Dear brothers and families,

I hope you all had a very blessed and joyous Christmas and found some time with your families and loved ones to reflect on the miracle of the birth of Jesus and to give thanks for our many blessings. I would also like to wish you and your families a very happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

I would like to thank brothers John O’Leary and Rob Saylor for all their hard work on the Children’s Christmas Party. We had over 70 members, children, and grandchildren in attended and a great day was had by all! Santa stopped by for a visit with the children for some last minute requests before he headed back home to prepare for his busiest night of the year.  John Weber, PGK provided the entertainment for the children, and with their help he performed his rendition of the 12 days of Christmas.

I would also like to thank Mike Fiore, PGK for all of his hard work planning for our Members Christmas party and ensuring it was a big success, which it was. Everyone in attendance had a great time. Thank you Mike!

The first half of our fraternal year is in the books and we start our next six months as ambitious as ever. I am asking all of my brother Knights for your help in making all of our sponsored events a success and plan to attend at least one of them. I know we are all busy and have other obligations with work and our families, but to ensure the continued health and growth of our council and order, we need the help of all of our members. If your a new member or haven’t been down to the council for awhile, consider joining us at one of our council or fraternal functions and get reacquainted with your brother knights. If you only have a few moments to spare, consider helping with an hour or so at one of our “Vegas Nights”. All the money we raise goes directly to charity. No experience is necessary and your help is greatly needed.

Looking forward to January. Our first event for the new year is our monthly “Vegas Night” on Friday night January 8th beginning at 8 PM.  Our next two events take place on Saturday January 9th. We’ll be taking down the creche from Bellmore Village at 9 AM and later that day at 4:00 PM we will be hosting the Knights of Columbus Basketball Free Throw Challenge at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton gymnasium.  January 14th is our first regularly scheduled council meeting of the month and we will also be hosting a first degree that evening.

On Sunday, January 17th our council  will participate in the annual Right to Life Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan. This Mass will be the first Right to Life Mass celebrated by Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan. This Mass offers our members an opportunity to join together with other Knights of Columbus  Councils from around the state in a faith-filled expression of our concern for the unborn. The bus will be leaving the council at 8 AM. Please contact me asap if you are interested in attending as the bus fills up quickly.

The 37th Annual March for Life will be held on Friday, Jan. 22, 2010 in Washington, D.C. There will be a Mass at St. Barnabas at 5:00 AM and the bus will depart at about 5:45 AM. Sign up sheets are in the lounge. For more information contact Pro-Life Chairman Hank Holzwarth, PGK, or myself if you would like to participate.

Our next 5th Sunday Communion Breakfast will be held on Sunday morning January 31st. The mass at St. Barnabas will begin at 9 AM with the breakfast immediately following at our council. There is no doubt that this mass is an excellent opportunity to join together as Catholics, brothers and families in a truly inspirational setting, thank God for his blessings, and enjoy each other’s friendship. Corinthians 12:12 reads;
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.  Join me brothers, as knights of Columbus members, as one body at Mass. The cost for the communion breakfast is always free and all are always welcome.

We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched.  Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives… not looking for flaws, but for potential.  ~Ellen Goodman

The Bible tells us that it was God who formed us in our mother’s womb. And when He formed us, He placed within us the highest possible potential: theosis, union with God. Part of man’s tragedy is that this great potential remains only a potential and is not fully developed. Man is indeed a frail creature, but he is endowed by God with great potential. All of us are born equal. Our job is to outgrow equality by reaching out to achieve our potential in Christ. Join me brothers and let us together reach our potential and lets see what we can do as Catholics and as members of the worlds largest Catholic fraternal organization. There is greatness in us all!

Fraternally,

James Mikowski,
Grand Knight

Dear Brothers and Families;

Nov. 19th our council held its annual Memorial Mass in remembrance of our deceased brothers. Thanks to our Worthy Chaplain, Father Valentine, who didn’t let his 16 hour flight keep him from celebrating mass for us. Thank you Father Valentine. I would also like to thank our Eucharist Minister Ken Karchinski, PGK. Joe Camillery PGK, for his alter service. Mike Fiore, PGK, for helping with the readings and  Austin Cannon, PGK John Weber, PGK, Tony Ferro, PGK and brother Al Coli for reading the names of our deceased brothers.

