| 2007 Accomplishments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007 was another busy year, these are some of the accomplishments and activities that our council had: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Closing the year Out... |
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The Knights were busy in December, helping spread the Christmas Cheer...
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Council Christmas Party |
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| Was held Sat, Dec 15 at the Kimberton Golf Club. A good meal and good time was had by all. Entertainment was provided by "Frank Sinatra" (and he sounded very good). Unfourtunately, it seems like no one remembered to bring a camera... Thanks to Bob Hayes for hosting again this year. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chance Of A Lifetime (COAL)--The annual COAL campaign ticket sales wrapped up successfully again this year thanks to Brother Jim Redding's organizaion. The drawing is to be held Sat Dec 8. |
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Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus--Following the Nov 18 Family Mass at St. Elizabeth Church, the Knights celebrated the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary. The event started with the procession of the photographs of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary, escorted by members of the Knights Color Guard.
Monsignor Mullen gave a powerful homily that started by asking us a simple question (paraphrased)... "Close your eyes and image entering your home. How far inside your home do you have to go before finding symbols of Jesus, or something that identifies you as a Christian?" Brother RJ Dawson, who organized the event for our council then shared some information and background on Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He also shared an amazing, personal story of the power of devotion, prayer, faith, and healing. We all left with packets for personal Enthronement in our homes. As RJ reminds us to remember the 11th Great Promise..."Those who propogate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be effaced." 
If you missed the event, please see RJ for more information or visit The Enthronement Ministries Website 
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Collection Drive for Birthright at our November Council Meeting--Brother Ray Williams organized a Collection Drive for Birthright at our November Council Meeting. Members brought in various items for 1 year olds (approx.), which were needed by Birthright of Chester County. Ray then delivered the items the following week to a very appreciative Birthright group. |
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Pro-Life 40 days for life--A nationwide Pro-Life effort was held recently, called "40 days for life". Locally, the effort was centered at the Abortion Clinic known as West Chester Planned Parenthood. A peaceful, prayerful event, people were stationed outside the clinic continuously (24 hours a day, each of the 40 days) from Sep 26 through Nov 4. Knights were asked to take shifts of one hour or more over the duration of the 40 days. Brother Ron Murphy was actually there everyday in the wee hours of the morning, and he shared some reflections on his experiences....
Remembrances of 40 Days for Life For those of you who participated in the 40 Days for Life I was known as the 1:30 guy. I signed up for all 40 days in the early morning hour knowing it would be an up and down journey. The event started with a kickoff Mass at St. Peter and Paul's which was concelebrated by four priests. Afterwards we had an ecumenical service at Planned Parenthood in West Chester where we were greeted by the heavy metal thrash blaring out of the windows from the pro-choice apartment next door. The minister quipped:"Well they know we are here" and "Wow, a soundtrack from Hell". We wouldn't be deterred. We met with thumbs-ups, honking horns, curses, blasphemies and the like. My first few days Bill Wohlegemuth, the vice-prsident of the Pro-Life Coalition of West Chester spent time with me during his three-hour shifts. Later on Jo Christof the president of said coalition stayed a little longer on her shift to pray with me on day 30. I was blessed one night to spend my whole hour conversing with Father Lee from St. Peter and Paul's; I'll never forget that night. One of the first nights a girl driving a van with two gentlemen in the back puffing cigarettes stopped to inquire what was going on. She asked for literature which I immediately gave her. I thought she would throw it out the minute she started driving away but I followed her with my eyes for two blocks; there was no sign of trash thrown out the windows. I was blessed to meet a lot of the fervent pro-lifers from the neighboring parishes. One morning a construction worker from Philly asked to pray with me before we got to know each other. Another night two gentlemen from Media spent three hours; but I was most impressed by the man from St. Andrew's parish in Philadelphia who just exuded faith in the Lord. He was able to get the two next door neighbors-- two girls totally pro-choice to have a dialogue and actually pray with us. My most popular story which most of my friends have heard many times concerned an African American man stopping to ask what I was doing. He said he had just visited a paralyzed friend in the area and was driving back to Philadelphia on gas fumes. I offered him twenty dollars for gas immediately and he got out of his car impressed with such charity. We talked about God and religion for a half-hour before he confided his real name was Joshua. (Little did I know that at the Jericho March on the final day the Gospel concerning Joshua would be read.) I don't