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September 2003
VOLUME XXVIII ISSUE 3
Contents . . .
Grand Knights Message
THIS IS OUR TIME...Knights are needed more than ever today. The Catholic family and traditions are under assault from all sides, our clergy are portrayed as evil...our Holy Father as an invalid...Our church traditions as bigoted...Our reverence for life as chuavenistic...our insistence that marriage is a sacred act between a man and woman as "narrow minded"...and our faith in the traditional family of a father, mother and children as outdated...
We need to stand -up. We need to be a force for change and action. It is time to be counted, join your brothers to stand together and take action. And we need more Catholic men to stand with us.
It isn't hard, email and write to the newspapers, and your political representatives. Give your time to collect food for S.O.M.E. Help to collect funds for the Mentally ill. Attend first Friday devotion and benediction of the Holy Eucharist. Be active in your council, help with Family activities. Teach a CCD session, be a lector, a eucharistic minister, an usher, or serve on the parish council. Be active in the parish and community while proclaiming your membership in the Knights of Columbus. WEAR THE SYMBOL OF OUR ORDER PROUDLY WHENEVER YOU DO ANY OF THESE THINGS.
If each of us does his share, enlists the support of brother knights, recruits new members and lives his life according to the precepts of our order we can change the world and truly defend and support our lord Jesus Christ, our Heavenly Father, our church, our Families and our communities.
May Each of us Receive the Graces Exemplified by the Saints
Strength and Courage of John the Baptist,
Patience and Wisdom of Joseph, Foster Father of Christ,
The Vision and Love of St. Francis,
And the Clarity and Obedience of the Archangel Gabriel
Rick L. Allison, GK
Chaplain's Message
Where has the summer gone? Everyone I talk to feels the same way. It seems that, with all the rain and cool weather in May, June, and July, summer has just begun. Well, we can all hope for a warmer than usual Fall and a mild Winter.
I am very impressed with our new Supreme Knight, Carl Anderson. He is speaking out boldly about abortion. He is being quoted in the national media and in editorials. We should be grateful that we have such a courageous advocate of the unborn as our Supreme Knight.
We can all follow his example and not be afraid to speak out about abortion, especially in the political arena. We need to challenge political candidates, especially Catholic ones, to support the Gospel of Life. Even in our daily lives, when we talk politics with people, do not be afraid to tell them that a candidate's stand on abortion should be the number one (or even only) criteria on which to give him his vote. Abortion is not just a national issue for the Supreme Court. There are many issues related to abortion that are controlled by local governments: sex education, "health care" benefits that pay for abortions, regulation of abortion clinics, legislation to force Catholic hospitals to perform abortions. Every year there is at least one bill in the Maryland Legislature that concerns the spreading of the culture of death in our community. As the culture of death has come from the Supreme Court down to our local communities, so the Culture of Life can rise up from our local communities.
Fr. LaHood
Insurance News
by Rick Morin, FICF, LUTCF, Your K of C Agent 301.384.7627
FRATERNAL BENEFITS -- INSURANCE ODDS ARE SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
When the buyer of a new home takes possession of his dream house, the first thing he usually does is to protect his investment with an insurance policy against loss or damage by fire. It's the sensible thing to do, but the homeowner who lets it go at that is making a mistake which could later be a source of great hardship to his family.
Insurance actuaries, the people who calculate the risks and set the premiums, offer statistical evidence that fire is not the greatest hazard to the average homeowner. For every home destroyed by fire, sixteen homeowners will die before they pay off their mortgage.
This means that the homeowner who protects his investment against fire and similar hazards without also protecting his family against his own death, is playing a long shot at sixteen-to-one odds with his family taking all the risk!
The simple and relatively inexpensive answer to this problem is mortgage redemption insurance. This insurance is a guarantee that if the breadwinner dies at any time prior to full payment of the mortgage, his family will inherit their home debt free. Such policies usually become a source of substantial savings.
Call me today for your free analysis.
District Deputy Report
by Joe Feakes
Well summer is over and everything is back to normal? It is now time to refocus on the health and future of our councils and our order. That means programs and membership. I hope that everyone who attended the Program and Membership Seminar has been able to share what they learned with their brother knights. I know we have a tremendous amount of talent in our district. I ask that you make every attempt to involve as many of your brother knights and their families as possible in the planning and execution of your membership drives and all your other activities.
There is a major event coming up in October. Not only is it Tootsie Roll Month, but it marks the first time that we will be part of an order-wide recruitment drive. You will be receiving much more information on this later. However, now is the time to set your plans in place. Every council member is on the Membership Team. Check your calendars and set a little time aside on October 18th or 19th. Your council and our order need your help to bring in those most important new members.
This month we mark the second anniversary of the awful events of September 11th. Please continue to remember the men and women who were victims of that tragedy and their families and friends. Remember also the men and women in the Armed Forces and how they exemplify the principles of the Knights of Columbus; Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism. As Knights, let us remain in the forefront proclaiming all that is good about our country, our order, and our faith.
