Gr
and Knight's Report
Brothers,
Although fall doesn't officially start until September 23, with the cooler temperatures and refreshing winds from Hurricane Dorian blowing across the Charlotte region it seems to be right around the corner. With vacations behind us, and the kids or grand kids back in school, it is time for us to focus on the Council's busiest time of the year.
This fraternal year we once again we are hosting the Parish Pancake Breakfast for St. Matthew Catholic Church. Our first breakfast will be on Sunday, September 15. Chuck Curtis and Jack Hickey have been hard at work taking inventory, ordering equipment, and getting ready to go shopping. They need our help! Please sign-up for a couple of work shifts throughout the year, meet your brother Knights, and take some of the burden off the "regulars" who are there for every breakfast.
Next, and probably most important, is this year's Annual Car Raffle. With only two weekends available to us to sell tickets in the Narthex and outside of church, this will require an "all hands effort" if we are going to be successful. You should have already received five tickets in the mail to help the council reach its goal. If you haven't received any tickets, or would like additional tickets, please contact either Brother Norm Smith at: (704) 614-3700, or Brother Ron Schumacher at: (704) 618-2442.
The council will need volunteers to make raffle tickets available to parishioners, at both the main church as well at St. Matthew South in Waxhaw over the same weekends. With two Vigil Masses on Saturday and seven Masses on Sunday we will need well over 100 Knights, each weekend, in order to be visible and accessible to parishioners. Please sign-up with SignUpGenius and check-in with those Brother Knights manning the tables in the Narthex letting them know that you will be available to help after communion for 10-15 minutes. Your help is greatly appreciated.
Please remember to politely ask parishioners if they would like to purchase a ticket or two and use a "soft-sell" approach; we do not want to offend anyone. Finally, I need to apologize for an error on my part in the August Newsletter. I misspoke concerning the parish office when I wrote that, "It's been over a month since our request went in!" I was misinformed and did not follow-up as I should have. In fact, the paperwork with the required request was never submitted; so it was the council's fault (and my fault) and not the parish office staff who caused the delay in us being notified which weekends we would be allowed to sell raffle tickets.
"12 - 20 - 40" No, that's not Cam Newton calling signals for the Panthers, it's a reminder that we Knights need to be more supportive and involved in the programs and success of the council. Most of us pay our annual dues of $40 and it is appreciated, but it's not enough! Each of us, during our First Degree Ceremony, raised our hands and pledged to cooperate and support the elected officers of the council and to ensure the success of its programs. In fact, rather than "cooperate" the degree used the word, "obey." That's a bit strong for me, but the bottom line is that we have too few active Knights who are doing their fair share and helping Council 10852's charitable works and service programs.
So, I am asking you to rededicate yourself to our mission and help ease the burden on those 60 or so brother knights who seem to be doing all the heavy lifting. I am asking that you consider giving at least 20 hours over a 12 month period in addition to your $40 annual dues. That's very doable and very easy for most of us. Work a shift at a pancake breakfast twice a year-that's 6 hours! Do LAMB three times a year-that's another 6 hours. Help with BINGO once or twice a year-that could be 4-12 hours depending on what you volunteer to help with. Call Brother Bill LoPresti to help set-up or take-down chairs and tables in the South Charlotte Banquet Center-usually takes an hour.
Most importantly, come spend an hour with Jesus once or twice a year at Eucharistic Adoration on Friday nights. Added together that's easily 20 hours-most of us can do this! Notice that I didn't mention: Operation Exodus, Donated Goods, the Men's Shelter, Lumberton; Habitat for Humanity, Special Olympics, the Lenten Fish Dinners, delivering Turkey Dinners in support of the Sisters of Charity; Santa's Workshop, and our Annual "Wrap-a-Gift" and Christmas Party for Refugee Children.
I'm sure I left a number of events and programs off my list, but you can see how busy our council is throughout the year; so please lend a hand-it will be greatly appreciated. St. Matthew Council is blessed to have brother knights who, on a regular basis, volunteer 20 hours per month; some (may God bless them) have given 20 hours per week on occasion! Most of us can't do that because of work and family commitments, others because of age or poor health; but we can all do something-we can pray! Please pray for your Council and your Brother Knights and their families, especially those who are sick or in distress. Together we can do great things!
