St. Anthony's Parish  Your English speaking Roman catholic parish in Kraineem   

Home > Communication > News >

News

Printable version     

Faith, Fraternity and Fellowship - Why the Knights of St. Thomas More? 

By Gerald Kelberg, Grand Knight

Kraainem (04 September 2006).- There is a very special dynamic at St Anthony’s that comes from having so many people arriving, staying a few years and then moving on. It makes our community very open, welcoming, and fast changing. It also means we need to capture the talent and energy of our newcomers and put these to work in God’s “vineyard”. The Knights of St Thomas More is one group in the parish that seizes upon this prospect and gives men of the parish the opportunity to participate actively in God’s work – in simple, practical ways.
The Order of Catholic Knights of St Thomas More shares a common cause with other Orders of Knights throughout the world such as the American Knights of Columbus and the Irish Knights of St Columbanus. It is affiliated with 16 other Orders through the International Alliance of Catholic Knights. We are one of the youngest Orders, having been inaugurated in April 2001. Which means that we have been able to shape the Order to the needs and ideas of the parish in which we serve. 

Why to be a knight?
We set ourselves three broad priorities – to serve and help our priests and religious, to assist one another in the growth of our faith and to contribute to the active life of the parish. So far, so good! All the men who have joined our Order have each contributed and helped make this a great place to serve our fellows – through the Knights and through becoming involved in parish life. 

Being a Knight isn’t a sign that you are some special kind of Catholic, advanced on the road to sainthood. It is more a sign that you realize that you have a long way to go to achieve that goal, but you want to do something practical about it, using the knowledge and skills you have from your working life. 
One of our candidates recently put his reasons for wanting to join the Knights very simply. He said he wanted to be part of this group that “cared about the parish, were serious in their faith and understood the importance of good Catholic fellowship”. 

We meet monthly in the Parish Hall, usually on the first Thursday, for the evening. After spending some time organising our activities, we have a guest speaker address the meeting, then have some time for socialising afterwards. We have been very fortunate with the quality of our speakers who have been drawn from many catholic organisations, communities and interest groups, providing a broad, stimulating perspective on the Church in its widest sense. Meetings are open to any men who would like to get to know our group before joining.

Our activities calendar includes some fund raising activities – principally for Zimbabwe – as well as parish work. Two major highlights will be our wine-tasting event in January and a trip to Fatima in the spring. If you would like more information, take a look at our web pages at www.catholic-knights.be.

Supporting needy parishes in Zimbabwe
Fr Max Jaya OFM was studying at Leuven and would frequently celebrate Mass at St Anthony’s, so became involved in various activities with the Knights. Since he returned to his home town of Harare, Zimbabwe, he has been pastor for two parishes, with many people suffering from the socio-economic failure of that country. The Knights have tried to repay the friendship of Fr Max by providing some support for his parishioners. Initially, he was able to put the money towards education and welfare projects, but more recently he has been needing help just to provide basics of food, clothing and shelter. As the situation in the country has deteriorated further, the Knights have added more fund-raising efforts. These include a “Pancake Breakfast” on Sunday 9th September and a Tombola with the prize of a Philips portable DVD player – to be drawn at the Meet ‘n’ Greet on the 16th September. So please support these projects if you can.

▲up