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June 2004
VOLUME XXVIII ISSUE 12
| Please Patronize Our Advertisers |
The 28th Charter Dinner will be held at 5:30 pm on
Saturday, June 12th at St. Andrew Kim Parish Hall.
Please see the flyer for additional details.
Contents . . .
Grand Knight's Message
by Rick Allison
Good Brothers, It has been a privilege to have served as your Grand Knight for the past two years. I am grateful to all who pitched in to assist with the events we were able to host and those who stepped in to fill the vacancies left by the older experienced Knights who served as Dick Sherbert's state team and assistants. This next year will be dynamic and fruitful under Innocent's leadership. He has some very nice fundraising activities planned.
We have entered into the ordinary period of the church year. The vestments are green as is our countryside and our hearts, with the fullness of the message of Christ. This is the time when many people "take a break" with vacations and other diversions. We as knights cannot "take a break". Abortion, legalized same sex alliances (I will not call them marriages), and attacks on decency continue. We as Knights must stand for the teachings and laws of our church and our vicar in Christ Pope John Paul II.
As my last epistle I would like to charge all of us to be involved and outspoken as Knights of Columbus to defend and support our faith and beliefs. Let us all do our part to continue the work of the order and the protection of our lives and families.
A prayer for our council
We are the spouses of Christ when our souls are joined to our Lord Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. We are brothers of Christ when we do the will of the Father, who is in heaven. We are the fathers of Christ when we carry him in our hearts and body through divine love and a pure and sincere conscience. We are the servants of Christ when we give birth to his holy manner of working in the world, which should shine before others as an example.
Paraphrased from St. Francis of Assisi, First version of the Letter to the Faithful
Chaplain's Message
by Father LaHood
As we begin a new fraternal year, we elect a new slate of officers to lead us in the coming year. We should all support our officers, particularly Innocent d'Almeida our new Worthy Grand Knight. Please keep him especially in your prayers. I see many good things happening in our Council. Most importantly, we have many new, younger brother Knights who are becoming active. We can thank Rick Allison for leading us these last two years. Much that is improved about our Council is because of his leadership. On behalf of all of you I wish Rick all the best as Past Grand Knight and thank him for all he has done for the Council.
It seems we went right from winter into summer. One day it seemed as if it would never get warm, then suddenly, it felt like the middle of July. The seventeen year cicadas are adding a little spice (and noise) to our early summer. The Easter Season has now come and gone. The joy of Easter is now a memory as we settle into our summer routine and vacation. But know that the grace of our celebrations of this Holy Season is with us all year. The joy of the Risen Christ is present at every Mass. This summer keep up your habits of prayer, Mass, and confession. Take the extra effort. The grace of these practices will prepare you well for the year ahead as well as keep you close to the Lord.
God Bless you all.
Have a great summer.
District Deputy Message
by Joe Feakes
Wow!!! Where did those two years go? I could fill this entire newsletter with the "thank yous" I need to say. There are a few people that deserve recognition. I owe a great deal of gratitude to our District Warden Yen Le and his wife Nu. They have given a tremendous amount of time and energy in support of the District and the State. I want to thank all the Grand Knights and the officers, chairmen, and chairladies for all their help and enthusiasm. I want to publicly thank all the State Officers and the entire State Family for all their hard work and dedication to the principles of the Knights of Columbus. Finally, I want to extend my deepest appreciation to my wife, Lynn. Without her encouragement and love, it could have been very difficult.
That's enough about the past. Let's look at the future. There is still an awful lot of work to be done. We all know of projects in our councils, churches, communities, families, and for our youth that need our attention. Don't forget about membership. Plan to get a fast start on next year's goals. Everyone is on the membership team. Plan on getting involved in the council, district, and state programs. I promise you that there is something for everybody. Be ready to support your incoming Grand Knight and his officers, they will be looking for your ideas.
Finally, don't ignore the cornerstone of the Knights of Columbus, our Catholic faith. Underneath the Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism lies our belief in Jesus Christ and our dedication to his Blessed Mother. Try and find that Rosary you were given at the First Degree and use it. The world is not a happy place right now. Prayer can make a difference.
Insurance Report
by Fraternally, Rick Morin, FICF/LUTCF Your K of C Insurance Agent (301) 384 7627
WILL YOU BE READY?
Will you be ready to change occupations when you reach your company's mandatory retirement age? If you do not have an adequate monthly income at that time, there's a good chance that you will be working at low-paying, part-time jobs just to maintain a decent standard of living.
Well over 50% of the people who retire need supplemental income because they find that their retirement benefits and company pension plan cannot keep u with inflation and ever-rising costs of living. And no one wants to drastically reduce their standard of living after they've spent their working years trying to raise it.
We want you to enjoy your retirement years in dignity. Let me help you plan to be comfortable. Call me today for an appointment
Announcements from the Chancellor
This is my last article wearing the shoes of our Council Chancellor. I certainly enjoyed the elected position for our council year. The challenges I've encountered were to improve the activities and events that were assigned to me as Chancellor. Those duties included the participation of council membership, special interest in new members, and those who are sick or in distress. As most know the lack of operating funds has dampened the spirit of the council directly by not having events that require expense like dinner dances and entertainment. When funds were lacking a call for a chairman of ways and means committee and to lead planning for fund raising activities was not found. By undertaking a temporary role in fund raising the attic & garage and spaghetti dinner I enjoyed working with committed team members This was and still is a mere beginning to other larger fund raising events that the council needs. For months and even years the council has not put into the "till" for operating funds and there is insufficient amount to carry out fun and entertaining activities for membership. This will change next council year. I wish the best to the next Chancellor and to all the new elected officers. I anticipate serving as one of the appointed Directors for next council year.
