Jun 30

Rectory Garden Makeover!

The call was urgent! Father Au needed to have the garden spruced up in time for Confirmation Mass the next day and so an urgent call for help was issued. 7 Knights responded and together with help from 2 landscape experts, we had the entire side and front yard of the rectory dug up and planted 15 trees! Kudos to brothers Sam, Patrick, Rommel, John, Ernie, Rome and Mark for showing up and working their hearts out.

With the heavy lifting done by Landscape expert Joe in his Bobcat and his capable assistant David, the Knights in their signature orange t-shirts dug out the grass and weeds and spread out 16 yards of mushroom manure and compost for the garden. To put things in perspective…1 yard will cover an area 108 square feet to a depth of 3 inches. So, 16 yards covers 1600 square feet. 8 to 10 wheelbarrow loads moves just ONE yard of material. God smiled on his Knights when Joe Stracqualursi of Total Care Service Contractors brought out his Bobcat!! And thanks to Joe’s friend David and his chainsaw, we managed to disintegrate 4 of the 5 stumps from previous trees. The last one was just way too big for us to remove. Mushroom Manure and compost mix was donated by Meadows Landscape in Pitt Meadows. Also, many thanks to Tony and Elsa who showed up from Our Lady of Lourdes parish to help plant the flowers. 

Father Au had this to say: Please convey my appreciation of all the dedication of the Knights of Columbus who put their back to manual labour today.  It is really great to see everyone together in service for the parish.

Brothers, you-all should be proud of your effort. These trees you planted will be a legacy that will stand in the parish rectory for years to come. Your children and maybe your grandchildren can proudly say, my father planted those!

So without further Ado, here are the pictures!

God’s Team of helpers!
Fr. Au with the landscape professionals Joseph and David.
The rain showed up to wash off some of the dirt from us!
Look who showed up to supervise!
Brother John Rochard got out of his hospital bed to be with his brother Knights!
John and Joycelene
GK Mark giving John a pat on the back…not too hard now Mark!
It was a lot more organized than it looked!
Joseph instructing on the finer points of spreading manure
A total of
Elsa making the path pretty.
Tony helping plant the annuals
Tony had a nice design going!
The Tony and Elsa Team from Our Lady of Lourdes
Brother Rome marking a straight line
David working at one of the stumps
And another stubborn stump
Joe and David, the intrepid duo
We planted three trees in the front garden!
Joe the Bobcat guy!

 

 

Jun 21

Wind-up BBQ

This year, GK Mark decided to have a potluck BBQ instead of the usual meeting. The BBQ was held at the GK’s house on his deck on June 21st.  There were all kinds of amazingly good food served up. From Malaysian Satay, to Filipino Pancit, to South African as well as Polish Sausages there was plenty to go around and much merriment was had. We are all so blessed that many of our wives are such amazing chefs although some of the dishes were also made by brother Knights themselves! Brother Justin shared his home-crafted beer with us – most excellent indeed- and there was plenty of good wine to go around as well.

Fr. Au showed managed to find time out of his busy schedule to show up, as did brother Jet who called me as he was rushing back from Everett, Washington to make sure there was still food for him, hahaha! Brother Brian Derrick, who had just returned from a cruise the day before made sure to show up as well as our newly minted brother Ernie, who brought his three children with him too! We welcome them all and we’re happy to share this time of fellowship, fraternal as well as family love through God’s bountiful blessings of food and good health that we all enjoyed.

 

Cecilia and Mary-Ann sampling the goodies
Jan Derrick being ushered up to the main deck where all the action was
GK’s wife, Jessica dishing out her signature Satay
Brother John served up the amazingly tasty South African Sausages!
Brothers Edmund and Justin contemplating their next plate fillup
More food!
The ladies gravitated to the most comfortable seats on the deck.
It was just like back in school
The girls all congregated on one side
Ooh that was hot!
So many stories to tell!
Now here guys, is how a SA Sausge is cooked!
Brother Rommel and Achel
And the boys
Congregated outside
Brother Knights together for a group shot
And another one for good measure!
Everybody’s mouth is full!
And yes, Father Au did manage to find time out of his busy schedule to show up too!
Brother Jet rushed all the way from Everett Washington to be with us! His Pancit was really good to eat too!