On Nov. 22nd we held our annual AHRC luncheon. This year we helped Danny Robinson celebrate his 20th year at Bellmore council. Our guests had a great time thanks to Danny and his accordion, and the hard work of our members who prepared a wonderful spaghetti lunch. My thanks go out to all who came out to help during this worthwhile charity event. Our guests deeply appreciated each and every one of you who came down to lend a hand. Thank you all!

Please mark your calendars for the following upcoming events. On Friday, December 4th we have a Vegas night, help is always needed. We have our children’s Christmas party on Saturday, December 12th from 10:00AM to 12:00 PM. Saturday, December 13th is our council Christmas party starting at 4:00 PM. Please make you reservations now for our council party.

Our New Year’s Eve party is back this year after a short hiatus, once again Chairman Jack Falci, PGK will be taking reservations. Please see the ad in the log for further details.

On Saturday Jan. 10th we will be taking down the crèche at 9:00 AM. The council basketball free throw contest is also being held on Saturday, January 9th. The free throw contest begins at 4:00 PM. This event is for boys and girls between the ages 10 and 14 and will be held at St. Elizabeth Ann Seaton School. The winners will go on to advance to the District, County and State levels of competition.

Join me on January 16th for PGK Mike Fiore’s testimonial dinner and show your appreciation to Mike for all of his hard work and dedication to our council during his year as Grand Knight. Mike put his heart into every aspect of the council and led this council with dignity and represented Bellmore council with class. Reservations are now being accepted.

To catch the real meaning of the “Spirit of Christmas,” we need only to drop the last syllable of the word, and it becomes the “Spirit of Christ.” It beckons us to follow him, and become worthy of the blessedness which he promised to the most unlikely people—the poor in spirit, the sorrowful, the meek, the seekers after righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and even the persecuted and the oppressed.

God is Love; Christmas is all about love; Christmas is thus about God and Love. Love is the key to peace among all mankind. Love is the key to peace and happiness within all creation. Love needs to be practiced – love needs to flow – love needs to make happy. Love starts with your partner, children and family and expands to the entire world.

From my family to yours, I would like to wish each of my brothers and their families a very Merry and blessed Christmas, and a safe and Happy New Year!

Fraternally,
James Mikowski
Grand Knight

Dear Brothers and families,

The first weekend of October kicked off a very busy weekend for Bellmore council. We held our first fundraising Vegas Night of the Columbian year on Friday night October 2nd. Several of our brothers who worked the entire evening stayed well after midnight to ensure the hall was set for our annual Italian night which was held the following evening. We could use your help at our next Vegas Night which will be held on November 6th. If you can spare an hour or two please come down and help out at this monthly fundraiser. All of the money we raise goes to charity and during this difficult time more people than ever need our assistance. No experience is necessary, you don’t even have to know how to deal cards, and the help is greatly needed.

Italian night was a huge success thanks to co-chairmen Jim Turzilli, PGK and our Worthy Chancellor Anthony LaBarbera who also cooked a fantastic meal for the 130 people in attendance. Not to be slowed down, the following day Jim Turzilli, PGK was installed as a District Warden of the 15th District. Please congratulate Jim on this prestigious appointment.

The annual “Stand up for Life” silent prayer rally was held on Sunday, October 4th along Jericho Turnpike and Route 110 in Huntington NY. Brothers Hank Holzwarth, PGK and Kevin Coleman, PGK, joined me and over 600 brother Knights and friends from across Nassau and Suffolk Counties for the one and a half our event to show our opposition to abortion. I would also like to extend my personal thanks to Father Nuss for spending time with us during this worthwhile event.

Looking forward to November, The Nassau County Chapter’s Memorial mass for deceased brothers of Nassau County will be held at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Center on Sunday November 8th at 11 AM.

November 11th is Veterans Day. Please find some time during the course of the day to stop and pray for the deceased members of our armed forces who gave their lives for this great Country. Please also remember and continue to pray for the safety of our service men and women who serve at home and abroad to keep our Country safe and free.

