Brother Knights,

Our October business meeting will be this coming Wednesday, October 1st at 7:30 in the Upper Room.   All Knights are encouraged to attend. 

Rosary will be led by the Knights at 7:00 in the Day Chapel.    (Any volunteers to lead the Rosary?   Let me know.)  

Two other reminders:

    — tomorrow night, Sept 29th, our First Degree ceremony will be at 7:30 in the Day Chapel.   We hope to see you there.   We have at least 5 candidates wishing to become Knights.  

    — our next Blood Drive is next Sunday, October 5th — 8:30 to 1:30 in the Social Hall.   Please consider being a donor.  

Thanks and Peace,

SK Mark Peterson
Grand Knight

New Haven, CT – September 23, 2008 -

A 30 second radio spot encouraging people to "vote pro-life" in the November elections begins running on radio stations around the United States today.  It will continue to air until the November 4 election.

The ad features the sound of an unborn baby’s heartbeat at 10 weeks, and the voice of a woman saying, "Listening to this makes me wonder – why would anyone question that her life has begun?"  It concludes with the words, "Vote your heart. Vote Pro Life."

"The fact that the child whose heartbeat we hear is alive is simply a matter of science," Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson said in announcing the beginning of the ad campaign.  "We believe that it is vital that America’s pro-life community make it clear that they will reserve their votes for candidates of either party who are committed to protecting life from conception to natural death."

Anyone can listen to or download the ad from the Knights of Columbus website, www.kofc.org.

A similar ad is planned for broadcast in Canada, where general elections are set for October 14, 2008.

The Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest lay Catholic organization, with more than 1.75 million members in North and Central America, Asia and Europe.  Last year, Knights donated $145 million and more than 68 million hours of volunteer time to charitable causes.

Open Letter to Senator Joseph Biden on abortion

Supreme Knight Carl Anderson sent an open letter to Senator Joseph Biden on Friday, September 19, challenging the assertion of the vice presidential candidate that Catholic teaching on abortion is not clear.  The letter was published in USA Today, The Washington Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and Wilmington News Journal, among others.

Writing "as a fellow Catholic layman," Anderson said that "statements that suggest that our Church has anything less than a consistent teaching on abortion are not merely incorrect; they may lead Catholic women facing crisis pregnancies to misunderstand the moral gravity of an abortion decision."

Anderson noted that the founders of the United States "believed that we are ‘endowed by [our] creator with certain unalienable rights,” and that first among these is ‘life,’" and he appealed to Biden, "as a Catholic who acknowledges that life begins at conception, to resolve to protect this unalienable right."

Brother Knights,

This month — September 2008 — has become one of the best months ever for our Council.    Let me briefly recap the highlights:

1) Our annual Charity Golf Outing reached record highs this year:

        Gross revenues        $26,800   (last year about $16K)

        Paid players                    100    (last year about 60)

        Actual players                   91

Net income $17,918.45    (last year $8,900)

2) One of our brother Knights, Bill Reid, was ordained as a Deacon last Saturday at the Cathedral in Lafayette.   Many of us were there, some of us in the Fourth Degree Color Guard.    Congratulations Bill!   We are very proud of you and you have been a spiritual inspiration to all of us.  

3) We had a successful Fall Membership Open House last Wednesday, 9/17 and we look forward to having several new Knights join our ranks.  

4) Our first, live First Degree ceremony will be next Monday, Sept 29th at 7:30 p.m. in the Day Chapel.   This will be the crowning moment for many of us who have worked for over a year putting this together.    We hope you’ll be able to join us next Monday evening.  

5) Our first ever Soccer Challenge was held last Saturday on the Seton ball fields.   This is a nationwide K of C activity but the first time we have conducted it in our Council.    Thank you, Tom Beck, for a great job and a lot of work.    While participation was slight, we now have the infrastructure in place to build on this for the future.  

6) Our next Pancake Breakfast will be next Sunday, 9/28.     Thank you to those who will be working in the kitchen next Sunday — and the rest of you can bring your families and come eat!  

7) We also kicked off our "Baby Bank" campaign to generate funds for K of C pro-life activities.    Keep dropping those coins in those banks and we’ll collect them in a few weeks.   

