Grand Knight's Blog

2024/02/26

March 2024

Hello, Brother Knights.

There continues to be a lot of activity in our council!  
It is good when we can be visible in the parish.

The Knights were responsible for the ministries at the 9 am mass on February 11.  Thank you to Brother Rick Dubois for coordinating this activity and to all who say “yes!” when he calls.
We hosted a Shrove Tuesday pancake and sausage supper on February 13 which was well received by parishioners.  With Lent beginning the next day, many Brother Knights have been active in the parish ministries.  Our council was pleased to lead the Stations of the Cross on February 16.  The attendance at this event was very good!

A very successful brunch was held on February 18!  There was a very good turnout of parishioners plus an excellent response from Brother Knights and their families to help with all the work involved in putting on our brunches.  We had 22 workers in total this time!  Thank you to Brother Henry Kweens and the entire team of helpers for making these events possible.

We have had several bingos in recent weeks.  Thank you to Brother Gary Colbow for spearheading this activity and to all who come out to help.  The schedule of upcoming bingos  will be found in the calendar of activities in this issue.
A big thank you goes out to Brother Orest Machushek for publishing an updated version of the roster.

Check our online Calendar for important dates in March.

Holy Week March 24-31 (yes, Easter is early this year!)

Many Brother Knights will be active in the various parish ministries throughout the remainder of Lent and during Holy Week.
As always, thank you to Fr. Antony for his ongoing support.  

Please keep our ill and deceased Brother Knights in your prayers.  St. Joseph, pray for us!

Fraternally,

Keith Hayward GK


2024/01/24

February Message

Hello, Brother Knights.

February is the shortest month but it will still be a busy month for our council!  And of course Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on February 14.

We sadly had to say goodbye to two Brother Knights of our council who recently passed away.  We extend our sympathies to the families of Brother Frank Bielka and Brother Gerald Farkus.

Before we get to our upcoming events let's do a quick review of what happened in January.
Another successful brunch was held on January 14 with just under 100 people served.  This was an amazing turnout as that was likely the coldest morning of the winter so far!  Thank you to  Brother Henry Kweens and the team that comes out at 8 am and stays until after 1 pm to make our brunches possible!
Thank you to all who came out to help take down the Keep Christ in Christmas sign and the outdoor Nativity set on January 20.  The council trustees also completed the required semi-annual audit that morning.
We have had several bingos in recent weeks.  Thank you to Brother Gary Colbow for spearheading this activity and to all who come out to help.  The schedule of upcoming bingos  will be found in our online calendar.
We had another successful White Ribbon campaign the weekend of January 27-28. Thank you to all who helped distribute the ribbons. The money raised is donated to Shelwin House but the awareness raised of the issue of abuse of women and children is an equally important part of this project. This project is especially significant because it was started by men in 1991, and the white ribbon became a symbol of men's opposition to men's violence against women and children.

Many Brother Knights will be active in the various parish ministries on Ash Wednesday (February 14) and throughout Lent.

As well as being Ash Wednesday, February 14 is of course Valentine's Day.  I would like to extend best wishes to all council members and families for this special day. This day that celebrates love also includes all members of our Knights of Columbus family!  We especially keep in our hearts our dear deceased Brother Knights and their families.

As always, thank you to Fr. Antony for his ongoing support.  Please keep our ill and deceased Brother Knights in your prayers.  St. Joseph, pray for us!

Fraternally,  Keith Hayward, GK


2023/12/29

January 2024 Message

Hello, Brother Knights.  

As we turn the calendar to 2024 we begin the second half of our Columbian year.  We have had a very active start in the first half of the year.  With this momentum behind us, I'm confident we can look forward to being an even more active council in the new year.
 
One area where we've enjoyed particular success is the recruitment of new members. Brother Tom Cook has been busy in his role as Membership Director as we have already brought five new members into the council.  Let's keep this momentum going and continue to build our Council and the Order in the new year.  With the new online enrollment process it is very easy to get new members started on the way to full Knighthood.  If  you know of someone who might be interested in joining the Knights, approach them and ask them to join.  Brother Tom and the rest of the executive team can help you to get them signed up.

