Council News and Events

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Upcoming Events (What we do as Knights!)

Events Check here for highlighted upcoming Council events. However, if you wish to see all scheduled Council events and Catholic holy days of obligation, be sure to check the Council's Calendar!

Note to our Brother Knights: Please check out the events and activities scheduled for February and volunteer to support them. These events will be used to make a case for the Council to receive the Star Award. The Grand Knight humbly requests that you make the extra effort to step up and take on these tasks in the name of Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism--as well as the well-being of our Church, Order, and Community.

Lenten Fish Fry Schedule for 2012 to date:

Friday Feb 24 Fish Fry St Vincent’s

Friday Feb 24 Fish Fry St. Joseph Cathedral

Friday March 2 Fish Fry St Vincent’s

Friday March 9 Fish Fry St Vincent’s

Friday March 16 Fish Fry St Vincent’s

Friday March 23 Fish Fry St Vincent’s

Friday March 23 Fish Fry St. Joseph Cathedral

Friday March 30 Fish Fry St Vincent’s (last one)

General Announcements

Council 1349 February Knight of the Month:

Council 1349’s Knight of the Month for February is Br. Zac Dooley. Br. Zac’s consistent efforts with the Keep Christ in Christmas and Christmas card programs are a mainstay of the Council. As Roundtable Coordinator for the Immaculata, he has been instrumental in coordinating communication with its pastor, Fr. Matt Spahr and representing the Council to the parish. Br. Zac’s selfless sacrifice and tireless dedication has brought in a great percentage of the Council’s revenue and his efforts empower the Council to continue its fraternal good work. The Grand Knight extends heartfelt congratulations to Br. Zac, and a Knight of the Month certificate will be presented to him at the next business meeting.

Congratulate him when you see him on earning this deserved recognition for outstanding service and support!

Grand Knight's Corner

Dear Worthy Brother Knights,

It is hard to believe that a month has already passed in the New Year. January saw the resumption of our activity
with our Deputy Grand Knight, Br. Tom Davis spearheading the stand-up of our First Degree Exemplification Team (FDET). The FDET held several practices in preparation of bringing several candidates who expressed an interest in joining our Order and Council. If any Brother Knights would like to join and participate in the Council FDET, please contact Br. Tom at dgk@kofc1349, or me. Our Worthy Chancellor, who wears the hat of Squires Chief Counselor and Youth Program Director coordinated and supervised the annual Basketball Free Throw Competition at St. Vincent de Paul church’s school and basketball courts. There was anincredible amount of participants in attendance, and the event was fun for all. Winners received trophies andare eligible for the District Deputy’s Free Throw Competition on February 4. Additionally, I have submitted the Council’s Fraternal Activity Report to the Supreme and State Councils, and I am proud to report that our Council disbursed over 7000 dollars and expended nearly 6000 hours toward charitable causes. You have done an excellent job—well done! As we approach the Lenten season, remember that the Lenten Fish Dinners headed up by our Worthy Treasurer are the Council’s biggest moneymakers, which provide funding for our charitable and volunteer activities. Please mark your calendars for Friday eveningsduring Lent to volunteer and help serve Br. Jeff’s fabulous fish dinners made with his secret recipe! My affiliation with each of you continues to be a source of pride and motivates me to strive in doing better as your Grand Knight.

Vivat Jesus and may God bless you all!

Jim Acerra, Grand Knight
Knights of Columbus Council 1349

Recent Council News & Events

February 4, 2012: First Degree Exemplification Team (FDET) practice. Practice was held under the leadership and direction of our Worthy Deputy Grand Knight, Br. Tom Davis, PGK to ready the exemplification team for our first ceremony and to induct new Brother Knights into our order during the month of February. The Grand Knight applauds the efforts made by the FDET in accomplishing this milestone achievement.

