The Knight’s Herald

Vol. X issue X___________________________________________________________________________________4 October 2002

From the Desk of the Grand Knight

Time does indeed, fly, especially when you are fully engaged. This past weekend (at the time of this writing) was our parish’s Oktoberfest and it was a very busy time. All the advance preparations, last minute preparations and it should have been done yesterday preparations did pay off and it appeared to be a great success. I was very pleased to see that many brother Knights chose to become engaged for this event and I am sure were enriched by the participation.

A brief breakdown of whom did what may be in order:

Dennis and Carrie Ott Crafts Booth

Ron and Joseph Rychlak Softball Toss Booth

James and Bonnie Reid Dime Toss Booth

Mark and Debbie Shows Religious Article Sales

Bill and Jan Reynolds Hot Dogs and Tamales (with an assist from Charles Signa)

Mike Namarato Teddy Bear Booth (with help from Scott Vitale)

Paul Cassasia Bingo (first year for this and it seemed to do well)

Mike and Gill Mitchell Bean Bag Toss

Stan Sandroni Master of Ceremonies

Peter and Kathy Sukanek Bratwurst Dinner (Kathy did most of the dinner but Peter and cohorts did battle with the swarm of wasps looking for an autumn sugar fix)

Eddie and Cheryl Metrejean Ticket Sales and Accounting

These are just the men I know of. I am sure there are others whose efforts were just as great behind scenes or in the set up, preparation and take down for Oktoberfest. I want to thank all the Knights who did participate and apologize to those whose names I failed to mention.

I would like to offer a special thanks to Peter and Maria Lee for the many hours of work and planning that they put into making this Oktoberfest the success that it was. I know what it takes to make it work right and it did.

We have a fairly busy October coming up so everyone should be getting ready for some of the different events ahead. October 10^th will be our regular business meeting and I hope to see you all there. On the 12^th we will be parking cars for the Arkansas State game. The car parking is where we earn our operating funds for the year so please make an effort to come out and help. The 26^th will be the annual (3^rd I think) hay ride at Camp Hopewell, where we will be cooking hot dogs, hamburgers and roasting marshmallows. And finally on the 31^st (Halloween) we will be doing hot dogs for all the little ghosts, goblins and witches of our parish. I hope to see you at all of these events.

Vivat Jesus

Mike Mitchell

Family of the Month — The Peng Lee Family

Knight of the Month — Stan Sandroni

Remember the Rosary is prayed at 8:00am every Sunday

From Your Membership Director,

Three months of our Fraternal Year has passed and we have no new members nor has anyone been proposed for membership. Your Membership Committee is planning our Fall Membership Drive from October 10 thru November 10.

First Degree Exemplifications are planned for our October 10^th and November 14^th regular monthly council meetings. Your help is needed for this Membership Drive. The Membership Committee has set a goal of four new members for this time period. Please make any contacts you can to help your Membership Committee reach our goal.

As your Membership Director, for over ten years, my job has been to continually ask the help of all my Brother Knights to help me, help you and our council to give the opportunity to the men in our parish to become members of the Knights of Columbus.

You probably also remember that in the past I have said "each Knight has a responsibility, taken at the time he become a Knight, to the help the council and his Brother Knights to meet the membership goal of our council each year. Membership is one of these goals."

The Knights of Columbus is a brotherhood and one of its goals is to spread the opportunity for membership to every Catholic man eligible to become a Knight. The men at St. John’s deserve the opportunity to become members of the Knights of Columbus. But they may never get that opportunity if one of our Brother Knights does not ask each one of them to consider becoming a Knight of Columbus. Would any one of us Brother Knights consider, if for only a moment, to deny anyone of these Catholic men that opportunity? I don’t believe so, but only you, as a Brother Knight and as a member of St. John’s Council 10901, in Oxford, Mississippi, can make that decision. Only you can decide whether you will or you won’t "ask another man to become a Knight of Columbus."

Vivat Jesus,

Bob Hudson,

Membership Director

The Knights, will be sponsoring a hayride at Camp Hopewell on October 26^th, from 6:00 — 9:00pm. Please come and enjoy in the fun.

We will be parking cars on the 12^th of this month. Please come and help out with this fundraiser. (game@1:00 so come early)

Mark your calendars, on November 30^th we will be setting up the advent wreath in front of the church

The week of November 24^th is National Family Week, if you have any suggestions on what we should do, please bring them up at the meeting on October 10^th.

Church Committee Report — Jacob Eftink

The Parish Fair has come and gone. I thought it was successful and enjoyed it. I want to thank the Knights who set up the booths, worked the booths, and tore down the
booths.
October 12 is Colmubus Day. Cristopher Columbus is an important person in our Order. To celebrate Columbus Day, our council will sponsor a "Spirit of Columbus" contest for the PSR (pictures) and TYM (essays) students. The theme for
this year's contest is "The Responsibility of the Catholic Citizen in a Free Society." Entries will be judged at the next business meeting and cash awards will be given to the
winners. I ask that Knights with children in PSR and/or TYM encourage their childreen to win.

