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KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS

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Happy St. Valentine's Day 2008
 

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February's Attendance Award - $60.00

Each Month one council member is selected to receive an attendance award. The only requirement is to be present at the monthly meeting. The attendance award accumulates until a member wins. Come out to the monthly meeting for a chance to win. The pot is now up to $60.00 as last month we did not have a winner.

GRAND KNIGHT'S COMMENTS

Excerpts from an article by Supreme Knight James A. Flaherty - the Columbia magazine - January 1926 ...

"You and I and every Knight of Columbus can, and should, start this New Year with a r esolution more faithfully to discharge our obligations to the Order and to our brother Knights.

... It is not a great upheaval and a great reform that I suggest. There is need for none. But there is something that you and I can do. No great or small calamity will befall us if we fail to do it. But much good will comes to us if we do.

... Give an hour to examining yourself as a Knight of Columbus. ... Do you display the emblem of Knighthood? ... Do you wear the pin? ... How many of your council meetings have you attended in the year that is gone?

... Have you been instrumental in gaining any new members for the Order during the past year?

... If anything that I have said pertains to you, I know that you will reflect calmly upon it and act as befits a Knight of Columbus."

There have been many honorable Knights of Columbus members that came before us and are with us today. Let's continue the proud tradition and success of our order - spend some time to reflect.

The penitential season of Lent approaches quickly. Ash Wednesday is February 6 - the beginning of 40 days of spiritual reflection and opportunity. We're encouraged to take advantage of our parish programs, especially those that take place only during Lent, such as the Stations of the Cross. Everyone is encouraged to attend the Stations of the Cross at our parish on Friday night February 15 at 7:00 PM. Although the stations are held every Friday night during Lent, we want to encourage participation as a council for a single Friday night. Please bring your entire family. I hope to see many of you there.

Vivat Jesus!

John Bellono

Brother Knights, Catholic Gentlemen,

With lent this week I spent a few moments reading St. Anselms' thoughts on the need for a Messiah. Most striking was similarity of the pride exhibited by Adam and Eve to the pride demonstrated by Lucifer, resulting in the fall of the angels. Such a comparison adds greater depth of understanding to how the demands for justice could lead mankind to forfeit heaven as punishment, until adequate recompense could be made. The moral order of the universe demanded it. Only a Messiah, God himself serving as man's surrogate "God-man", was capable of serving restitution, restoring man from our own rebellious existence and restoring God's honor...Just a little more depth to our salvation through Christ as the Lenten season begins.

We submitted our volunteer hours to State this week with a significant reduction in volunteer hours from last year. We don't feel our efforts have decreased but rather our reporting has decreased. This year I will work harder to ask for your hours and record them, but ask that you please let us know all the good work you are doing for the church, community, council, and our youth. Please send emails directly to me and I will capture them if you are unable to personally write them in the volunteer book I bring with me to meetings and the breakfast. Doing this for the first time I was also quite proud of the many Knights who are working throughout our parish in many other capacities that I normally don't see.

I'd like to solicit someone to volunteer as a council historian. It seems that we ought to have someone capture and organize our lineage as I find pictures laying about our room. This would largely consist of a scrapbook/photo album manager. Please contact John Bellono or me if you're interested.

Vivat Jesus!

Bob Spuhl

Personal Information Update

Please check to ensure that your contact information is updated with the Financial Secretary. This includes an e-mail address (if you have one) for the sending the Monthly Newsletter. The Shepherd’s Watch is available through e-mail and it can be gotten off the Parish website.

Service Hours

It's that time of year. The council will prepare the annual service hours report in January. Please deliver all your service hour data to Bob Spuhl as soon as possible (email is fine). Remember to include your charity hours to organizations and efforts in the community not directly associated with the Knights or the Catholic Church.

Monthly Breakfast Fees

Reminder - effective with the January 2008 breakfast the cost for adults is increased from $5 to $6 and the cost for children 3-12 remains at $2.

"Keep Christ in Christmas" Magnet Sales Update

These magnets were advertised at the K of C State meeting this past summer. We decided to buy one box and give it a try. Then bought a second box. Initial sales were light but these magnets took off and created a life of their own. We've sold more than one box of magnets and there are numerous tales of strangers asking "where did you get that magnet?" We've sold many to our non-Catholic Christian brothers. And we've sold many purchased as gifts for others. Clearly it's been a successful campaign. My thanks to all who helped sell the magnets after the masses in early December.