Virtus!
I once again ask
every Brother in Our Council, to take the Safe Environment Program training provided by Supreme. Below is the link and registration code
:
The Registration Code is:
kofcsafe
If you have any contact with minors in the Parish or Community, you should also take the Parish and Diocese
Protecting God's Children
workshop. This 2½ hour program is intended to educate volunteers to recognize and prevent sexual abuse. Preregistration is required. Sign up online at
www.virtus.org.
Please advise Bob Desch when you have completed either training. He is maintaining a database for the Council.
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LAMB
LAMB Article September 2019
As mentioned at the last few Council business meetings, we are going to try a different schedule for our Operation LAMB fundraisers. For the past several years, we scheduled grocery store LAMB collections on Saturdays. Starting this month, we are going to split the efforts to some stores on Saturday and some stores on Sunday. Reviewing the store traffic patterns, Sunday store hours appear to generate more customers than Saturdays.
Starting with the scheduled Operation LAMB at the end of this month, we will have opportunities on both Saturday, September 28, and Sunday, September 29. So, if you have not been able to volunteer on Saturdays, you will now have the opportunity to give of your time to help on Sunday. Here are the scheduled Harris Teeter stores:
Saturday 9/28
Sunday 9/29
Arboretum Audrey Kell
Myers Park Ballantyne Commons at Johnston Rd
Rea Farms Blakeney
Are you showing your
SPIRIT in our Council's LAMB activities? Vivat Jesus.
May God Bless all Knights,
Bob Desch, PGK
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Culture of Life
St. Matthew Knights of Columbus Council 10852 - September 2019 Newsletter
Culture of Life Article
Ask yourself, "If I don't stand up to save the unborn, how can I expect anyone else to do it"? At your final judgement, what will you answer when God asks "What have you done to save my precious unborn infants that I lovingly created"? Are we as Catholic gentlemen doing enough to save unborn children from horrifying, gruesome and violent abortions. Being Pro-Life should not be considered a spectator sport.
There are a lot of Pro-Life events and opportunities scheduled in Charlotte and St. Mathew parish during September and October. October is Pro-Life month and it will be very busy. We will kick it off with Pro-Life Sunday and the Life Chain in front of St. Matthew on October 6th.
40 Days for Life -- Sept. 25 thru Nov. 3, 2019
Last fall, the 40 Days for Life campaign topped 400 cities. This 2019 campaign will take place in 505 cities worldwide! There's never been a better opportunity to end abortion:
⦁ Planned Parenthood has lost tens of millions of dollars of Title X family planning tax funding
⦁ States across the country are dramatically restricting or even outright banning abortion
⦁ Private donations to Planned Parenthood are down
⦁ 40 Days for Life local leaders report abortion facilities are closing because Planned Parenthood can't find landlords willing to rent or doctors willing to work there!
Sidewalk Advocates for Life - Charlotte Chapter
Fr. Peter Ascik recently enrolled St. Matthew in the Sidewalk Advocates for Life organization, forming the Charlotte Chapter of this national organization. Learn more at
sidewalkadvocatesforlife.org
And just another reminder about our upcoming sidewalk counseling training with Sidewalk Advocates for Life. Please spread the word in your pro-life networks. All are welcome!
Sidewalk Counseling Training for Sidewalk Advocates for Life - Charlotte
Saturday, September 28, 9:00 am - 2:30 pm
Lunch provided. $15
St. Matthew Catholic Church - Banquet Room
Register here: https://membership.faithdirect.net/events/details/3545
Learn how to save lives with a peaceful, prayerful method of reaching out to women and men entering the local abortion facility. Sidewalk Advocates for Life is a pro-life organization committed to saving unborn lives and supporting women and men in crisis pregnancies through sidewalk advocacy, also known as "sidewalk counseling." Join us for the first training offered by our new Charlotte chapter in cooperation with St. Matthew Respect Life Ministry.
