KOFC – Council 11091 Newsletter

From the Grand Knight’s Desk:

Brother Knights – It is the Best of Times, it is the Worst of Times. My apologies to Charles Dickens, but the events of this past month bring my updated version of this opening line to mind.

Lori and I had the pleasure of dining with 72 golfers at the 19th Hammer Open. Representatives from three of the four charitable organizations that will receive proceeds from the event were also in attendance and gave moving talks about their respective charities. Especially exciting was the information relayed by the Foundation Fighting Blindness. After years of research, there are now breakthroughs in gene therapy that actually allow individuals to gain sight. It demonstrates the reward for years of our donations towards a cure, how perseverance pays off. Advances of this nature demonstrate to me how we are living in the Best of Times.

Conversely, there was also disturbing news this month with revelations of sexual abuse and coverups within the Catholic Church in Pennsylvania. Closer to home, our own Marian Central has been undergoing trials with a growing rift between Marian’s governing body and the Rockford Diocese. Sadly, these failures of a few hurt us all, leading to a sense of betrayal by the priests that we look to as leaders for the parish, and the role of the bishop as the center of unity in a diocese. It is hard to recall a time when our faith has been challenged to any greater degree.

As an organization, the Knights of Columbus has supported the pastoral and charitable work of our bishops and priests since our founding by the Venerable Father Michael McGivney. Our Supreme
Knight Carl Anderson reminds us that “Now is the time for all brother Knights to stand steadfast in faith, as Catholics and as gentlemen. We will assist priests, bishops and our fellow Catholics in helping the Church chart a course for the future that puts Christ at the center, so that truly we may say, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”” Let us persevere in our
works of Charity, Unity, and Fraternity.

August was a busy month for our council. A big Thank You to Kevin and Julie Fitzgerald for all their hard work in making the Hammer a great success that was enjoyed by all. Nick Wake, with help from Dave Frendreiss, ran the popular Summer Basketball Camp for our future Panther athletes, capped by a hamburger and hot dog barbecue after the last session. Great job guys. Thanks also to Mark Ostrowski for chairing the Back to School barbecue, in support of our school families and SMM teachers. We also provided volunteers to pack food for Feed My Starving Children, led as always by John Barrett.

Our parish also reached a milestone in August with the 35th anniversary of the dedication of our church building. I hope that you were able to attend the Thanksgiving Celebration Mass and enjoyed some time at the Summerfest gathering afterwards.

Coming up in September we have the annual Intellectual Disabilities (Tootsie Roll) Drive. Please show your support for Brother Knight John Frazier when the request for volunteers goes out. Respond
right away to the email so that you don’t forget and miss out on this rewarding experience.

We will also have the opportunity to celebrate one of our own, as Sir Knight Robert Armstrong completes the Permanent Deacon Ordination on Saturday, September 29th. Let’s support Deacon Bob as he participates in his first mass at 4:30 that afternoon.

Finally, let us embrace the opportunities to grow our ranks by providing direction to the JoinUs link on the Supreme website. Our Membership Director Rick Limbach is working on some tools to make reaching out easy for everyone.

Vivat Jesus! Dan Kotleba, Grand Knight