The Council hosted a Christmas party at  the Yorkton & District Nursing Home (Melody Manor unit) with snacks and  Christmas caroling on December 1. The residents really enjoyed the festive spirit that we brought to them. A big thank you goes out to George Flunder who provided musical accompaniment for the event.
On the weekend of December 8-9 Keep Christ in Christmas posters, holy cards and coloring sheets for the children were distributed after the weekend masses.  This not only kept the message of the season in the forefront but also made our Council visible in the parish.  Thank you to Brother Jonathan Rosas for designing the poster and to Debbie Hayward for creating the coloring sheets.

Our Christmas Social was held on December 13 in the parish hall. Brother Wayne Exner and his team prepared a delicious meal that was enjoyed by all - thank you!  In addition to the meal, fellowship and caroling were enjoyed. A special thank you goes out to Brother Jonathan Rosas who along with his sister Janice and his sons Gabriel and Michael provided a great rendition of "Christmas in our Hearts", which is a very popular Christmas song among Filipinos.
On a similar note, Brother Jonathan and family were among those who displayed their musical skills during Simbang Gabi which was held from December 15-23.  This nine day novena is a beautiful spiritual preparation for Christmas, complete with mass each evening, wonderful music and delicious food and fellowship after each mass.  Deb and I were fortunate to  attend and were honored at the warm welcome extended to us by our Filipino parish family.
 
Fr. Antony is organizing a parish workshop on January 27. to review the "Vision and Mission" for St. Gerard's. He would like some members of our Council to take part and provide input. It will be on a Saturday running from approximately 9 am to 2 pm with Continental breakfast and lunch supplied. Please mark the date and watch for more details in the coming weeks.

Some important dates to remember for January include the following:
    • Our combined planning and general meeting will be held January 10 at 7:00 pm.
    • Take down the Keep Christ in Christmas sign January 13.
    • Our first parish brunch of 2024 will be held after the Sunday masses on January 14.  
    • The White Ribbon campaign in support of Shelwin House will take place the weekend of January 27/28.
    • Bingos as scheduled. A big thank you goes out to Brother Gary Colbow and all the workers that help at bingo for making this project a success!
    
As always, thank you to Fr. Antony for his ongoing support. Please keep our ill and deceased Brother Knights in your prayers. St.Joseph, pray for us!
On behalf of my wife Debbie and myself, we wish you a very Happy New Year!


Fraternally,

Keith Hayward GK

2023/11/24

December Message 2023

Hello, Brother Knights. 

As the calendar year winds down and we enjoy the seasons of Advent and Christmas, our Columbian year will reach its halfway point on December 31. I think we should be very pleased with what we have accomplished as a council! I'm confident we can continue this momentum into the new year!

We had another admission degree on November 4. Thank you to the members of the exemplification team. Welcome to our two newest members of our council (and a father and son team): Christie Antony and Patric Christie.

The council held a Memorial Mass and banquet to honor the memory of our deceased members in conjunction with the CWL on November 8. It was a very nice evening that was well attended. Special thank yous go out to Nick Andrusyk who coordinated the event for the hall and to Adrienne Wonchulanko and team who prepared the delicious turkey dinner that was enjoyed by all in attendance.

Another successful brunch was held on November 19 with a good turnout of workers and customers. Thank you to Brother Henry Kweens and team for serving another delicious meal! Our next brunch will be January 14, 2024.

Bingos are going strong and we have quite a few scheduled in the upcoming weeks. Thank you to Brother Gary Colbow for spearheading this activity and to all who come out to help. The schedule will be found in the calendar of activities in this issue.

Thank you to Brother Rejean Houle for taking the lead in setting up the Keep Christ in Christmas sign on November 25.

Thank you to Brother Ted Osicki for managing the council's ticket sales for the State Charitable Appeal. This is an important fundraiser that allows the State Council to sponsor many worthwhile charitable endeavors. Some of the proceeds are also shared with the council based on ticket sales.

Our council contributed a basket for the parish's Christmas in November fundraiser. Thank you to Debbie Hayward for putting together the basket.

Take a moment to check out our council's website: https://www.kofc-2031.ca/ Thank you to our webmaster Brother Johannes Prost for maintaining this excellent source of information for our council. If you have any ideas for additional content I'm sure Brother Johannes would be glad to hear from you!

Our council is co-sponsoring a Keep Christ in Christmas message on CTV along with the other councils in our district. Keep an eye out for it over the next few weeks.

