New KC charter blessed in Davenport

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Bishop Martin Amos blesses the charter for Deacon Timmerman Council 14678, Knights of Columbus, at Holy Family Church in Davenport. Holding the charter is the KC State Deputy Pat O’Keefe. Pictured at left are Alice Timmerman, widow of Deacon Jerry Timmerman, and Brad Lemen, the new council’s Grand Knight. (Photo by Barb Arland-Fye)

By Anne Marie Amacher

DAVENPORT — A new Knights of Columbus Council had its charter blessed Oct. 18 by Bishop Martin Amos at Holy Family Church in Davenport.

Bob Jones, District 47 Deputy and member of Holy Family Parish, said he was approached by a representative of the Knights of Columbus state retention chairman in August 2008. The retention chairman helps establish new councils.

“At first I thought he was calling me to rejoin the Knights,” Jones said. “But he wanted to talk about something else — starting our own parish (KC) council.”

With the support of then-pastor Msgr. Michael Morrissey, Jones gathered several men to listen to a presentation by the state representative. “When he was done, we asked thousands of questions and he answered them well.”

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Jones said the group decided to move forward to establish a council at Holy Family. One big reason was the lack of men’s ministries at the parish — other than CEW (Christian Experience Weekend).

The Holy Family group decided that if by December 2008 they could get 30 men together, they would move forward. “We had 30 by October. We’ve been adding about two to three more men each month and our membership is at 51 right now.”

Members range in age from 22 to 80. “We are not all old men,” Jones laughed.

He said the “sell” was not difficult to men in the parish. And doing fundraisers and events for the parish helped with the effort.

Holy Family’s KC council was officially established Jan. 15, 2009. The charter paperwork arrived just in time for the weekend blessing.

Since establishing, the Knights have held fundraisers to benefit the parish. A spaghetti supper raised $800 toward the purchase of missal covers. The annual Tootsie Roll drive raised $3,800. “We worked with (KCs) Loras Council 532.”

Even though the Loras Council is an established one in Davenport, Jones said the Holy Family council isn’t in competition with it. He is helping the Loras Council recruit members at St. Paul the Apostle Church next weekend. “We will work with them.”

When looking for ideas for future fundraisers, Jones said the Holy Family KC Council does not want to interfere with other groups’ activities, either. “We’re not going to do a fish fry. St. Alphonsus does a great job with that.”

Holy Family’s council is named Deacon Timmerman Council 14678 in honor of the deacon who served at Holy Family for years before his death in 2007. “Jerry was a Grand Knight for Davenport and served at the state level. He did a lot for our parish.”


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