Next Saturday (Sept. 14), we have a particular need for prayer partners and counselors at the Hebron Abortion Clinic between 8 am and 10 am. The Protestant family who usually counsels there will not be available, and Fr. Peter told them we would cover the whole morning! So please let Fr. Peter know if you would be willing to come early on that day.
H.E.L.P Crisis Pregnancy Center of Monroe - Banquet for Life. Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019
⦁ This years 27th annual Banquet for Life event will take place On Tuesday, September 24th at the Union County Agricultural Center, 3230-D Presson Rd. Monroe, NC. 28112.
⦁ Doors open at 6pm (hors d'oeuvres served), Seating at 6:45pm by reservation only.
H.E.L.P. is in the midst of a building expansion project and is in need of any extra support that we individually can provide. Let me know if you and your spouse are interested in attending the banquet. There is no fee to attend with the expectation that you will make a generous donation to H.E.L.P..
Mira Via 25th Annual Fund Raising Banquet
Date: Thursday, October 24, 2019
Location: Charlotte Convention Center's Crown Ballroom
Time: Check-in/Reception at 5:30 PM; Dinner at 6:30 PM
FEATURING KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Abby Johnson
Abby Johnson is the author of the nationally best-selling book and movie adaption, Unplanned, which chronicles both her experiences within Planned Parenthood and her dramatic exit. Today, Abby continues her efforts to advocate for the unborn and help clinic workers escape the abortion industry. Abby is a very popular and loved spokesperson for Pro-Life so reservations may run out soon. Please let me know as soon as you can if you and your spouse are interested in attending.
St. Matthew screening of the movie. 'UNPLANNED' - October 19 at 7 PM in the Banquet Room.
Our K of C Council purchased the License and DVD that allows multiple screenings of the movie in a one year period. We and the St. Matthew Respect Life Committee hope that there will be a demand for more follow up screenings in the future. The movie that chronicles the experiences of Abbey Johnson at Planned Parenthood is a riveting display of the ugliness of the abortion industry. I recommend that you and all your relatives and friends commit to seeing the movie. The DVD has been released and can be purchased in numerous stores and websites.
Pro-Life Weekend and activities are on October 5th and 6th There will be pulpit talks and Pro-Life information tables at each of the Masses.
St. Matthew Life Chain - Pro-Life Sunday, Oct. 6th, 2 - 3 PM We would like to see every Knight and their families stand arm in arm for the full length of the Ballantyne Commons sidewalk in front of the Church. Last year we had a woeful 95 committed parishioners standing on the sidewalk. Why shouldn't we have 10 times that number bravely STAND FOR LIFE.
Norm Gemignani
Culture of Life Director
ngemignani@gmail.com
205-547-7919
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Pro-
Life News:
New Sidewalk Advocacy group forms in Charlotte
T
here will be special training on Saturday, September 28th
We are pleased to announce that a Sidewalk Advocates for Life chapter has launched in Charlotte. Sidewalk Advocates for Life (SAFL) is a nation-wide group founded in 2014 to promote peaceful and prayerful witness in front of abortion facilities.
The new Charlotte chapter is being led by Fr. Peter Ascik (St. Matthew parish) and a few St. Matthew parishioners. To launch the new group, the Charlotte chapter is holding a special Sidewalk Counseling Training Seminar on Saturday September 28 at 9:00am at St. Matthew parish. Details are below. If you feel called to pray and speak to abortion minded woman please consider attending and spreading the word:
Sidewalk Counseling Training with Sidewalk Advocates for Life - Charlotte
Saturday, September 28, 2019
9 am - 2:30 pm
Lunch provided ($15 cash donation requested)
Register below
St. Matthew Catholic Church - Banquet Room
8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy.
Charlotte, NC 28277
A $15 cash donation is requested to cover the cost of training materials and program literature.
For questions or to register please e-mail Fr. Peter Ascik at: prolifesignup@gmail.com
10th Annual Divine Mercy Day of Healing - The Joy of Mercy
Please join us for the annual Divine Mercy Day of Healing, Saturday, October 19, 2019. Our theme this year is "The Joy of Mercy."
