Greg Searle – Page 9 – Council 10910 Knights of Columbus

Oktoberfest – Sep 26

Oktoberfest is all set for Friday, Sept 26, 2014. It will be from 6 pm to 10 pm.The Catholic Daughters will join us again as co-participants.

Oktoberfest is all set for Friday, Sept 26, 2014. It will be from 6 pm to 10 pm. The Catholic Daughters will join us again as co-participants.

Tom Stoffel has announced that the menu will be brats, chicken, sauerkraut, potato salad, pretzel roll, and cake. It also includes three adult beverages. All this for the still low price for $25. Children under 21 are just $15.

Good news for families this year. We have added a new family promotion package of $60 for parent/child under 21. Sorry, this does not include extended families or children of legal drinking age.

The Little German Band is also returning. Their music is the highlight of the evening, except, of course, for the lederhosen and festive attire of some of our brother knights.

Take a look at last year’s event!

There is plenty of work for the knights as we pull this event together. There is pre-planning, decorations, setup, ticket advance sales, serving tables, escort work, and more. Contact Matt or Gene to volunteer! You can contact them by clicking on their name: Matt Raynor or Gene Keeling

Oktoberfest Ticket Sales will take place after masses on the following four weekends:

August 16/17
Sept 6/7 (sharing table with Operation LAMB)
Sept 13/14 (sharing table with Operation LAMB)
Sept 20/21

Supreme Knight’s Message

The Catholic News Service reported today that Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said that the Knights of Columbus is well-positioned to follow Pope Francis’ witness of “love for the sick, the suffering and the poor.”

Opportunities for Seniors

Some of our members spend a good number of hours at the Robert and Pearl Seymour Center. There are activities galore, pool and table tennis tables, hot lunches, friendly people, and a chance to meet new people.

Some of our members spend a good number of hours at the Robert & Pearl Seymour Center on Homestead Road There are activities galore, pool and table tennis tables, hot lunches, friendly people, and a chance to meet new people.

Also available are classes. There are classes on speaking Spanish, hobbies, and more. Bill Jackson was visiting their website recently and came across the Seymour Technology Center. It is a center for learning more about computers and the internet. It doesn’t matter if you are interested in an Apple or a Windows product, there are classes for both. Want to know how to work with digital photographs? There are classes on Picasa.

The technology center also has classes on cellphones, Ancestry.com, and more. Learn more

Why not join Joe, Peter, Bill and other knights at the Seymour Center? Make some new friends and potential knights.

Chapel Hill Operation LAMB Coming Soon

Our council has been a steady and strong supporter of Operation Lamb for over 20 years. What is Operation Lamb? The LAMB program was started in 1960, became a statewide program in 1974, and was formally established as a public, nonprofit, fully tax-deductible 501(c)3 charity in 1999, named the LAMB Foundation of NC, Inc. The sole purpose of the foundation is to raise funds and distribute them to accredited organizations and institutions throughout the state that assist people with intellectual disabilities.

Our council has been a steady and strong supporter of Operation LAMB for over 20 years. What is Operation LAMB? It stands for Least Among My Brethren.The LAMB program was started in 1960, became a statewide program in 1974, and was formally established as a public, nonprofit, fully tax-deductible 501(c)3 charity in 1999, named the LAMB Foundation of NC, Inc. The sole purpose of the foundation is to raise funds and distribute them to accredited organizations and institutions throughout the state that assist people with intellectual disabilities.

The knights have raised over $21 million dollars since 1974 for North Carolinians. That money has been raised all without a single paid employee, thanks to the more than 15,000 Knights of Columbus statewide who, along with their family and friends, stand long hours
giving away Tootsie Rolls and asking for donations. Fully, 93% of the funds raised go directly to charity. The only major operational expenses are for the Tootsie Rolls, aprons and an outside accounting firm.

Knights fan out over the area and throughout the state to pass out Tootsie Rolls. We never sell them, we just give them away with a warm welcome and a big smile. We are rewarded by the generous donations of shoppers.

Our council is conducting its annual Operation LAMB Tootsie Roll campaign on the weekend of October 10-12 to raise funds for people with Intellectual Disabilities in our community. The agencies who will receive LAMB funds include the Special Olympics, Special Education Programs in Chapel Hill, Orange and Chatham counties, ARC, Club Nova, Voices Together, OE Enterprises and Chatham Trades.

