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It’s More Than a Tootsie Roll

By Gary Pappin On Jul 30, 2020 Knights Featured | News Comments Off Array

The 51st Annual Intellectual Disabilities or “Tootsie Roll” Fund Drive will be held September 18-19-20, 2020. It is one of the most recognizable activities that the Knights of Columbus do. The funds generated from this drive are used to support local programs which aid and contribute to organizations devoted to the care of individuals and particularly those inflicted with one or more forms of Intellectual disability.

Typically, at this time of year, you would see Knights in yellow vests that read “Helping People with Intellectual Disabilities” on the street corners and in front of store fronts around town. For every donation, each donor is offered a piece of candy in appreciation by the Knight present, most commonly a Tootsie Roll, but the Knights have no official ties to Tootsie Roll Industries. This year, due to the pandemic, those visible signs may be missing, but the need is still there – even greater than in the past.

When Father Michael J. McGivney founded the Knights in 1882, times were remarkably like today, with illness and unemployment. Our fraternal order was created to care for and protect the members and their families. Our core principles, which include charity, have not changed since our founding. Just as those initial men did during a pandemic of their own, the Knights of today are looking to continue our efforts during this time of crisis. We need your help to be successful.

We must be creative to accomplish our goals, taking safety of our volunteers and the public to heart in our planning. Our council is working closely with the Supreme, State, and other local Councils of the KofC, as well as state, local, and church officials, to plan our 2020 campaign. Parts of our plans may need to change right up until the planned date of the event in September.

Please bookmark this page – it will be updated with our detailed plans. Donations are encouraged via the various options we will list here. The more donations we can receive through these virtual means, the less risk to our volunteers or the public. We thank you for your past contributions to this annual campaign and hope that you will be able to assist us this year as well.

Councils’ participation in this campaign as well as many other fund-raising endeavors contributed $185 million and volunteered over 75 million hours helping various causes last year.

So, the next time you see a Knight in a yellow vest asking for donations outside a grocery store, and you receive a Tootsie Roll, remember it is more than a “Tootsie Roll Drive.” It is a chance to provide people with intellectual and physical disabilities more resources to live a happy life.

The 51st Annual Intellectual Disabilities or “Tootsie Roll” Fund Drive will be held September 18-19-20, 2020. It is one of the most recognizable activities that the Knights of Columbus do. The funds generated from this drive are used to support local programs which aid and contribute to organizations devoted to the care of individuals and […]

7th Annual Knights Challenge 5K

By Gary Pappin On Jul 13, 2020 Knights Featured | Knights Newsletter Comments Off Array

Due to Covid-19 Pandemic, the Hanover Township Food Pantry has a critical shortage of food this year. We are still planning to hold our 7th Annual event using our certified course. We have also added a Virtual 5K Run / Walk sub-event which allows you to participate any time now thru October 2nd.

We encourage you to form

Virtual Teams to Raise Donations

Donations can be allocated to Individuals or Teams

We will Recognize our Top Producing Teams & Individuals

The 5K Run/Walk will start at 8:30 AM. Registration on race morning will start at 7:00 AM, however pre-registration is advised. We may need to have multiple starting times based on number of participants. We will be following all local and CDC guidelines to make this a safe event.

Course is USATF Certified. Awards go to the 1st, 2nd & 3rd place winners in the 5 year age groups: 14 & under up through 70 & over. In addition the top overall male and female will receive a special award. Race shirts to all participants pre-registered by September 12th.

We need your help: Sponsors Needed | Virtual Participants | 5K Participants | Planning

More Info: Registration Page

Road to Beatification for Father McGivney

By Gary Pappin On Jul 5, 2020 Knights Featured | News Comments Off Array

Do You Believe in Miracles?

A miracle is defined as an extraordinary event

that has no current medical or scientific explanation.

Dan and Michelle Schachle of Dickson, Tennessee, believed in them so much that they even prayed to Father Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, to intercede with God to save their son, still in his mother’s womb, who was given no hope of surviving a life-threatening case of fetal hydrops, a dangerous accumulation of fluids throughout the body.

This story unfolds in late 2014, when Michelle learned that she was pregnant. After an ultrasound, she learned that her son had Down syndrome and hydrops. They turned to McGivney for help. The Knights of Columbus have been promoting his sainthood cause since 1997 and the Schachles were members of the Father McGivney Guild (www.fathermcgivney.org), an organization established to support the cause. They asked others to pray to the priest for his intercession, too. They went on a Knights-sponsored pilgrimage in March 2015 to the Vatican, Spain, and the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal and they prayed for his intercession.

Four days after their return from the pilgrimage, Michelle went back to the doctor’s office for another ultrasound to check the baby’s fluid levels and the status of the hydrops. Doctors confirmed there was no sign of the life-threatening condition. Today Mikey is a healthy 5 year old.