St. Matthew Catholic Church's Divine Mercy Day of Healing begins with Mass at 9AM, and includes singing the Divine Mercy Chaplet, Anointing of the Sick, and the Blessing with St. Faustina's Relic, followed by a Continental Breakfast provided in the banquet room in the New Life Center. This symposium is from 9AM to 3PM.
or by check at the church office. Registration is $35.00 per person; seniors and students, $25.00.
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Donated Goods
A big thank you to all volunteers that help the St. Matthew Donated Goods Ministry!
Next monthly collection of donated goods is Saturday September 14th from 8am until noon.
Volunteers needed
for all activities including sorting and packing but especially those that can help load and unload furniture and those that have trucks that can pick up from households that are donating furniture.
Many thanks to all of our volunteers.
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Pancake Breakfast
Sun, Sept 15th
Back-2-School
This is our first full Pancake Breakfast of our 2019/2020 fiscal year. The focus this year is
"Great food at a good price while getting to know your fellow parishioners".
You will find price reductions for all, especially for families! We have also adjusted the menu to focus on pancakes and eggs.
So come out after Mass and enjoy breakfast with your family and friends!
Knights presenting a current membership card receive a $2.00 discount!
YOU
are needed to help make this and all our breakfasts a Success!
Please
consider helping on Saturday and/or Sunday!
If
you can't help, please come and enjoy a great meal!!
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Council's Thanksgiving Turkey Drive!
Our Council's annual Turkey Drive is scheduled for the third week of November. Our Council will purchase 150 to 200 Thanksgiving Turkey dinners for families in East Charlotte. The Council provides frozen turkeys and other food items to the Sisters of Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity who will distribute the food.
Your donation of $35.00 will help cover the cost of one Thanksgiving meal for a family. Checks should be made payable to KofC Council 10852 and mailed to: Knights of Columbus, 9009 Bryant Farms Road, Charlotte, NC, 28277. You can also give cash or checks to either Ron Schumacher or Earl Hartenstine. Please put "Turkey Drive" on the memo line of your check. We can take Credit Cards (see Ron for gifts by credit card).
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Field Agent Report
September is Life Insurance Awareness Month. It's the one month each year that the life insurance industry coordinates a campaign aimed at educating folks about the importance of life insurance and helping them get the coverage they need. I don't want to bore you with lots of statistics, but a recent survey from LIMRA (Life Insurance Marketing Research Association) found that only 59% of Americans own life insurance and about half of those are underinsured. So that means that 70% of the population either has no life insurance or has too little life insurance.
So what does that have to do with the Knights? The historian, Christopher Kauffman, spent several years at the Supreme Office and at the Museum, researching the book that he wrote on the 100th anniversary of our founding. That book, Faith and Fraternalism, notes on page 13, "...he [Fr. McGivney] was deeply interested in pursuing the topic of a Catholic fraternal insurance society among groups of Catholic laymen of New Haven." Then on page 35 Mr. Kauffman goes on, "...he [Fr. McGivney again] spent his energy in promoting the insurance feature...his emphasis on business was his pastoral concern for the social and financial security of the family."
Fr. McGivney lived both the social and the financial insecurity of a desperate family, with the breadwinner suddenly taken, that had to be supported.
He left the seminary to work and support his mother and siblings. He didn't want other Catholic families to find themselves in such a predicament. That, and uniting men of faith, was the impetus for establishing our Order. Everyone who joined in those first years was insured; that was part and parcel of being in the organization. Now every member has a choice and every member should know what we do, and how we do it.
Here's the process I use when I meet with families:
1. Discover - Identify & prioritize your financial goals
2. Gather Data - Collect facts & figures based on your current situation
3. Analyze - Input data, run calculations, identify shortfalls
4. Recommend - Propose a financial strategy designed to satisfy your goals
5. Implement - Choose a financial strategy and implement
6. Periodic Review - Review regularly, measure success, make adjustments
s you can tell, this is a painless process. But it can help any family, at any age, determine if they have blind spots in their coverage. It can help you avoid the pain of being underinsured. With a variety of life insurance products we offer we can help just about any person within any budget.
