August 2020

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I am sure I can find multiple words to describe our latest Fraternal year. I am going to focus on just one:

Amazing.

I believe that then entire year has been just that, Amazing. July 1 – June 30th. I myself found as each month

that passed I was surrounded by amazing people; my co-workers in my life as a mortgage lender, my coun-

terparts on the boards that I serve, everyone that I can call a brother Knight and last but not least my family.

For this quick read I am going to focus on (surprise, surprise) my brother Knights.

I want to first start off with a great big thank you to each Grand Knight in Wyoming. Your amazing leader-

ship has helped the State Council meet the numbers set forth by Supreme for the Circle of Honor. I also will

give my District Deputies (DD) the credit they deserve in keeping their amazing councils informed and on

task. Your other State officers need to also be included in the amazing work provided throughout the year.

The energy and dedication leading up to the State Convention was nothing short of amazing. Last and cer-

tainly not least would be each individual member in the State. Because of you the Knights of Columbus

thrived here in Wyoming. In September I will be able to publish the Awards each council achieved.

Speaking of Awards, I am proud to announce that the Wyoming Family of the Year, the Morales family from

Cody, was chosen by Supreme to be the International Family of the year. You can read more about them

later in the bulletin. The virtual Awards ceremony is posted here on the Supreme website:

https://www.kofc.org/un/en/news-room/convention/2020/awards-ceremony-videos.html

Please take the time to view the amazing accomplishments of all our brothers worldwide.

You can also check out the other virtual components of the Supreme Convention. Thanks again for your

amazing dedication and hard work this past year.

Looking forward I am excited to announce that the State Council has put together a membership incentive

for each council to strive for. We are calling it the 3-2-1 Recruitment Award Program. The basic idea is that

you will reduce the Per Capita paid to the state if you meet your Council membership goal by certain times

of the year. I have also included the flier for your review. Please consult any member of the State Council

or your District Deputy for more specifics. Good luck to all.

Fraternally in Christ.

Bret Ladenburger

Wyoming State Deputy

August 2020 —Page 2

Rev. Vernon F. Clark Church of St. Anthony 1333 Monument St.

Cody, WY, 82414

307-587-3388

26 May 2020

Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus

Family of the Year

To whom it may concern:

I have been asked to write a letter on behalf of the Jaime and Laura Morales family in our parish, who have just been named Fam-

ily of the Year for the State of Wyoming, Knights of Columbus.

I have known this family for over 18 years. They are truly one of the finest families in our parish. They are deeply faith filled

Catholic, and have been integrally involved in parish life throughout my time as Pastor. They have continually reached out to the

parish and have enrichened parish life with many different events throughout the year, both celebrating the traditions of Mexico

and Mexican American Catholic and other important feasts in the parish. They have also helped to incorporate some of their own

traditions into the Parish celebrations, to help enrichen our parish celebrations, (e.g.: the use of Piñatas with general celebra-

tions). They have constantly volunteered and assist with parish meals, etc. They have hosted Cinco de Mayo celebrations, Posa-

das, Christmas celebrations, etc. Last December, they held a contest for all of our children to assemble “Gingerbread house and

decorate them.” They involved other Hispanic families and our Anglo families in the process. They are very important to the in-

tegration of both cultures in our parish life.

Three years ago, I asked them to begin to ask other Hispanic to locate Hispanic families throughout the community, and they

were instrumental in doing so, so that we could offer a Spanish mass on Sunday evening with a dinner afterwards. Before the

shut-down, we have grown participation substantially. I know that they went to extraordinary lengths to find Hispanos who were

working on ranches, as much as sixty five miles from Cody.

It has not just been the father and mother who have gone to extraordinary lengths to serve the parish and the community, but

they have also engaged their daughters in this outreach as well! Their daughters are very faithful young people as well, and each

of them has a very keen desire for academic excellence and achievement!

They are very beloved to me, and a wonderful support system to me, and the other priests we have had from other countries.

Truly, they are a wonderful example of a truly Catholic family. I know that they pray the Rosary every evening as a family, and

have no doubt, that their participation in their Catholic faith and the Rosary at home is the source of the vitality of this family!

Pax Cristi!

Rev. Vernon F. Clark,

Pastor, Church of St. Anthony

Cody, Wy

Congratulations to the Jaime Morales Family of Cody!

August 2020 —Page 3

Everything We Need to Know About the Morales Family

(as submitted to Supreme)

Family of the Year supplemental information Positions (offices / program directorships / chairmanships /

committee assignments) held:

Jaime joined the Knights of Columbus Council in 2005 and is a 4th degree member of assembly no. 1888. He

first served as an Outside Guard for 3 years and then Inside Guard for 2 years. In 2019, Jaime was elected to

be one of the Family Program Directors. From hosting pancake breakfasts after Mass to coordinating picnics

at the park in the summer, their goal has been to continue bringing families together in and outside of Mass.

He especially wants to host events that will attract young people to form relationships with Church mem-

bers and see that the local parish treats each other like a family. One of his favorite events is recognizing the

work of the altar servers through an annual picnic - certificates, games, and all. More recently he helped

start an ice cream social after the Spanish Mass because a number of new people - a few who did not even

speak Spanish - started attending the Mass. Some were Latinos returning to the Church and others were

first-time Churchgoers. He saw an opportunity to connect these new people through conversation and new

relationships. Even something as simple as talking over ice cream following the Mass, can help spark a

stronger connection to the Church.

