Keep Christ in Christmas Magnet Sales

Thanks to everyone who helped sell magnets - we had a good amount of sales.

We will be doing this again for our "He is Risen" magnets for Lent.

 Will be the next two weekends after all the Masses.

Luminaria - Thanks to all who helped

 Thanks to all who helped with our annual Luminaria Lighting.  

Here is the bulletin inset from November 11

Assembly 112 Christmas Dinner

 

Fraternal Benefit Webinar this Thursday

 Remember, there is a Fraternal Benefit Webinar this Thursday October 26 at 7:30.

Click here to register

October business meeting

 Our Monthly business meeting is this Wednesday, October 11, at 7:30 pm at St Peter Hall.

The main topic is our Luminaria Event and our Rosary Program.

If there is any new business to discuss, please let me know before the meeting so it can be added to the agenda.

Streaming is planned and more information to follow by email.

Living Rosary at Saint Thomas Church in Thomaston

OCTOBER 1, 2023  SUNDAY

* NEW LOCATION *

Join us for a Mass and a family rosary at:

Saint Thomas Church, 

1 East Main Street, 

Thomaston, CT 06787

10 AM-12:30 PM

We will join together for Mass at 10am, a living rosary, followed by lunch, courtesy of Council 18. 

Please tell us if you are attending and how many are attending with you so we may prepare properly for lunch:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/Rosary1023

For more information, contact Paul Healey at healeydd1ct@gmail.com

Honor guard muster at 9:30am.

Meeting announcement

 Reminder our meeting is this Wednesday at 7:30pm at St Peter Hall.  If you are not a member and would like to be - email kocsolidarity55@gmail.com and we can get you signed up on the spot!

Holy Land Mass to honor McGivney

WATERBURY — The feast day of Blessed Michael McGivney will be commemorated with special events Sunday.

A Mass atop Holy Land Waterbury, 60 Slocum St., will be at 8 a.m., with gates opening at 6:30 a.m. The Very Rev. James M. Sullivan, rector at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, will be the celebrant.

Parking will be at Holy Land with members of the Knights of Columbus, Sheridan Council No. 24, on hand to assist. Patrons should bring their own portable chairs and wear suitable outdoor attire. There is no rain date.

Veneration of McGivney’s relic will take place after all the weekend Masses at the basilica, 74 W. Main St. An “In the Footsteps of Father McGivney” bus tour is slated for Monday.

Sponsored by the Father McGivney Guild and guided by Sister Veronica of the Sisters of Life, the free tour will stop at significant sites in McGivney’s life in Thomaston and Waterbury, including St. Thomas Church, where he was pastor; the basilica, his childhood parish; and Old St. Joseph’s Cemetery, where McGivney’s grave site is located.

Departure and return will be from the commuter lot at 524 Hamilton Ave., the excursion lasting from approximately 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. For reservations, email the Father McGivney Guild at guild@kofc.org

For information, call 203-574-0017 or visit waterburybasilica.org.

From the Waterbury Republican 8/11/2023

2023 August Picnic

There is no monthly meeting for Council #55

In lieu of our parish men's picnic, you are encouraged to attend our area picnic.

Be sure to RSVP so they can plan for food. 

Watermelon Tag Sale

Thanks to all how helped donate to our tag sale and to those who helped run the event.  Joe who organized and chaired the event and Bob, Matt, Chris and Greg who manned the booth.  We made around $200 for the day!

Visit from the Archbishop

 Dear Brother Knights,

 

I trust this email finds you all in good health and high spirits.

 

I am writing to share some exciting news that I received from the Archbishop's office yesterday. His Excellency, Archbishop Blair, will visit our beloved parish St. John Paul the Great Parish, this coming Sunday. He will be celebrating the 10 AM Mass at St. Francis.

 

I acknowledge that this information comes at short notice and that many of you may already have plans in place for the weekend. Despite the abrupt timing, I felt it was crucial to promptly share this news with you.

 

This is a significant event for our parish, reinforcing our shared faith and commitment. The Archbishop's presence is a moment of honor and a chance for us to come together as a community in worship and fellowship.

 

With this in mind, I would like to invite you to attend this Mass if your commitments allow. Your presence would symbolize our collective dedication to the Church and provide a valuable opportunity for us to interact with His Excellency.