January 26, 2012: Annual Basketball Free Throw Contest. Council 1349 held its annual Basketball Free Throw Competition at St. Vincent de Paul School's courtyards with the permission of Fr. Dillard and Sr. Kathleen. The Grand Knight and Council 1349 extends congratulations to all participant and the contest winners: 10-11 Year Age Group for Boys and Girls: Joseph Franca, 12-14 Year Age Group for Girls: Gabby Giebenrath, and 12-14 Year Age Group for Boys: Nicholas Vecchioni. Winners were eligible for the Worthy District Deputy's Free Throw Contest for District 133 held on February 4. Well done!

December 21, 2011: Annual Substance Abuse Prevention Poster Contest and Essay Contest Judging. The Council 1349 Judging Panel selected winners from the pool of contestants from the annual Substance Abuse Prevention Poster Contest and Essay Competition. Congratulations to all participants and winners from both contests. Winners from the essay contest are: (1st Place) Katharine Bowman, (2nd Place) Mariano Sanfilippo, and (3rd Place) Abby Holland.

Selected participants will be eligible for competition at the District leve.

December 15: USO Gift Giving Tree. The USO hosted a Gift Giving Tree event to provide low-income service personnel parents with toys for their children on Christmas Day. Toys were acquired through donations by local corporations and other charities. Council 1349 was selected to participate in this event from a highly competitive pool of other charitable and volunteer organizations because of their outstanding support earlier in the year during the Charity Spaghetti Dinner. This was a social event, as well as a charity/volunteer cause, so families of Brother Knights were invited to participate. The Council has the assistance from sister Council 9498, Balboa Assembly, Bishop Buddy Assembly, our Worthy District Deputy, and all of our families and friends!

December 11 & 12: Membership Drive at St. Joseph Cathedral. In response to an administrative oversight by the Grand Knight, our November membership drive at the Cathedral had to be rescheduled to December 11 & 12. The event was successfully held under the leadership of our Worthy Recorder, Br. T.J. McAvin, D.C and St. Joseph Cathedral Roundtable Coordinator, Br. Nick Pomo.

December 2: St. Vincent de Paul Children's Christmas Dinner. St. Vincent de Paul church is hosting a Children's Christmas Dinner in their hall for their students. There was dinner, dessert, and dancing with a live DJ. Children got to meet Santa Claus (played by the Grand Knight), Mrs. Claus (played by Maggie Acerra), and his elves (played by older students from the school).

December 1 & 2: Parish Christmas Dinner at St. Joseph Cathedral. Council 1349 has fulfilled a request from Fr. Peter Escalante to help serve the parish Christmas dinner at the Cathedral. December 1 was for Spanish-speaking parishioners, and December 2 was for the parishioner general populace.

November 15, 2011: Memorial Mass at St. Columba: Council 1349 upheld the Knights of Columbus annual tradition of holding a memorial mass in honor of our Brother Knights who have passed away was at St. Columba parish. Fr. Mario Elias celebrated the memorial mass at 7:00pm. Thanks go to Bros. Vic Miranda, PGK and Rick Babauta, PGK, PFN, FDD for coordinating the event.

October 27, 2011: Service & Club Fair at St. Augustine High School. Council 1349 was invited by Fr. Kirk Davis of St. Augustine High School (SAHS) to have a Knights of Columbus and Columbian Squires information table at their Service & Club Fair. Bros. Fred Hall, Danie Francisco, and Jim Smyth attended, representing the Knights of Columbus and Council 1349. This activity projected the KofC presence and promoted membership growth.

October 22nd & 23rd, 2011: Intellectual Disabilities Drive. Council 1349 held its Intellectual Disabilities (ID) Drive outside Von's supermarket on Murphy Canyon Rd., and at its roundtable parishes. The Council raised over $1000.00 for ID charities under the leadership of Br. Fred Hall (PGK, PFN, FDD), ID Drive Chairman. The ID drive is formerly known as the Tootsie Roll and/or MR Drive.

