January 2022 Newsletter

Brother Knights,

January on the calendar marks the start of another trip around the sun, which was actually shinning today, and that is a blessing in January.  It also means a new year with many resolutions that are made in the and hopefully that will come true.   As we look back on the past year, we find things that went according to our plan and many things that did not, but we still came out the other side, and hopefully better than we started.  

The Knights of Columbus family continues to strive to do better and help as many people as we can through our charitable works.  My resolution for the coming year is to continue the great work of the Knights of Columbus and try to touch as many people I can in a positive way.  It starts with the people that are closest to us.  This year seems to have brought on its share of bad news on a personal level, but God has answered so many of our prayers and we are so grateful.  He continues to work his wonder through so many great people in this world.  Keep praying      

In 2021, the family Knights of Columbus 706 generated a considerable amount of money and goods for our community of Muskegon.  Every person doing their own part, this has given us the ability to make a difference in so many people’s lives.  I’m very proud of our Knights of Columbus 706 family, you are a wonderful group of people that support your community.  There have been countless hours volunteered to support the many events and causes that we have taken on this year.  I would like to thank all of you for your support and help during these difficult times.  One small example, is our annual Tootsie Roll Drive in the spring.  We had a little delay in our reporting to the State Council, but we received our checks to distribute.  Our two charities again this year were ARC Muskegon and Wesley School and because of donations thru our church drives, each received a check for a little over $500.  They were extremely appreciative.  

I would ask that you add into your prayers, that God may guide our leaders and all of us to make the place we live in better than the day before.  I believe that all of us can make a difference, especially in our own community, it starts with each one of us.       

Council meetings will be the second Thursday of each month and everybody is welcome and encourage to join us for our monthly meeting.  This month our council meeting will be on January 13th @ 7 pm.I hope all Brother Knights and their families are doing well, but for those that are going through tough times please pray for them.  See the members in need on the website and keep them in your prayers. 

Serving our Parish:

• St. Francis: St. Nick’s Breakfast    December 5^th after 11 am mass

Serving our Community:

• Coats for Kids: drop off coats at club or donation

I hope all Brother Knights and their families are doing well, but for those that are going through tough times please pray for them.  See the members in need on the website and keep them in your prayers.

If anybody would like to get more involved with events, please don’t hesitate to contact me or another member.  We have many opportunities to serve this great Muskegon community.  Thanks to Gary Naperalsky, Ron Friday, Tom Seastrom, Dave Taggart, and Denny Chandonnet for cooking for the Veterans Brunch.

Looking back at the last couple of years, our Council has helped our community with some substantial donations.  With our drive-thru dinners and donations and a break on Per Capita bills (because of the pandemic), your dues have given us chances to donate some of that money too.

Thanks to our Treasurer, Brian Delong, after a quick perusal for the calendar year 2020, we gave $19,410 in donations and in 2021 so far, we have given $19,300 in donations.  That’s not counting the food drive collection, the hygiene items, and the Coats for Kids drive yet this year.  We should be very proud of the work our Council has done for our area.

Ushering at St. Francis:

• January 16^th
• February 6^th
• February 27^th

Please help to usher at Mass on Sunday at 11:00 am.  Please add these dates to your calendar and try to arrive about 20 minutes early to get your instructions.

Vivat Jesus,
Matt Carlton, Grand Knight
Phone: 231-740-4651 – Email: carlton29@frontier.com