 

I appreciate that this short notice may not allow everyone to adjust their schedules accordingly. However, should circumstances permit, I believe this unique opportunity to partake in the Mass celebrated by the Archbishop will be an enriching experience for us all.

 

I look forward to, hopefully, seeing you at the Mass. As we gather, let us use this occasion to deepen our community's bonds further and celebrate our shared faith.

 

Thank you for your continued commitment to St. John Paul the Great Parish. Your support is instrumental in making our parish a thriving community of faith, and I am confident that together, we can make the Archbishop's visit a memorable event.

 

Best regards,

 

Fr. Emmanuel

KOC Tag Sale

 We will be participating in the Watermelon Festival Tag Sale on August 5th.

Time to drag out things that you don't need so we can sell them and raise money for the Knights

Remember to ask your family, friends and neighbors if they want to contribute to the cause.

More information on drop-off of goods to follow.

Congratulations to our Former Grand Knight

 

Monthly Meeting 7/12/2023

 Our final monthly meeting before our summer break is This Wednesday July 12  7:30 at St Peter Hall

The agenda is:

1. Our Memorial Mass for Father Lavornga and past members

2. Coe Park Tag Sale

3. August Knights Picnic

4. 2023-2024 Committee for events 

5. Vacation Bible School  (August 7 - 11)

If you have an idea for discussion, please send to me before the meeting so it can be added.

The meeting is planned on being streamed, but it may not be available for 2 way communication.

More information and minutes to review, Tuesday.

Attention, Our Monthly Meeting has been changed to June 21.

Our meeting will be this Wednesday, June 21 at 7:30pm  - St Peter Hall. 

 Rumor is Pizza will be making an appearance. 

 We need to confirm officers for 2023-2024 and also plans for our Memorial Mass. Streaming is planned. 

Attention - Activities this week!

 We have been asked to help out at two events this week.

One is the Corpus Christi Procession

It starts after the 10 am Mass on this Sunday, June 11th and will be a procession to Coe Park.

This is where they are looking for assistance to help keep people safe during the procession.

Also - this has just come up.

Graduation for St John Paul the Great Academy is this Friday and they are in desperate need of volunteers to help with parking, as there is an event at the Warner AND the Lions Club car show is taking up all of downtown.  

If you can help from about 5 - 6:30 on Friday, it would be great - you could then go over and see the car show!

To sign up for either - please email kocsolidarity55@gmail.com or call or text  860-307-5204 ASAP so we can plan.

Thanks!

Family Holy Hour

 

May Meeting - change of location

Our May 10 Meeting will be at 7:30pm, but the location will be moved to the parish center next to St Francis Church. Please enter from the back door.

KOC Exemplification Saturday April 22 at 5pm in Bristol

 There will be an Exemplification in Bristol on Saturday April 22 at 5pm

Church of Saint Anthony of Padua 111 School St., Bristol, CT 06010

I think the church faces Rt 72.

The ceremony itself takes about 35 minutes and is open to friends and family.  This allows you to make 1st through 3rd degree, or 2nd and 3rd if already a 1st degree

There is a Mass at 4pm if you wish to fulfil your obligation, but it is not necessary for the Exemplification.

Knights are welcome to support the new Knights.  Right now we are expecting at least one new member of Council 55 to be there.

Convention Raffle Tickets

 For those who were not at our last meeting, we have Convention raffle tickets for sale.  The Council buys a pack of 10 and the rest are available for members to purchase.  Top prize is $5,000, down to 10th prize of $200.   Hopefully this year is lucky for Council 55, but even if we do not win, a portion of the proceeds will come back to the council.

The tickets have to be turned in by May 1, so if you would like to purchase them, email: kocsolidarity55@gmail.com ASAP with the number of tickets you wish to purchase and I will send you instructions for payment,  As I have done in the past, I will fill out the ticket, and forward you a picture of the tickets and send you the actual tickets by mal if you cannot pick them up.

The drawing will be held on May 5, 2023 

Thank you

KOC News for week of April 9

  Vivat Jesus!

A Happy and Holy Easter from the Officers of Council #55.  

After you have had a great day celebrating with friends and family, get ready for a few events this coming week.

First - Thanks to all who helped at our Pancake Breakfast - when all is said and done we will put over $1000 into our bank account to keep doing the work to help our parish.

Second - Thanks to all who helped with the Easter services, from Holy Thursday Mass, to the Good Friday Procession and any other help you did this weekend.