I don't know about you, but I don't want to buy life insurance...I want to buy what life insurance provides: no change in lifestyle for the survivors...in the house where they want to be. It pays for a daughter's wedding, a child's college education and much more. What does life insurance provide? Peace of mind, security, freedom from anxiety, a safeguard from the unknown.
That's where I can help.
Larry Lantz
KC
Field Agent #18547
(704) 305-0699
larry.lantz@kofc.org
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American Flags for Sale
The George L. Gettier Assembly 780 is selling 3 ft x 5 ft. American Flags for $25. These flags are made in the good old United States of America.
When flags are purchased by a St. Matthew Knights of Columbus Council 10852 member, $5 of the proceeds is returned to Council 10852.
Sir Knight Chuck Elgin, Faithful Navigator of Assembly 780, will have the flags available for sale at Council 10852 and Assembly 780 Business Meetings. Cash, Checks and Credit Cards are accepted.
If you cannot attend an Assembly 780 or Council 10852 Business meeting but are interested in a flag, please contact Faithful Navigator Chuck Elgin at Email:
celgin01@earthlink.net; Call or Text: 704-614-0504.
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KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS BINGO
Where: South Charlotte Banquet Center
9009 Bryant Farms Road, Charlotte, NC 28277
When: Every Monday with doors opening at 5:30 pm.
Who: Open to the general public.
Games: We play a total of 17 games. The "Early Bird" game starts at 6:45 pm with 100% of the
money collected going to the winner(s). 16 more games follow starting at 7:00 pm.
Prizes: Prizes vary based on the number of people playing and the number of cards
purchased. The typical nightly game prizes have been around: Early Bird game - over $300 ... 8 Regular games - $75 per game ... 7 Special games - $130 per game ... Coverall game - $500.
Cost: The minimum cost is $10. That lets you play 9 of the 17 games. If a person wants to play
all 17 games the minimum is $18. The average player spends around $25. Young children can pay $2 to play the 9 games minimum or $10 to play all 17 games.
How Long: Bingo is normally done by 9:45 pm.
Supports The profits from Bingo goes to the Charities of the Knights of Columbus. We have donated primarily to St. Matthew Catholic Church in the past but have also made contributions to LAMB.
CALLING KNIGHTS TO HELP:
We group our volunteers into 5 teams. Each team is scheduled to work once every 5 weeks. Holidays
nights are covered by a volunteer team, so a team may work once every 6 weeks on occasion. We can use more callers (we can train). We record all items on a computer and if interested, we can train you for that process also.
There are a few husbands and wives working on a team. In addition, we have wives that play while their husband works on a team. If you have a high school or older child that would like to help, we can use them also.
If you work, all items from the Bingo kitchen are free.
This can be a great family team event.
If you have questions or want to help p
lease contact:
Ron Schumacher 704-618-2442 or reschu8@gmail.com
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Lumberton Needs YOU - Now More Than Ever after Florence & Michael!
The Lumberton ministry name is changing to "Christian Responders". While we are still doing work at the Lumberton, NC area, we are also gearing up to be able to respond to out disasters or needs.
We are a truly diversified group of people with several things in common:
* We enjoy helping people in need... in fact it nourishes our souls to get out and actually assist people in need.
* We like experiencing spiritual growth, attending church together, sharing our faith, learning from each other, learning from the people we serve, and being the hands and feet of Jesus.
* We enjoy socialization, making new relationships, and celebrating life together.Together we work, rest, pray, talk, laugh, eat meals, and help God's people who desperately need assistance.
* We enjoy having people of all ages and skills, especially families with teens, and we're committed to building a team of diversified people who enjoy traveling together for a weekend or other time frame to help disaster survivors in their time of need.
WE ARE NOW HELPING HURRICANE FLOOD VICTIMS in LUMBERTON, NC:
Activity: Helping restore houses so flood victims can return to their homes.