The Knights need volunteers from the parish. This is a wonderful opportunity for parishioners, especially our teenagers, to contribute to a very worthwhile community service project. It’s fun, easy and rewarding–you just need to wear a bright yellow vest, smile, give out Tootsie Rolls, and ask quietly for donations for a couple of hours in front of a supermarket in the area. Ready to volunteer? Contact John Aluise by email. Just click here.

For more information, download

What Did You Make?

“Dear, Brother Knight…” is a phrase we hear a lot. This writer’s granddaughter and daughters have repeated it many times. There is a little kidding in the way they and we say it, but to a Knight and his family it has a far deeper meaning

“Dear, Brother Knight…” is a phrase we hear a lot. This writer’s granddaughter and daughters have repeated it many times. There is a little kidding in the way they and we say it, but to a Knight and his family it has a far deeper meaning.

For the last 25 years I have seen the men of the church pitch in to help one another. Long before we formed a council in the early ’90’s, the Men’s Club members were everywhere building and caring for our church and school. Some installed telephone poles at the new church school. Others wired telephones, ran water lines, planted trees, hung doors, moved furniture, helped the sisters and more. They were and are proud to be Catholic men and were eager to form our Council and expand their opportunities and their ministry of serving others.

Everyone helped everyone. They often would hear of a problem, a need, a crisis, or a challenge. If they couldn’t solve the problem, they reached out to a brother Knight. Sometimes you would find a bunch of knights showing up to help each other. The call was out–a brother Knight or friend needed help.

This writer has been the recipient of help too many times to remember. I had the honor last week to stand up in church to announce that Gene Drogos was celebrating his 90th birthday and 68th anniversary! As I was talking, he was looking my way and just looked humble, but proud that a brother Knight remembered. We shared “thumbs up,” but I started remembering.

There was a rush of thoughts and remembrances. There is not enough room in this short story to share them all. We have gone together to conventions, district and local meetings, hosted a state convention, held degrees, passed out Tootsie Rolls, worked on fish fries and pig pickings, served in honor guards, pulled weeds and served food on Parish Pride Day, and just had fun. Many times our families joined in.

When I needed help with building a large storage building I asked for help and one brother knight-to-be, Drew Melvin, reminded me that the tree I cut down tree would keep growing, even if I build a building over it. Ouch. He then came over to my house and ground it up for me.

I told Gene that I was going to work on the building and he said, “I can’t do much, but I will come on over and help as I can.” He did and we had a ball. We joked, cut wood, philosophized, shared stories, built walls and then raised them to form the core building. Gene was 84 years old!

Gene Drogos on a quest

My granddaughter recorded the event by taking lots and lots of pictures. Here is a collage of some of them. (She tells me now that she does a lot of the things she does in our church and with youth, because of what she saw in my Brother Knights.) A week later, Paul Fiorentino came by to help square the walls and put up the siding.

So, when you get tired and weary, remember that there is an eternity to rest, we Knights still have time for work with friends, family, and church community.

Did You Ever Consider….?

One of the greatest benefits of being a Knight is that we get to work with some fabulous people. It is not just the people in our council, but councils and assemblies throughout the state. But, wait, the circle grows.

With each encounter, with each event, we meet and greet others. We get to touch them in many ways and in ways that we can never imagine. Want to see it happen?

You can. Just stand at the curb in front of the church before mass. Watch the interaction of people as a Knight reaches out to shake a hand and give a warm welcoming smile. Then watch the Narthex. It is seen there, too. Watch little children stop and go back to hug Joe, Peter, or Jerry and other Knights.

After the mass it is repeated over and over again. It happens at fish fries, pancake breakfasts, and special events or masses. Yes, we are touching lives every day and every where. You, Brother Knight, are making an impression and influencing others.

This writer has thought about this often and I am not afraid to share our stories, your stories. You and your brother Knights are part of the fabric that makes up and is our Church.

Today, as I sat at the end of the church driveway waiting on a light, something told me to turn on NPR (National Public Radio). It is then that I heard someone talking about a “Lollipop Moment.” It made me think about our Knights passing out Tootsie Rolls for Operation Lamb. Drew Dudley was sharing his thoughts on leadership and the impact we are making on others and, in most cases, not even knowing it. Watch Drew’s story here.

