Dear Brother Knights:
I am honored and thankful to you for electing me Grand Knight of Knights of Columbus Council 2852 – an incredible council whose community services work, support of religious vocations and work on behalf of the Catholic Church has long been recognized throughout New York State. As Grand Knight, I pray that I will serve my Brother Knights and our Council in service to Family, Church and Community, being ever mindful of the principles of the Knights of Columbus: Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism.
On the second page of this month's issue of the Clarion is an article ‘Volunteer Opportunities’. Please take some time to read this article and see if any of these volunteer opportunities may be of interest to you. This Council was built on Volunteerism and many great things came about because someone stepped up and said “I will help out”- to name but a few, our ‘Light up for Christ’, ‘Special Olympics’, ‘Wake Service’ and ‘Seminarian Program’, as well as our many dances and social events. There are many ‘Volunteer Opportunities’. Your Council needs your help so we can maintain the high degree of excellence that our members and community have come to expect of the New Hyde Park Council.
August 6 – 14 is Knights of Columbus Family Week. Family is one of the most important fabrics of our lives and we have been blessed with many incredible Knights of Columbus families over the years. Our family events reflect how important we believe in families and it is my hope that we will continue to support and increase the number of family events in the future.
Congratulations to Sal Restivo, from Levittown’s Holy Innocents Council in being elected our State Deputy and Bishop William Murphy, head of the Rockville Centre Diocese, being chosen as our State Chaplain.
In 1954, the Knights of Columbus was successful in placing ‘under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance and just two weeks ago in 2011, the Knights of Columbus was victorious in the debate to remove those words. The Supreme Court rejected this latest challenge to remove “under God”.
There is a ray of hope in our goal to eliminate Abortion. A number of states - Kansas, North Carolina, Idaho, Indiana, Oklahoma, Alabama and Iowa have passed or will soon approve legislation that will change their state’s Abortion laws. This legislation will prohibit abortions at the 20th week after conception. It is a small victory but raises hope that the K of C’s battle against Abortion may be making progress. We should all make plans to be part of next year’s Albany Prayer Rally alerting New York State politicians that we demand similar or better legislation in our state.
When you come by the council hall you will see that our parking lot has finally been refinished ensuring the safety of our members and guests. I would like to thank PGK Mike Monroe for his incredible fund raising work and PGK Tom McGowan’s guidance and diligence that helped make this improvement possible.
On June 24th we held our Annual Bingo Appreciation Dinner. Special thanks to Rich Critelli for running this enjoyable event. Congratulations to Larry Centola who was named Bingo Worker of the year. Larry has volunteered, working in many capacities, for the past couple of decades. Thank you to all of our Bingo Workers for the great job they do week after week. Their volunteerism is very much appreciated.
Our business meetings are held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month and your participation in these meetings is valued. We have a lot going on and our meetings are the best place to get the latest information on our events and dances. Your input is always appreciated.
Pleased mark these dates on your calendar: August 23rd (Officers Installation Night), August 20th (Fishing Trip), September 3rd (Family Picnic) and September 10th (Hawaiian Night). I hope that you will attend these events. Look for more information on these events in this
month's issue of the Clarion.
"Always do right. You will please some people and astonish the rest."