K of C Free Throw Contest

The annual council Free Throw contest is tentatively scheduled for Saturday February 16 at Good Shepherd. Further details will be forthcoming.

Annual Dues

Please contact the Financial Secretary as soon as possible if you haven’t paid your annual dues. As our FS, Ben Cumbie has many things that he must do to keep the Council in running and needs your help in keeping your dues current.

Our Council Financial Secretary Ben Cumbie prepared and mailed statements to all members in December for remittance of annual dues for the 2008 calendar year. Annual dues are $36. Please be prompt in replying to Ben to help make this annual task as smooth as possible.

1st Degree Ceremony

There are no known ceremonies scheduled at this time.

2nd Degree Ceremony

a Second Degree Exemplification is scheduled for Sunday February 17 at 2:00 PM at St. John the Baptist Council 10232 in Madison. All current First Degree members are encouraged to participate. If you are interested, please contact our membership chairman Paul Lucas.

3rd Degree Ceremony

A Third Degree Exemplification is scheduled for Saturday March 8 at 9:30 AM at Good Shepherd. Our council will serve as the host. All current Second Degree members are strongly encouraged to participate. The third degree is typically offered once or twice a year in North Alabama. The location cannot be more convenient - right here at Good Shepherd. It is important that we have an accurate count of how many plan to participate several weeks in advance. If you are interested, please contact Paul Lucas, Bob Spuhl, or John Bellono as soon as you can but no later than Sunday February 17

4th Degree Ceremony

A Fourth Degree is scheduled for Birmingham on Saturday February 23. If you are interested, please contact Bob Spuhl, Paul Lucas, or John Bellono as soon as you can. Although we don't have a deadline for reservations and completed forms and paid fees to date, we expect the deadline to be sometime this month.

First Degree Exemplifications

Congratulations to our two Brother Knights who completed their first degree on Wednesday January 30. Congratulations to Dennis McGuire and Raymond Wesley.

Second Degree Exemplifications

Congratulations to our four Brother Knights who completed their second degree on Sunday January 20. Congratulations to Jeffrey Alpha, Michael Bollinger, John Caissie, and Bill Emanuel.

Third Degree Exemplifications

No new 3rd Degree Knight to announce.

Fourth Degree Exemplifications

A Fourth Degree is scheduled for Birmingham on Saturday February 23. If you are interested, please contact Bob Spuhl, Paul Lucas, or John Bellono as soon as you can. Although we don't have a deadline for reservations and completed forms and paid fees to date, we expect the deadline to be sometime this month.

Catholic High School Registration

For information, contact Brittany Martin at 256-430-1760, extension 102 or bmartin@chsfalcons.org.

Birthdays

Officers and members of Council 11672 want to extend a Happy Birthday to the following members whose birthday falls in February:

Glen J. Anderson	2/27
John P. Arthur	2/18
Tim R. Bisch	2/25
Robert D. Corsaut	2/2
Eric M Earhart	2/17
Robert L. Hickman	2/26
Daniel D. Nelson	2/8
John D. Porter	2/23
Paul A. Rainosek	2/9
James R. Sebastian	2/11
Timothy G. Sebastian	2/11
John Z. Sloan	2/14
Bob Spuhl	2/1
Frank J. Tomasella	2/21

Knight and Family of the Month

The Council and members want to congratulate Arthur Thompson, our December the knight of the Month, and the December family of the Month is the Marty Siebert family.

Insurance News

It will soon be Valentine's Day. Do you know who the beneficiary is on your life insurance policy? It would be a wise idea to find out - and update your beneficiary if necessary. As your K of C agent, I can help you do that.

Why is this important? A life insurance policy protects the financial status of another person - or people - in the event of your death. Through a beneficiary designation, you determine just who that person should be.

When you purchase a K of C insurance policy, you must select a primary beneficiary - at a minimum. You don°t have to name a contingent beneficiary - also known as a secondary beneficiary. However, it's always a wise move because you might outlive your primary beneficiary. A contingent beneficiary (also known as a secondary beneficiary) is the person designated to receive life insurance policy proceeds if the primary beneficiary dies.

You should be as specific as possible in wording your beneficiary designation. By naming your wife, daughter, son, etc., as beneficiary, you make sure that the life insurance proceeds will be available in a timely manner to them.

