Saint William of Vercelli Council 4064

Sign up on the Michigan Organ Donor Registry

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Catholics view donation as an act of charity and love. Transplants are morally and ethically acceptable to the Vatican.
In 1956, Pope Pius XII declared: “A person may will to dispose of his body and to destine it to ends that are useful, morally irreproachable and even noble, among them the desire to aid the sick and suffering…this decision should not be condemned but positively justified.”
In August 2000, Pope John Paul II told attendees at the International Congress on Transplants in Rome: “Transplants are a great step forward in science’s service of man, and not a few people today owe their lives to an
organ transplant. Increasingly, the technique of transplants has proven to be a valid means of attaining the primary goal of all medicine—the service of human life. … There is a need to instill in people’s hearts, especially in
the hearts of the young, a genuine and deep appreciation of the need for brotherly love, a love that can find expression in the decision to become an organ donor.”

In His Encyclical letter, Evangelium Vitae (On the Value and Inviolability of Human Life), Pope John Paul II observed: “There is an everyday heroism, made up of gestures and sharing, big or small, which build up an authentic culture of life. A particularly praiseworthy example of such gestures is the donation of organs in a morally acceptable manner.”

There’s no age limit for organ donation and many people with chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, are still able to donate organs. Even people with HIV and hepatitis can donate to others with the same illnesses. Please don’t rule yourself out. Sign up today.

Register Online – Get Your Heart Logo

When you sign up on the Michigan Organ Donor Registry, you’ll get a heart emblem for your license and your name will appear on the state’s database.  Click the logo to the left to register today!  Indicate that you heard about the drive from”Religious Organization”/”Knights of Columbus”

Blood Drive This Sunday at St. William

RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE
DATE: March 7, 2010
TIME: 8:00 am to 1:30 pm
PLACE: Zepf Hall (Lower Level)

Can you please give? All we need is a pint! It only takes a little more than an hour and you get cookies and juice when you’re done. Walk-ins are welcome. Drawing for prizes at the end of the blood drive for all who donate and attempt to donate. Thank you and hope to see you there!

Motion Made to Donate Toward Purchase of Ultrasound Machine

Steve Jacek, a Past Grand Knight of Fr Patrick O’Kelley Council in Dearbom, a Former District Deputy, and  current Advocate of his council has been on the Board of Directors for the Lennon Pregnancy Center for the last six years and is currently President of the Board.  He recently contacted our council asking for our support to purchase an Ultrasound Machine for the Lennon Pregnancy Center. The addition of an Ultrasound Machine at the Center will go a long way to further our Christ-centered mission: “To enable parents to choose life for their unborn children and to raise their children in loving families. We accomplish this Christian mission by offering enrichment, advice, education, material assistance, and other non-judgmental support.”

The merits of the “Ultrasound Program” which has been endorsed by Supreme was discussed with many positive comments many of which are summarized as follows:

Anecdotal evidence of ultrasound’s persuasive powers has been steadily accumulating since 1983, when two government researchers published an article in the New England Journal of Medicine on pregnant women who underwent ultrasound tests while considering abortions.

Viewing their unborn children early in pregnancy, before movement is felt by the mothers, may “influence the resolution of any ambivalence toward the pregnancy itself in favor of the fetus,” wrote Drs. John C. Fletcher, then of the National Institutes of Health, and Mark I. Evans, then of George Washington University Medical School. “Ultrasound examination may thus result in fewer abortions and more desired pregnancies.”

Fletcher and Evans wrote that one woman who had been beaten early in pregnancy was given the test to see whether her child had been injured in the womb. When she saw the image of her child moving on the screen, she said: “I feel that it is human. It belongs to me. I couldn’t have an abortion now.” Another woman, 10 weeks pregnant, said after her ultrasound exam: “I am going all the way with the baby.”

Pregnancy centers from Joplin, Mo., to Denver, Co., report that many women and their partners leaning toward abortion change their minds after ultrasound exams. Dorothy Wallis of the Care Pregnancy Clinic in Baton Rouge, La., reports that 98 percent of women who have ultrasounds choose to carry to term.

In light of the potential to save many unborn children AND improve prenatal care and with regard to the good standing of the Lennon Pregnancy Center a motion was made from the floor at the Monday, April 1, 2010 Regular business meeting to donate $300.00 to the Fr. Patrick O’Kelley Council Ultrasonic Machine Fund.  The motion having been seconded shall be brought up for vote at the April 5, 2010 Regular Business Meeting.

