The Tar Heel Knight
September 2016
The Official Publication of the North Carolina Knights of Columbus
State Officers:
- State Deputy: Colin Jorsch
- Chaplain: Father Lesak
- Secretary: John Nussbaum
- Treasurer: Dan Lange
- Advocate: JC Reiher
- Warden: Chris Losack
- Immediate Past State Deputy: Jack Murray
Regional Membership and Program Consultants
- #1: JP Horvat
- #2: Tom Smith
- #3: Walter Kulla, Jr.
- #4: Sergio Miranda
- #5: Richard Hamel
- #6: Wayne Kleven
State Deputy
Greetings to each one of you from Fayetteville! Gina and I truly hope this edition of the Tar Heel Knight finds you well and in good spirits.
We would just like to take this moment and express our sincere gratitude to all the members and family of the Knights of Columbus in North Carolina. Early in August, Gina and I, along with 18 others, had the distinct pleasure of representing North Carolina at the 134th Supreme Convention held in Toronto, Ontario. What an event. Some of the highlights included the opening Mass (beautiful occasion), hopefully you were able to watch on one of the many (EWTN, Salt and Light) channels that was covering the event; also hearing the Supreme Knight deliver his address and the countless number of hours, dollars and services that the Knights of Columbus provided to those less fortunate; and finally the awards session. Gina and I were honored to receive two awards that were largely achieved through your efforts. Last fraternal year, North Carolina was recognized for reaching 200% of our New Council Development goal and for achieving the Circle of Honor. Those awards are fantastic, but probably the most memorable moment was receiving the International Service Award for Community with Past Grand Knight and Former District Deputy Don Williams and his wife, Christine on behalf of Council 13812. I know of North Carolina only receiving this award three times. I could be mistaken, but the count isn’t much higher than that.
You have my humble thanks for all your efforts and I offer huge congratulations to Pope John II Council in Durham for their achievement. Thank you!
I would also like to welcome and congratulate our newly appointed District Master - Immediate Past State Deputy Jack Murray. I am sure he will live up to the high standards of the Fourth Degree and make us all very proud.
As I write this article, I recall the gospel from the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (August 21st). This gospel from Luke was challenging for me to read prior to Mass and then hear again, proclaimed during Mass. What a challenging gospel it was.
“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.” This is Jesus’ answer to the question, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” After hearing this, I asked myself what have I done to deserve the Kingdom. Well, as usual, if you know my pastor, he set me straight. During his homily, he explained that the question that was asked wasn’t the “right” question and (his words, not mine) Jesus replied with “look for the orange pig with the green hat.” Sounds funny, I know, but this was Father’s way of saying that whoever posed the question asked the wrong question. The question should have been, “How can I gain the Kingdom?” In which, Father said, it is all about love. If we love one another and treat each other with respect and understand the unconditional love that God has for us, the question of “How can I gain the Kingdom?” becomes much easier to answer.
I pray that you will not go off looking for orange pigs with green hats and through your charitable works will find the unconditional love of the Father. Let’s look to make someone’s life just a little better this month. That’s my challenge to you.
Until next time - Peace in Christ!
Colin Jorsch
State Deputy