Now to business:

1. Wednesday April 12 at 8am to whenever at St Peter Hall  - the Holy Name is making meatballs - feel free to stop in an help.

2. That same night is our monthly meeting at St Peter's Hall,  but we have an additional surprise.

      We will be hosting a virtual Fraternal benefits webinar at 7pm.

      We need 7 people who did not attend the one in February to attend, so we can fulfil our requirements for the year.

    So come a 1/2 hour early, and stay for the meeting - two things in one night!

More information to come.

Palm Sunday Pancake Breakfast

 Thanks to everyone who helped out at our Palm Sunday Pancake Breakfast.  It is estimated we served around 150 meals.  We had a good turn out of members.  If anyone took pictures, please send them to kocsolidarity55@gmail.com as I was too busy to take any! Thanks

 From our District Deputy:

Worthy GK's and Brother Knights,

I will be hosting an exemplification of Charity, Unity and Fraternity this coming Palm Sunday April 2nd.  It will take place at 12:30pm at St. Anthony's Church 111 School St in Bristol.

If you have a candidate that needs to be exemplified, please let me know so we can prepare. 

Have candidates,  supporting Brothers, and families arrive at 12 for a ceremony start @12:30pm sharp.  

Candidates, brothers should wear jacket /suit and tie as the ceremony will be conducted in the Church. 

What a great day to make some Knights!!  I encourage your attendance and thank you for your involvement building our order!

Fraternally,

Michael Shea DD

District 25 

mdshea72@comcast.net

--------------------------------------------------------------------

If you have signed up online or are thinking of signing up online, this is a great chance to meet all your requirements so you can join Council #55.  Or maybe you know someone who has been thinking of joining.  The ceremony itself takes about 35 minutes.

Palm Sunday Pancake Breakfast

 Our Palm Sunday Pancake Breakfast is coming up this Sunday from 8am to 12pm.  We will be working from 6am - 1pm,  Note, the 8:30 mass at St Peter has been changed to 8pm according to the bulletin.  This could affect parking for people coming over from the 7am Mass.  We are working on parking for volunteers in order not to take up parking spaces.  Watch this space and your emails.  This is a time for all members to volunteer at some time during the event, from setup to cleanup.  Thank you.

Pancake Breakfast

 

Volunteers needed!

If you have not already signed up

Email : KOCSolidarity55@gmail.com

Knights #55 News Weekend of March 18-19

We will be selling tickets this weekend after all the Masses.
If you have already signed up, go to the main entrance of the Church before the end of Mass.
If you have not signed up and want to help, do the same, we can always use the help.
========================================================================
Also, we will be helping with the Lenten retreat:
We will be cooking breakfast with the Holy Name,  on Saturday March 25th.
We start around 6 am but can use help anytime during the event.  

Change to Meeting Date (Update)

 Meeting Update

Still on for Wednesday March 15th pending the storm ending.

Watch here for more info.

==================================================

URGENT NOTICE:  

We apologize but we have to move our monthly meeting from March 8th to MARCH 15.

Same Time and place  7:30 at St Peter Hall.

Please spread the word to all Knights

There will be a planning meeting for the pancake dinner on March 8th at 7:30 at St Peter Hall - all are welcome.

Exemplification held 2/26/2023

 We held our first Degrees Ceremony in many years at St Peter Church on February 26, 20223

From Council #55 we welcomed one new Knight and 3 Knights received the 2nd and 3rd degree. 

Other members came out to support our council and there were 5 other new Knights from other councils who made 1st, 2nd and 3rd Degree under the new format which allowed Family and friends to attend.

After the ceremony refreshments were served in St Peter Hall.

Thanks to District Deputy Michael Shea and the other State Officers assisting as presenters.

If online members where not able to attend, contact an officer to find out when the next Exemplification is scheduled.

Father John Lavorgna

 We were very sorry to hear of the passing of  Father John Lavorgna.  He was recognized for his involvement in helping us get Council #55 started at our 10th anniversary dinner.  His spirit and enthusiasm will be missed.

https://obituaries.northhavenfuneral.com/obituary/father-john-l-lavorgna/

Membership Drive

 Thanks to all those who helped out at our annual membership drive on January 28/29

With the help of our District Deputy, Michael Shea, we have about 8 - 10 prospects/transfers.

Hopefully many of these will join our ranks to make the Knights of Solidarity Council #55 stronger for 2023.