Our Lady of the Bay Council Fr. John Boddie Assembly This Month s Meetings

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1 Sword and Shield Our Lady of the Bay Council Volume 4 Number 7 January 2016 Fr. John Boddie Assembly 3349 Council Officers Grand Knight Gary Richardson Deputy Grand Knight Joe Sychterz Chancellor Roland Gauthier Financial Secretary Dave Marchant Treasurer Lee Hollingsworth Recorder Skip Kramb Advocate Ron Beville Warden Larry Tewey Outside Guard Charles Hall Inside Guard Richard Hall Trustee 3 year Ed Lipinski Trustee 2 year Jack Caldwell Trustee 1 year Al Langer This Month s Meetings Assembly Business Meeting - 13 January 5:00 pm at FDS Council Business Meeting - 13 January 6:00 pm at FDS A Message from Our Faithful Navigator What Happened to St John Traveling in Turkey around Ephesus, you get a different take on Christian Theology. They believe that St John, the beloved disciple, who was given the care of Mary at Christ s crucifixion, came to live with Mary near Ephesus and stayed there with Mary for over 40 yrs. John 19:27 Then he said to the disciple, Behold, your mother. And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. The Church of St. John is located about 2 miles from Ephesus. It was built over John s tomb in the 4 th century; in the 6 th century Emperor Justinian I ( ) and Queen Theodora constructed in its place a six-domed Basilica modeled after the church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. This church, which is cruciform and measures meters, was one of the most impressive structures in the Byzantine Empire. The location of St John s tomb is identified within the nave: see No. 4 on diagram below. Assembly Officers Faithful Navigator Ed Harriman Faithful Captain Ed Lipinski Faithful Pilot Larry Tewey Faithful Comptroller Mike Dreelin Faithful Purser Sal Messina Faithful Scribe Skip Kramb Faithful Outer Sentinel Al Langer Faithful Inner Sentinel Richard Hall Faithful Admiral Tom Shoemaker Trustee 3 year Jim Pavik Trustee 2 year Joe Sychterz Trustee 1 year John McCormack Appointments Chaplain Rev. Robert Cummins Lecturer Charles Hall Membership Director Joe Sychertz Council Director John McCormack Program Director Joe Sychterz (See FN Message - Page 3) Appointments Color Corps Commander Frank Lohr Faithful Friar Rev. Robert Cummins Exemplification Chairman Tom Shoemaker Patriotic Programs Chair TBA

2 January 2016 Page 2 A Message from Our Grand Knight Looking Back, Looking Forward Council End-of-Year Reflections At this transition moment, it might be worthwhile to take stock of where we ve been and consider where we should be headed in For our Council, 2015 was a year of solid accomplishments. With help from our ladies, we conducted two very successful fund raising events -- the Italian Feast and Oktoberfest. We made charitable donations to both our Parishes and various beneficiaries, including: The Justice and Peace Snack Pack program at FDS American Legion Post 83 COV s Fr. Boddie Memorial Golf Classic Virginia Knights of Columbus Charities, Inc. (VKCCI) Mathews YMCA Northern Neck-Middlesex Free Health Clinic Gloucester-Mathews Habitat for Humanity Mathews Rescue Squad Gloucester-Mathews Free Clinic AED upkeep in various locations, and Raised $1500 for KOVAR The Council sponsored a highly acclaimed Stop Christian Persecution public awareness campaign. Many Brothers contributed support to Fourth Degree Assembly activities such as the Memorial Day ceremony at the COV cemetery and the Virginia Wounded Warrior golf tournament. We celebrated with the ladies at two dedicated social events and for dinner after most Council meetings. Notably, the Council welcomed four new members with a fifth to be initiated early in All in all, a strong body of work. The passing year also noted a loss of members due to relocations, infirmities, and sadly, the death of five Brothers. Many demands and other commitments compete for our time. And none of us are getting any younger. Going into 2016, we can point to many strengths and much to be proud of, but also some ongoing challenges. I d like to see us focus in January on recruitment efforts geared to spreading the word about who we are and what we do (see above). As a group, we need to explore creative ways to build up unity and loyalty while delivering on our first principle of charity. And we must always be mindful of and responsive to the needs of our members, their spouses and families. Pope Francis has proclaimed a Jubilee Year, for all peoples to clear the slate and make a fresh start. We can adopt this spirit within our Brotherhood to build on our legacy, while taking on our issues with confidence. May God bless our Council s life and works in Fraternally, Gary Richardson Grand Knight

3 January 2016 Page 3 FROM OUR CHAPLAIN give preferential treatment to the poor Jesus teaches us to give preferential treatment to the poor. Let's take a look at a story that he told that haunts me. It is about Lazarus, the poor man who sat at the rich man's door begging for scraps from the rich man's table. The rich man died and Jesus conveyed this conversation from the afterlife: "'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.' But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here and you are in agony- (Luke 16:14-15). This one scares me. Like the rich man, I get to enjoy many of the good things life has to offer. The poor may not be sitting on my doorstep, but they are not far from it. This story makes my soul tremble, because Jesus clearly speaks about an afterlife and a place that I have no interest in spending time. He also makes a connection between the way we live our lives here on earth and where we end up in the afterlife. The Gospels inform us of our serious and inescapable obligation to the poor. It is impossible to separate the spiritual teach-ings of Jesus Christ from his social teachings, just as it is impos-sible to separate our love of God from our love of neighbor. The dual command to love God and love neighbor are inseparable. It is easy to say, "I love God." It is easy to say, "I am a Christian." But Jesus challenges us to prove it. Our love of neighbor is the proof that we love God. Fr. Robert Cummins Chaplain FN Message..... (Continued from Page 1) St. John s church played an important role in the Christian pilgrimages of the middle ages and was called: Church of the Cross. According to legend, before St John died, Christ, along with all the other apostles, visited Apostle John and said to him: Come, my beloved one, and join me and all other brethren of thine at my table; the time has finally come to do so, the Sunday next, thou wilt come to stay henceforth with me. The church fell into the hands of the Turks in 1304 and was converted into a mosque. A severe earthquake leveled it in Excavation of the church has continued since 1922 and continues to this day. Fraternally, Ed Harriman Faithful Navigator Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Council or Assembly 3349 or the Knights of Columbus."

4 January 2016 Page 4 Best Marching Unit in the Mathews Christmas Parade Color Corps members from the Fr. John Boddie Assembly 3349 and members of the Fr. John P. Washington Assembly 2184 received the award for the Best Marching Unit. The combined unit marched with the colors in the Mathews Christmas Parade on December 12th.

5 January 2016 Page Christmas Party at Piankatank River Golf Club

6 January 2016 Page 6 IT s KnIghTs To KnoW This Month s Events Jan 9 - State Mid Year Meeting, Newport News Jan 10 - Admissions Degree at COV Jan 17 - Fraternal Survey Due to State Next Month s Events Feb 6 - MVRS Chili Cook-off Feb 15 - Semi-annual Audit to Supreme JANUARY BIRTHDAYS Jan 1 - Carol McCormack Jan 10 - Deona Pavik Jan 13 - Jack Jensen Jan 14 - Charles Hall Jan 27 - John McCormack Jan 28 - Re. Robert Cummins Jan 29 - Mike Dreelin Living A Fraternal Jour- Vivat Jesus