The Knights of Columbus honored local councils for some of their creative activities during the Connecticut State Council Program Service Awards at the state council’s annual meeting.
The Faith in Action Family Award went to Our Lady of Fatima Council 4122 in Vernon for the Keep Christ in Christmas program. Hal Dufault, faith director of Council 4122, proposed and organized every detail of this very successful program. The program included several elements: Nativity Magnets, Creche Pictures, Poster Contest, and the Creches Around the World exhibit at Blessed McGivney Pilgrimage Center.
A total of 694 KCIC magnets were distributed to Blessed Sacrament and St. Joseph parishes. The KCIC poster contest was conducted by councils 4122 and 6626.
The Creches at Home initiative encouraged our parish family to display the crèche inside and/or outside their homes, posting the photos on the parish website. Parishioners sent in a picture of a creche, which was posted on the Blessed Sacrament parish website. This is not a competition where the Knights seek the best display. The primary purpose is simply to inspire others to display a crèche of their own.
Fr. Rick Ricard, pastor of Blessed Sacrament, endorsed this program and helped promote it. The program provided the ability for Councils 4122 and 6626 to collaborate, as they partnered with the Blessed Sacrament parish Faith Formation program, with KofC members promoting the poster contest to each Faith Formation class.
A Connecticut State Council Program Service Community Award was presented to Edmund Perkins Council 6626 to recognize outstanding support of the people of the Ukraine. Council 6626 kicked off donations with a pancake breakfast that generated almost $1,300.
A new Knight, Brother Markus Muhlhauser, and his son Max set up a Council 6626 and 4122 team for the Ukraine Solidarity Fund. Grand Knights Jeff Bachiachi of 4122 and Bob Haggerty of 6626, met with Fr. Rick Ricard, and Fr. Rick endorsed a second collection at Blessed Sacrament, which was very successful.
Fr. Rick endorsed a second collection for the next weekend as well. Each council also contributed $5,000 to the Ukraine Solidarity fund, which is currently the second highest-ranked fund in the nation. Results to date: $63,295. Contributions are still being accepted.