think this was a scam, he was just drinking every word about God I could give him. When I went home that day I put my last five dollars into an instant lottery ticket which paid off 50 dollars. God paid me back more than two-fold. One Saturday night I had come after visiting Padre Pio's shrine. He is my favorite saint; while there I purchased a votive candle to St Therese de Lisieux. When I arrived at Planned Parenthood there were two girls huddled together I don't know if it were because of the cold or out of fear. I told them about being at Padre Pio's shrine and they were so startled; St. Pio was their favorite also. They were using Padre Pio rosary beads and we proceeded to tell all our favorite St. Pio mitacles and stories. Upon my lighting my votive candle to St. Therese the other girl said, "O my God, my name is Theresa". I told them I thought coincidences were God's fingerprints in my life. On the Saturday night before Halloween, it was a very lively time. The two girl neighbors were accompanied by two gentlemen, one of whom held court with myself and Tom Holman of St. Agnes's about cases of rape being acceptable reasons for abortion. One collegiate even went so far as to support abortion as a way to control the world population. But after the other gentleman finished partying he came back to me very abusively. He did however comment on my patience and commended me for standing up for my beliefs. He still left as pro-choice but we agreed that apathy was worst. Along with those incredible happenings a few things put my faith to the test if I was doing the right thing being there in the face of the enemy. On Halloween Saturday a Grim Reaper walked by with no face and saying no words. How scary! Later a man drove up in an expensive car trying to put down his power window to talk to me. I thought he was a supporter. I told him he looked a lot like Wolfman Jack. Then with an evil glare he said I should not be at this place. I could just imagine this was the devil incarnate. At our midpoint celebration we participated at the recitation of the rosary (sponsored by America needs Fatima) at the West Chester Courthouse. We were totally drowned out initially by the war protesters with the revving of their motorcycle engines. On later evenings my pre-mentioned votive candle to St Theresa was spit out and finally smashed to bits. That was very disheartening. But during one of our meetings we were told to go see the movie "Bella". I was recharged after seeing this pro-life movie, a movie though that could stand on its own merits as a movie. The following day during our Jericho March marking our final day of the event a plane pulling a banner advertising "Bella" was seen overhead. Coincidence? I believe coincidences are God's fingerprints in my life. I think you can see God wanted me to be there; just one of many involved in 89 locations in 33 states. --Ron Murphy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2007 Blood Drive--Brother Dan Keating has reported that this year’s Blood Drive, held on September 29, was a huge success. He indicated that 73 people appeared to donate and 68 “productive” units of blood were donated. This will help over 200 individuals with blood products! A special thanks to Brother Nick Tretta, Pat Williams (wife of Brother Ray) and Ann Ruggiero (wife of Brother Chris). In addition, thanks to the set-up and tear-down team Brothers Jim Smith, John Rogge, Bill Schell, RJ Dawson and Rich Turocy.And finally, many thanks to everyone who participated, rolled up their sleeves and gave the "gift of life". If you missed this drive and would still like to donate, visit the local Red Cross at: www.redcross-philly.org 
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Springton Manor - Potato project--August--The BIG POTATO DIG at Springton Manor Farm was completed on Saturday, August 11th. We harvested 2207 lbs (1 long ton) of large organically grown potatoes to donate to our less fortunate brothers and sisters through Chester County Cares. THANKS to all the Brothers, Wives and Children who helped on Saturday. Also, to all those who helped till, hill, and weed throughout the year. This project was a huge success this year and without the help and cooperation of our brothers we could not have pulled it off. A very SPECIAL THANKS to Pat Kasper and the St Elizabeth youth groups. Pat's prayers to St Isidor(Patron Saint of Farmers & Gardeners) guided us much of the way all year by keeping the weeds down and the deer damage to a minimum. Thanks again for all of your help. God Bless, Bill Schell 
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2006-2007: A Year in Review This document highlights the
2006-2007 Fraternal year, which just completed. We accomplished quite a bit this year!
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Family Picnic--The Family picnic was held on Saturday, July 28. There was a good crowd of about 50 people and we enjoyed each other's company. There was a chance of thunderstorms, but the weather held out. We played a few rounds of horseshoes, and the kids enjoyed the trampoline (including the Secretary and Deputy Grand Knight). Some others tried out the tree swing (apparently there is a photo of the Grand Knight, but somehow none have been submitted). All said and done, it was fun day!
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Project Stake Pull--It was time to pull up all of the stakes on the Parish property that were stabilizing the new trees. Project Stake Pull was organized by Ralph Boardman and Bill Schell. Ralph said at least 800 stakes were pulled. We also had Boy Scout Troup 83, under the guidance of Brother Steve Golus. The picture of the scouts includes Daniel Golus, Justin Guistwhite (and his father Jeff), Jeff Hardy (and his father Joe) and Mike Rudy.
