January & February 2010 Events 

1/16  Ecumenical Soup Kitchen

1/21 Council Business Meeting 7:30 PM at Monocacy Manor

1/24 Notre Dame Round Table Breakfast

2/4 Council Officer’s Meeting 7:00 PM at Monocacy Manor

2/18 Council Business Meeting 7:30 PM at Monocacy Manor

MARK YOUR CALENDAR- 6/4/10-IRON PIGS game- 300  Tickets have been secured.

Only $10 per person total event cost, and your ticket stub gets you $2 off food and beverages.  Save the date:  Friday night June 4^th.

GRAND KNIGHT’S MESSAGE

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!!!  Since my last message our Council has completed its celebration of the joy of the Christmas season with no less than three parties: our children’s Christmas party at Notre Dame (featuring the successful debut of our new Santa), our mass and celebration at Monocacy Manor, and our annual party for our Special Olympians following our December meeting.  We presented a check for $3,400.00 to the Special Olympians, and they in turn honored us with a token of their appreciation, as well as with their enthusiastic accompaniment of Sister Margaret as she entertained us with Christmas carols on her accordion.

As we move from the joy of Christmas to the cold windy dead of winter keep in mind our upcoming work at the ecumenical soup kitchen on Saturday January 16^th at 1 pm at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel,  2nd and Chew Sts. Allentown.   Anyone who has ever helped out there, especially during bitter weather when you see the faces of those who spent the previous night in very different circumstances than you did, knows how much good the soup kitchen does, and how sorely their efforts are needed.  Our Council is honored to help out every other month on the third Saturday of that month.  Brothers are welcome to bring their children or grandchildren ages 13 and older to help.  It will fulfill any school service obligations they might have, but much more importantly than that,  it will be a rewarding and meaningful experience for adult and child.  Call Brother Rick Scrak (610-867-8387) or Deputy Grand Knight Mark Sewell (610-442-8593) for details.  After all, charity is the watchword of our order.

I hope to see you all at our January monthly meeting on Thursday night January 21^st at Monocacy Manor at 395 Bridle Path Road in Bethlehem.  In November our guest speaker, the city of Bethlehem Fire Marshall, spoke to us about home fire safety and showed us videos which effectively helped make his points.  Sticking with the public safety theme, at this month’s meeting Bethlehem’s new Police Commissioner will speak about crime prevention, avoiding common scams, and other issues.  The one-hour meeting will begin at 7:30 sharp.  Many brothers come early to pray the rosary together.  All stay after to share refreshments.

Thanks for all the support you have given the Council during the past year.   We know we can count on your continued help and support in 2010.

DUES NOTICES

Dues notices will be mailed out shortly.  Your prompt response will be much appreciated.

WEBSITE

Don’t forget our Council Website at www.kofc313.org.  Upcoming events, directions, contact information, helpful links, past and present newsletters, history, etc.  you name it, it’s there.

LOTTERY CALENDARS

Don’t forget our Home Association daily lottery calendars for February.  Contact  President Jim Hogg at 1604 Jill St., Bethlehem, PA. 18017 or 610-866-7244.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS

On account of our Council’s long support of their organization the Bethlehem Special Olympics regularly sends us a copy of their newsletter.  The December issue recounts their busy efforts in volleyball, soccer, artistic roller skating, power lifting, etc., and features a recap of the Fall Festival at Villanova where the Bethlehem team came away with 25 medals!  But more importantly it included the following “Beatitudes for Friends of the Handicapped”, which really apply not just to that group, but to us all, for we all have our different strengths and weaknesses, and we all need friends:

“Blessed are you who take the time to listen to difficult speech, for you help me to know that if I persevere I can be understood.

Blessed are you who never tell me to ‘hurry up’ and take my tasks from me and do them for me, for often I need time rather than help.

Blessed are you who stand beside me as I enter into new and untried ventures, for my failures will be outweighed by the times I surprise myself and you.

Blessed are you who asked for my help, for my greatest need is to be needed.

Blessed are you who understand that it is difficult for me to put my thoughts into words.

Blessed are you who with a smile encourage me to try once more.

Blessed are you who never remind me that today I asked the same question two times.

Blessed are you who respect and love me as I am and just as I am, and not like you wish I were.”

First Degrees  We have a first degree to welcome new members every other month starting in February.  In December four new members  joined our Council: Michael Sylvester, Michael Toohey, Anthony Messina, and Mark Marino.  Welcome Brothers!

Attendance Award The name of Bro. Ronald Hersh was drawn but Bro. Ronald was not present. The award advances to $70 next month. The 50/50 was won by Bro. Francis Achando.

Fraternal keep in your prayers: Tom Yencho’s father, Bro. Leo Deraney, Bro. Carl Symons .