On October 13th & 14th, the council held its annual Tootsie Roll Drive at St. Mary’s Church to raise funds for the support of intellectually disabled individuals and their families. Council members who volunteered for the drive were Bryan Mckrell, Floyd Wells, Dominic Ielati, Terry Corcoran, Steve Mills, Patrick Bradley, Al Picardo and Darin Hunter. A total of $549.00 was collected. A similar drive was held the following weekend at Sacred Heart Church and was organized by Dick Cutting. A total of $431.00 was collected at that event.
A sincere thanks to all who gave their time to make the combined event as success.
Annual Memorial Service
A Memorial Service will be held on Sunday November 4th immediately following the 10:30 AM Divine Liturgy at St. George Melkite-Greek Catholic Church. All Knights are encouraged to come and pray for our brother Knights who have fallen asleep in the Lord this past year. The Memorial Service just takes a few minutes. Following the Memorial Service there will be coffee hour in the Parish Hall.
Please remember to pray for Brothers Harold Dalske, PGK Howard Mifflin, PGK Tom Lapos, Aldo Lovotti, Vincent Svilich, James McNamara, Larry Hart, Peter Rossi and Richard Engler.
O Christ God, with the saints grant rest to the souls of your servants, in a place where there is no pain, no grief, no sighing, but everlasting life. May their memory be eternal.
St. George Melkite-Greek Catholic Church is located at 1620 Bell Street, Sacramento
Knights of Columbus Responds to Hurricane Sandy
In response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy, the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus, in conjunction with local and state councils across the Northeast, is joining relief efforts.
The Supreme Council announced this morning that it is making an immediate $100,000 donation, giving $50,000 each to the state councils of New York and New Jersey to assist in local relief efforts in those hardest-hit jurisdictions.
In addition, the Supreme Council has launched an online donation drive, soliciting contributions from its members and the general public. One hundred percent of the proceeds will go directly to relief efforts in local communities.
“Knights have a long tradition of providing disaster relief,” said Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, “and this is no exception. Our communities need our time, our help, and our financial assistance, and we are going to do all that we can – working closely with our local and state councils – to help those most in need as a result of this storm.” Join us with your commitment to DONATE NOW.
November 2012 Pro-Life Report
The approach of Election Day has seen a number of pro-life news items. The California ProLife Council has come out strongly in favor of Prop 32, which would ban unions from forcing employees to pay union dues that support pro-abortion candidates. Another proposition, Prop 35, which fights human trafficking, has earned the powerful endorsement of the California Catholic Conference. On October 12, the USCCB issued a statement on the HHS mandate to the effect that the “exemption” does not, in fact, extend to “Catholic Social Services, Georgetown Hospital, Mercy Hospital, any hospital,” or any other religious charity that offers its services to all, regardless of the faith of those served. Vice-President Joe Biden had mistakenly suggested otherwise during the vice-presidential debate.
An online article in Cal Catholic Daily on October 30, quotes at length newly-appointed Bishop Kevin Vann of the Diocese of Orange, California on faithful citizenship. Bishop Vann writes: “As Catholics, we are faced with a number of issues that are of concern and should be addressed, such as immigration reform, health care, the economy, the poor, and terrorism…” The Bishop continues: “There are many possible solutions to these issues and there can be reasonable debate among Catholics on how to best approach and solve them. These are matters of ‘prudential judgment.’ But let us be clear: issues of prudential judgment are not morally equivalent to issues involving intrinsic evils. No matter how right a given candidate is on any of these issues, it does not outweigh a candidate‘s unacceptable position in favor of an intrinsic evil such as abortion or the protection of ‘abortion rights.'” In August, Sacramento Bishop Jaime Soto got a standing ovation when he agreed with a questioner at the annual Diocesan Respect Life Ministry Meeting that more had to be done to teach the Faithful on the difference between prudential judgment and intrinsic evil.
On October 30, during the current 40 Days for Life Campaign, Bishop Soto joined Grand Knight Ricardo Saldana and Culture of Life Director William James of Council 953 in prayer on the sidewalk near the abortion business at 1750 Wright Street. Brother Knight Dominic Ielati also joined the group, but had to leave before the Bishop arrived. The 40 Days for Life fall campaign ends on November 4. So far, by the grace of God, 467 babies nationwide have been saved! Lastly, just today, October 31, our Culture of Life Director met with Emilia Calderón and Juan Ramón Chico of Sac State’s Students for Life at the Newman Center, giving them for their pro-life car wash fundraiser a $250 check and $40 in cash. The three also said a decade of the Rosary together in English and Spanish for the end of abortion.
Fraternally in Christ,
William (Bill) James
Culture of Life Director
Knights of Columbus
Council 953
1st Degree Exemplification
The council will be holding a 1st degree exemplification on Tuesday, October 30th. Any and all members are invited to attend to observe the ceremony and welcome our new members. The door to the council hall will be open at 6:00 p.m., and we are requesting that all candidates arrive no later than 6:30.. The exemplification shall start at 7:00 p.m. (or shortly thereafter).
Refreshments will be served following the exemplification.
Grand Knight’s Message October 2012
My Brother Knights and Families;
My family & I would like to extend a personal thank you for your thoughts and prayers for our son Navy
Saldana. We are happy to report his last heart visit cleared him of his arrhythmia. Thank you to our Lord and
Savior and to out extended brother knights and their families. No doubt, our prayers were heard.
It’s times like these when we look for the good in all God’s works. Our son’s heart problems (though
straining at times) helped us unite and pray closely together. Not just with our brother knights or fellow
parishioners, but with my children. Winter, Reign & Sunday (ages 8, 6 & 2) along with my wife and myself
would pray the rosary together as a family to help pray for Navy. Many times at their request/ reminder. Even
though he was cleared of his heart issues, we continue to offer prayers of thanksgiving & pray for those with
heart problems, something we normally didn’t do.
Think closely about the people & events that affect our daily lives. Perhaps you know someone with:
cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, dementia, obesity, being alone, physical or mental disabilities… or heart
problems. We took what happened to us as a message that God wants us to pray for these people, not just the
patient’s, but the doctors, nurses and care givers that help them. I like to think that everyone in our lives has a
message from God. Something we can learn if given the opportunity. Take the time to listen.
Our Lord speaks to us every day in many different ways, let us pray that our ears are open to hear His
message!
Go! Make a difference.
Ricardo Saldana
Grand Knight council 953