Knights of Columbus Council 7624 St. Rita Catholic Church – Rockford, Illinois

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November 19, 2017 Council

7624 hosted a Knighthood

degree at St. Rita Parish in

Rockford, Illinois. Eleven men

from surrounding councils took

their Admissions Degree.

Twenty-nine then made the

journey to full Knighthood by

completing their Formation and

Knighthood Degrees. St. Rita

Council gained five new

members: St. Rita School

Principal Pat Flanagan, Tom

Faleo, Troy Volanti, Ron

Anderson, and Arthur Castillo.

Congratulations and welcome

new Knights to the St. Rita

Council.

Many dignitaries from both

Supreme and the State were

present to honor Sir Knight Ed

McMahon on his lifetime of

service to the Knights of

Columbus. Brother Ed has

acted as Conferring Officer for

the John Paul II Degree Team in

264 Formation and Knighthood

degrees over a span of thirty-

two years. He has touched the

lives of thousands of new

Knights through the years.

Brother Ed has decided to step

down as Conferring Officer

after this memorable and

sometimes tear-filled major

degree. Thank you, Brother Ed

for your lifetime of service. ♦

“I sincerely thank all of the

Brother Knights who made this

major degree at St. Rita a

memorable and successful day as

twenty-nine men completed their

journey to Knighthood in our

order. The turnout of Brother

Knights to witness this ceremony

was truly an inspiration to all and

I appreciate all of the effort by so

many Brother Knights that went

into making this day a remarkable

success. Thank you all.”

- Sir Knight Ed McMahon

2 St. Rita Council 7624 December 2017

Council 7624 Officers

Chaplin Rev. John Evans, PGK

Grand Knight George Lamoureux

Deputy Grand Knight Bill Osborne

Chancellor Brian Soltys

Recorder Robert Collins

Financial Secretary Tom Clausen, PGK

Treasurer

Dan Campbell, PGK

Lecturer Dcn. John Huntley

Advocate

Ken Mattson, PGK

Warden Mike Ruzevich

Inside Guard

David Haskell

Outside Guard

Jim Novak

Trustees

Craig Stear, PGK

Andy Schachtner, PGK

John Logli, PGK

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Dear Brother Knights,

I hope everyone had a great

Thanksgiving. It is hard to

believe that we are almost half

way through our council year,

will be celebrating the birth of

Jesus, and are about to enter year

2018. If I could have it my way,

we would all be off of work from Thanksgiving week

through January 1st so we can be with family and friends,

get some rest, and enjoy the Christmas season.

Brothers, from Pegi and I, a very Blessed Christmas and

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. Thank you

for all you do as a Knight of St. Rita Council 7624.

Fraternally,

George Lamoureux

Grand Knight 2017-2018

3 St. Rita Council 7624 December 2017

Worthy Officers, Dear Brothers,

I hope this letter finds you well

this holy season.

Many today ignore the idea of

Christ’s judgment. Not

thinking about it, does not

make it go away. As Aquinas

says, this judgment is fearful, for it is entire (nothing,

except confessed sins, is ignored), unrelenting (no

appeal process), and final (the decision lasts forever).

But, thankfully, the judgment hasn’t come yet. Now

is the time of mercy. Enjoy it for now. And have a

blessed Christmas.

Until next month, know that I remain,

Fraternally Yours in Christ,

SK Rev. John R. Evans, PGK

Season’s Greetings

I feel a few thank-you’s

are in order.

First, I want to thank all of

our Brother Knights who

volunteered to serve in

some capacity at our

recent annual Deceased Knights Mass, held on

Sunday, November 12th.

Secondly, thank you’s are also in order to all of us

that sold or bought raffle tickets for the Illinois State

Council’s Vocation Raffle. With your generosity, we

were able to slightly exceed last year’s amount for

our support to our chosen local seminarian. I will

share details at the December Council meeting, so

there is yet another reason to attend !!

