Grand Knight February 2024

Belated Happy New Year Brother Knights!  

We were so busy as the calendar rolled over to 2024 that we didn’t have time to get a newsletter out for January.  Even though we started a new year, our council stayed steadfast in providing services to others!

Brother Brad Behne is the Knight of the Month for January.  The service he performed for our council and for the youth of our parish was that he organized and directed the Knight’s Free Throw Contest that was held earlier in the month.  The event was a HUGE success with many young people participating and many, many people in the stands to cheer on the participants!  Thank you, Brad, and to the other members of our council that worked the event!

Brother Jeff Knievel and his family are our Knight’s Family of the Month for January.  Not only did Jeff help with the Free Throw contest, but he and his children could be seen out scooping snow for the parishioners we serve.  Thank you, Jeff and family for all you do for our council and parish!

Please welcome into our council 4 Knights that became 3rd degree members on January 17th.
Weston Svoboda, Tim Echtenkamp, Alex Kleinjan and Frank Egelhoff. We had a great turnout of brother Knights for the CUF ceremony that was held before our General Meeting.  If you see these Brother Knights, please welcome them!

With the bitter cold and enormous amount of snow we have had, I must share with you how proud I am of our Snow Knights.  They have been out many times in the past 2 months digging out the elderly and homebound members of our parish.  We do this service for free, upholding Father McGivney’s ideal virtue of Charity.  Say a prayer in thanks for these men and their family members that help them every time we get snowfall. 

As we prepare to enter the Lenten season, we are reminded about the fish fry dinners that will begin on February 16th.  Our fish frys run from 4:30-7 PM at Knight’s Hall, 6044 South Street.  We are ALWAYS in need of helpers during this great event!  All of this money goes back to our parish and our school, so if you could give an hour or two, it would be greatly appreciated.  To sign up go to this link…

https://forms.gle/Qnq8VFUhhLzpe8e97

Or email me, text me or call me with the times you can give a hand.  My number is 402-429-2515, or my email is schinkelr@gmail.com
Thank you for considering!

A few items to put on your calendar for this month ….. 
February 9- Fat Tuesday Party at St. Teresa’s for all men of the parish.
February 16- First Fish Fry Dinner at the hall.
February 21- General Meeting at the hall beginning at 7:30.  Come enjoy some pizza, a beverage and give input at our meeting.
February 23- 2nd Fish Fry Dinner at the hall
February 26- Officer/Directors Meeting at the hall.  All Knights are invited.
If you know of a Catholic gentleman that would be interested in joining our Council please have him get in touch with me.  Thank you!

May God continue to bless us all.

Ron Schinkel,
Grand Knight

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Grand Knight December 2023

Brother Knights,

WOW!  It is hard to believe that December of 2023 has arrived!  For some it has been a blessed year, and for others there have been struggles.  Knowing that we are nearing Advent and the birth of our Savior we need to remember that this is the season of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. For those that have struggled I hope you find hope and peace.  For those that have been blessed I hope you share your blessings with others by offering joy, love and hope!

Our council has been blessed in so many ways this year, and for many years in the past.  We have members of our council that work so diligently to ensure our council is successful.  I am so proud of being the Grand Knight of Council 833.  It swells my heart knowing that we do the right thing at the right time every time!

I am thankful for the officers of our council that don’t ever get the recognition they deserve.  These men volunteer time throughout each month doing things that are totally behind the scenes.  If you see one of these gentlemen or know one, be sure to thank them for their service.  Here are our officers:

Matt Schafers- Deputy Grand Knight Cliff Henggeler- Inside Guard
Tony Schafers- Financial Secretary Reese Meyer- Outside Guard
Philip Paitz- Treasurer James McCarville- Trustee
Barry Butler- Recorder Marv Burbach- Trustee
John Lenich- Advocate Dennis Hruby- Trustee
Ron Wortman- Warden   

Along with the great leadership of our council, we also have Knights that go above and beyond the call of duty.  All of the programs our council does is only possible by the great men that volunteer to help out.  A few of these tasks that our knights take on are…Snow removal for the elderly/homebound of our parish, Presenting Roses at Baptisms for mothers and the child, Tootsie Roll Sunday to benefit individuals with intellectual disabilities, Candy Cane Sunday to purchase items for those of our parish that our less fortunate, Coats for Kids that provided 100+ winter coats for the children of St. Teresa School.  The list goes on and on and it only happens because of the great men of our council!  Thank you so much to these men and their families.
 
One of the greatest strengths of our council is the guidance we get from our clergy.  Father Kipper, our council chaplain, as well as Father Schwenka and Father Beardslee, support and encourage our council in all of our endeavors.  Father Kipper attends our monthly meetings and all of the priests show up at all of the different events we have.  We are so truly blessed with the priests we have in our parish and their continued prayers they bestow upon all of us.

A few items to put on your calendar for this month…
December 2- Set up the nativity scene at church 11 AM
December 9th we will have our annual Christmas dinner at the hall.
December 16-17 is Candy Cane Sunday.  We will pass out candy canes after each mass that weekend.
December 20- General Meeting at the hall beginning at 7:30.  Come enjoy some pizza, a beverage and some holiday cheer.

And finally, I pray that each of you and your families find the hope, peace, joy and love that this beautiful season of Advent offers.  

May God continue to bless us all.

