Knights of Columbus

Msgr George A MacDonald

Council #10808

Serving the three parishes of the Good Shepherd Pastoral Unit, PEI:

  • St Anne’s, Emyvale

  • St Francis of Assisi, Cornwall

  • St Martin of Tours, Cumberland

How the Knights Began

It is now 140 years since the Knights of Columbus were formed. It all began on October 2, 1881, when a group of 7 men gathered in the basement of St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Connecticut, at the request of their 29 year-old pastor, Father Michael J McGivney.

At that time anti-Catholic prejudice was rampant throughout Connecticut, and dangerous factory working conditions left many families fatherless. Father McGivney proposed a Catholic lay organization to unite Catholic men in promoting the Church’s teaching and to help families of deceased members, many of whom were living in poverty and with no insurance protection.

The end result of that meeting came just over five months later on March 29th, 1882, with the formation of an organization that came to be known as the Knights of Columbus.

Our Council Beginnings

It is 30 years this Spring since our Council #10808 was formed. Our Charter on the wall downstairs at St Francis of Assisi Church lists the 34 men who came together and became Monsignor George A MacDonald Council #10808, one of 21 councils today across PEI. The Council grew over the years to 53 members by 2014. Since then we have double our membership and currently stand at 104 Brothers. We were one of only 5 councils across North America to receive a Four Star Award for membership growth in 2015-2016.

Four years ago, the 14,000 councils representing 2 million Knights in 21 countries, adopted a new model called Faith-In-Action. It replaced Surge with Service and has since then helped us to focus on the four key pillars to become true Knights of Charity - Faith, Family, Community and Life.

These are now the cornerstones of our charitable community service activities and the focus of our monthly one-hour Council meetings. They take place the first Thursday of the month, September to June, with a social hour often following each meeting. In the summer we host monthly barbeques at the Independent Grocery in Cornwall and are grateful to owner-manage Jonathan Good for his unwavering support of our fundraising efforts.

Representing Council #10808

 

Faith Directors’ Team:

Faith Director - Mike MacKenzie

Family Director - Lucas Arsenault

Community Director - Wally Kowalchuk

Life Director - Paul Roberts

Program Director - Trevor Campbell

Membership Director

Council Executive:

Grand Knight - Basil Favaro

Deputy Grand Knight

Recorder - Dana Dennis

Chancellor - Leo Trainor

Warden - Claude Parent

Financial Secretary - David Murphy

Treasurer - John Walsh

Trustees - Eliot Deighan, Trevor MacKinnon, Earl Pickard

Guards - Wayne MacLean, Paul Steele

The Knights, presenting our newest Council member Phi Do with a Baby Gift Hamper at our December meeting. Phi and his wife Yen immigrated to PEI from Viet Nam with their two young sons. They welcomed their third son in October and were gifted by both our CWL and K of C Councils.

Annual Convention Reports

of our Faith-in-Action Activities for 2021

This past year we forged on, refusing to let resurgent Covid pandemic restrictions hold us back. This report presents summary figures for the four Faith-in-Action pillars and highlights one of many projects successfully undertaken in each one. We are proud of all our individual and collective achievements in Faith, Family, Community, and Life again this year, and the fact that we were able to organize and orchestrate them through 7 monthly meetings and 11 special meetings in 2021.

Faith Pillar

Charitable contributions: $2300+ Service: 1800+ hours

Our Council’s Faith activities included front-desk recording and Church cleaning during Covid, recording Masses via Youtube, lectoring, music liturgy, funeral and special Masses, as well as Masses at three local Community Care homes; parking and decorating for special Masses and parish events, Honour Guards at funeral services, and regular meetings of the Faith Director and Grand Knight with our Pastor to offer extra help during challenging times.

As well, our Faith contributions included four Parish Committees - Parish Council, Property/Finance, Catechism, and Music Liturgy; property work, including grounds clena-up and repairs; our Keep Christ in Christmas highway sign, Catechism teaching, spiritual reflection including Rosaries and dedicated prayer services, Silver Rose Special Service (April 8), a special Parish educational evening featuring Senator Brian Francis on the legacy of residential schools and reconciliation; Baptism ceremonies including sponsors, recording, Council gift presentations; and preparation of Confirmation gift packages.

Trunk or Treat Day after the first Catechism Class Is Mass, October 31st, 2021.

From left, Grand Knight Basil Favaro and Faith Director Mike MacKenzie shelling out treats for the children.

Brother Knight Jon Parent and sons Lanny and Kaden, taking part in Trunk or Treating at St Francis of Assisi Church after Mass.

