March 7, 2007

Financial Secretary's Bulletin, March 7, 2007:

If you have a moment, please go to the following link, and if you are able, make a donation. This young lady is trying to pay off her student loans so that she can join the Salesian Sisters. It's a worthwhile cause in support of vocations:

http://intothedeep.wordpress.com/help-get-me-to-the-convent/

John Swindeman

Financial Secretary

February 15, 2007

Financial Secretary's Bulletin, February 15, 2007:

We are currently at 37% of our members having paid their dues. The list of those in arrears includes many of our officers. We have some members who are several years in arrears.

As a reminder, if you no longer wish to be a member of the Knights, you must send a letter expressing this, which can be forwarded to the Supreme Council. Any verbage will do, but it is suggested that you ask to withdraw from the Knights of Columbus. Please do yourself and the Council a favor, and ask to be withdrawn if intend neither to pay dues nor to be active in the Council.

John Swindeman

Financial Secretary

July 31, 2005

Financial Secretary's Bulletin, July 31, 2005:

I have nothing to say. So here are the prayers of the Rosary in Latin:

"In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti, Amen"

"Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae. Et in Iesum Christum, Filium eius unicum, Dominum nostrum, qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine, passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus, descendit ad infernos, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis, ascendit ad caelos, sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis, inde venturus est iudicare vivos et mortuos. Credo in Spirtum Sanctum, sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, sanctorum communionem, resmissionem peccatorum, carnis resurrectionem, vitam aeternam. Amen"

"Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regum tuum. Fiat voluntus tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie., et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen."

"Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in milieribus, et benidictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostra. Amen"

"Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen"

(The Fatima Prayer, Oratio Fatimae)

"Domine Iesu, dimitte nobis debita nostra, salva nos ab igne inferiori, perduc in caelum omnes animas, praesertim eas, quae misericordiae tuae maxime indigent."

"Salve Regina, Mater misericordiae. Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve. Ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevae. Ad te Suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle. Eia ergo, Advocato nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte. Et Iusum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende. O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria."

V. "Ora pro nobis, Sancta Dei Genetrix"

R. "Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi"

John Swindeman

Financial Secretary

April 30, 2005

Financial Secretary's Bulletin, April 30, 2005:

As de facto webmaster, I have decided to use this space to pontificate, and as a great fan of Cardinal Ratzinger, I couldn't resist taking a moment to write an few words pertaining to Pope Benedict XVI.

You have no doubt witnessed the media savaging of Pope Benedict, immediately following his election. While his public demeanor and early actions have helped to quiet some of his detractors, it is clear that the "Halo of Hate" (as GK Chesterton termed it) still surrounds the Catholic Church.

It is natural that the Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (formerly known as the Inquisition) would be viewed as the Vatican Enforcer. Terms such as "God's Rottweiller" and "Panzerkardinel" are cheap shots at the Pope's German citizenship. But it is clear not only from Pope Benedict's writings but also from his homilies in Pope John Paul II's funeral mass and his own inaugural mass, that Pope Benedict is a man who embraces the entirety of the Gospel.

Those hoping for a reversal of Vatican II are likely to be as disappointed as those hoping for the ordination of women or an end to papal authority. While liturgical reform is certainly on the horizon (our own Chaplain referred to the release of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal as the 'last chance' to correct the various liturgical abuses), it is not likely that the Tridentine mass will replace the Novus Ordo mass, or that we will all need crash courses in Latin.

I encourage all of my fellow Knights to read the works of Cardinal Ratzinger, and pay attention to the message of Pope Benedict XVI. May the John Paul II's "second spring" continue with the current successor to Peter.

Ubi Petrus, ibi ecclesia,

John Swindeman

Financial Secretary

January 31, 2004

Financial Secretary's Bulletin, January 31, 2004:

Thank you to all those members who have paid their dues on time! As of today, our of our 68 dues paying members, we have had 31 members pay, for 45.6%. Another 25 members have not yet remitted their dues, but are in good standing, while another 11 members are in arrears. Second notices have been sent out. As a reminder, if we have not received your dues payment by Feb 15, we will begin the process of suspension, which starts with the Knight Alert Letter.