When Dan Schachle told folks at the Knights’ Supreme Council in New Haven, Connecticut, about his son Mikey’s cure in utero and his birth, they asked if they could inform those working on Father Michael J. McGivney’s sainthood cause. Dan quickly agreed.

To verify an event is a miracle, “you have to prove two things,” Brian Caulfield, vice postulator of McGivney’s cause said. “The first thing is to prove this was a healing that’s not explained by medical science.” The second is to clearly identify who people were praying to for their intercession, in this case, whether the intercession of McGivney was clearly invoked.

“We never prayed to have Down syndrome healed. That wasn’t life threatening,” they answered. “We thought a child with Down syndrome would be a blessing for our family.”

On May 27, after a long formal process of review, the Vatican announced Pope Francis had signed the decree recognizing the miracle through the intercession of McGivney. Once he is beatified, he will be given the title “Blessed.” Read more about this story (click here).

Do You Believe in Miracles? A miracle is defined as an extraordinary event that has no current medical or scientific explanation. Dan and Michelle Schachle of Dickson, Tennessee, believed in them so much that they even prayed to Father Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, to intercede with God to save their son, […]

Sunday Mass Registration Process

By Gary Pappin On Jun 4, 2020 Knights Featured | Knights Newsletter | News Comments Off Array

Updated June 14, 2020

ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST CATHOLIC CHURCH IS NOW PARTIALLY REOPENED.

Adoration will take place in the Church on Thursdays from 3 p.m until 7 p.m. No registration is required.

Dear Parishioners, St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church is resuming Sunday and Daily Mass with limited seating. Please see below for further information:

The Church is open for Sunday and Daily Mass by REGISTRATION ONLY. (Please follow the instructions given by the Greeters to help us all stay safe as we reopen our church and celebrate Mass.)

Our Sunday Mass Schedule is the same: 4:30 pm on Saturday, 7:30 am, 9 am, 11 am and 6 pm in English, and 1 pm. in Polish on Sunday.

Please note that a general dispensation to attend Sunday Mass is still in effect until further notice. People who would be vulnerable to COVID-19 are encouraged not to attend Mass at this time. Also, do not attend Mass if you have COVID-19 symptoms or have recently come into contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

To register for Mass, first select the number of tickets you would like for the weekend of June 20th/21st or June 27th/28th. To allow more people to attend Mass,you may choose only ONE Sunday celebration until Friday, June 26th at 5 p.m. If spots are available for the second weekend, the restriction on Mass registration will be lifted and seats will be open even if you attended a prior Mass. Be considerate of your fellow parishioners and please do not use multiple emails to circumvent the system unless you have more than 4 people attending. We will open up spots for the second weekend after everyone has had the chance to sign up.

Please chose the number of seats you need first, such as a single ticket, tickets for 2 people, tickets for 3 people or tickets for 4 people. DO NOT SIGN UP MULTIPLE PEOPLE IN THE SINGLE TICKET SLOTS. Families of more than 4 people may have select a combination of tickets or may contact mbenoit@mystjohns.org or call the office at 630-837-6500 for assistance. Currently Mass tickets are limited to 185 online spots per Vigil or Sunday Mass. We are sorry we have to limit Mass attendance at this time but it is important to keep our community safe. Masks must be worn during Mass by all those over two years of age. You will be asked to sanitize your hands before entering Mass by our greeters. We use a CDC approved natural sanitizer that dissipates quickly and leaves little to no odor. You may bring and use your own personal sanitizer prior to entering the Church if you wish. Thank you so much for helping us to re-open for Mass safely. If we keep this up, it will help us to open up to accommodate more people. We all want our church to be filled once more.

God Bless and Stay Safe,

The St. John the Evangelist Re-Opening Team

Please click on the Orange Sign Up! button below to sign up for Sunday Mass.

Please click Green Sign Up! button below to sign up for Daily Mass including 7 p.m. Mass on Wednesday.

Additional Sacraments Now Reinstated:

St. John the Evangelist may now conduct Baptisms, Funerals and Weddings for a limited number of people. Arrangements must be made by contacting the Parish Office. PLEASE NOTE THAT NO ONE WILL BE ADMITTED TO CHURCH WITHOUT A MASK.

Reconciliation will be offered as follows (no advanced registration is required):

Wednesdays from 7:30 am until 8:45 am and from 6 pm until 7 pm.
Saturdays from 11 am until 12:30 pm. (Please follow the directions of the Greeters stationed to help you safely receive the sacrament.)

