Worthy Brothers,

We are only one month into the new Columbian Year, and our council is already a flurry of activity. Coming up on Saturday, August 12 is our Tri-Tip Dinner, and a few weeks later is our annual Mexican Night on Saturday, September 23. The proceeds from all our events fund our many charitable programs, so please consider coming to an event or two and enjoying some excellent food and great fun while knowing that you are helping those in need. As always, invite your family, friends, and maybe a prospective Knight or two.

Which brings me to another topic: membership. As the oldest Knights of Columbus council in Sacramento, we also are one of the largest councils in the area, with over 250 members and eight parishes under our jurisdiction. But as is the case with many fraternal organizations, we are lucky if one quarter of those members are active. Our ability to do the most charitable work for the most people in need around us depends on having an active and growing membership.

Throughout this Columbian Year, we are planning to host membership drives at four parishes that fall under Council 953 where there is an interest in the Knights of Columbus but where we have, at best, a minimal presence. Additionally, we will be reaching out to our more active parishes not only to bring new members into the Order but also to determine where we can be of greater service. Our officers and Membership Director will be tapping shoulders for help with these outreach efforts.

In that same spirit, I challenge each of you to do two things this Columbian Year:

1. Reach out to at least one member you know who hasn’t been to any of our events or meetings for a while. Let them know how much we’d love to see them again, and tell them about all the good we are doing for our parishes, our community, and our fellow Brothers. Heck, offer to buy them a beer at our next meeting!

2. Bring at least one new member into the Knights of Columbus. Many of us know more than one Catholic gentleman who has expressed an interest in the Knights. Invite them to one of our fundraisers, or bring them to one of our business meeting dinners (prospective Knights eat for free!). Either way, show them who we are and what our mission is, and encourage them to become a part of our Order.

Think of all the good we could do if just 10% of us – 25 people – each brought in one new member and brought back one inactive member. That’s 50 additional Brothers volunteering at parish events, helping with fundraisers, and volunteering in the community. In other words, we would double the amount of God’s work we could accomplish.

Thank You,
Adam Struck
Grand Knight, Council 953

Worthy Brothers,

First, let me thank you for the trust and confidence you have placed in me to serve as your Grand Knight. It is a true honor and a responsibility that I don’t take lightly. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our immediate Past Grand Knight, Bryan McKrell, for his leadership and service during the past year. I hope to live up to his example, as he has set the bar high.

As I prepared to write my first message of the new Columbian Year, I came upon the following quote from our Supreme Knight, Carl Anderson: “Whether at home or abroad, charity is our Order’s first principle and the basis for all we do as brother Knights. It is the tangible way that we live out that spirit of fraternity and ‘missionary discipleship’ to which Pope Francis has called us.”

We speak a lot about charity, but sometimes I think we forget that this word has many different meanings. One aspect of charity is the giving of money to charitable causes, which is something our council does quite well. Each year, our fundraising efforts enable us to donate thousands of dollars to scholarships for Cristo Rey High School students, our seminarians, the Sacramento Life Center, Bishop Gallegos Maternity Home, Get on the Bus, and many others. I am exceptionally proud of all that we do to assist these worthy charities. At the same time, I believe we can do even more than we are now.

Which brings me to another definition of charity: the giving of our time and our talents. In other words, simple acts that provide help to our parishes, our community, or even our fellow Brothers in need. For example, you may have seen news reports this week indicating that the homeless population in Sacramento has risen by more than 30 percent. Wouldn’t it be great if we could get a group of Knights together to serve meals at Loaves and Fishes once a month? Opportunities like this are all around us: the elderly Brother who needs help taking care of his yard, the parish school that needs painting, or (God forbid) our neighbors who are suffering after a natural disaster.

A perfect opportunity for us to be of service to one of our parishes is coming up on Sunday, August 20: the St. Mary’s Festival Zippy Bun Booth. We are in need of both a chair and Brothers to work in two-hour shifts that day. Please let me know how you can be of service. In addition, I am exploring how we can be of help to the Middle Eastern Food Festival at St. George Parish, which is being resurrected in September after 20-plus years.