Also, I would like to take a moment to emphasize something which has been of particular concern to me in the last month. I would like to remind the Brothers of the Council that Fr. McGivney founded our order on a principle that Catholic gentlemen must join together to advance the Faith. But there is no greater cause in the exercise of our Faith than Charity. As St. Paul reminds us, Charity starts at home, and with the family in particular. Our Order was founded to provide support to the widows and orphans of Brother Knights. It is particularly distressing to see the widows and families of our departed Council Brothers neglected - either by omission from Council events or by failure to honor the memory of their spouses. Let us renew our efforts to reach out to the families of our departed Brothers!!!

Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam,

John Swindeman

Financial Secretary

November 4, 2003

Financial Secretary's Bulletin, November 4, 2003:

All those who attended the receiving service and funeral of SK Jim Bentley, PGK, PSD were undoubtably moved by Brother Bentley's long service to the Knights. Recently, in speaking to some of our Honorary Life members, and in reviewing some old Council records, I have been reminded of the long service, the hard work, and the fascinating events that our older Brothers have lived. We need to do more to recognize our Honorary and Honorary Life members.

My thanks to all of you who have filled out and returned the Questionnaire and Survey. Please return these promptly if you have not already done so. Note that they should be returned to my home address, not the PO Box. Also, please pay attention to all of the fields on the survey, particularly your contact information, the question about Military Service, and your anniversary and the birthdays of your family members. As an example of why this information is helpful, we are compiling a list of our Brothers who are also Veterans. If you don't let us know that you served, don't complain when you don't get appreciated. Please include the year of your anniversary and family birthdays, not just the month and day. This is helpful not just for formation of the Squires circle, but also for recognition of anniversary and birthday milestones.

Finally, we've gotten some good feedback with interest in both the Blue Mass and the 2006 Corporate Communion. Watch for more information on both. We have about a year to plan the Blue Mass (hopefully for the Feast of St. Michael on September 29th, 2004), and only three years for the 2006 corporate communion. Refer to the Council History page for a picture of the 1906 Corporate Communion. See if you can count the Knights & guess what the 2006 plan is....

Please do not hesitate to contact me if there is any way I can be of assistance to you.

Inter oves locum praesta,

John Swindeman

Financial Secretary

October 11, 2003

Financial Secretary's Bulletin, October 11, 2003:

I'm running a little bit behind in "the Grand Plan," and consequently I have not sent out the promised membership survey. If you've filled one of these out in the past, don't worry. We have most of the information on file. The new survey will contain your existing membership data. Please correct any information that has changed, and add any information that is missing. I hope to send these out in November.

As many of you know, there were a large number of Brother Knights suspended from our Order in June. We made many efforts to contact everyone, and it was with great reluctance that the suspensions were processed. However, some members were in very serious arrears, while others expressed a desire to leave the Knights of Columbus. Some members had even left the Church.

I'll take this moment to remind you of the obligation to pay dues, for all members who are not disabled or Honorary Life. If you are having difficulties meeting the modest dues requirements, please contact us right away! We will try to accommodate all of our Brother Knights Please be aware that we will continue to process suspensions for Brothers who do not pay their dues, or do not make a reasonable effort to return calls or contact us regarding their dues payments.

On a much more pleasant note, I would like to congratulate Grand Knight Paul Rodarte on the number of new members to our Council. It is very encouraging to see our membership quota exceeded within the first Columbian Quarter. I'd also like to congratulate Deputy Grand Knight Troy Brenny for his tireless efforts to get the program reports filed with State & Supreme. Thanks also to our excellent Chaplain, Father Xavier Mankel, for his constant contributions to our Council and for his diligent leadership. To the Breakfast Crews at both parishes, my thanks for supporting my personal motto: "Keep Meat in Breakfast." Finally, congratulations to Malcolm Wells Sr., Bob Hunt, Steven Bell, Pisut Vongkasemsiri, Paul Jones, and Brian Dufrene on you entrance into our Order.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if there is any way I can be of assistance to you.