Prayer remembrance. The names listed in this newsletter were offered in prayer lead by Chaplain Fr. LaHood during the meeting on May 12. Anyone reading these names is asked to keep them in your prayers. Again, I remind everyone, any person related to our Council whether family member or friends may call me requesting prayers for family members, relatives of friends who are ill or deceased and their name will be offered in prayer when Council members gather at monthly meetings or individually by readers of this newsletter.
Scholarship fund. Please see my article on Scholarship Awards Presentation Night and I hope to see many members and their families on June 23, our last social meeting of the council year.
Nametags for many other new members and wives are requested to be ordered. Those not having them are asked to call me or complete the form in this newsletter, cut it out, and send it to me at P.O. Box 570, Olney, MD 20830. Your preferred name, nick name, abbreviated or formal name can be inscribed on the nametag. The prepaid charge is $5.00. Members can order a nametag for their wife to wear at KC functions or social events. The cost is $3.00. Widows of the Council are no charge. Please order your nametags by sending me the completed form or calling me at (301) 774-042.
---------------------------------------------------------- MEMBER NAME TAG ORDER FORM Preferred name ____________________________ $5.00 Wife's name ____________________________ $3.00 (print exact spelling how you want it to appear on tag) ----------------------------------------------------------
Health for K of C Membership Longevity
by Bill Gulban
Quick fixes for Common Problems. How to Get to Sleep & Stay Asleep. An occasional night without sleep is an annoyance, but persistent insomnia-and the crushing fatigue that results-can threaten your health and the health of others. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that insufficient sleep contributes to more than 100,000 traffic accidents each year. People with chronic insomnia often underperform at work...have family problems...and are four times more likely to suffer from depression than those who sleep soundly.
What causes insomnia? Some people are born with a neurological "hardwiring" that causes hyperarousal-the brain stays alert when it is time to sleep. Other causes...Negative life experiences, such as a stressful family life or childhood abuse. Stress and anxiety inhibit sleep by causing the brain to remain "on guard." Medical problems, such as restless legs syndrome, which causes leg pain or discomfort at night...sleep apnea, a condition in which breathing periodically stops-sometimes hundreds of times each night. Restless legs syndrome is usually treated with medication, vitamins and other preventive measures. Sleep apnea may require surgery, respiratory devices and/or exercise. Disruptions of the body's internal clock. Individuals with advanced sleep phase syndrome fall asleep very early in the evening and wake up very early in the morning. People with delayed sleep phase syndrome fall asleep very late and wake up late the following day.
Best treatments. Insomnia that is caused by medical problem or hormonal change will generally clear up when the underlying condition is treated. Other cases usually require a combination of drug and behavioral treatments. Drugs will provide immediate relief. Behavioral therapy has long term benefits that may make medication unnecessary. Psychotherapy may also be necessary to relieve anxiety. Nearly everyone with insomnia sleeps better when they develop better lifestyle habits.
Some behavioral approaches
This article is supported by Bottom Line Boardroom, opinions of expert authorities on health.
Scholarship Awards Presentation Night
by Bill Gulban
The date is set on June 23, 2004, for the Council Annual Memorial Scholarship Awards Night and will be held at the Marians Assisted Living dining room. Each year, our Council offers scholarships to deserving graduating high school seniors who has accepted as full time students to an accredited college or university following their senior high school year. Council members, their family and friends are invited to attend this wonderful occasion to meet the winning high school students who applied to the Fr. Treacy Memorial College Scholarship grant. This year, as Scholarship Committee Chairman, I am privileged to announce the winners of the four scholarships. Each winning student will receive $1000 from our Council scholarship fund towards college tuition. The students named are Melissa Caporaletti, Peter Hadley, Megan Harrington, and Christiana Powers. Also, I want to thank my team who reviewed the 11 applications. They include the past council Chancellor, Paul McFarlane, Bill Ketter (Trustee, PGK), Kevin Kennedy, and Mark Johnson.
Please attend the awards night, June 23, at 8:00 pm, which is the last social meeting our Council year. Light refreshments will be served.
Are You Pro-life........Everyday?
Help Save Babies Lives
We need someone with modest computer skills to help with our Pro-Life work. Call: Ben Santaiti at 301-774-6636.
Spring Fund-Raising Raffle
To date about 110 members (36%) have returned their raffle ticket stubs. Please check, and if you have not yet sent yours in, DO SO NOW. If you have misplaced your tickets, please contact the chairman for replacements. The raffle Prizes, ( First Prize - $500; Second Prize - $100; Third Prize - $50) will be drawn at the last meeting of this Council Year on June 23, 2004.
The ultimate success of the raffle will depend on maximum participation. We need the support of every member. We sent every member twelve tickets in hopes that all would participate to that level. We understand that some cannot, therefore we need whatever extra participation other members can contribute. Extra tickets are still available from the Chairman. (Bob Caron 301-774-6951). Several members have made significant contributions in addition to their ticket sales. We are truly thankful for their support. All ticket returns must be in before the meeting on June 23, 2004. Ticket stubs can be mailed back in the envelope provided or they can be turned in at any meeting. (Thanks to all those who have responded to date.)