Jun 14

Grand Knight’s Dinner

This year’s Grand Knight’s Dinner was held on June 13th 2014. It also happened to be our Charter Anniversary as well as Friday the 13th! We had 33 registered guests, and of those, three did not show up…and for good reason too!

Ms. Irene Munro was supposed to attend, with outgoing DGK Mark Edward going to pick her up. Upon arriving at Irene’s place, Mark thought that she’d gotten a ride from someone else, as nobody was answering the doorbell or the phone. He called GK Mark, who, fearing the worst, advised him to contact the parish office to find out the phone number of Irene’s next of kin. Brother Mark Edward called Irene’s son, who rushed over with a key, and upon opening the door found his mother lying motionless on the floor. 911 was called and paramedics arrived in time to whisk her off to hospital. It turns out that Irene suffered a stroke, and brother Mark’s timely intervention probably saved her life…saved by a Knight! God works in strange ways. Irene has always been a staunch supporter of the Knights of Columbus 9846, and regularly attends our social gatherings. This was one where her non-attendance was what saved her life. We are thankful that Irene is still with us today, in no small part due to Brother Mark Edward’s diligence.

The dinner itself was well-attended with many prizes to be won, and much friendship and fraternity was shared as easily as the wine flowed! Yan’s Garden again did not disappoint with their amazing food and we hope to organize one here again next year, at the GK’s outgoing dinner!

May 29

Welcome Brother Ernie!

Last night at Our Lady of Fatima, a new member of our Council was inducted. Brother Ernie Alcala took his First Degree at OLF Council chambers. 6 brother Knights showed up to support brother Ernie: DGK Rommel, Recorder Rome, GK Mark, FS Sam, Treasurer John as well as Ernie’s sponsor, Francisco. A total of 33 Knights showed up at that council meeting. The odds were good that we would win something, and brother Rome did not disappoint, winning the 50-50 draw! We all had a good time after the initiation and meeting at the social that followed.

We look forward to see you in action with the rest of your brothers Ernie! Congratulations!

 

Ernie was the proud recipient of the special commemorative Certificate honouring the Beatification of the two popes!
6 brother Knights showed up from our council!

May 27

Marian Procession 2014

Oh what a wet and rainy day it was! But still, the eager and fresh faces of the 1st Holy Communicants, their enthusiasm and the devotion of the parishioners to Our Blessed Mother won through it all. Ushers brother Rome Saratan and Justin Loewen were on hand to make sure that everyone was welcomed and found a good place to sit. Other brothers were involved in the event too; such as brother Eliazar, who was the official photographer of the event, brother Jet Valmonte who led the rosary for the procession, brother Rommel who led the team carrying the flags and brothers John Kai and Francisco Balce who helped carry the float with brothers Rome and Justin.

Special thanks to Sir Knights Mark, Elemer, John and Greg who showed up in full regalia and guarded the procession.

Here is a selection of the many pictures that were taken that day.

May 22

Building the NEW Marian Procession Float!

7 brothers showed up on Saturday to help build the new float for the Blessed Mother’s statue…in time for the Marian Procession this Sunday the 25th. Brothers Sam, Rome, Ernie, John, David, Denis and John had a great time as usual and the net result is here to see! Of special note, brother Ernie is not even a Knight yet, but will be attending his First Degree next Wednesday the 28th. Anyway, here are the pictures!

Mar 07

40 Days For Life Outreach Programme

Abortion has now become the leading cause of death throughout the world. It is a crisis that is hurting women, dehumanizing the most innocent amongst us. Every year, 42 million children die from abortion throughout the globe. So what is 40 days for life? Click here to go to the 40 Days for Life page. 40-daysB

Dec 23

Poinsettias

Here are a few pictures of the poinsettias that were arranged today by brothers Brian, John, Rome and Mark. The trees, by the way were decorated by bro Brian.

Good job bros! Christmas mass is going to look fabulous!

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What 52 Poinsettias look like in an old Landcruiser!

 

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Dec 23

Christmas Trees for St. Josephs

What a busy day it was! In the midst of the Children’s Christmas Play practice, the choir’s Christmas Concert practice and general busy day for the parish, the Knights set up 8 Christmas Trees for St. Josephs’ (one beautiful, much smaller one, in the Rectory!). Enjoy the pictures brothers!

Dec 21

The Star marks the position of the Christ Child!

$250 was raised with the creation of the Christmas Star and was sent to the Philippines via Columbus Charities.