Whats a life well-lived? I do believe it’s having 200 friends and family show up for your birthday party. Norm Rumph was surrounded by friends and family yesterday to tell stories, share a memory and break bread. Maybe the best story was figuring out exactly when Norms birthday is and what – if any – his middle name could be. Regardless of his actual birthday, it’s amazing the cross-section of the community that showed up to pay tribute to a man that’s contributed so much. Happy Birthday, Norm. There was a rumor early on in the afternoon that Norm would be leading a “dollar dance” to raise funds for his 100th.
Last night, July 8th, the State Leadership held the second Detroit Diocesan meeting at St Isidore. It was very well attended. It was mostly business but there was a little fun too. Thanks to the Brothers at St Isidore for hosting us.
I get this look from Gary quite a lot.
Our fearless leaders
Tom, hes always smiling.
Knights on Bikes
The State Deputy talking about how important the Sacred Heart Endowed Scholarship is for the future of vocations.
Well, I’m not sure how uber it is really. This month we are going to combine our Planning Meeting and our General Membership Meeting into one. Both meetings will be on June 13th. The Planning Session will start at 6:30 pm and the regular meeting will kick off at 7 pm in the Knights Room at St Clement. We have election results turned in my June 15 so, you can sense our dilemma.
I’d like to get in a Rosary before. Maybe the Rosary A-Team can meet in the Day Chapel at 6 pm? I’ll be there.
It’s time for the M.I. Drive. This campaign, often referred to as the “Tootsie Roll Drive” is really a “Campaign for People with Intellectual Disabilities” The nickname is due to the nature of the fundraiser, in which Knights distribute candy bars, very often specially marked Tootsie Rolls in exchange for donations used to support programs geared to improve the Quality of Life for people with Disabilities, in particular, Special Olympics. So please, if you happen to see our Men & Women Members and Volunteers out on Columbus Day Weekend please find it in your hearts to donate.
And that brings me to YOUR part! We’re looking for a few guys to take 2 hours shifts during the weekend. If you can help us out and sign up, that would be very wonderful. Please have a look at the spots available – CLICK HERE.
Locations
Almont 4 Corners Almont Vinckiers Romeo Marathon 32 Mile and M53 Romeo Post Office Romeo Sheena’s Romeo Tractor Supply
What’s that you say? You’d like to donate to this special event directly without all the added bother of finding us around town, please click on the Tootsie Roll below.
This was our best year ever. The best guess is that we had about 30 people that ventured north to Imlay City. The food was good, the beer was cold and the company, as usual, was excellent. I’d suggest coming along next year. It was a hoot. The good news? We’re getting to the end of Lent. The bad news? You missed a really good time.
No Man Left Behind! Here’s to our Brothers at Council 4556
It’s become a yearly tradition to pick one Friday in Lent and descend on our fellow Brothers in Imlay City to support their Fish Fry. This Friday (April 5ht) is that Friday. We’re going to try to get there at 5 pm this year to get a better selection of fish. Below is the slick marketing piece we produced this year.
Another Highly Produced Marketing Piece
Be there or be square! 🙂
$12 Adults, $11 Seniors, $6 Kids ages 6 – 10, Kids under 5 eat free. Bring a can/box of food and got $1 off your meal.
Where: Knights of Columbus Council 4556 Our Lady Queen of Peace 1405 N. Van Dyke Rd Imlay City, MI 48444 ph: (810) 724-8563
Well, how are we doing? We’re a month in. Did you make any goals for yourself? No? Most people don’t. Why? I’m sure there are a variety of reasons. Maybe the most common reason goes something like this, “why bother? After a couple weeks I’m totally off-course.”
Don’t beat yourself up. The first week of February is a fine time to get it together and start over. If you’re looking for diet, relationship, financial or career goals, this isn’t isn’t the right place. However, if you’re a Catholic man of faith and want to up your game this year, you have arrived.
I’ve been binging on Dr. Taylor Marshall for several months. This guy is totally legit. I’d strongly encourage you to get in the flow of his material. He’s putting out a couple very serious podcasts every week. You can follow him on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Podcasts, Facebook, his website or his New Saint Thomas Institute site. Yeah, there’s plenty here. He’ll be in the top five when I finally get around to finishing our Resources page. If you’ve watched, listened and enjoyed to any of the Bishop Robert Barron stuff I’ve been sharing, you’ll definitely be into this. They are on the same intellectual footing.
With that set up, I want to give you a direct link this the YouTube video below. Please watch it. I’ve listened to it several times. It’s very good. I’m going to make reviewing this an every-December event. Most of what follows is summarized from this episode of Dr Marshall’s YouTube channel. What I’m saying is, from this point on, I don’t own the intellectual property of the content that follows, it belongs to Dr Marshall and his respective companies or to the content creators as linked herein.
This is the plan for holiness. This is the plan for us men to become Saints. We’re called to lead in our homes, parish, community, and in our councils; this is how to lead. Follow this plan and be the leader God wants you to become.
Daily
Pray the rosary every day. No exceptions. Find the 20 minutes and do it. Dr Marshall has several episodes on the Secrets of Fatima and Akita. Our Blessed Holy Mother has made it abundantly clear, we need to pray the Rosary. Every day.