Your life situation will undoubtedly change over time. Plan to update your declared beneficiaries periodically. Otherwise, the K of C will have no way of knowing what your intentions are at each stage of your life.

Changing your beneficiary is fairly simple. You just need to fill out a change of beneficiary form (#113A) for each policy you want to change. I can provide you with these forms - and I will help you to fill them out. I can also help you with beneficiary designations for any life insurance policy you hold - regardless of the company that issued it. Give me a call. I'm at your service.

Call me your field agent.

Brother Mark P. Yosway, FIC
Field Agent
Tel/Fax: 256-772-7666 or 888-246-5632
Cell: 256-679-5632

Life, Long Term Care, & Annuities
Insurance for your whole life
Serving Families for Over 125 Years

Canned Goods Drive

Don't forget those canned goods. Each Knight is asked to bring just one canned good or money to the monthly Council meeting. The food or money goes to the Church pantry for support of the poor and hungry in our community. Remember charity is a Knight's duty, not a courtesy.

Stations of the Cross

We are encouraging all Council members to attend the Stations of the Cross at our parish on Friday night February 15 at 7:00 PM. Although the stations are held every Friday night during Lent, we want to encourage participation as a council for a single Friday night. Please bring your entire family. We'd like an estimate of how many will attend - please reply to John Bellono. We hope to have enough to justify saving a section of seating for the Knights and their families.

K of C Free Throw Contest

The annual council Free Throw contest is scheduled for Saturday February 16 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM in the Family Life Center at Good Shepherd. Girls and boys ages 10 to 14 are eligible. Bring your kids and grandkids and have some fun. Zach Wible is the event coordinator. Please contact Zach if you are able to help with the contest itself or with advertising.

Pope Benedict XVI

Many of you may know that Pope Benedict XVI has planned his first visit to the United States on April 15-20. The Knights are busy "preparing the way" for the pope's visit, including a special recruitment program. All First Degree exemplifications through June 30 will be held in honor of Pope Benedict. Candidates will receive a commemorative certificate. Every Knight who proposes a new member through April 20 will receive a commemorative medallion. Every new Knight initiated through April 20 will have his name listed in a special book that will be presented to Pope Benedict. There were already many great reasons to recruit new members to our order. There are now a few more. Time for us all to get busy - wouldn't you say?

Volunteer Hours

Remember if you do any type of volunteer work, please keep track of the hours and report it to the Council. This information is submitted to the State in periodic reports. This helps the Council, the Parish, the community, and the Knights of Columbus receive recognition for these efforts. Please inform the Deputy Grand Knight of your hours every month.

PRAYER LINE

Taking care of our Brother Knights in distress is one of basic principles espoused by our founder, Father McGivney. Please remember our sick Brother Knights and those deceased in your prayers. If anyone knows of a Brother Knight in distress, contact Kirk Foeller (885-9788 or email).

Remember the Prayer Line also includes family members and friends. Being Catholic is not a requirement to have a person's name placed on the prayer Line.

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary, Help Those in Need

Holy Mary,
Help those in need,
give strength to the weak,
comfort the sorrowful,
pray for God’s people,
assist the clergy,
intercede for the religious.
May all who seek your help
Experience your unfailing protection. Amen!

AREA MASS SCHEDULES

US Supreme Court convened for 1st time (NYC) - February 1, 1790

The most collect calls are made on Father's Day.

"Predictions are difficult, especially about the future." Yogi Berra

By recycling just one glass bottle, the amount of energy that is being saved is enough to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours.

To burn off one plain M&M candy, you need to walk the full length of a football field.

February 1865 is the only month in recorded history to not have a full moon.

Newsletter Submissions

This is your Newsletter and that anything you would like to let the Officers and Council members be aware of, please submit the information to the Newsletter Editor, . His telephone number is 213-2876 and his e-mail address is sfmedic1970@bellsouth.net.

The information submitted can be of a general interest to the Council members. It does not necessarily have to be directly connected to the Council, the Knights of Columbus, or the Church, e.g. a Boy Scout or Girl Scout event, or something the members might enjoy such as a play or art show. It can be of interest to the Huntsville community at large. Please submit text, photographs, etc. Anything submitted is subject to review and editing by the Editor.

The deadline to have information included in the next publication of the Shepard's Watch is the 20^th day of the month preceding the next publication.

The Council is also always looking for material to submit to the One Voice and the Columbia.