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Chester County Cares Lunch--Great fun and smiles, door prizes and great food were to be had on Thursday June 14th the event date for Chester County Cares day in West Chester. A number of Knights of Columbus volunteers from our council # 13141 arrived early to supply superhuman, energy strength and wisdom in delivering and setting up tables and chairs for this annual fundraiser. If you’ve never taped a plastic table cloth to a six x 8 table this is a chance of a lifetime to experience hands on and use your creative skills to keep them down!Food was supplied by our local Outback franchisee and several volunteers from the company dished out delicious crab cakes and baby back ribs and vegetables. No one left hungry! There were lots of beverages and desserts and everyone had a great time. There were also a lot of terrific door prizes to be had which included bicycles, and assorted baskets filled with all types of goodies. Surprisingly one of our Knights, Tony Elefante won a small two wheeler bicycle which would make any knight jealous to have! Tony is now off to the Manayunk races!! We wish you well Tony!! The Chester County Cares program benefits local families within the county with food and a variety of human resources for those in need. We are proud to have had the opportunity to participate in this caring program and wish to thank all of those Knights and their families who made it for making it possible! |
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Parish Clothing Drive for Covenant House--The Parish Clothing Drive was a big success this year: donations filled the 14 foot truck! Many Thanks to the St. Elizabeth Parishoners for making this project a huge success!To learn more about Covenant House and their mission-'Opening doors for homeless youth', visit them at: www.covenanthouse.org 
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Fourth Degree---The Fourth Degree Assembly was held Sunday May 27th; Congratulations to our council's newest "Sir Knights":
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Postal Workers Food Drive for the Lord's Pantry--The Postal Workers Food Drive (Sat, May 12th) for the Lord's Pantry was a great success. The Knights were very well represented for both the first shift and the second shift. In fact Knights stayed for the clean up and were among the last to leave.Jan Leaf and all her co-workers at the Lord's Pantry expressed their great thanks and appreciation to all the Brothers that were able to help out. They were really impressed with all the hard work put forth by the St Elizabeth Knights of Columbus. You all did a great job. Thanks. Thanks to BK John Magee for organizing our participation. Here's how the event worked: The Postal workers picked up donations from their customers. As each truck finished their routes, they dropped off all collections at the Lord's Pantry. All donations were then checked for current dates (non-expired), then sorted by category. As the sort bins filled up they were weighed, and then taken to the storage area. All told, the final statistics are pretty amazing: Exton Postal workers collected 3,102 lbs of food + Downingtown Postal workers collected 8,773 lbs of food = Almost 6 Tons |
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Annual Golf Tournament--Our Fifth annual St. Elizabeth Council's spring golf outing (Fri, May 11th) was once again a success. We had fantastic weather, in the 80's and sunny the whole day. Participation was good with 48 enthusiastic participants and loads of door prizes. Special thanks to Brother Bob Hayes and the Kimberton Golf Club for once again providing not only memorable experience, great golf, and a super meal but also some very nice door prizes. It is safe to say that a good time was had by all and nearly everyone left the richer for it.We want espeicially to thank those who sponsored holes for the event:
Also we want to thank the donors of the prizes for the raffle
Special thanks to:
BK Skip Valentine Outing Chairman 
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PA Association of Retarded Citizens (ARC) Collection -- |
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The Knights manned locations at Acme in Exton and Eagle in April and May, for the annual "Measure Up" campaign. This can collection solicits donations for a very worthy cause. The collection for ARC was again a success this year (all Pennsylvania Knights of Columbus Councils participate). Our Council collected $2138 over four days. This was our Council’s fifth year participating in this event. Thanks to BK Tom Kirk for organizing. Also, a big Thank You to the Acme stores in Exton and Eagle for their help by allowing us to use their locations for this collection. And finally, many thanks to our generous community! Here are some photos from the May 5th (Cinco de Mayo-in case you're wondering about the sombrero) collection... To learn more about the ARC, visit them at: www.thearc.org 
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Springton Manor - Potato project--SK Bill Schell leads the effort again this year to till and get the field ready for potato planting to benefit area food banks. June--The plants are in and the rows were raked and hilledJuly--The deer have been nibbling, but "organic" deterrents have been placed, also not a lot of weeds due to vigilant volunteers. The good news is that last year the potato yield was about 1/2 ton; This year, they expect to double that: 1 ton of potatoes. 
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Beef and Beer Social--Held Sat, Apr 28 in the Parish Social Hall, it was a night of socializing, dancing, food and drink. This Parish event was well attended and everyone seemed to have good time. The Knights were glad to serve as bartenders for the evening. |
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Bus Trip to New Haven, CT--Several brothers took up the opportunity to join another Council's bus trip to New Haven, CT, to see St Mary's Church (where the Knights of Columbus was founded), as well as the K of C museum.
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Communion Breakfast -- |
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Following the 8:00 AM Family Mass, the 5th annual Communion Breakfast
was held on Sunday April 15th in the Parish Social Hall.
The Knight of the Year Award went to Brother Jim Redding. Jim always volunteers for our various projects, including the recent coordination of the COAL ticket sales. The Family of the Year Award Went to the Rosado Family. Elliot and Millie have supported our Council with three generations of volunteers. Thanks for all that you do!!! |
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The 2007 Council Basketball Free Throw-- |
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| We had another successful Basketball Free Throw Championship on January 28th, 2007. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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