All of these examples I mentioned are opportunities for us not only to fulfill our mission of charity but also to recruit additional members to our order. Imagine the impact on prospective Knights when they see us out in the community performing acts of charity while wearing our Knights of Columbus shirts. They’ll surely want to be a part of our council!

My Brothers, God has given us so many gifts. This year, let us make it our council’s goal to renew our commitment to charitable service by sharing these gifts with those in need.

Thank You,
Adam Struck
Grand Knight, Council 953

Dear Brother Knights:

Two months to go in the Columbian Year, but there are still plenty of things to get done. We have members to initiate, dinners to enjoy, and a wonderful State Convention to attend. I plan on vigorously advocating for Brother John Sheldon’s three resolutions and hopefully I can get a couple of them across the finish line and sent on
to the Supreme Convention. Brother Tom Nulk is cooking our dinner this month and it is sure to be a good one. We have two F-100’s that have been approved for new members and I plan on holding a first degree in June to bring these new brother Knight’s in before the end of my year as Grand Knight. If you have been waiting to
invite a son-in-law, grandson, fellow parishioner, colleague, or anyone else to check out the Knights, try this month or next. It is always a lot more interesting when a First Degree is crowded with new members watching the events unfold in front of them.

I read a very interesting editorial in the Wall Street Journal this week that talked about how poorly attendance, and the understanding of the Catholic faith had suffered over the last three decades. Only 22% of American Catholics attend weekly mass, and only 45% understood the Church’s teaching that the consecrated bread and wine were truly the body and blood of Christ and not merely symbolic. The editorial went on to tell the story of a recent funeral the author had attended for his Uncle where it was clear, that most of the people present were not familiar enough with the mass to state the correct responses, recite the Profession of Faith, or even stand or kneel at the appropriate times. He blamed this mostly on the changes the Church made to the mass back in 2011.

When the Priest reminded the audience that Communion was only for Catholics who were properly disposed, the author expected very few people to come forward, but in fact almost everyone did. And to me, that is truly the beautiful thing about being Catholic, it never leaves you. I am very fortunate that I am comfortable, able, and self-motivated to attend Church every Sunday. It is part of my routine, it is part of my belief system, and it provides me strength, a sense of community, and a strong dose of Hope every week. If I am lucky I learn something, and at worst I see my friends, pray to God and enjoy singing. But for so many people within our Catholic community this is not the case. For more reasons than I could ever list here, many Catholics are not attending weekly mass, but you never stop being Catholic. My baptism, first communion, and wedding were all performed in the Catholic Church and sanctioned by the Catholic Church and that’s not changing. 23% of Americans identify themselves as being Catholic, and it’s very true that few of them are attending mass, but you never stop being Catholic. Being Catholic is truly wonderful and I feel very fortunate to be a part of the Knights. The last ten months have been great, and I look forward to the last two and so many more.

Thanks So Much,
Bryan McKrell
Grand Knight, Council 953

Dear Brother Knights:

The fourth quarter of the Columbian Year is finally upon us, and it certainly provides a plethora of opportunities to get involved with your Brother Knights. April has our scheduled dinner and business meeting moved up a week early to April 6. Come by and share a dinner that is certain to please any discerning palate. Or if you can’t make dinner mark your calendars for our first ever Greek Night! Terry Corcoran is organizing what is promising to be an incredible feast and our last fundraising dinner for the year. Terry is going to need as many Knights, their families, and their friends to attend this
dinner and really raise some much-needed funds for the end of the year. If you can’t attend the dinner, offer to volunteer for set-up earlier in the day, or donate a raffle prize. If these do not fit into your schedule, you could always attend a donation ceremony where the proceeds from our Pasta for Life dinner will be distributed to the Sacramento Life Center and the Bishop Gallegos Maternity Home. What could be more fun than driving a check over to one of these worthy charities and taking a picture of the handover. And if you still can’t find time to get involved with these, then please go to the airport and bid brother Sheldon, our current Financial Secretary, “Bon Voyage” as he heads off to Spain for his much-anticipated
Camino.