By the time you read this article we will have most likely completed all the Council Installations in the district. My thanks to everyone who helped make these celebrations successful. My congratulations to all the new council officers, to you, along with our District Warden, Yen Le, I offer my 100% support. I ask that each member of the council consider one way they can show their support as well. These men have taken a pledge to serve their council. Your help is vital if they are to fulfill that pledge.
All of us, Yen and I, and our wives Nu and Lynn, wish all of you a successful fraternal year.
Vivat Jesus
Important Announcements from the Chancellor
by Bill Gulban
The first order of council member name tags has been completed. As I indicated in last month's newsletter I've called some new members to arrange for preferred name or nick-name and prepayment for ordering. The cost is $5.00. An additional option, members can order a nametag for their wife to wear at KC functions or social events. The cost is $3.00. Any member can call me and order their nametag at 301-774-0424.
Prayer remembrance. Beginning this issue of our newsletter I have established a prayer list for members, relatives & friends who are ill, and a list of deceased. In this way prayers are offered by newsletter readers more than by only the group who attends our council meetings. Any person can call me for requesting prayers offered. Simply call 301-774-0424 and leave the name of the Brother Knight or a member relationship. The newsletter will publish the prayer list in the following month.
As I announced in the last newsletter our council is planning a most needed fundraiser event. The date is Saturday, October 18, 2003 for our first "Garage to Attic Sale". Msgr. Kane of St. Patrick's Church has been so kind to us and allowed us to sell donated give aways next to and inside the Parish Center. So start collecting and save your give aways. Much help is needed to carry on this fundraiser project and I am calling for your assistance whether it be a donation, help is selling, spreading the word for collecting and saving items that you want to get rid of in your domain, sign making, assist transportation of items collected at Marians and deliver to St. Patrick's, runners, telephone tree, and hot-dog cooking & selling. Sharing some of your time, even a couple of hours to help in carrying on this project will help in making this project a success. There will be planning meetings in the near future weeks. Ideas are welcomed. Please see my article on another page of this newsletter.
Inwood House Halloween Festival
This year our Halloween Festival for Inwood House Residents will be held on Saturday October 25th, 2003. Please come to our "Kick-off Koffee" @ 7:30 P.M. on Wednesday, September 17th to be held at Padams' home at 3624 Martin's Dairy Circle, Olney, MD. We will need many volunteers-including last year's committee.
All interested knights (and their wives) please come on Sept. 17th with your ideas for this year's Festival...
This activity is one of the Council's Community Adtivities which has been so successful in the past. All the residents at Inwood House are excitied about the prospect of another Festival.
(This will be our Fourth year offering such a party for the disabled residents). Last year we served 115 guests!
For directions, call Jim Padams at 301-570-5213.
Attention: Volunteers for Inwood House Festival
(and all interested Brother Knights)
Remember to come to "Kick-off Koffee" at Padams's to plan this year's Halloween Festival for the disabled at Inwood House. (October 25th) Come with your enthusiasm and ideas on September 17th at 7:30 P.M. Call Jim for directions 301-570-5213.
Needed: Door Prizes for Halloween Festival
Last year was our 4th successful Halloween Festival for Inwood House. We were able to give many door prizes and our GOAL this year is to have a prize for everyone. Please look through your basement and closets for some little "treasure" that will be suitable for a door prize. Last year Brother Knights donated items like music boxes, costume jewelry, watches, clocks, and various knick-knacks, .etc.! Or perhaps you would like to donate a food certificate from Safeway or Giant of $10.00 or more?
This small consideration would provide much joy and happiness to the guests at our Festival. The look of excitement of "winning" any prize is worth a thousand words.
Call or bring items to Jim Padams before October 1st. Tel: 301-570-5213
Health for K of C Membership
by Bill Gulban
Something that you do every day without thinking (though maybe not for long enough) can help you outdistance two of the most importance diseases of our time, diabetes and heart disease. Walking can help control these if you have one or both, and it can help prevent them if you don't.
What walking can do for you. A brisk walk makes your heart beat faster. Do it several times a week and it strengthens your heart, just like lifting weights builds arm and leg muscles. Walking, or any kind of regular exercise, also rejuvenates the endothelium, the layer of tissue that lines your arteries. The healthier your endothelium, the more protection you have against the buildup of cholesterol-laden plaque and the formation of blood clots. Regular exercise-and includes walking-is key for controlling weight. For a 175-pound person, walking briskly for half an hour three times a week can burn off 10 pounds or so over the course of a year (assuming you don't snack after you walk). It can keep the heart in good shape by controlling blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Also, there is more. Exercise also boosts energy, reduces fatigue, relieves stress, and improves sleep.
Starting a walking program. The beauty of walking is that it's gentle on the joints, doesn't require special equipment or training, andncan be done anywhere and anytime. Truth be told, all you really need to do to start walking is to lace up a comfortable pair of shoes, open your front door, pick a direction, and put one foot in front of the other. The tough part is doing it often enough so it becomes a habit, and a healer. Here are some tips if you haven't exercised in a while and want to start walking:
Start slowly. A 10 minute walk is a great place to start. For the first minute or so, walk at your normal speed. Then try taking more steps each minute-not longer steps-for the next eight minutes, and finish at your normal speed.