Ingemisco, tamquam reus,

John Swindeman

Financial Secretary

July 1, 2003

Financial Secretary's Bulletin, July 1, 2003:

The last few months have been very busy as we've tried to take care of the pending dues and membership issues. For those of you attending meetings, I apologize for the lengthy reports! The excitement should be ending soon.

As I mentioned in a previous report, my focus in the first quarter was on the dues and reports, and on membership and arrears in the second quarter. Now that we're in the third quarter, I'm going to concentrate on reconciling our membership records with current data. Consequently, you can expect to receive a questionairre and/or telephone call. The more accurate data we have, the better job we can do as a council in meeting the needs of our members.

The focus in the fourth quarter will be on insurance.

I would also like to mention the webste again. For those of you who aren't aware, our website is now hosted by KORRnet at http://www.korrnet/org/kc645. Please stop by the website and send us an email to let us know your opinion.

Finally, I would like to thank Sr. Bernadette of the Dominican Sisters of the St. Cecelia Congregation in Nashville for speaking at our open meeting in May. As some of you may know, we are selling copies of the Dominican Sisters CD "Behold the Heritage." All revenues go directly back to the Dominican Sisters. The CD's are $16.00, and I personally think it is one of the best collections of religious music I have heard - particularly impressive since all of the songs are original. This may be your only chance to get a copy of this CD (Amazon.com doesn't have it!), and I strongly encourage you to stop by the pancake breakfasts at IC or HG and buy one (or two!).

Thank you for your attention! Please do not hesitate to contact me if there is any way I can be of assistance to you.

Benedic Domine nos,

John Swindeman

Financial Secretary

May 1, 2003

Financial Secretary's Bulletin, April 21, 2003:

Thank you for your patience as I become more familiar with the duties of the Financial Secretary. Dan Moneymaker certainly did a great job over the years, and it continues to be a blessing that he was so thorough in record keeping and in maintaining the inventory of supplies for the Council. My priorities for the first quarter were to ensure that member dues were mailed, to maintain good standing with Supreme, and to assist in preparation of reports to Supreme. For the second quarter, I will be focusing on the standing of our Brother Knights who are in arrears and ensuring that members have the appropriate status with regard to their years of service.

Aging Council: As the percentage of Honorary or Honorary Life members in Council 645 continues to grow, we have the great benefit of many years of experience, along with the challenge of recruiting new members to ensure continuity of the Council. I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize the importance of maintaining constant recruiting, and to ensure that new Brother Knights are welcomed to the Council and given opportunities for service right away. I would also like to invite our Honorary and Honorary Life members to attend our meetings on a more frequent basis. Your years of experience are of great benefit in guiding the Council forward!

Personal Data: In the not too distant future, I will be trying to update the Council records to ensure that accurate personal information is available to the Council. This includes anniversary dates, children's birthdays, and other data. When you receive a survey, please fill it out promptly. I would also like to emphasize the utility of e-mail for communications. If you have an e-mail address, please provide it to me or another officer of the Council.

Dues: Now for the kicker (if you've read this far). A large number of Brother Knights will be receiving a Knight Alert Letter within the next couple of weeks. This letter is the "third notice" that dues have not been paid, and is one of the last steps prior to Suspension. If you value your membership in the Council and the Knights of Columbus, I strongly urge you to submit your dues promptly and so avoid this action. If you are having financial difficulties, please contact us immediately. The Council cannot help if we don't know!

Service Hours: Finally, I have volunteered to keep an account of hours spent by our Council in our many activities. A sign-up and planning form is available at the meetings for use in building a list of commitments for an event. This form can also be used as a report from the event. If you provide me with this form, I will ensure that it is properly recorded and available for the various reports of activities requested by Supreme (both for audits and for Council awards).

Thank you for your attention and for your support! Please do not hesitate to contact me if there is any way I can be of assistance to you.

Vivat Jesus,

John Swindeman

Financial Secretary