Community, Pro-Life

Pasta 4 Life Wrap-Up

A big thank you to everyone who helped make last month’s 3rd annual Pasta 4 Life dinner our most successful one ever. With almost 200 people in attendance, we quite literally sold out the hall! Special thanks to Johnny Waldron and his crew for preparing another delicious dinner, as well as to all the Brother Knights too numerous to name who helped with set up, cleanup, ticket sales, and simply helping us get the word out in the community.

Thanks to this true team effort, we will be able to donate $1,500 each to the Sacramento Life Center and the Bishop Gallegos Maternity Home. In addition, the proceeds from the March business meeting dinner will be added to this total.

Council

Get on the Bus

Get On The Bus (GOTB) is a program of The Center for Restorative Justice Works, a non-profit organization that unites children and parents separated by the criminal justice system. The program provides meals and transportation to make it possible for children to visit their parents in prison for Father’s Day and Mother’s Day.

Brother knight Greg Wolfe will be the Bus #2 Coordinator from Sacramento going to Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP) on June 20, 2015. We need your help to make the trip a success for these children and families. Council 953 is collecting donations to help us qualify as a Bus Benefactor. That means Council 953’s name will be listed on the event day t-shirts. More importantly it will help families and children.

Christ says to each of us, ‘For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ (Mathew 25: 35-36). We do not all have the opportunity to visit those in prison. But we can act in solidarity with children visiting their incarcerated parents by donating to support the costs of sending Bus #2 to Salinas.

Donations can be made payable to Knights of Columbus Council 953. Write Bus #2 SVSP in the memo line of your check. Your money will go straight to work to charter the bus to transport the children and provide them with lunch and dinner. Donations of any size are appreciated!

UPDATE: A collection at the February business meeting raised $165 for Get on the Bus! Additional donations can be made prior to the March business meeting. The council will make up the difference between what is collected and the $550 required to enable Council 953’s name to be listed on the event day t-shirts. Thank you for your generosity!

Council

Founder’s Day – March 29

On Founder’s Day, this March 29th, we celebrate the anniversary of the Knights of Columbus. As we celebrate the legacy of Venerable Michael McGivney and the contributions of our brother Knights since 1882, we also prepare for an even greater future as we live out the vision of our founder. The anniversary of the realization of Father McGivney’s dream is a cause for celebration.

Councils throughout the Order are urged to observe this day – among their own members and with the community at large – as a reminder of what the Knights of Columbus has accomplished in the past years, the ideals of the Order, and their own local achievements.

From Supreme Council

Health

Staying Healthy

Brothers,

It is important to engage in approximately 15 minutes of very physical activity or about 30 minutes of minimal physical activity each day. Doing so is essential to helping us maintain weight and prevent cancer and other diseases, especially as we age.

Michael Litwin
Health Director

Insurance

Ask Eligible Men to Join

Today, I want to address the growth of the Order. Membership growth is the fuel that keeps this great fraternal engine running. All of our charitable works in the council, state, national and international level are thanks to our hard-working members.

We also recognize that the membership blitz is a tried and true way for councils to increase their numbers. We see these pushes often in March, in celebration of Founder’s Day, and again in October. These drives are successful because brother Knights are more visible than normal, during and after Masses and at special events. We must remember to ask each and every Catholic gentleman to join our ranks for the good of the Church, the community and the Order.

During the rest of the year, we often “forget” to ask men to join our ranks and bring their families into the Knights of Columbus family. You probably know an eligible Catholic man you could ask today. Chances are that the only reason he hasn’t joined already is because no one asked him.

When telling a prospect about the strengths of the Order, don’t forget our greatest fraternal benefit: our insurance program. This is often an interesting “selling point” to a potential member who is on the fence. Many members come into the Knighthood simply to be able to buy coverage for their family. Soon after, they realize the good our charitable works do for their community and they are proud to be members.

As your professional Knights of Columbus insurance agent, I look forward to helping us grow in fraternity in any
way that I can.

Please contact me with regards to any of your insurance needs.

Fraternally, Your Brother and Field Agent,
Marco Manrique
CA LIC 0I39878, FA16570
(707) 301-1783
marco.manrique@kofc.org

Council, Grand Knight

Grand Knight’s Message, February 2015

Brother Knights,

Charity is our principal virtue as Knights. Charity describes our assisting the intellectually disabled, seminarians, under privileged graduates of Cristo Rey, the unborn and their mothers, and a host others. It describes the actions of members who pitch in with council activities; be it fundraiser dinners, hosting parish socials, serving beer, or wearing yellow aprons while passing out Tootsie Rolls. Charity also describes those individuals who donate prizes, place bills in our donation cans, or attend our dinners. I am grateful for all those people who make this collective Charity possible.

Go! Make a difference…
John Sheldon
Grand Knight, Council 953

St. John Vianney, Pray for Us.