What an awesome group of Knights you are!    Thank you all for making September such a great month.  

SK Mark Peterson
Grand Knight

Brother Knights,

As you already know, our First Degree Ceremonial Team will conduct its first ceremony on Monday, Sept 29th at 7:30 p.m. in the Day Chapel.    We have new candidates to become Knights and we need a good representation from current Council members that evening.   I hope you will be able to attend.   

This is a milestone for our Council and be assured your Degree Team is excited about this.    We want you there to enjoy the evening with us.  

Refreshments will be served after the ceremony.   

SK Mark Peterson
Grand Knight

Brother Knights,

Our September social meeting will be our Fall Membership Open House — 7:30 p.m. in the Upper Room tomorrow night (Wed 9/17).      John Moskal will be on our program discussing his experiences at Guantanamo Bay and his previous Army assignments in foreign lands.  

    — we need a good attendance from Knights

    — we need you to bring a guest, a prospective new member

As always, snacks and beverages will be available.    See you tomorrow night. 

Peace,

SK Mark Peterson
Grand Knight
Bishop George A. Fulcher Council #12387

Brother Knights,

As part of our Youth activities this year we will be holding our first Soccer Challenge this coming Saturday, Sept 20th — 3:00 – 5:00 on the Seton ball fields.    This is for boys AND girls ages 10-14 and will involve the kids doing penalty kicks.    This is a nationwide K of C youth activity.     Check this week’s Seton Voice bulletin for more details.     

    — We need boys and girls to participate.   Pass the word, get your own kids there or your neighbor kids there.  

    — We need about 4 volunteers to assist Tom Beck, our Youth Director.    (You can respond to this email if you can help Tom out).  

Thanks and Peace,

SK Mark Peterson
Grand Knight
Bishop George A. Fulcher Council #12387

Thanks to Ray Janko for reminding me to get this up on the website…..

The Knights of Columbus this week launched a brand-new Internet-based news and information service for Catholics everywhere: Headline Bistro.

Headline Bistro is a website that provides a quick digest of daily news sources around the world that contain news of interest to active Catholics.  Whether it relates to world affairs, national politics or news specifically about the Catholic Church, you’ll find links to the original sources here.  You’ll also find video clips, detailed state-by-state information about voting and public policy, and recommended reading from the world of books.  The web address is www.headlinebistro.com.

You can also sign up for a daily e-mail that’ll give you the day’s top headlines.  If you’re already a subscriber to our other e-mail updates, just enter your e-mail address in the sign-up box and add Headline Bistro to your preferences.

Brother Knights,

Our September business meeting will be Wednesday, Sept 3rd at 7:30 p.m. in the Upper Room.    As usual we will lead the Rosary at 7:00 p.m. in the Day Chapel.     All Knights are encouraged to attend.    Your attendance is important to the vitality of the Council and we look forward to seeing you there.

September is an exciting jam-packed month for our Council:
    Thursday, Sept 11………………………..our Annual Charity Golf Outing at Bearslide
    Wednesday, Sept 17……………………..Fall Membership Open House (7:30 p.m.  Upper Room)
    Saturday, Sept 20………………………..Soccer Challenge 3-5 pm – Seton athletic field
    Sunday, Sept 28…………………………..Pancake Breakfast   8:30 – 11:30 a.m.   Social Hall
    Monday, Sept 29………………………….First Degree ceremony @ Seton (our own Degree Team)

Let’s have a good turnout next Wednesday and get the month of September rolling.   

SK Mark Peterson
Grand Knight

Brother Knights,

We still need sponsors and players for our Thursday, Sept 11 golf outing at Bear Slide.    We also need more donors – there are plenty of envelopes left on our Priest Golf Board.    For those of you who cannot play or cannot support a sponsorship, consider taking an envelope off the board and helping us out.    Thank you in advance!

Tuesday, Sept 2nd — last day for sponsors to sign up and still be recognized with a sign.   (We will accept sponsorships after that but signage would not be available.    With the long weekend starting tomorrow, its time to finalize those commitments you’re working on.  

Players – we will need to finalize pairings early in the week of Sept 8th.    You still have time but we need more players.  

