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A Spiritual Thought
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On January 1, we will be celebrating the feast day of Mary, Mother of God. Let’s pray to Mary often for her constant help in getting closer to our Lord. Also, let’s learn from her. As St. Josemaria de Balaguer states in the Way: “Mary most holy, Mother of God, passes unnoticed, just as one more among the women of her town. Learn from her how to live with ‘naturalness’.” (page 122 of the Way/Furrow/the Forge by St. Josemaria de Balaguer).
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First of all, I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas and that you will have a very Happy New Year. Let’s make this the best year ever for our District. Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work!
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I would like to congratulate our 2 newest Brother Knights in the District: Brother Paul Maxwell of Council 1684 and Brother Alex Rodriguez of Council 5300. Both Brother Knights took their first degree on Wednesday, December 5 at Council 1684. Congratulations!
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As I reported at the Council meetings in December, the District Deputies’ Mid Year meeting took place on December 1 and 2 in Ontario, CA. The meeting was very fruitful and each of us District Deputies were given plenty of information to pass on to the various Councils in our Districts. A summary follows but if you would like more details, please visit the California KC website at www.kofc-california.org. In the lower right hand part of the screen, there is a green dot. Click on that dot and it will bring up a web page with links to download the outline of the meeting.
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District Deputies’ Mid Year Meeting:
- Fr. Grace (our current State Chaplain) started out the convention by making a very strong speech for bringing spirituality back into the councils. He wants us to spend at least 10 minutes per meeting discussing the articles Bishop Lori is writing in the Columbia magazine. Starting in January, we will be implementing his request.
- The State Convention is coming up in May and if anyone wants to attend, please let me know.
- The California Knights have a new museum now about the history of the Knights in California. It is located in Fontana and is devoted to displaying memorabilia from the past years of the Knights in California. The museum is actively looking for donations of money and items and all items donated are tax deductible.
- KC insurance is very strong and current policies in force right now total to $6.4 billion dollars. The KC insurance program again is rated among the 6 best insurance programs in the US. Every Knight should have insurance with the Knights of Columbus. One way to ensure that this is affordable is through the new member plan which was recently expanded to all current members of the Knights (everyone should have received a copy) for a limited time.
- Our IPSD and current Supreme Director, Emilio Moure, reported that things aren’t going too well in California with regard to membership. We are 2nd to last in terms of the number of Catholics who belong to the Knights. Emilio wants us to attain 150,000 new Knights in the next 5 years. We can do this if we visualize the dream, make a commitment to the dream and eliminate excuses and pray. Since 32 Bishops in California are behind us, Emilio wants us to be in constant communication with them. Emilio also wants us to outreach to other nationalities such as the Hispanics, Filipinos, etc.
- The Fr. McGivney Guild was discussed. The State would like all members to sign up for the Guild. The only requirement is that members sign up and pray the Fr. McGivney prayer card.
- Some time was spent discussing new council development including Spanish speaking councils. Bobby Velasquez and his staff are ready to assist in this process (David Farebrother is thinking of starting a college council at Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula).
- The net/net gain in new Knights is very low right now. We are well below the membership targets set up for the year. PSD Ross Willour suggested that each officer be responsible for bringing in 2 new Knights per year. There are 2 more blitzes coming up during the year: January 12-13, 2008 and April-26-27, 2008.
- The wheelchair contributions are down and should be increased. Wheelchairs are not only being given to needy persons in Mexico but also to Veterans in the US (LA, Dallas, Chicago and Washington, DC). We should be contributing more to buy more wheelchairs. We watched a very moving video made in 2006 about the latest distribution in Mexico. Chris Lewis also talked about how much other states are contributing (Illinois-$2 million dollars). Chris will be happy to speak at any event (the Clergy Appreciation Dinner was suggested).
- The Squires program was discussed – all it takes is 10 boys supervised by the Knights.
- The Family Activities Director should be picking out and recognizing one family of the month.
- The West Coast Walk for Life is coming up on 1/19/08.
- We heard from the Supreme Membership Director, Kevin Kirby, who stated that membership is a 24 hour, 7 day a week job. Every Knight has the responsibility to recruit.
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Programs:
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Council 1684 hosted their annual Christmas party on December 12. On Wednesday, January 9, the Chapter meeting will take place right before the Council’s regular business meeting. Please make every effort to attend.
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Council 5300 hosted their Christmas party on December 1. On December 9, the council hosted a blood drive along with the pancake breakfast. Council 5300 will be hosting a First Degree on Monday, February 11, 2008. Candidates should be there at 7 PM with the degree starting at 7:30 PM. Let’s make every effort to welcome many Brother Knights that night into our councils!
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Council 10067 (Satticoy) will host a February Valentine’s Dinner/Dance on February 16 at their Council.
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Other Notes:
- The following forms are due within the next few months: Form 4584 – Special Olympics Results Form, Form 1728 – Fraternal Activities report – Jan 31, Semi Annual Audit-Feb 15.
- Right now, the district is at 36% of membership and 75% of insurance. We have a long way to go with membership and already 1/2 of the fraternal year is over. Brothers, we can do better! Let’s get those candidates who have filled out Form 100s into a first degree. Let’s step up our efforts to invite our fellow Catholics into our Order. Remember, it is every Knight’s responsibility to recruit.
- Council 1684 & 5300’s joint Clergy Appreciation Dinner is scheduled for January 30, 2008. Make your plans now to attend. All Knights are invited and encouraged to attend. The cost is only $15. See Council 5300’s website at www.kc5300.org for more details.
- Please be sure to visit the K of C’s website (www.kc5300.org) when you get a chance for up to date information about what the Order is doing at the national level.
- During the DD’s convention, Fr. Grace was presented with an honor roll of all the Knights who took their first degree between May 1 and June 30, 2007. Five Brother Knights from our District were included on that roll: Brothers Philip Friden (1684), Antonio Aceves (5300), George Velasquez (5300), Javier Alvarez (13756) and Michael Betliskey (13756). Congratulations, Brothers!
- From December 1 to April 20, 2008, all new first degree Brother Knights will be listed in a special book that Supreme Knight Carl Anderson will present to Pope Benedict XVI when the Pope visits the United States in April. All new first degree Brother Knights who take their first degree between December 1 and June 30, 2008 will be presented with a limited edition certificate acknowledging their joining the Knights during the 125th year of our Order. Finally, the Knight’s recruiter will receive a minted medallion acknowledging their efforts.
- Please make sure to pray for the repose of the souls of the following Knights: Dick Allen, Col. Bravo (father of PCP John Bravo), Henry Hyde, DD Tom Lambdin and Fr. Luis Quihuis. Finally, remember to pray for all of our sick and deceased Brother Knights.
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