Some important dates to remember for December include the following:

  • We are hosting our annual Christmas party at the Yorkton & District Nursing Home (Melody Manor unit) with Christmas caroling on Friday December 1 at 2:00 pm. Carolers (Knights and wives) are welcome to come out and spread Christmas cheer! The council will be providing snacks this year so no need to bring anything other than your voice. A big thank you goes out to George Flunder who will be providing musical accompaniment for the event.

  • Our combined planning and general meeting will be held December 6.

  • The Knights will continue to undertake all of the ministries for one of the weekend masses each month. The next opportunity to do this will be December 10 at the 11 am mass. Please say yes when Brother Rick Dubois asks for help.

  • Our Christmas social will be held on December 13 in the council chambers. Brother Wayne Exner will provide more details in his report.

As always, thank you to Fr. Antony for his ongoing support. Please keep our ill and deceased Brother Knights in your prayers. St. Joseph, pray for us!

On behalf of my wife Debbie and myself, we wish you every blessing of Christmas. May the light and joy of Jesus' birth be with you all year.

Merry Christmas!

Fraternally,

Keith Hayward GK



2020/05/29

June Message

Brother Knights,

We are about to finish off our 100th year as a Knights of Columbus Council, we begin to realize what all we have been through this Columbian Year of 2019 - 2020. 
Let us look back at what we did this past year. We held the State Organizational Meeting and our 100th Anniversary Celebration on our Chartered date of July 13, 1919.

  • In August, we put on a kickoff Brunch for the Rama Pilgrimage Walk as well as took supper out to the people on the walk.
  • In September, we helped the Parish with the Fall Supper. 
  • October we faithfully took part in the prayer of the Rosary to Mary on Tuesdays. 
  • November, we had our Annual Deceased Members Memorial Mass and Supper with our deceased member’s widows and families. 
  • December, we with the mini Advent Retreat by serving supper to all who were attending. 
  • January was White Ribbon Campaign,
  • February we had the Vocations Endowment Campaign for the Charitable Foundation.
  • In March we held our last regular General Meeting that we could be physically able to attend.
  • In April and May we being apart physically but not Spiritually or visually as we set up a virtual novena and we also held the Virtual Rosary for the Month of May.
  • We also did volunteer by using our new Supreme Council initiative 'Leave No Neighbour Behind'. This program is about looking after our brother knights of our Council, our Parish, Community, giving blood, and getting groceries for all.piritually or visually as we set up a virtual novena and we also held the Virtual Rosary for the Month of May.
We also tried out with I would say was a good turnout for our first Virtual General Meeting and Election of Officers. There were some glitches for people trying to get on and we apologize for that. We hope to have the problem fixed for our next meeting, but we hope that we might be able to gather for our last General meeting in June if everything goes well with the Covid-19 pandemic easing of restrictions and closures.

Speaking of the Election of Officers we have elected for the 2020 - 2021 Columbian Fraternal Year the following:

  • Grand Knight - Rejean Houle
  • Deputy Grand Knight - vacant so far
  • Chancellor - Jonathon Rosas
  • Advocate -  Richard Swejda
  • Recorder - Wayne Exner
  • Treasurer - Gary Colbow
  • Warden - Harvey Kolodziejak
  • Inside and Outside Guards - Ryan Zazuliak and Nathan Bewcyk
  • Trustees - Al Flavel 1 yr., John Curry 2 yr., Jeff Krasowski 3yr.
  • As well as Past Grand Knight Jeff Krasowski.
The following positions are appointed:
  • Financial Secretary - Henry Kweens
  • Council Chaplain - appointed by the in coming Grand Knight as well as the
  • Council Lecturer is also appointed by the Grand Knight Elect.
If you know of any Knight who is a 3rd Degree member and would like to let his name stand for the Deputy Grand Knight position please let myself or any of the Trustees know and we could fill this position before the new Columbian Year.

These past two years as being your Grand Knight has been a great honour and a very humbling experience.  We had our ups and our downs. We have lost several members who have either passed away or moved away and they will be missed dearly by all who got to know them.

In closing I would like to wish our new Grand Knight Rejean and his newly elected Executive all the best and please do not hesitate to call any of us for help and guidance if needed I know that we are ready to help you.

On behalf of my wife Tamara and myself, we would like to thank you for your support these past two years and we both wish you a safe summer holiday season. Please stay safe and we are in this together.

Another Humble Servant,
Jeff Krasowski - G.K.