Birthdays for October

Deacon Ted Klingen — 7^th Hebert Spears Jr. — 8^th

Tim Berryhill — 13^th Ken Boyer — 15^th

John Gordon — 20^th Larry Agostinelli — 29^th

From your state warden — Peter Sukanek

Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in two special events for the Mississippi jurisdiction. On September 8, the Vicksburg council hosted a second and third degree. What made this particular exemplification special was that the new degree teams from the Jackson area made their debut. The Supreme Ceremonials Director, Sam Dambroshia, was present. With him were two Supreme Directors and a number of representatives from the U.S. and Canada. These individuals were being trained as regional ceremonial directors. I don’t know if the team was aware of the significant scrutiny they were under. Nonetheless, they did a terrific job and were congratulated. This is the first new team certified in Mississippi in over ten years. I’m certain we will be seeing them in our part of the state.

On September 22, Brian Engelland, FS of the Starkville council, and his wife hosted a reception at St. Joseph’s church in Starkville in honor of their daughter, Mary. Mary, who graduated from the University of Dallas last year, is currently working for the diocese of Washington DC. She has decided to join the Carmelite religious order as a cloistered nun. She will be leaving for the monastery in New Jersey in mid-October. Many of the people from the Council and from the parish were present to show their support for Mary. This is a calling that not many people receive, and one that requires a good deal of courage to pursue in these times. Try to remember to keep Mary and her family in your prayers.

From Fr. Joe

On January 22, 1973 the Supreme Court made abortion on demand legal at every stage of pregnancy, including the stages at which the foetus is capable of life outside of the womb. Since that date thirteen (13) million children of African American descent have been killed in utero–nearly twice the number of African Americans who have died from all other causes combined. In Brooklyn, in 1997, there were more abortions than live births in the Black community; this was not true of Whites and Hispanics.

October is Right to Life Month. Please continue to support life issues in your prayers this month and all year long. For more information on abortion and Black babies you may contact: National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life

440 West 36^th Street

New York, NY 10018

(212) 868-1847

What being a Knight means to me

Growing up as a child I had the blessing of being raised in a strong Christian family. We attended Broadmoor Baptist Church in Shreveport Louisiana. For most of my life I have actively participated in many organizations within the communities I lived. Ever since I can remember I have always taken particular notice of the people and families who were not as fortunate as I felt I was. I came to have a deep respect for the many blessings the Lord has placed on my family and myself. In our family we were taught the importance of Honesty, Respect and love for the Lord and your neighbor. I was fortunate to be raised in a family where putting Christ first and others before yourself was stressed on a daily basis.

When I left home at age 18 the teachings I received at home stayed with me. Although there were years between then and now when I strayed from the road less traveled, the good Lord always guided me back via some situation or blessing in my life. One of those blessings was meeting my beautiful wife Heather. Heather and I meet in 1994 and were married in June of 1996. It was between 1994 — 1996 that Heather introduced me to the Catholic faith. I began to realize that the more I went to Mass and learned about the

Catholic faith, the more I wanted to keep attending Mass. As most of you know I joined the Catholic Church and was confirmed November of 2001 at St Johns in Oxford.

I will never forget the Sunday morning Paul Patak asked me if I would be interested in joining the Knights of Columbus. I had never heard of the Knights of Columbus and had no idea what to expect. Paul seemed like a fine Christian man so I did some research, filled out the Form 100 and a month later attended my First Degree Exemplification. I became a Knight of Columbus through an act of faith but mostly because of the charity and service functions of our organization. Having been a Knight for over a year now, the Knights of Columbus has become very dear to me on a more personal level.

Becoming a Knight has been another blessing in my life. I feel I am a better Catholic because of Knights of Columbus. I have found myself praying the Rosary almost on a daily basis. Words can not describe the blessings I have received by praying the Rosary. Being an "active member" in Council 10901 means a great deal to me. I have made some very fine friends by being an active member. Like Mom and Dad always stressed, you can only get out what you put into something. There are so many positive ways we as "Active Knights" can affect our community and the surrounding communities. Not often does the opportunity present itself to be an active participant in the life of Charity, Unity and Fraternity. To me the Knights of Columbus is just that. When you are preparing to leave this life, God Bless You, I doubt you will say I wished I had watched more TV or I wished I had worked harder at my job. Hopefully you will reflect on the many blessings you experienced by helping others who were not as fortunate as yourself and the positive impact you had on the lives of your family, friends and community.

Count your blessings while you still can and become more involved in our KOC council. It seems as it is always the same faces showing up for events. Lets see some new faces. We will always be busy but more importantly we need you. The Community and Church need you. Together, we can and will make a difference in our community and the communities around the world. Get involved ! Who will be the next man you ask to become a Knight of Columbus? Jeff Hooper

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