November 19th is our annual Memorial Mass for deceased members of Bellmore council. Please join us at 7:30 in the Holy Family Chapel of St. Barnabas church. Our Chaplin, Father Valentine, will celebrate the mass as we remember and pray for our departed brothers.

Crèche set up, On Saturday morning November 28th at 9:00 AM meet us at the council as we continue our long standing tradition of setting up the crèche on Bedford Avenue and in front of the council.

I would like to personally invite all of our members and their families to our next 5th Sunday Communion Breakfast which will be held on Sunday morning November 29th. The mass at St. Barnabas will begin at 9 AM with the breakfast immediately following at our council. There is no doubt that this mass is an excellent opportunity to join together as Catholics, brothers and families in a truly inspirational setting, thank God for his blessings, and enjoy each other’s friendship. I would like you to consider joining your brother Knights at this mass, even if you regularly attend a different mass or a different Parish. This is truly a spiritual and fraternal morning. The cost for the communion breakfast is always free and all are always welcome.

Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude to God, our creator and provider, whose guidance and care go before us… and whose love is with us forever.
Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the changes, to remember that we, too, grow and change from one season of life to another.
Let us remember the true meaning of Thanksgiving. As we see the beauty of autumn, let us acknowledge the many blessings which are ours…
Let us think of our brother Knights, families and friends. And let us give thanks in our hearts.

From my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving.

Fraternally,

James Mikowski, G.K.

Dear Brothers and families,

 August 28th brought the summer to an unofficial close at Bellmore council with our “End of Summer” children’s Ice cream party. We had a good showing for our first children’s event for the new Columbian year.

Approximately 35 children accompanied their parents to our ice cream smorgasbord. The kids enjoyed their sundaes of vanilla and chocolate ice cream with all the toppings. We closed the evening with a movie, while the kids snacked on some freshly popped popcorn. Thanks to Chairman Bob Saylor, brothers Joe Cunningham, Joe DeFino, Mike Curry, Bob Magrino, and Mike Fiore, PGK for helping to make this a successful and fun evening for the kids.

 September marks the beginning of a very busy fall season for Bellmore Council starting with our annual Blood Drive. I would like to thank the blood drive chairman Frank Mazzara, brothers Joe DeFino, Anthony Cristofano, Ken Karchinski, PGK, James Turzilli, PGK, and Joe Camillery, PGK, for making this years blood drive successful with 45 pints of blood being donated.

 On September 16th four new brothers joined our order and council by making their Exemplification of the 1st Degree. They are brothers Angelo Buonomo, Nelson LLoret, Kevin Benes and Michael Gennaro. We also had a recent transfer into our council, Brain Auerbach. Please join me in welcoming our newest brothers when you see them.

 On September 23rd I had the pleasure of attending the installation of officers for the 4th degree, Cardinal Mercier Assembly. Ken Karchinski, PGK was installed as the Faithful Captain during a dignified ceremony held at Father John Farrell Council in Hewlett. Congratulations Ken!

 Our Installation of Officers was held on Sunday September 27th. Bellmore Council had the privilege of having Past New York State Deputy Anthony Preziosi, and current New York State Warden Sal Restivo in attendance. Also, in attendance was Bellmores own, Kevin Coleman, Nassau Conference Warden. I would like to thank installation Co-Chairmen Ken Karchinski, PGK, and Brother Steve Amante for making this a special day for the officers and their families.

 The Long Island Coalition for life has scheduled a “40 days of life” Program, which began on September 23rd and will end on November 1st. Our council has been assigned the date of October 14th to show a unified Catholic presence and to peacefully pray in front of the Planned Parenthood facility in Hempstead. Please join me for an hour or so during the day to show that, as Catholic gentlemen, we are united in the fight against abortion. For more information please contact Pro-Life Chairman Hank Holzworth, PGK.

 This years Bellmore Street Fair will be held on the weekend of October 17th and 18th. As always, we will be making our famous zeppoles and will be very busy all weekend long. We need as much help as possible setting up each morning at 8:30 AM and throughout the day. We will also have a table set up to sell C&B books.

 Upcoming events include our annual “Night at the Races” on November 14th. Look inside this issue for more information.

 “Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.”-Mother Teresa

 Deus Caritas est,

 Fraternally,

 James Mikowski, G.K.