Examination of conscience every day, use the PALE GAS. Don’t forget the daughters as outlined as St Thomas Aquinas. Watch the short video below on how to do this.
Pray the Angelus three times a day. Click here for more info.
Read the Bible every single day. Use this guide – LINK. Using this guide, you’ll read the Bible in one year. It’s not an impossible task to get through it. Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ.
Weekly
Go to Mass, but to prepare the night before. Don’t just show up. Review the readings. I subscribe to the USCB daily readings emails. I also listen every week to Bishop Barron’s Sermon podcast.
A weekly examination of conscience before receiving the Blessed Eucharist. Also, get a good missal. Recommended; The Father LaSance Missal – LINK. Follow the same examination of conscience as discussed above.
Monthly
Confession at least once a month
Eucharistic adoration, First Friday, St Clement calls them Holy Hour and they’re typically on Monday evening. They’re held once a month so, that fit in just perfectly.
Annual
A Retreat or pilgrimage. This used to be easy. Every year we took the 8th Grade Catechism kids to Marianhill on Retreat. It always was the weekend before Christmas. The timing was perfect. That retreat no longer is an option. Luckily, there are several options within a couple miles of Romeo. Last year, the Knights started a yearly retreat. That would be a good choice for this upcoming year.
There it is. A plan. An easy to follow plan. A plan for battle. Yes, it’s going to take a little work. Being a Saint always does. As Bishop Barron says, “who’s in heaven? Saints are in heaven. When we get to heaven, we’ll be Saints.” Start now. Take up your rosary and start. There is no more powerful weapon than the rosary. As a Knight, you should have it with you at all times. Take it out of your pocket and use it.
The Church needs men of faith and men of action. In these dark times, stand up and be counted.
And in closing, if you’re looking for gift ideas for me… Dr Marshall has some super sweet swag. I’d look really good drinking coffee out of this V is for Vigano mug. There are also teeshirts.
It was another record-breaking year. Santa and his elves took up residence in the social hall most of the day today. And, as you’ll soon see, it wasn’t only the kids that wanted in on the action.
Thank you to everyone that showed up to help, thanks to the kids and parents. If you’d like to use these photos, please do. Merry Christmas.
We call it that because, without a little (or a lot) of support from home, we’d not be able to do all the things we do. Before dinner, Joe Suminski our Grand Knight and evening’s Master of Ceremony started by turning things over to Gary Kopp. Gary is the District Deputy. He collects money in an oversized baby bottle at every meeting he attends. Periodically, he dispurses those funds to worthy causes. Since we all love Sister Val, last night was her turn to recieve the monies to further her ood works.
The December Knight of the Month is Dan O’Brien. He is at every single event we have and more than likely is being pressed into service making coffee
The December Family of the Month is lovely Sandy and Mark DiPaola. Mark is the Deputy Grand Knight and is fully involved in every aspect of our mission.
The Family of the Year are the McKinnon’s. Mike has been our Recorder for many years. Matt has been Financial Secretary and a Trustee. With MaryAnn, they are very involved with all our events and activities. They coordinate and give the prayer books and cards to the families requesting a Rosary. They also present all wedded couples at St Clement a very nice bible as part of the wedding Mass. They really are the most awesome people!
The Lady of Year goes to Jean Illner. Jean is very active in the Parish and her and Karrie are our Domestic Church Couple. Together, they lead the Parish and Family Life Ministry for the Parish. They had the good sense to leave for Florida before it got cold. So, I’ll just hand your major award in my office till you get back! 🙂
And the Knight of the Year go to Norm Rumph. Norm has held many officer positions over the years and was a charter member of 7018. He’s been a Knight for 65 years. Despite being almost 90, Norm is at Mass every week and helps out at everything. When Joe announced he was Knight of the Year, the room exploded in applause and cheering. Later in the evening, the leader of the band said, “I can tell there’s a lot of love for Norm based on the reaction he got.” He’s not wrong. Congratulations Norm!
With all that out of the way, we spent the rest of the evening having a wonderful time.
Hi Friends (yeah, I co-opted that from Bishop Barron.)
Today is Giving Tuesday. As many of you know, I’m a huge Word On Fire fan. I think this is some of the finest Catholic content around. This video is 14 minutes long and is well worth your time to review. It’s easy to find yourself in these three people. They’ve all had life-changing experiences using the Word of Fire material.
It starts out small and builds. After following along for a year or so, I’m looking forward to Bishop Barron’s weekly podcasts. He does two each week. One is a free-ranging show based on what’s going on in the Church or the headlines. The other podcast is his weekly homily. I challenge you, listen to the homily podcast and then attend Mass. It will absolutely change your experience. If it doesn’t, I’ll happily refund your 60-minute investment.
If you’ve not experienced Word on Fire, please check them out. If you’ve been buying their materials, please continue. If his ministry has changed your life – consider donating to their good works. I can say very definitively, this guy has changed my life. Follow him, listen to what he says. Support his ministry.
Click the image below and review all the goodness they’ve produced for us this year and make a donation. May your faith, like a mustard seed, grow into a mighty plant.