Respect Life Dinner: Thursday March 25, 2010

GUEST SPEAKER

The Most Reverend Allen H. Vigneron Archbishop of Detroit is a trustee of the National Catholic Bioethics Center and the Catholic University of America. In the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Archbishop is a member of the Doctrine Committee and the Subcommittee on Catechism. He also serves on task forces for strengthening marriage and health care.

With his installation as the fifth Archbishop of Detroit in January 2009, he became Metropolitan Archbishop for the Province of Detroit (the seven dioceses of Michigan) and Chairman of the Michigan Catholic Conference. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Sacred Heart Major Seminary and SS. Cyril & Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake. He is Publisher of The Michigan Catholic newspaper.

EVENT SCHEDULE

THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010

BURTON MANOR
27777 Schoolcraft
Livonia, MI 48150

6:00 p.m.
Social Hour

7:00 p.m.
Dinner and Program

St. William of Vercelli Council 4064 has reserved tables at which there are still some available seats ($47.50 each).  We encourage you to consider attending this evening in support of Life and for the benefit of the Michigan Right to Life movement..

R.S.V.P. BY MARCH 10, 2010

Individual Ticket Price
$47.50 PER PERSON

Email Jim Simpson to reserve your spaces.

Council Brings New Catechetical Materials to St. William Parish

We are pleased to present a new educational opportunity called Lighthouse Catholic Media, a practical and effective program to help Catholics know their faith . . . to keep their faith! We all live busy, busy lives. Finding the time to come to classes to learn about our Faith is difficult. But now, we are able to meet you where you are! Wherever you have a CD player available to you, in the car or at home, you can deepen your understanding and love for our Faith. Thanks to the Knights of Columbus here at St. William, you’ll see a display stand on your way into church offering nine different CD’s and three different brochures. These feature some of the most inspiring Catholic speakers—bishops, priests, deacons, and eminent Catholic lay men and women. These CD’s and pamphlets will be offered for a donation of $3 per CD and $.50 per pamphlet, so that we can continue the program with additional titles.
Look for the launch of Lighthouse Catholic Media program the weekend of March 6 & 7! Titles included at the launch will be:

CD’s

• The Mass Explained
  - Fr. Larry Richards
• 15 Things To Do In The Midst of Suffering
  – Jeff Cavins
• The Passion of Christ Applied to Your Life
  – Fr. John Corapi, S.O.L.T
• The Healing Power of Confession
  – Dr. Scott Hahn
• Untold Stories of the Last Three Popes
  - Bishop John Magee
• Anger & Forgiveness
  - Deacon Dr. Bob McDonald
• Seven Pillars of Catholic Spirituality
  - Matthew Kelly
• Why a Protestant Pastor Became Catholic
  - Dr. Scott Hahn
• Finding the Fullness of Faith
  – Stephen Ray

Brochures

• How to Make a Good Confession
• How to Pray the Holy Rosary
• Why Does the Church Teach That?

St. Patrick Day Party

Party / Dinner-Dance

Saturday, March 13, 2010

from 6:30 p.m. to midnight

• Catered Dinner
• Live Irish Band
• Open Bar (Beer-Wine-Liquor)
  
• Door Prizes & Raffle

Saint William Activity Center

Walled Lake, Michigan

$25.00/person  or $45.00/couple
Table of 8 only $170.00

Buy your tickets today:

Contact Tim McClorey at (248) 310-0052

Or  order your tickets on-line now

Winter Picnic: A Great Answer to Snow

With all  Metro Detroit schools enjoying a “snow day” on Wednesday, our timing for our annual Winter Picnic could not have been better.  With the roads already well-cleared, we were able to navigate easily to Lower Zepf Hall and enjoy a little ’simulated summer’.  We had a nice group of 25 and a great variety of side dishes and some hot, delicious fried chicken.  Classic cartoons on the big screen, cards, and family board games all helped to make for a very enjoyable evening. A big thank you goes out to DGK Greg Zerber and his “Team FRATERNITY” which organized the event and to everyone who helped him (great chicken, Terry Morano!).

Delegates to State Convention Selected

At the February 1, 2010 general membership meeting, the membership selected delegates to represent St. William of Vercelli Council 4064 at the Annual State Convention of the Michigan Jurisdiction of the Knights of Columbus. The convention, which is headquartered at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, convenes on Thursday, May 27, 2010 and concludes on Saturday morning, May 29, 2010. Those selected are:

1st Delegate:
Jack Jamieson, Advocate and PGK

2nd Delegate:
Terry Morano, Trustee

1st Alternate:
Dennis Haas

2nd Alternate:
Vern Weismueller, Trustee

New Year’s Eve Party !!

Brother Knights – Vivat Jesus

I want to wish all my Brother Knights of Saint William of Vercelli a Very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving.

Jack Washbourn, DD # 84