Pace yourself. A "brisk walk" means moving quickly enough so your heart is beating faster and you are breathing more deeply than usual, but not fast you can't carry on a normal conversation.
Extend your range. Every week or so, add five minutes to your daily walk.
Make time. Choose the best time of day for your daily walk and stick with it. Some people find that a morning walk helps them prepare for the day. Others fit it in during lunch, or use an afternoon walk to burn off the day's stress. If you don't like walking for 30 minutes, try two 15-minute walks.
Partner for prevention. Walking with a friend make the time fly. It also helps get you moving on the days you'd rather stay home.
Do you need to check with your doctor before starting a walking program? Only if he or she has told you not to exercise. If you're a "people person," a walking club is a great way to do two things at once. Many community and fitness centers, and even some malls, have walking clubs.
This article is supported by the Harvard Heart Letter, Harvard Medical School.
The Council's First Degree Team
Each member of the Knight's of Columbus begins his membership by taking his initiation with the exemplification of the First Degree of the Order. This Degree exemplification is to be done by the Council into which the member is elected, if at all possible.
Father Peter Paul Maher Council has had a First Degree Team to accomplish this exemplification since the Institution of the Council in 1976. For over 25 years the Council's First Degree Team has performed the Degree for our new members.
We are now in danger of loosing our First Degree Team and with it the ability to initiate our new members in our own Council. Long standing members of the team are passing on, moving or are reaching the point where health conditions limit their ability to participate. For the past year we have been in need of a Grand Knight and a Chancellor. We have also suffered losses in the depth we once had at the Financial Secretary and Warden positions.
WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!!!.
Not the guy next to you, not the guy in the next row, BUT YOU! Several members have expressed interest in trying out for parts, but to date no one has completed the effort. Please contact the Degree Team Captain (Bob Caron, PGK 301-774-6951), if you are willing to be a part of this rewarding council function. With over 400 members in the Council, somewhere there are a few members who can step forward to participate.
If no one steps forward, we will probably have to abandon the Team by year's end.
(P.S. This is your Council. Please help to continue our traditions and ceremonies.)
Rick Allison, GK
First Annual Garage-to-Attic Sale
Saturday, October 18, 2003
St. Patrick's Church Parish Center Area
4101 Norbeck Road, Rockville, MD
(1 block West of Georgia Ave. on Norbeck Road)
Entrance Fee: One canned/dry foodstuff (to be donated to a local area food bank)
Join in the FUN!
We need your Furniture, Books, Collectibles, Toys, Clothing, Computers, Sporting Goods, Housewares, Luggage, Jewelry, Furnishings, Linens, Gadgets, Appliances, Lawn Equipment, etc. Clean House and earn a tax deduction at the same time by donating used or almost new, serviceable merchandize to the Knights of Columbus Annual Garage-to-Attic Sale. Deliver items to Marians Grounds garage before Friday, October 17, 2003 between10 am and 7 pm.
Call Bill Gulban (301-774-0424) or Gabe Francis (301-460-4335) for arrangements to assist pick up of large items, or drop off items at the Marians Grounds garage, 19101 Georgia Ave., Brookeville, MD (Georgia Ave,1.5 miles North of Rte 108--see K of C sign). The 1st Annual Garage-to-Attic Sale is sponsored by Fr. Maher Council #6793 of Knights of Columbus and is a major fund raising event which benefits our entire community. Contributions are tax-deductible and proceeds from the sale are for and operation of the Knights of Columbus whose first principle is Charity.
Please be generous and come and have fun! If you have any questions please call Bill Gulban at (301) 774-0424.
Thank you and we look forward to seeing you there!
Korean Catholic Celebration and the Feast Day of St. Andrew Kim
September 19th at 6pm is the first annual liturgy and receprtion to celebrate the founding of Catholism in Korea and the feast of St. Andrew Kim. The celebrant of this special feast day mass is Bishop Kong from the Republic of Korea along with 12 other Korean priests as concelebrants. Our State Deputy, Dick Sherbert and the 4th degree color corps will be in attendance. I hope to see some of my brothers from the host council of this new parish, Fr. Maher council 6793 at this special celebration.
Rick Allison, GK council 6793
Recruiting Blitz -- October 18 and 19
We need every brother knight to contact the team leaders listed below for this recruiting drive.
We need 16 brother knights at each parish. This recruiting drive is our chance to expand and grow.
Contact:
Saint Peter's - Rick Allison or Paul McFarlane
Saint Patrick's - Innocent d'Almeida or Homer Chen
Membership Update
Please return the following information to the next
meeting you can attend (as soon as possible), or
mail it to the Council at the following address:
Knights of Columbus
Father Peter Paul Maher Council No. 6793
P.O. Box 570
Olney, Maryland 20830.
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Membership Update Information
Name: __________________________________________________
Street Address: __________________________________________________
City: __________________________________________________
State: __________________________________________________
Zip Code: __________________________________________________
Home Telephone: __________________________________________________
Work Telephone: __________________________________________________
Primary Email Address: __________________________________________________
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