May brings another dinner and business meeting followed by the State Convention in San Diego. This will be my first time attending the State Convention and I can’t wait to see the strength of our state- wide organization. Hopefully it is a rewarding experience full of pomp, circumstance, and laughter, and maybe a round of golf if I am lucky. We will also be handing out scholarships to four very worthy students at Cristo Rey high school and we will need a couple of volunteers to attend the ceremony at the high school with Brother Greg Wolfe. What could be better than handing over a check for $500 dollars to a college bound high school student. This will certainly produce big smiles for everyone involved.

During our First Degree last Thursday I was reminded just how moving and enlightening our two brothers, George Mills and Matt Lucien, are during the ceremony and how it would be great to watch some of my friends share the experience. I would encourage anyone who has not been around for a while, or who is hoping to come back soon to think back to their First Degree and try to recall some of the ceremony. You are always welcome to attend our ceremonies and witness what you have already experienced but may have
forgotten.

And let’s not forget the hard work of Michael Litwin and Matt Curran who kept the long-standing tradition of Irish Night alive and well. I understand that the food was fantastic, the music was outstanding, and everyone who attended had a great time. It is vitally important for our younger members to carry the torch and put forth the effort to carry on the traditions of our venerable Council. Congratulations to you two and I look forward to having the opportunity to attend next year and enjoy the show.

Most Sincerely,
Bryan McKrell
Grand Knight, Council 953

Dear Brother Knights:

Lent is one of the greatest time periods every year for a plethora of reasons. It allows us a few extra moments to consider our faith and recommit ourselves to the cause of being a good Catholic. Much like New Year’s resolutions, I spend several days leading up to Ash Wednesday contemplating what would be a good fast, or sacrifice to put forth in a show of good faith. I find it somewhat funny that some people have a critical reaction if you mention that you are going to give up chocolate, or sweets or pizza, or alcohol, when the Church itself asks you to give up meat on Fridays. But Fish still counts and not on St. Patrick’s Day, where the Bishop has cleared us to eat as much corned beef as we would like. If you eat chocolate every day, and you give it up for Lent, every time you reach for an M&M but realize you cannot eat it, I would bet you remember your faith in God. Is that not the point of this exercise?

Regardless of what you gave up, if you have not started yet there is still plenty of time. I vowed to give up my time, by praying a rosary once a day. I thought it would line up with our beliefs as a Knight, sound fairly religious in nature, and allow me to pray for something daily. I’ll admit I already missed a day, but I also ate a Turkey sandwich on Ash Wednesday only realizing afterward that I blew it. Back to the Sin Bin! I will keep trying, and I encourage my Brother Knights to do the same. 20 days might not be 40, but it sure sounds better than zero.

I also want to take a moment to single out our wonderful Financial Secretary, Brother John Sheldon. Last weekend at Pasta For Life, John not only baked two dozen cookies for the raffle, but he single-handedly put together a “kids raffle” that was the highlight of the night. So many kids left our dinner happy and it was all because of Brother John’s creativity and sincere effort. Being a Financial Secretary is a thankless job, but I honestly thank John every day, and I can’t wait to hear about his upcoming pilgrimage to Spain.

And speaking of Pasta For Life, a big thank you to Deputy Grand Knight Adam Struck, his lovely wife, and brother Dave Carboni. Their collective efforts raised nearly $2,000 dollars for the Bishop Gallegos Maternity Home and the Sacramento Life Center. And they did such a good job promoting the event that a real “Pro Choice” protester showed up and picketed our dinner. Now that is a job well done.

Most Sincerely,
Bryan McKrell
Grand Knight, Council 953