Parish Festival – June 28th

It’s all about family in the Knights of Columbus. What better way to join other parish families at the St. Thomas More Church Parish Festival on June 28 and to participate in our Operation LAMB fundraising events – Bocce, Hole-in-One contest and the Raffle. You can sign up as a Bocce team or join a team on the day of the Festival.

It all starts after the 5:15 pm mass. Learn more

John Aluise reports, “We have over $1,000 in prizes donated by UNC Athletics and Finley Golf Course, Chapel Hill Tire, TCBY, Subway, Chapel Hill Restaurant Group, the Loop, City Kitchen and several other retail stores and restaurants.”

Joe Acciarito to be Honored

From the Chapel Hill Seymour Center comes: A Veteran’s Affair: Wall of Honor New Recipients and Reception. If you have not seen the center’s Wall of Honor designated to honor veteran participants of the Seymour Center and Central Orange Senior Center, stop by and check it out!

Joe Acciarito

From the Chapel Hill Seymour Center comes: A Veteran’s Affair: Wall of Honor New Recipients and Reception

If you have not seen the center’s Wall of Honor designated to honor veteran participants of the Seymour Center and Central Orange Senior Center, stop by and check it out!

Sir Knight Joe Acciarito will be honored in June as the Wall of Honor is renewed with eight veterans from the Chapel Hill Community. Other June honorees are: Nicholas Terrell, Clyde D. Perry, Jeppie Foushee, Lewis Atwater, John Dossett, Walter Mack and Joan Shevlin.

The ceremony will be on June 30th at 10:30 a.m. at the Chapel Hill Seymour Center. There will be a small reception and a time for personal reflections.

Peter O’Grady

The wall is not only a way expressing community gratitude to those who served our Country, it enables other participants and visitors who frequent the Center to appreciate and learn more about their peers. Current honorees on the wall are Russell Blackwell, Thomas Hackney, Wayne Hung, Richard Tofte, Johnnie Johnson, Charles Alston, Roy Henry Gore, and Sir Knight Peter O’Grady.

For more information, contact: Cydnee Sims at the Seymour Center.

Pope Francis Speaks on Love in Marriage

This is just two days old! It is something that many of you already know. It is what makes our marriages work.

April, 4, 2014

This is just two days old! It is something that many of you already know. It is what makes our marriages work.

These are the words for us to share with our children. “Domani, Domani..”

Final Fish Fry Before Easter! – April 4

Our final Lenten Fish Fry & Bake is this Friday, April 4, serving 5 pm-8 pm in the Friends & Family Hall.

Please also help us promote this event. You can share this story on your Facebook page. Send a link to your neighbors.

Don’t forget to share this information with your non-Catholic friends. Everyone likes a fish fry! We welcome the opportunity to open our doors to the community and to share with others our social events. You may spark a renewal of faith and start a friend on a path that leads them back to their church, maybe our church. Pope Benedict wrote:

“Help each other to live and to grow in the Christian faith so as to be valiant witnesses of the Lord. Be united, but not closed. Be humble, but not fearful. Be simple, but not naive. Be thoughtful, but not complicated. Enter into dialogue with others, but be yourselves.” – Pope Benedict XVI, Genoa, Italy, May 18, 2008

Tom Stoffel has advertised for help. “We need many hands for setting up, cooking, serving, selling tickets, busing tables, keeping refreshments filled, serving wine, and cleanup & tear down. Especially cleanup!” he said.

Tom advised that the Knights and Catholic Daughters get started at 2:30 pm. They could use many helpers to unload supplies, set up the kitchen, start preparing for cooking, and to set up the hall for dining.

Can’t help with prep and setup? There is much left to be done and you can help cook. You just need your apron and a big smile. Yes, it is hard work, but you’ll have fun, too.

From 5 – 8 pm, Knights are needed to serve, sell tickets, bus tables, and serve beverages.

Tom wanted you to know that he also needs needs help with cleanup and tear down for about an hour starting at 8 pm.

If you can help, please email to Tom Stoffel at tstoffel@bellsouth.net, or call him at 919-360-3846.