Updated June 14, 2020 ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST CATHOLIC CHURCH IS NOW PARTIALLY REOPENED. Adoration will take place in the Church on Thursdays from 3 p.m until 7 p.m. No registration is required. Dear Parishioners, St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church is resuming Sunday and Daily Mass with limited seating. Please see below for further […]

Fr. McGivney Miracle Approved

By Gary Pappin On Jun 1, 2020 Knights Featured | Knights Newsletter | News Comments Off Array

Click image for Founder’s Day Article – Prayer for his Canonization

FATHER MCGIVNEY TO BE BEATIFIED!

On May 27^th the Vatican announced that Pope Francis approved the promulgation of a decree recognizing a miracle attributed to the intercession of the founder of the Knights of Columbus, Venerable Father Michael J. McGivney, a Connecticut priest who served his flock during the pandemic of 1890, before himself becoming ill and dying of pneumonia.

The pope’s action means that Father McGivney can be declared “Blessed,” the step just prior to sainthood. An additional miracle attributed to Father McGivney’s intercession will be required for his canonization as a saint.

McGivney is best known for founding the Knights of Columbus in 1882. Nearly a century before the Second Vatican Council, his prescient vision empowered the laity to serve Church and neighbor in a new way. Today, the Knights of Columbus is one of the largest Catholic organizations in the world with 2 million members in North and Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, and Europe.

The miracle recognized as coming through Father McGivney’s intercession involved an unborn child in the United States who in 2015 was healed in utero of a life-threatening condition after prayers by his family to Father McGivney.

A date will soon be set for the beatification Mass, which will take place in Connecticut. It will include the reading of an apostolic letter from the Holy Father and the bestowing of the title “Blessed” on Father McGivney.

Earlier this year, in an address to the Knights of Columbus Board of Directors, Pope Francis said the organization has been faithful “to the vision of your founder, Venerable Michael McGivney, who was inspired by the principles of Christian charity and fraternity to assist those most in need.”

“Father McGivney has inspired generations of Catholic men to roll up their sleeves and put their faith into action,” Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson said. “He was decades ahead of his time in giving the laity an important role within the Church. Today, his spirit continues to shape the extraordinary charitable work of Knights as they continue to serve those on the margins of society as he served widows and orphans in the 1880s. Father McGivney also remains an important role model for parish priests around the world and left us a transformative legacy of effective cooperation between the laity and clergy. “

Born of Irish immigrant parents in 1852 in Waterbury, Connecticut, Father McGivney was a central figure in the dramatic growth of the Church in the United States in the late 19th century. Ordained in Baltimore in 1877, he ministered to a heavily Irish-American and immigrant community in the then-Diocese of Hartford. At a time of anti-Catholic sentiment, he worked tirelessly to keep his flock close to the faith in part by finding practical solutions to their many problems – spiritual and temporal alike. With a group of the leading Catholic men of New Haven, he founded the Knights of Columbus in 1882 at St. Mary’s Church to provide spiritual support for Catholic men and financial resources for families that had suffered the loss of their breadwinner.

The fledgling group soon became a major force in the areas of evangelization, charity, racial integration, and the defense of religious freedom.

Father McGivney spent his entire priesthood in parish ministry and died of pneumonia on August 14, 1890— two days after his 38th birthday – after falling ill amid a pandemic. Recent scientific evidence indicates that that pandemic – like the current one – may have been caused by a coronavirus.

Known by his contemporaries for his devotion to the faith and his embodiment of the characteristics of the “Good Samaritan,” his cause for sainthood was opened in the Archdiocese of Hartford in 1997. St. John Paul II – who was pope at that time – lauded Father McGivney’s principles, stating in 2003, “In fidelity to the vision of Father McGivney, may you continue to seek new ways of being a leaven of the Gospel in the world and a spiritual force for the renewal of the Church in holiness, unity and truth.”

In March 2008, he was declared a Venerable Servant of God by Pope Benedict XVI, who during his visit to St. Patrick’s Cathedral cited the “remarkable accomplishment of that exemplary American priest, the Venerable Michael McGivney, whose vision and zeal led to the establishment of the Knights of Columbus.”

Two recent books also tell the story of Father McGivney and his legacy: Parish Priest (2006), his biography; and the The Knights of Columbus: An Illustrated History (2020).

More information is also available at www.FatherMcGivney.org

Photos and other visual resources are available here.

FATHER MCGIVNEY TO BE BEATIFIED! On May 27th the Vatican announced that Pope Francis approved the promulgation of a decree recognizing a miracle attributed to the intercession of the founder of the Knights of Columbus, Venerable Father Michael J. McGivney, a Connecticut priest who served his flock during the pandemic of 1890, before himself becoming […]

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Latest Knights Featured

It’s More Than a Tootsie Roll

Road to Beatification for Father McGivney