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A Spiritual Thought
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Traditionally, the month of June is devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. A good way to approach Jesus is through His mother, Mary. As St. Josemaria de Balaguer states in the Furrow: “Get accustomed to entrusting your poor heart to the Sweet and Immaculate Heart of Mary, so that she may purify it from so much dross, and lead it to the Most Sacred and Most Merciful Heart of Jesus.” (page 499 of the Way/Furrow/the Forge by St. Josemaria de Balaguer).
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Before reporting on the programs and activities of the district, I just wanted to say THANK YOU for allowing me to serve you as your District Deputy for this past Columbian Year. It has been a privilege and pleasure. Each and every one of you definitely embody the core principles of our Order: Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism. I look forward to serving you again in this coming Columbian Year. Keep up the great work!
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State Convention:
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Several of us from the District recently attended the State Convention in San Jose. As usual, the convention was informative and entertaining. We heard from a number of state committeemen about the various programs occurring throughout the State and from our State Deputy Jim Scroggin who recapped this past year’s California K of C activities. Fr. John Grace (our Chaplain) stressed two points during his talk: 1) we need to continue reviewing Bishop Lori’s article at every single business meeting and 2) the Council chaplain needs to be involved in reviewing each new candidate that wants to join our Order. We also heard from our Supreme Director who urged us to continue recruiting constantly.
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Other highlights of the weekend included:
- A presentation by Chris Lewis and DD Dan Moberg about Wheelchair Sundays. A wheelchair Sunday is a Sunday in which a short film is presented about donating wheelchairs to the needy throughout the world followed by a collection during or after Mass for the wheelchairs. The idea started in the San Gabriel Valley Chapter last September and has been very successful. I’ll be contacting the various parishes in this area over the next month or two in order to generate interest in hosting a Wheelchair Sunday locally.
- Our new State Deputy will be Bob Villalobos who is from the San Diego area. Also, our new State Warden is Ray Warriner.
- The District Deputy of the Year is Dan Moberg and the Knight of the Year is our current State Advocate, Ivan Reek.
- The State Office will be working with the Bishops to craft the proper response to the recent ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals allowing same sex marriages to take place. We will be asked in coming months to help at some level. Stay tuned. In the meantime, pray!
- Contributions to Columbian Charities reached an all time high: $110,000!
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Degrees
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- A 2nd Degree was held at Council 750 in Oxnard. Three Knights from our District received their 2nd Degree that night: Fr. Francis Baykor, Brother Dick Temple and Brother Mauricio Cuevas.
- A 1st Degree was held at Council 1684 on Wednesday, May 14. 4 new Brother Knights joined the Order that night: Brothers Jim Neary, Raphael Morelos, Jorge Rodriguez (all from Council 5300) and Brother Steve Romofsky (Council 1684). Congratulations to all of our new and 1st and 2nd Degree Brother Knights!
- Council 5300 will be holding a 1st Degree at their business meeting on September 8.
- The next 3rd Degree in the district is tentatively set for September 21, 2008 at Serra Hall in Santa Barbara. I’m still awaiting confirmation from the State and as soon as it arrives, I’ll pass the information on and will start advertising the details of the event. We will have a 2nd Degree in September just prior to this 3rd Degree in order to accommodate all 1st Degree members in the District.
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Programs:
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Council 1684 has been busy with their dinner socials and events. In addition to the 1st Degree mentioned above, the Council will be hosting their annual scholarship awards dinner this week on Wednesday, May 28.
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Council 5300 also had a busy month of May. On Mother’s Day, we held our annual orchid distribution to all the Mothers of the parish and, on May 26, we held our annual Memorial Day Picnic at Tucker’s Grove.
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During May, Council 10067 (Saticoy) helped out at several dinners, held a parish blood drive and pancake breakfast and presented the $1,500 received at a recent tri-tip sale to Jeannette (the young girl who has cancer).
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Finally, Council 13756 (Carpinteria) continues to be busy with projects around the church. The council helped St. Joseph’s set up for an outdoor Mass that was held on Pentecost Sunday.
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Other Notes:
- Right now, the district is at 136% of membership and 92% of insurance. Council 10067 is on track for Double Star Council and Council 5300 is on track for Star Council. However, what the above numbers don’t reflect are the potential drops due to nonpaying members. Right now, Council 1684 has 6 potential drops, 5300 – 6 or 7 potential drops, 10067 – 19 potential drops and as mentioned in my last report, Council 13756 has about 30 nonpaying members. Obviously, the above potential drops show how much work is still to be done.
- As I state every month, there are plenty of potential members who can join our Order. All we have to do is ask. When you are recruiting, mention to potential members that they will be joining a fraternity that was founded by a future saint. At the State Convention, our Supreme Director, Emilio Moure gave us a challenge. Emilio asked each Brother Knight present to recruit 2 new Knights before the end of the Columbian Year. In line with Emilio’s challenge, I’m adding a challenge of my own, between now and June 30, 2009, I would like each one of you to recruit 2 new Knights into our Order. If you do, you may be eligible for the Shining Armor Award.
- The following forms are due soon: SP7 – Columbian Award Application – June 30; 185 – Report of Officers Chosen – July 1; 365 – Service Program Personnel Report – August 1.
- The next Chapter meeting is on Wednesday, July 2 in Ventura. The Chapter will be having elections that evening, so be sure to attend.
- I had a chance to talk further with Fr. Mahoney at Mission Santa Ynez about starting a council there and have been asked to wait for a few months. The Cappuchins who staff the Mission will be having a Chapter meeting in June to decide assignments for the priests in their area. Fr. Mahoney is due for reassignment and wants to wait until he finds out his status before making any decisions about having a KC council in his parish. Both, Brother Cherif and I talked to several men at the parish yesterday and the feedback for having a council was very strong.
- The new officers for the 2008-2009 Columbian Year will be elected in June and several installations will also be held during that month. I’ll email everyone with the details shortly.
- As stated for the last few months, 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. Also, the Knight’s recruiter will receive a minted medallion acknowledging their efforts.
- The position of District Warden is still open to anyone who wants to apply. Prior Grand Knights are especially encouraged to do so. I’ll only be serving as your District Deputy until June 30, 2009, so now is the chance for a Brother Knight to step up and learn the job. The job does require work but the rewards are well worth it!
- Please continue to pray for all of our sick and deceased Knights in the district including Judy Klinge (PCP Brian Klinge’s wife) who is suffering from various illnesses.
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