On a separate note, invitations have been mailed to

our twenty widows for our upcoming annual

Christmas breakfast. This year I have asked for a

response regardless of their attendance decision so to

better plan for our food and reserved seating needs.

Lastly, I want to extend my personal wishes to

everyone for a wonderful Christmas season.

Brian F. Soltys, D.D.S.

Chancellor 2017-18

Chaplin’s Corner Chancellor’s Chit-Chat

4 St. Rita Council 7624 December 2017

Knight of the Month

Thank you Knights of

Council 7624 for your

continual acts of charity

and support that you

provide to St. Rita's Church,

your community and State

KC. This was once again

shown in your sponsoring

of the latest District 48

Knighthood Degree, which was held in Wahl Hall on

November 19th. It was also a great day to honor

Brother Ed McMahon as he performed his last

official act as conferring officer for the Knighthood

Degree. All the State and Supreme KC dignitaries

present were impressed, not only with Brother Ed's

presentation but with your support of the event. It

was indeed heart-warming to hear all the good

things said during the testimonials given in honor of

Brother Ed. My congratulations for a job well done.

Keep up the good work!!! In closing, may you and

your families have a very merry and blessed

Christmas.

Bob Tetzloff, DD 48

December 10, 2017

12:00PM – 5:00PM

Rockford Country Club

2500 Oxford Street

Rockford, IL 61103

The Knights were asked to

help in the Rosary Garden

digging holes for the

planting of bulbs. Stephan

Freiders rose to the

occasion and was there

digging holes. Steve did

not hit any water or

electrical lines. Way to go

Steve and congratulations on being Knight of the

month.

Landen Schachtner, son of

Brother Knight Andy

Schachtner, was given the

merit award for also

helping dig holes in the

Rosary Garden. Like

Brother Steve, Landen

avoided all water and

electrical lines. Congratulations Landen!

Membership by the Numbers

145 Associate Members

72 Insurance Members

2 Inactive Members

7 Honorary Members

29 Honorary Life Members

2 Disabled Members

5 ***NEW MEMBERS***

219 Total Members

Merit Award

District Deputy

UPCOMING EVENT

5 St. Rita Council 7624 December 2017

12/1 Richard Mantello

12/1 Jeffrey Sengenberger

12/3 John Goers

12/3 Ed McMahon

12/8 Rev. John Evans

12/9 John McCoy

12/10 Pete Kink

12/13 Steven McNett

12/13 James Schaefer

12/18 David Nelson

12/21 Dcn. William Dall

12/23 Joseph Laudicina

12/24 Dam Campbell

12/25 John Mann

12/26 Erwin Agpalo

12/29 Michael Connor

12/31 Steven Briggs

Happy Birthday December Knights

Please remember these Knights, their families, and our friends in need of our prayers. Especially: The sister of Mike Upchurch, State Charities Director Andy Scott, Richard Buske, Mike De Francisco, Gene Stankiewicz and family, Larry Peters, Steve Osborne , and Father Evans ’ private intentions.

Jerry Pennington’s chip was pulled for the Attendance Award for the month of November. Jerry was present to win. Congratulations Jerry!

Fraternal Order Quiz

Q: Which Supreme Convention of the Knights of

Columbus was held in August 2008?

A: 126th Supreme Convention

Winner: Brother Bill Osborne

Brother Bill won a set of

Knights of Columbus

playing cards.

Congratulations Bill!

$534

$435

$4,100

$940

$470

GAF

Newman

Pro-life

Vocations

ID Drive

Current

Short

Celebrating Birthdays

Fraternal Year Charitable Goals

IN NEED OF PRAYER

6 St. Rita Council 7624 December 2017

November 12, 2017

St. Rita Council 7624 gathered to

pray for our deceased Knights at

the 8:30am Mass. After the Mass

the widows in attendance were

taken for brunch at the Cherry

Valley Café in downtown Cherry

Valley.

Thank you to all the Knights

who were in attendance,

especially those who volunteered

to serve at the Mass.

