(Article submitted by Jimmie Rogers)
Thirteen members of Council 10208 and their wives attended the Knights of Columbus state retreat at Subiaco Abbey, February 5-7, 2010.  It was a time to become better acquainted with one another, to renew friendships with other knights and their wives from around the state, to meet new people attending the retreat for the first time, and to renew our personal commitments as Catholic Christians.

Subiaco_Feb_2010

Retreat members were blessed with a very interesting, talented, and insightful retreat master – Deacon Jim Breazile.  Deacon Jim is a professed 3rd Order Carmelite and serves as spiritual assistant to a new community of the order in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  He is a veterinarian with a Ph.D. in science and an MA in Theology and Scripture.  He teaches veterinary and graduate students as a professor at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, and he serves as retreat master for retreats in Arkansas and Oklahoma.

At the February 2 membership meeting, recently retired Brother Jim O'Donnell spoke about his 26-year career as a Park Service Ranger.   He began by referencing and thanking Monsignor Malone for blessing his medal of St. Michael, the patron saint of Law Enforcement Officers.  Jim has worn his medal throughout his tenure as a ranger.

As a park ranger he spent time in New York as well as several locations in the West, including Montana.  However, his latest service years were spent in Hot Springs National Park, which has seven rangers.

Jim O'Donnell

Jim related the dramatic change that occurred in park ranger responsibilities about five months after the 9/11 attacks when they were asked to assist with security at the Winter Olympics.  Many of the national icons are located in the national park system, and they needed to be protected from potential damage or destruction by terrorists intent upon striking the United States at highly visible and symbolic targets. 

On Saturday, January 23, ten knights travelled to the Little Rock Diocese Campus to prepare and serve a delicious dinner  to 75 men and spouses participating in the deaconate preparation program.   This service project was led and planned by Grand Knight John Bodensteiner with the very capable assistance of chefs Harold Del Debbio and Greg Rogers.  They had travelled to the campus several weeks earlier to meet with Cathy France, the diocesan representative, and to scope the facilities and plan the menu.  Following the visit, the trio stopped at Sam's Club to finalize the menu and set a budget. 

Greg Rogers, Harold DelDebbio, Bill Welch, Bill George, and Jim Passe

When the diners arrived at 6:15, they were greeted with a glass of wine to help set the mood for the evening, after a grueling day in class.  The menu consisted of: French bread w/without garlic; a garden salad topped with Harold's own special dressing; tenderly roasted pork loin with a great seasoning mix; red potatoes carefully mashed with Greg's special ingredients;  green beans prepared with almonds, mushrooms, and onions; and, apple sauce.   Dessert consisted of double chocolate brownies topped with whipped cream.   Coffee was served with the meal.

The chefs were aided in preparing and serving the meal by Life Member Bill George, Deputy Grand Knight Bill Welch, and Membership Director Jim Passe.  They also ran the dish washer and cleaned up the kitchen following the meal.

(Article submitted by Fran Boudreaux, Tour Director.)

The group from Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church, Hot Springs Village, Monsignor Bernard Malone, Pastor and the Church of Our Lady of the Nativity in New Iberia, Louisiana, Father Michael Arnaud, Pastor, bonded together to form lasting memories and friendships during the November 9-22 trip.  Pilgrims from Sacred Heart included: Mary Anne and Bob Honzik; Kathleen and Dave Witchger; Carol Cruz and granddaughter Amanda; Marjorie and Tom Thornton; Valerie and Bill Hartnett; Sheila Rhoades; Mary Costello; Sandy and Ted Otero; Dawn Heverly and daughter Kelly Barz; and, Fran Boudreaux Pilgrimage Planner and Director.

Pictured with Monsignor Malone are knights (l-r) Tom Thornton, Bob Honzik, Dave Witchger, Bill Hartnett, and Ted Otero.

Highlights of the pilgrimage to Portugal and Italy, under the direction of Fran Boudreaux of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church included spirituality and fun. In Portugal, the group visited the Cathedral and renewed baptismal vows at the Holy Water Font where St. Anthony was baptized before visiting the site of his birth. (St. Anthony was born in Lisbon and died in Padua Italy) I might add that St. Anthony was summoned many times for lost items and help  on  the trip.  He answered.

Jane Parker

The guest speaker at the January 5 Membership Meeting was Jane Parker who serves as Sacred Heart of Jesus’ liaison to the Village Churches’ Outreach.  Prior to speaking about the recent Christmas Basket Program, Jane gave a brief history of the organization and Sacred Heart’s involvement.  Mission Outreach, as it was called in the early years, began in the late 1980’s through the efforts of Phil Deveaux from the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.   He was the coordinator for about 10 years until he had to leave the Village for health reasons, as he was in his 90s.  Phil was followed by Jim Pike, the current director who has been in charge for about 10 years.  Jim is also from Holy Trinity  Episcopal Church.  According to Jane, coordinating this program takes a great deal of time to thoroughly investigate all of the referrals made to Village Outreach, and she has a great deal of respect for what Phil did as well as what Jim is doing now.  Almost all of the Village churches are represented on the board.

In 1991-92, the Ladies of the Sacred Heart began to support  Mission Outreach and has been involved ever since.  The Angel Tree Program followed shortly thereafter.

A pro-life initiative is being conducted at Sacred Heart of Jesus.  The start of this campaign is set to coincide with the January 17 Mass and the March for Life in Little Rock.  It is called the Voice for the Unborn - Baby Bottle Campaign which solicits financial contributions to help purchase ultrasound machines to be strategically placed in crisis pregnancy centers throughout Arkansas and to assist with related expenses.  Data show that over 75% of abortion-minded women who see an image of their unborn baby will choose life.

Baby bottles will be handed out after all masses on January 16/17 to serve as a tangible reminder of this campaign.  Financial contributions should be placed in the bottle and dropped off at the designated location in the narthex during the next two weeks. Additional bottles will also be available in the narthex for those who do not receive a bottle after one of the masses.  Checks should be made payable to Sacred Heart of Jesus and designated for the Baby Bottle Campaign (BBC).