A local service organization is spending this weekend celebrating a milestone with some special guests.
Earlier this year, the Knights of Columbus Council #4742 (also called the St. Albert Council) marked its 50th anniversary. Tonight most of its more than 200 members will gather at the St. Albert Parish for a special dinner and a chance to reflect on all of those years of accomplishment.
The event is completely sold out, according to Grand Knight Gerry Woodlock, but they saved a spot for a good neighbour. Rev. Richard Smith, the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Edmonton, will be there to join them. Smith is as old as the St. Albert Council. He celebrated his 50th birthday just last month.
The dinner will also be attended by more than a dozen of the men who helped found the charter on Feb. 16, 1959.
Woodlock explained the Knights began almost 130 years ago in Connecticut. It is a way of bringing Catholic gentlemen together under the selfless mission of exemplifying the four principles of charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism. Council #4742 was the first of two local councils to be established.
He said most people know about them because of their monthly pancake breakfasts at the Parish, but the council does much more.
“We have a whole list of things that we do both for our church and our community,” he explained, talking about the activities of the Knights’ Charity Action Team. “We are a Catholic family organization.”
That lengthy list includes fundraising for numerous charities, sponsoring high school students, hosting blood donor clinics and holding the annual Blue Sunday Mass. It’s a special tribute to those who risk their lives to make our city safer.
It’s all about making the world a better place.
“I do it because I want to. It’s not an obligation,” he said. “It’s about service to my church and to my community. When you give back, you get back.”
Gerry Buccini, past Grand Knight, echoed those sentiments.
“I don’t do it for the glory. I think if you asked that question to our 220 members, they would say the same thing. I feel I’ve been blessed with lots of things. I think it’s time I gave back and this is probably the best opportunity I have to give back. I think the Knights, as does the Catholic Women’s League, gives back a hundredfold. It’s the service, the fraternity, the charity … that is really important to me.”