Lodging: We will be staying at the United Methodist Church in Lumberton.
Requirements: A desire to help God help those in need. No experience needed.
Please join "Christian Responders" in helping our neighbors by going to Lumberton, NC for a weekend and working with us and the United Methodist Church in restoring the homes of flood victims.
Contact: For information, please contact Joe George at
jmecgeorge@aol.com or 704-906-0784, Ron Schumacher at
reschu8@gmail.com or 704-618-2442, or Ray Misiunas at 980-226-4100/
Our team is busy recruiting volunteers for our upcoming weekends in March, April and May. We are also seeking trainers to assist with teaching our volunteers basic home repair skills.
Please forward this link to all those who may be interested!
In Gratitude,
Joe George
704-906-0784
Stephanie Chadwick
704-650-1016
Christian Responders Ministry
St. Matthew Catholic Church
Charlotte, NC
Email:
christianresponders@gmail.com
Web:
https://stmatthewcatholic.org/responders
CLICK TO VOLUNTEER
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Mark your calendars!
KofC Council 10852 - Faith in Action!
⦁
September Calendar Events:
September 6&7 - Eucharistic Congress
September 11 - Council Business Meeting
September 14 - Donated Goods at 7:45 am
September 15 - KofC Parish Pancake Breakfast
September 18 - Knight's Mass at 7:30 pm
September 21&22 - Car Raffle ticket sales begin!
September 25 - Council Officer's Meeting at 6:30 pm
September 28&29 - Operation LAMB!
⦁
October Calendar Events:
October 2 - Council Business Meeting at 7 pm
October 5&6 - Car Raffle ticket sales
October 13 - St. Matthew's Fall Festival, 12 to 4 pm
October 13 - Car Raffle Drawing at 4 pm!
October 16 - Knight's Mass at 7:30 pm
October 22 - Assembly 780 Meeting
October 23 - Council Officer's Meeting at 6:30 pm
October 29 - Assembly 780's 5th for the 4th Dinner
Mark your calendars! There is a 3rd Degree scheduled for October 5th in Concord, NC. Plan now to attend this degree and move up to full Knighthood. Information about carpooling will be forthcoming! Direct questions to Brother Don Gacevich at: (626) 393-1876.
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September 2019
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1
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2
Bingo
Mens Shelter
Cooking
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3
Mens Shelter Serving
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4
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5
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6
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7
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8
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9
BINGO
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10
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11
7 pm - Knight's Business Meeting
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13
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14
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15
Parish Breakfast
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16
BINGO
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17
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18
7:30 PM:
Knights Mass
7 PM
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19
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20
Eucharistic
Adoration
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21
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22
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23
BINGO
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24
Assembly 780 Meeting
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25
6:30 PM Officers Meeting
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26
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27
Eucharistic
Adoration
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28
Operation Lamb
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29
Operation Lamb
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30
BINGO
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October 2019
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1
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2
7 pm - Knight's Business Meeting
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
Men Shelter Cooking
BINGO
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8
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9
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10
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11
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12
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13
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14
BINGO
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15
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17
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18
Eucharistic
Adoration
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19
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20
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21
BINGO
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22
Assembly 780 Meeting
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23
6:30 PM Officers Meeting
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24
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25
Eucharistic
Adoration
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26
Operation Lamb
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27
Operation Lamb
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28
BINGO
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29
5th for the 4th dinner
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30
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31
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2019/2020 Council Officers
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The Grand Knight and Council Officers wish all Brother Knights with September birthdays a Very Happy Birthday! May God bless you with good health and much happiness for many more years.
We especially want to recognize a few of our Senior Knights:
Brother George Callahan (1923)
Brother Don Hodges (1934)
Brother Larry Perez (1934)
and the baby of the group...
Brother Luis Colon (1939)
For The Good of the Order: Please keep Brother Thomas Carton in your prayers as he is scheduled to have open-heart surgery on September 10. We wish him good health and a quick recovery!
Mary, Queen of Knights - Pray for us!
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