October 23, 2011: Ministry Fair at St. Joseph Cathedral. Council 1349, at the invitation of Father Escalante, attended the St. Joseph Cathedral's Ministry Fair. The Council set up an Knights of Columbus and Columbian Squires information table, which was manned by Bros. Nick Pomo (St. Joseph's Roundtable Coordinator) and Vic Resendez (Council 1349's Community Programs Director).

October 9, 2011: St. John the Evangelist Church Picnic. The church hosted a picnic for its parishioners at Morley Field from 9:00am until 5:00pm. Council 1349 Brother Knights volunteered to help with the picnic tasks such as setting up the picnic site, working the BBQ grill, and take-down of the site after the event concludes. The congregation welcomed the Knights and made them feel like family. Fun activities included a water balloon toss that even got the pastor, Fr. William Dillard into the fray!

Archived Council Events

Access Council 1349 archived events by pressing the button below. Archives were started in late 2010, so the archives are not all inclusive. The archive is expected to grow exponentially as events surrounding the Council unfold and develop.

Chaplain's Pulpit

The Golden Rule

As we continue our journey as Christians and Knights of St. Columbus, I invite you to take a moment to reflect on the Golden rule. Jesus Christ during his public ministry in Matthew 7: 12 said, “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets”. This is probably the most universally famous thing that Jesus said. With this commandment, the Sermon on the Mount reaches its summit. This saying of Jesus has become the kernel and the peak of social and moral ethics. The golden rule is endorsed by all the great world religions. It not only shows us the standard by which we are to govern our conduct toward others, but it also measures us against a standard that shows how far short we have fallen. And that, of course, sends us all the way back to the beginning of Jesus' sermon; and to the words, "Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . Blessed are those who mourn . . . Blessed are the meek . . . Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:3-6).

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year old grandson, Jason. The old man's hands trembled and his eyesight was blurred. The family ate together at the table. But the elderly Grandpa's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult...Peas rolled off her spoon onto the floor...When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. "We must do something about Grandpa," said the son. "I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.” So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandpa ate all by himself while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandpa had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. When the family glanced in Grandpa's direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?" Just as sweetly, the boy responded, "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up." The four-year-old smiled and went back to work. The words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled. Peace and blessings as we try every day to put the golden rule into practice.

Rev. Lawrence Agi
Worthy Chaplain, Council 1349

District Deputy's Podium

This month, I will share with you an email I received from the Supreme Knight. It is of utmost importance to American Catholics. Here is the missive I received:

Worthy District Deputy,

On January 20th, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), made a final decision that would force Catholic institutions to provide health insurance that includes all FDA-approved contraceptive methods and sterilization procedures, including several drugs that cause an early abortion by interfering with the implantation of a newly-conceived human being. This mandate poses a very serious threat to the religious freedom of Catholics and Catholic institutions.

You will recall that the delegates at our 129th Supreme Convention in Denver last year unanimously passed a resolution pledging our support for freedom of conscience in health care. Now is the time to make that pledge of support a reality.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is urging Catholics and all citizens to contact their elected leaders to let them know they want religious liberty and rights of conscience restored and the administration's contraceptive mandate rescinded.

Please encourage all Knights and their families in your jurisdiction to send an email to their elected representatives in Congress by visiting www.kofc.org/rights. Sample language has been provided urging elected leaders to co-sponsor the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (H.R. 1179 / S.1467). This bi-partisan legislation will ensure that federal mandates do not penalize or discriminate against religious believers.

The Knights of Columbus will never waver in our opposition to any governmental action or policy that forces our citizens to violate their deeply-held moral and religious convictions.

Fraternally,

Carl A. Anderson

Supreme Knight

As members of the Order, it is important to remember that we exercise our 1st Amendment right to practice our faith, which defends human life. Please contact your representatives and let them know that American Catholics will not tolerate infringement on their rights.

Rene Trevino, PGK, PFN
District Deputy, District 133
California Knights of Columbus