Today is the day that our Jerry Pilarski turned 92 years old. Surrounded by family and friends, he celebrated at Captain John’s Dockside Restaurant. Four generations of Pilarski family attended for dining and celebrating with two large cakes. Our Council congratulates Jerry and wish him a very Happy Birthday.
We have had to share Gene Keeling for many months this year, while he was off on his several trips to California and beyond. He was sorely missed, but Lisa Keeling seemed to be everywhere filling in and often led efforts in support of both the Council and the Catholic Daughters.
Now, sadly, the news we feared the most has arrived. The Keeling Family is pulling up stakes and heading West to San Jose. We feel like parents watching our young take off, but we are full of pride as we look back over the more than ten years of Keeling Family support of the Knights and our parish.
The Keeling Family have been critical to parish events. Be it Parish Pride grilling, Pancake Breakfasts, Oktoberfest, Fish Fry’s, St. Thomas More School Graduation Breakfasts, preparing meals in support of Diocesan events, roasting pork for parish fundraisers, Operation LAMB, or one of the many other parish charitable events, Gene and family were there in a leadership role with sleeves rolled up and no job too hard to take on.
The Council recognizes their efforts and have named Gene Keeling our Knight of the Year and the Keeling Family as our Knights of Columbus Family of the Year.
Yes, we shall miss them, but our memories are many and their contributions to the parish and Council build a seemingly endless list of accomplishments. We are proud of them and wish them continued success in all that they do in their new parish community.
John Aluise coaches Bishop Burbidge
John Aluise was hard at work last month chairing the Bocce Tournament and arranging for teams/players for our tournament. There were ten Special Olympics athletes participating and they were joined by Bishop Burbidge.
This was the same day as our annual Parish Festival on June 20th, The council also assisted with food serving following the 5:15 mass.
The council Bocce Tournament is one of the Knights of Columbus’ fund raising projects for Operation LAMB, which donates all proceeds to local agencies who serve those with intellectual disabilities.
The new council year is fast approaching. Soon we will have the election of officers, installation and then we get to work rebuilding our council to serve the parish and assist the church. This year we have web-based training for officers and even general members who are interested in the functions and operations of the Knights of Columbus.
The Knights of Columbus invites you to take part in a web training session for fraternal leaders. This session will be geared toward ALL fraternal leaders and the council encourages you to join in as you will benefit from this webinar. This webinar will discuss the importance of finishing the fraternal year on a high note and getting off to a quick start for the next fraternal year. This town hall-type meeting will focus on:
Please SAVE THE DATE and PASS THE WORD!! This training session will take place on Saturday, June 20, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. ALL fraternal leaders whether finishing their term or newly elected or appointed are encouraged to attend.
Please click on the link below to register for this event:
http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=984302&s=1&k=245B53C1A085350AEBD1CFECEC6C8702
The Supreme Council encourages you to register for this webinar even if you cannot view the entire live webinar presentation. The webinar will recorded an available for on-demand viewing following the live event.
If you have questions regarding this event, please call Gary Nolan, Vice President for Fraternal Training and Ceremonials at 203-752-4347 or email gary.nolan@kofc.org.
We thank the Supreme Council and Gary R. Nolan, Vice President for Fraternal Training and Ceremonials, for making this program available to Council 10910 and councils around the world. It is yet another example of the support our national and state leaders give us and how they ensure that our councils and council officers have training available to them.
Lots and lots of local knights joined together from Durham, Burlington, and Chapel Hill to hold First and Second Degree ceremonials at St. Thomas More Church in Chapel Hill.
Eight candidates for council memberships received their First Degree. All conferees, joined by four other brother knights, then proceeded to their Second Degree ceremonial. The chamber was filled to capacity and all felt that the degree teams did an outstanding job. They spoke from the heart with sincerity and pride in our Order. The degree teams were both from Burlington, NC, and Pius X Council 3498 of Blessed Sacrament Church.
The Second Degree Ceremonial was dedicated to Sir Knight Jerry Pilarski in recognition of his unselfish dedication to the church, his parish, and the Knights of Columbus. Grand Knight Matt Raynor commented, “When the Knights are doing something, Jerry, is found there.” Jerry has prepared many meals and pig pickings for the Council and prepares all of the pork that is sold to support parish programs to aid the homeless and poor seeking assistance at our door.
The Knights of Columbus members progress through three ceremonials in their quest for full knighthood in their fraternal order. The Knights of Columbus were formed in 1882 by Father Michael J. McGivney, a parish priest in New Haven, Connecticut. He was faced with a parish of many immigrants who worked in local factories and silver smelting plants. Still many others were without work due to bigotry and shunning by non-Catholics. Many died premature deaths, leaving widows and orphans to face a life of poverty. Some parish members were also tempted to join non-Catholic fraternal groups in hopes of gaining employment and acceptance.
Fr. McGivney’s dream was to form a core group of the faithful for the mutual benefit of the church and to provide for widows and orphans. That small group of men grew into what we now know as the Knights of Columbus.