We ask you also to keep you mailing address, telephone numbers, and e-mails current.

The Monthly Feature

White Rose
The red rose whispers of passion,
And the white rose breathes of love;
O, the red rose is a falcon,
And the white rose is a dove.
But I send you a cream-white rosebud
With a flush on its petal tips;
For the love that is purest and sweetest
Has a kiss of desire on the lips.

- J B O'Reilly (1844-1890) -

Questions for the Mind

January’s Questions and Answers:

What is February 30th?
"The 13th century scholar Sacrobosco claimed that in the Julian calendar February had 30 days in leap years between 45 BC and 8 BC, when Augustus shortened February to give the month of August named after him the same length as the month of July named after his adoptive uncle Julius Caesar. However, all other historical evidence relating to the Julian calendar during this period refutes Sacrobosco, including dual dates with the Alexandrian calendar.

Artificial calendars may also have thirty February dates. For example, in a climate model the statistics may be simplified by having twelve months of thirty days. The Hadley Centre General Circulation Model is an example."

The Swedish realm (which included Finland at the time) planned to change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar beginning in 1700 by omitting the leap days for the next 40 years. Contrary to the plan, both 1704 and 1708 were leap years in Sweden. This brought the Swedish calendar one day ahead of the Julian calendar but still ten days behind the Gregorian calendar.

The Julian calendar was restored when, in 1712, two leap days were added, thus giving that year a 30th of February. That date corresponded to February 29 in Julian and March 11 in Gregorian counting. The Swedish changeover to the Gregorian calendar was finally accomplished in 1753.

The Soviet Union, in 1929, introduced a revolutionary calendar in which every working month had 30 days and the remaining 5 or 6 days were 'month less' holidays. In this calendar, there existed a 30th of February in the years 1930 and 1931; the revolutionary calendar was abandoned in 1931.

However, the Gregorian calendar continued to be used in the Soviet Union during this period. This is confirmed by consulting the successive dates in daily issues of Pravda, the official newspaper of the Communist Party, in which February had 28 days in 1930 and 1931, but had 29 days in 1932, which agrees with the rules of the Gregorian calendar.

Source: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

What is February 31st?

February 31st, with regard to the modern Western (revised Gregorian) calendar, is an imaginary date. It is sometimes used for example purposes, to make it clear regardless of context that the information being presented is artificial and not real data. February 30th is sometimes used in the same manner.

In this respect, these "dates" are similar to other clearly fictional data used for a similar purpose, such as "John Q. Public".

Examples of deliberate usage:

Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction (2002). Lesson 12: Address Footers and E-Mail Links. Writing HTML: A Tutorial for Creating Web Pages. Maricopa Community Colleges. Retrieved on 2007-07-06. "sample web page / Page Title / Last Updated February 31st, 1999" (usage as example data in instructional materials).

"Feb31.com (publication date unspecified). You are invited.... Retrieved on 2007-07-06. "[T]he world's first February 31st Party! ... When: On February 31, of course! The festivities will start at 12:61 PM..." (usage as nonsense data in a domain name placeholder page).

Source: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

When was Christmas first celebrated on December 25th?

The exact day of the Christ child's birth has never been pinpointed. Traditions say that it has been celebrated since the year 98 AD. In 137 AD the Bishop of Rome ordered the birthday of the Christ Child celebrated as a solemn feast. In 350 AD another Bishop of Rome, Julius I, choose December 25th as the observance of Christmas, 354 AD is the oldest physical record (Chronographer of 354 AD) of Christmas being celebrates on December 25th, but the it says that in 336 AD Christmas was celebrated on December 25th for the first time.

The exact circumstances of the beginning of Christmas as we know it remains obscure. The oldest existing record of a feast to celebrate the birth of Christ is in the Roman almanac called the Chronographer of 354 or the Philocalian Calendar. This almanac noted that the Church in Rome observed a festival commemorating Christ's birth in the year 336 AD. Chronographers of the third century were the ones who reckoned December 25, around the winter solstice, as the most likely day of Christ's birth. Many historians believe that the church stirred up interest in a festival at this time of year to counter the pagan festivals surrounding the solstice, but no historical document proves Rome's involvement. The record shows that such a festival was adopted throughout the Christian world by the year 458. The word Christmas comes from "Christ's Mass."

March’s Questions:

What is the Philocalian Calendar?

How is Easter determined each year?

What is the origins of Lent?

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