Volunteers – we need more volunteers for the day of the event.   Please see the roster attached for areas you can help.   This is a great event for our Council and you needn’t be a golfer to enjoy the day with us.   There are lots of ways you can participate and help out.   

Now the good news — while we still are far short of our goal of 100 golfers and $25,000 in revenue, we are AHEAD of last year in both categories.     Thanks to all of you who have stepped up so far.  

SK Mark Peterson
Grand Knight

I thought posting some news stories about Lucious would be a great way to help preserve his memory and his ministry.

Community center leader teaches lesson in forgiveness

Indianapolis – It will be hard to find someone in central Indiana going without a Thanksgiving meal Thursday. That’s because so many volunteers are seeing to those who need them.

Volunteers are busy at the annual Mozel Sanders Thanksgiving Day Food Giveaway, a 35-year tradition. Another man who’s spent more than two decades feeding the hungry every day is 92-year-old Lucious Newsome.

Last Thanksgiving someone shot up the community center Newsome had just opened. Since then, Newsome says he’s been praying for that person.

When the door to Anna’s House swung open last week, the person standing before Lucious Newsome was a complete stranger.

Read the rest of the story here.

Lord’s beggar – 90-yr.-old Catholic will serve poor until ‘God calls me’

By John Shaughnessy
7/14/2006

The Criterion (www.criteriononline.com)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (The Criterion) – At 90, Lucious Newsom hitches up his blue bib overalls and climbs into his white van, preparing to continue his work as “the Lord’s beggar for the poor” – a role he has served for 18 years in Indianapolis.

‘LORD’S BEGGAR’ DISTRIBUTES FOOD – Lucious Newsom, in the blue bib overalls recognizable to those he serves, talks with two women who come to get food that he begged for and collected from an Indianapolis, Ind., company. The 90-year-old “Lord’s beggar for the poor” has been working for 18 years to provide aid to the poor. (The Criterion)

Pulling the van away from the curb, the retired Baptist minister-turned-Catholic waves goodbye to some of the 89 Hispanic families who have just spent the last 30 minutes filling their laundry baskets and milk crates with free tomatoes, onions, peppers and other vegetables – produce that Newsom begged for and collected from an Indianapolis company shortly after he awakened at 4:15 a.m. on this sunny, steamy morning.

Now, as a gold crucifix bounces around his neck – a gift from the families he has just helped – Newsom weaves the van through the city’s near-westside, heading toward a place that he views as a beacon of hope and promise in an area scarred by poverty, crime and drugs.

The place is called “Anna’s House,” a clinic and learning center that will offer food, dental care, medical help and educational services, including tutoring and computer training for children.

Scheduled to open on July 29, Anna’s House is Newsom’s dream to make a lasting difference in the lives of people who struggle against the odds. The house is named in honor of Anna Molloy, a 10-year-old blond-haired, brown-eyed member of St. Jude Parish in Indianapolis, who helps Newsom feed the poor from her wheelchair.

“I named it for her because of her hard work and her love of Jesus,” Newsom says. “She’s on oxygen all the time, and she still keeps coming out to help me.”

Read the rest of the story here.

Lucious Newsom, ‘the Lord’s beggar for the poor,’ dies at 93

By John Shaughnessy

Let’s start with a telling story from the remarkable life of Lucious Newsom, “the Lord’s beggar for the poor” who died on Aug. 18 after 20 years of feeding the needy in Indianapolis and nourishing the souls of the volunteers who helped him.

The story involves one of the thousands of people the retired Baptist-minister-turned Catholic served as he drove through the city in his white van while wearing his trademark blue bib overalls and a gold crucifix that was a gift from the families he helped.

In the story, Newsom befriended a little girl whose heart was broken when her mother walked out the door of their family’s home and never returned, leaving the girl, her sister and their father behind.

“The little girl stopped talking after that, for about three years,” recalls Bill Bahler, one of the countless Catholics who volunteered to help Newsom aid people in areas often scarred by poverty, crime and drugs.

Read the rest of the story.

God bless you Lucious and thank you for the ministry you founded. 

Mike Ryan
Third Degree Knight