Ron Schinkel
Grand Knight

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Grand Knight November 2023

Brother Knights,

Happy Fall! My favorite time of the year! The World Series wrapped up last night with the Rangers winning their first championship and the Husker football team are playing meaningful games in November, which hasn’t happened in a long time! Many of us remember when Nebraska dominated year after year after year on the gridiron. The program was a machine that just seemed to keep gong and going……. then all of the sudden the bottom seemed to fall out.

This scenario just doesn’t happen to football programs. It happens to businesses and it happens to Knight’s councils. Nebraska football didn’t plan on being not so good for the past decade plus, but neither do failed businesses or other programs. We, as a council, have been working very hard to ensure the success and the longevity of our parish council. Many hours have been put in finding bylaws of our council and council/building association so we have an understanding of what it has taken to get us to where we are, and whit it will take in the future go make sure we fulfill our obligation as Knights to charity, unity and fraternity.

We had our monthly officer’s/director’s meeting on October 30th. At that meeting we established the bylaws that will govern our council from now on. For the most part we have been running our council by these laws, but now we have documents to guide us. In the near future there will be an email sent out with these items listed, along with the names of the Council/Building Association directors.

I have to reach out the DGK Matt Schafers, FC Tony Schafers, BK John Lenich, and BK Jim Kreifels for the time and effort put in to help get us to this point. As always, to be successful we need our younger Knights to continue to share with us your time and your thoughts/suggestions on what we need to do to continue to be the best Knight’s Council in the state. Please contact us at any time.

Also, the November General meeting on November 15th will be a memorial mass to honor our brother knights that have passed away. This is a special meeting where we read the names of these gentlemen and pray for their souls. Please plan on attending this special meeting.

May God continue to bless us all.

Ron Schinkel
Grand Knight
Council 833

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Grand Knight October 2023

Brother Knights,

Here we are in the last few months of 2023 as we enter October. I was visiting with a friend the other night and he mentioned how he can’t wait for this year to end. This year has brought him some health issues, car troubles, home repairs, etc, etc. I understand how he hopes the new year takes away some of these misfortunes he has experienced this year, but does turning the page of the calendar really bring us peace? I am not sure that is the case. We are burdened by life’s unexpected twists and turns, but as Knights we have the power of our brotherhood to help us through these twists and turns. We have the power of prayer, our sword against Satan. We have the power of Charity, our founding principle. And we have our brother Knights. When we combine all three of these things we can face many things head on!

In our monthly meetings we pray for brother knights and their families. In our monthly meetings we discuss ways to increase the charity we give to our parish, our school and others less fortunate. And lastly in our meetings we have camaraderie with our brother knights. We enjoy each other’s company while we share a beverage and have some pizza.

I look forward to our monthly meetings. As your Grand Knight, there is plenty of preparation for the meetings, but the reward is the things I mentioned above. I know that I am not alone if feeling the pressures of being a parent, a businessman, a provider for my family, but I do know that I get comfort and some relief from these when I get to see my fellow parishioners and brother knights at our monthly meetings.

I guess what I am saying is, if you haven’t attended a meeting recently give it a try. You might get something out of it, and find some enjoyment or relaxation in attending. I hope you stop by. Our next meeting is October 18th, 7:30 PM at the Knight’s Hall.

We are looking for some help in distributing Tootsie Rolls for our Tootsie Roll campaign that benefits our family and community members with intellectual disabilities. We will be handing out Tootsie Rolls after each mass the weekend of October 14-15. Along with distributing them at St. Teresa’s, we will also be handing them out at Hy-Vee, 50th and O Street, on Saturday October 14th and Sunday October 15th. The signup genius can be found here ( signupgenius.com/go/10C054FAEAF2DA2FA7-44760987-tootsie#/ )

Please consider signing up for a 2 hour slot. I have signed up and plan on bringing my 2 young grandsons to help. This is a great way to spend time with a family member and also do charitable work!

May God continue to bless us all,

Ron Schinkel
Grand Knight
Council 833

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Grand Knight September 2023

Brother Knights,

It looks as if we finally have a break from the blistering heat! We are beginning to feel the coolness of fall and football! Another season of Pius football where our council runs the chain gang and down marker for the varsity football games. Brothers Matt Schafer, Ryan Wesolowski, Brad Behne, Brian Callan and myself can be seen on the visitor’s sideline during the Pius home games. We are always looking to get other knights involved so if this is something you might be interested in, please contact one of us.

We have, and continue to do, many great things for our parish and school. We recently donated money for the ASAP program and the St. Teresa’s Conference of St. Vincent DePaul. We hosted a burger/hot dog meal for our school’s Jayhawk Jumpstart, purchased bibles for our 4th grade students, donated money to support the Pink Sister’s 50th anniversary celebration and presented roses to the mothers of babies baptized in our parish. This is just a snapshot of what we do and we do it because we love Christ and our parish.

We have many things yet to do and like I mention in every newsletter, we need YOU! We will be conducting a membership drive this month, and in October we have our Tootsie Roll Sunday to raise funds for persons with developmental disabilities. These are events you can help with after masses with the giving of just a few minutes of your time. Please consider!

Our council meets the 3rd Wednesday of the month at our Knight’s of Columbus Hall, 6044 South Street. Stop by for a meeting, a beverage and some pizza once. We would love to have you!

May God continue to bless us all,

Ron Schinkel
Grand Knight

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