace upon you and your families!

God Bless Our Council and God Bless the Knights of Columbus

VIVAT JESUS !

Vince Ursini

Grand Knight

Tuesday, November 7, 2023

MAKING YOUR GARAGE SMART

https://youtu.be/F6IVu7cIEf4?si=IfaGt4UMuPd9QO_n

Thursday, October 26, 2023

The Knight Shield - November 2023

November is upon us and the mad rush to the end of the year has already started in earnest. October had no less than (11) programs ! It started out with the Canal Road fall clean up headed up by Greg Csernai. They did a very noticeable job of cleaning up the road way as I travel that stretch of Canal daily. Thanks to the (10) gentlemen that came out to support!

Tom Pardo our church director, lead the Rosary rally under the canopy (as it was raining all day). And at the same time Ken and Christine Krause supported the Diaconate luncheon with my wife Andrea and I. It was a well-attended event and until you participate you really don’t realize the valuable training that is going on.

The Women of Faith partnered with our Council to conduct the Baby bottle drive to benefit Gianna House and Abigale ministries as we continue our support of unwed mothers and pregnancy centers. Great work by our Treasurer Ray in support and looking forward to the report of finances from this worth while drive as the bottles keep filtering in.

11689 Council also supported Challenger Baseball Halloween activities in the social hall. Actually, there were K of C councils from St Thecla and Mt Clements in addition to our own. In addition, The Arc of Macomb and Glenn Peters elementary were in attendance as were several other organizations (12 in all). That was a special event as mentally challenged adults and children alike had a wonderful time. The Halloween outfits were really fun and the smiles and laughs coming from the children infectious. It was a terrific event lead by our program director Dan Steele and his wife Rosanne. Thanks for allowing us to participate in this special event.

Texas Hold’em event just recently concluded at Cicerelli’s with a contingent of our Knights supporting 4 days of charity poker. Mike Hartel and team are to be congratulated as it is one of the largest financial raising programs in our calendar year. Proceeds will go to support our many charitable programs.

Also, our very own Trunk Or Treat event kicked off with significantly more “trunks” than last year and roughly 100 children filling the north parking lot. It’s so great to be able to conduct a fun filled event safely within our church grounds for the parents to take their kids. Hot dogs, games, costume contests and of course sweet treats all combine to round out the experience. Makes me proud to see how our Council turns up to enjoy the fellowship of the children of the parish.

Thanks Brothers. Looking forward to your support of the MCREST program in November and the Rescue mission hosting over the next few weeks.

God bless our Council and God Bless the Knights of Columbus

Vivat Jesus !

Vincent Ursini