Brother Knights who have

gone to their eternal rest in the

past three years are:

Richard Herlugson, Joseph

Gregorich, Deacon Bob Martin,

Marion “Mike” Jansen, Robert

McGinnis, Harmon Mitchell, John

Barwick, John Bouril, Gordy

Grubb, Tom Podraza, and

Adolph Bledes.

Eternal rest grant unto them,

O Lord, and let perpetual light

shine upon them. May the souls

of all the faithful departed,

through the mercy of God, rest in

peace.

Community

7 St. Rita Council 7624 December 2017

November 12, 2017

Knights gathered in Wahl

Hall to cheer on either the

Bears or the Packers in a

Fraternal Fun Day hosted by

Membership Director Craig

Stear. Brother Stear provided

chips and salsa, chili,

beverages, and exploding

cats. Fun was had by all,

especially by the Packers

fans when the Packers beat

the Bears 23 to 16.

Dinner - Dancing - King Cake

Community

UPCOMING EVENT

8 St. Rita Council 7624 December 2017

NATIONAL NIGHT OF PRAYER FOR LIFE E

December 8, 2017

8:00PM – Midnight

The National Night of Prayer for

Life is a pro-life prayer service

consisting of the exposition and

adoration of the Blessed Sacrament,

Rosary meditations, and private

prayers for the support of all life

from conception to natural death.

Knights of Columbus Council 7624

will be manning the last hour,

11:00PM – Midnight. Grand Knight

George Lamoueux will be leading

the Rosary meditation and other

devotional prayers during this hour.

SCHEDULE

8:00 – 9:00 Joyful Mysteries,

Students for Life

9:00 – 10:00 Sorrowful Mysteries,

Respect Life

10:00 – 11:00 Luminous Mysteries,

Young Adults

11:00 – 12:00 Glorious Mysteries,

Knights of Columbus Council 7624

11:50 – Benediction,

Deacon John Huntley

Charity

Turkeys for Thanksgiving

Council 7624 donated eighteen turkeys to St. Elizabeth Center

to help provide a Thanksgiving meal to those in need.

December 2, 2017

Members of the St. Rita family gathered

after the 4:30 Mass for the annual blessing

and lighting of the nativity scene put up by

Knights of Columbus Council 7624.

Camel Joe has finally joined the Magi as

they slowly make their way to see the infant

King.

FAMILY SWIM NIGHT T

February 18, 2018

Dolphin Swim Club

6501 Rock Valley Pkwy

Loves Park, IL 6111

Free Swim

$10 for pizza and pop

UPCOMING EVENT

Prepare Him Room

DECEMBER

3 Breakfast with Santa

3 First Sunday of Advent

7 Council Business Meeting

- 7:00 pm Rosary

- 7:15 pm Meeting Start

8 National Night of Prayer

- 8:00 pm – 12:00 am

10 Savant Parking Event at

Rockford Country Club

10 Second Sunday of Advent

17 Third Sunday of Advent

24 Fourth Sunday of Advent &

Christmas Eve

25 Christmas Day

JANUARY

1 New Year’s Day

4 Council Business Meeting

- 7:00 pm Rosary

- 7:15 pm Meeting Start

6-7 Holy Family Icon at St Rita

Church

20-21 Sale of Mardi Gras Tickets

21 Council Free Throw

Competition

24 Chapter Meeting

25 Officer & Director Meeting

27-28 Sale of Mardi Gras Tickets

FEBRUARY

1 Council Business Meeting

- 7:00 pm Rosary

- 7:15 pm Meeting Start

10 Maris Gras Dinner and

Dance

14 Ash Wednesday

18 First Sunday of Lent

18 Swim Night at Dolphin

Swim Club

25 Second Sunday of Lent

UPCOMING EVENTS St. Rita Knights of Columbus

Council 7624

6254 Valley Knoll Drive

Rockford, Illinois 61109

Return Service Requested

Knights of Columbus Council 7624 St. Rita Catholic Church – Rockford, Illinois