Brother Knights,
Please accept our apologies for not getting a newsletter out since last October. Our only excuse is that we have replatformed the website and now lack the expertise to formulate a newsletter in real time as WordPress is wont to do. So, please bear with us as we learn. If anyone has WordPress experience and would like to help us out, it would be greatly appreciated.
In the meantime, since October, we have actually been active in many ways by holding several food drives that benefitted ShareNet in Kingston during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. We’ve also carried on with our roadside cleanup efforts and charged ahead with KC HELP and the increasing demands that it requires.
Frankly, our calendar is somewhat limited due to waning participation by our members so the men who have stepped forward are necessarily limited by their own schedules and family commitments. We are immensely thankful that they have “kept the wheels on” the Council throughout Covid and as we emerge from all the restrictions we’ve experienced. Our own parish restrictions have prevented our usual fundraisers and fellowship opportunities which have led to many of our members migrating to other parishes where parish life has long ago returned to normal. We are anxiously awaiting St. Olaf’s to do the same, while we explore ways that we can serve our community.
Our next near-term events include another roadside cleanup on February 11th. We will meet at St. Olaf’s at 9 AM and expect to be completed by about noon. The end time actually depends on how many members and family members over 16 show up and lend a hand. Then, on March 18th, we’ll hold a Tootsie Roll drive to benefit Special Olympics and the disabled in our own community. Watch for a Sign Up invitation to join in on that very worthwhile endeavor.
As always, KC HELP could always use additional hands as that program continues to be a monumental success. We finished last year by providing over 2,000 durable medical equipment items totaling nearly $700,000 to 1,200 members of our community. When mileage and volunteer hours are included, the total is just shy of $800,000. Well done to all who make this happen!
We have done a refresh on our Power of 10 outreach so you may be getting a phone call or email from one of the officers to simply check in with you on a personal level. If you don’t hear from anyone, it may be because we have outdated contact information. That said, please take a moment and update your contact information either here or on the link to the right.
Vivat Jesus!
John Wahlfors
January Birthdays
Roy Behling 4th, Igmin Martinez-Franyutti 6th, Gary Popish 18th, David Lasser 22th, Matthew Wurzbacher 23rd, Jesse Cockerham 24th, Trey Huska 25th.
Refund Support Vocations Program (RSVP)
As the right arm of the church, Knights of Columbus are committed to providing moral, financial, and spiritual support to our future priests at all stages of their formation.
Our council’s current assigned seminarian is Sylvester Rosario who is now studying Pre-Theology at Mount Angel Seminary. Please contribute by giving a monetary donation at meetings or at the link provided on the right side of this page. Another way is by participating in the “Pop Cans for Priests” empty pop can collection behind the kitchen at St. Olaf’s.
From the Community Director
Our Highway 3 clean-up event is scheduled for 9 am Saturday, February 11th. We will meet at the St. Olaf parking lot for a briefing, issue of required safety items, bags, and trash grabbers. Hope to see you there! “Many hands make light work.”
KC HELP
Our expansion into the southern part of Kitsap County made a huge step by taking St. Vincent de Paul up on its invitation to open a shop in their facility in Bremerton. We were provided with a great space on the second floor above the food bank and will staff the new location on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 10:30 AM to 12:30 AM for drop offs and pick ups via the Food Bank entrance. If this is something that you would like to be involved with, please contact Larry Devlin so we can get you started. Our volunteer needs are across the board but one in particular would be very helpful. We really need someone to answer the phone!
From the Life Director
40 Days for Life: Runs from Wednesday, February 23rd to Sunday, April 2nd. Sign up for a slot at https://www.40daysforlife.com/en/bremerton.
If your schedule is too erratic to sign up for a slot, just show up any day, any time. Core hours are 9am-4pm, Monday – Friday.
Fourth Degree Assembly Notes
Our next Assembly Meeting will be held on January 24th and will be at St. Peter’s Mission in Suquamish at 6:30 pm. Main order of business is a discussion of upcoming events and activities. Refreshments will be available.
Membership
As always, be sure to invite any and all Catholic men over 18 years of age to join us. Our online membership application is available on www.kofc.org. New members receive free membership their first year by using entering BLESSEDMCGIVNEY in the coupon code field on the application.
Logo Clothing
You may have noticed the sharp looking green shirts that fellow members of our Council have sported at our events. Contact Larry Devlin if you have not yet had a chance to get your shirt. $30 each for button-down collar shirts and $20 for polos. We also have khaki aprons, but you’ll need to see Financial Secretary Tom Musha for those. They are $15 each. New 4th Degree polo shirts are now available at $20 each.
From our Insurance Assistant General Agent, Dan O’Keefe
I hope you will take a second to look at the financial topic I have included in this message. Some people may not realize the importance of this financial issue. Later in life they may wish that they had given it more attention. Take a look and you decide:
https://ebriefme.org/Response/HtmlTemplateLongVersion.aspx?d=123&r=6hRPEEJnNkWa0nSG6OMcgA
So what do you need to do to assess your situation? Contact your agent today and schedule an appointment. Let your Knights of Columbus field agent, your brother Knight, be your compass as you navigate the uncertainty of today’s financial tides.
Good of the Order
Pease pray for all our Brother Knights who through their charity are supporting their friends and neighbors in this time of need, for our Parish that we may come through this crisis with our faith and our commitment to charity stronger than ever, and for those in our community who are battling the Corona virus, that the Great Physician will heal them and their families.
Members, Family and Parish members in need of prayer:
Ann Wahlfors, Cyndie Huetter, Julie Beer, Monica DeCarlo, Roy Behling, Jim Lee, Kim Washburn, and Larry Ensor.
Also keep in our prayers:
Jake Steiner, Active Duty Military/Veterans, First Responders, Elected officials, Hurricane victims, Ukraine War victims, Supreme Court Justices, Right to Life.
Prayers in Memoriam for Members, Family and Parish members:
Brother Knights in the Lord’s Care
Rudy Aguilar
Robert Bailey
Walter Bale
Tom Bennett
George Benning
Paul Bidlenick
Mike Brandewie
Curtis Brown
Rev. Leslie Colaco
George Cole
Lawrence Corrigan
Jon Cox
Lynn Day
John DeLaurenti
Dirk Drew
Jerry English
Theodore Ferrioli
James Fisher
Larry Fisher
William Gillingham
Robert Gosney Jr.
Charles Hackett
John Head
Raymond Hightower
Rev. Phillip Kanicki
Edward Marazas
James McDonough
William Melay
James Mimms
Robert Mitchel
Matt Neff
Francis Nichols
Vernon Nystrom
Geno Orsi
Dan Parmley
Louis Pilato
Raymond Provost
Wayne Redfern
William Reynolds
Dick Risley
Charles Roberts
George Schrader
M.L. Schumaker
Robert Smith
Leland Snider
Richard Spinks
Gilbert Starost
Michael Thatcher
Francis Turk
Donald Weedin
Ronald Wernke
Paul Williams
James Young