 

Feature Faith Initiative: K of C/CWL Funeral Honour Guard

Our Council submission for the PEI Faith Award 2022

One of our newest Faith initiatives was to launch an Honour Guard outside on arrival of remains of a Brother Knight, CWL member, or fellow parishoner. With congregation limits due to Covid, and restrictions at funeral homes and limited seating capacity at funerals, it was very difficult if not impossible for us to show our support to bereaved families. So the creation of an Honour Guard was our way of supporting families in their time of loss of a loved one.

We invited our CWL members to join us and it is now regular practice to have an Honour Guard of both Knights in their vests and CWL members with their scarves and pins outside the main Church entry. The response from members of both Councils as well as parishioners has been resoundingly positive. One Brother Knight, on the passing of his wife, said it truly touched him to arrive behind the hearse and be surprised by an Honour Guard of K of C and CWL members. He said he would never forget how it touched the hearts of himself and his family.

Family Pillar

Charitable contributions: $900+ Service: 400+ Hours

Our Council’s Family initiatives included Food for Families Projects through our St Vincent de Paul Conference, Food Pantry volunteer work, Upper Room Hospitality on September 24th, our fifth annual Keep Christ in Christmas Poster Contest that involved once again PR, planning, and judging; our annual Fall Post-Secondary Bursary Program promotion and screening of applicants, a Family BBQ at St Francis of Assisi Church on Sunday, July 11th, a Sunday Family Brunch on October 24th; our delivery of free Christmas trees to families in need; and our Adopt-A-Family-at-Christmas project.

Unfortunately, due to the Covid restrictions, our annual Summer Family Picnic and Family Sleigh Ride could not take place this year.

Fr Doug MacDonald presents our K of C Council Family of the Year Award, 2021, to Dana and Ellen Dennis and their children (from left to right) Ben, Ella, and Sam, following Sunday Mass last Spring.

Feature Faith Initiative: Sunday Family Brunch for Lennon Recovery House

Our Council submission for the PEI Family Award 2022

Food for Families is one of the signature projects of our Order and this year our Council once again made significant contributions in this area. One of our most successful projects this year was a Family Brunch following Sunday morning Mass, October 24th, at St Francis of Assisi Parish Church. More than 25 families turned out and were served a pancake sausage brunch. Our traditional buffet had to be suspended because of Covid restrictions but we were still able to host 65 parishioners sitting in family bubbles and socially distanced throughout the hall. Fourteen brother knights turned out to prepare and serve the meal and clean up afterward. What made this event so special this year was the fact that we were joined by two Brother Knights from Rev J Douglas MacNeill Council, North Rustico, including their Grand Knight. Our Grand Knight and Deputy Grand Knight were honoured to reciprocate by helping serve at the North Rustico Council’s monthly Saturday evening dinner November 27th. Proceeds from our joint events went to donations to Lennon Recovery House for their ongoing projects for recovery and healing from addictions and mental health issues. We submit this project for the Family Award, not only for its obvious support and encouragement of families and extended families to share a community meal together, but also that it may serve as one example to other Councils for inter-Council collaboration in the future. Both Councils plan to team up again next year as a result of the success of this pilot

Some of the hosts of the Pancake Sausage Family Brunch. David and James joined us from Fr JD MacNeill Council in Rustico to help fundraise for Lennon House.

Left to right: Mike MacKenzie, John Walsh, David Gallant, Andre Chiasson, James Donnelly, Andrew Burt, and Basil Favaro.

Community Pillar

Charitable contributions: $9800+ Service: 1300+ Hours

Our Council’s community activities included our 7th annual Coats for Kids Project (purchase of complete new winter outfits, distribution to local schools through Counsellor Cindy Wood, and community PR opportunities); Veterans Memorial Community Services September 12th and November 11th; St Vincent de Paul Projects including meetings and Free Store donations; BBQ Fundraisers at the Independent Grocery July 30th and September 11th; our 30th annual Christmas Tree Fundraiser (set-up, sales, deliveries); our annual Christmas Food Basked Program (preparation and deliveries) on December 16th-17th.

Knights of Columbus Coats for Kids Campaign

Left to Right: Wally Kowalchuk, Community Director; Ellen Dennis, St Francis & St Martin’s Catechetics Coordinator; Trevor Campbell, Program Director; Cindy Wood, Counsellor and Coats for Kids Coordinator; Lucas Arsenault, Family Director; and Fr Doug MacDonald, Council Chaplain and Pastor.

This year we continued our Christmas gifts to widows and widowers, Mikinduri Children of Hope donations to the clothing bin and annual yard sale, State Lottery promotion and ticket sales through Wally’s Pharmasave; hospital, home and eldercare visits, and Habitat for Humanity Re-Store donations. We also began planning a phone tree for our team of Faith Directors to connect early in 2022 with all Council members to find out how they are faring off with Covid restrictions and the dramatic rise in the cost of living. Unfortunately, our annual wine tasting and Charter Night dinners could not take place this year with public health restrictions but we remain optimistic about bringing them back in 2022.