Explain the entire family involvement within the Knights of Columbus:

Although Jaime is the only official member within the Knights of Columbus, his wife, Laura Veronica, could

be an honorary member. She supports KOC events by not just being in attendance, but always volunteering

her time or even supplies. For the annual Buffalo Bill Birthday Ball, she has often lent the Church her table-

cloths while her daughters served the food. Another unique way in which Laura has helped the KOC is

through connecting the organization to people it may not normally have been able to connect with. She

often includes the KOC in events such as La Posada or the live Stations of the Cross. Mentioning these few

examples only scratches the surface of how she’s always willing to support the Church and its mission of be-

ing a Christian example every day. Their daughters also try to set an example of charity. They’ve grown up

attending the KOC dinner meetings on Thursday nights, washing the dishes after events, prepping the hall

before an event, or decorating the Church for the different Church seasons. Even when the youngest were

in elementary school, they were helping instruct adults on where the Christmas decorations went in the

Church. They know how to decorate the Church as if they were decorating their own home. Decorating for

Easter or Christmas is one of their favorite ways to serve the Church.

August 2020 —Page 4

Explain the entire family’s involvement within the Church:

The Morales family says they’ve been incredibly thankful for all the opportunities the Church has provided

their family. Their service within the Church has been an effort to repay those opportunities. All four of the

Morales girls have served as altar servers since they received Communion. They continued serving all

throughout high school, and the oldest daughter, Abigail, has trained to be a Eucharistic Minister at her col-

lege parish - St. Paul’s Newman Center. Aside from the priest or deacon, the altar servers are the closest to

the Eucharist than anyone else - a privilege they have each yearned for since they were young and learning

their prayers. Jaime and Laura have also provided the church maintenance, lawn care, and all the small de-

tails the Church requires. Aside from helping Father as an altar server, the first event that sparked the fami-

ly’s love for church involvement was the Cinco de Mayo dinner. Laura saw a financial need for individuals

within the parish community. Although the parish has an emergency fund set up, she wanted to do more.

One of the first Cinco de Mayo fundraisers was in 2009 for a fellow parishioner who suffered from a brain

condition and needed to travel to the Mayo Clinic. With the help of the KOC and friends, they hosted a tradi-

tional Mexican dinner with donated raffle items. The event generated $5,000 thanks to the Church commu-

nity. Since then, the Cinco de Mayo dinner has become an annual event with the proceeds given to youth

parishioners working to go to World Youth Day in Poland (such as their two oldest daughters), or an outdoor

playset for the catechism school and preschool. They’re grateful that many of these fundraisers - such as

making enchiladas for a young girl with cancer or a carnival fundraiser for a local boy who was involved in a

car crash - grew to become community-wide. Father Clark has always been so supportive of events that

helped fellow parishioners while also drawing people into the Church. Shortly after the first Cinco de Mayo

dinner, they planned the first feast day Mass for Our Lady of Guadalupe. Abigail dressed up as Mary, Father

Clark read the words from the Bishop, and Jaime played the role of Juan Diego. Together, they reenacted

the Marian apparitions Juan Diego saw in 1531 just as it is done each year in their hometown in Mexico. This

event has grown to become a celebration of the sacred Mother with the reenactment during Mass

(different children volunteer each year), a processional, and a dinner afterward. Since then, they’ve tried to

establish traditions within the church that continue to bring together parishioners. They’ve also brought the

tradition of La Posada to the local Church. This is a Mass followed by a procession representing Mary and

Joseph’s journey of looking for shelter before the birth of Christ. Each year, volunteers take a corner of the

basement and transform it into an “inn” while the KOC are in charge of food. Everyone sings as they arrive

at each inn and get rejected, until the last place accepts them. Afterward, there is dinner and piñatas for the

kids. Last year, they also partnered with the KOC to create a live action Stations of the Cross - which was al-

so inspired by the one Jaime and Laura always attended while growing up. The KOC helped create the cross-

es, platforms, while other community members left anonymous donations which helped fund the many nec-

essary costumes for the young volunteers, such as wigs, soldier uniforms, cloaks, and accessories. Together

they created a scene for each of the 14 stations of the cross and invited the Christian community to com-

memorate the Lord’s crucifixion in a memorable way. The event was published in the local newspaper, and

the hope is that more people attend each year to celebrate the Passion of the Lord. More recently, Father

Clark has taken the initiative of accommodating a growing Hispanic population with our Catholic communi-

ty. He asked Laura to help plan the logistics of a monthly Spanish Mass on the first Sunday of each month.

She also started creating a bulletin in Spanish for those in attendance.

August 2020 —Page 5

In the beginning, she chose the music for each week, found the altar servers, and would invite people to

attend - even if that was at the grocery store. Once it became a consistent pattern for people, it became

aware that many of the adults spoke minimal English and their children often served as their translators.

Local church leaders saw the need for an English class for the Catholic brothers and sisters to develop their

skills and grow within the community. Laura helped find the help of two former ESL instructors and three

retired teachers, the weekly English class - with games, lesson plans, and groups divided by skill level - be-

gan. It’s important to note that these programs would not have been possible without the support of a

priest like Father Clark who has always encouraged programs that grow the Catholic faith and community.

Explain the entire family’s involvement within the community:

Three of their daughters are in college and one is going to be a senior in high school. Abbey is pursuing her

Master’s, the second, Jessica, is in nursing school, and the third, Victoria, is a freshman in college. All four of

them have stayed busy not only helping at the Church, but also the community. They’ve been members of

the National Honor Society, and Abigail even served as the President of the club. All four of them have trav-

elled to the state capitol to lobby for bills with the high school club, Youth For Justice. They’re all activists for

social justice in their own way - Jessica made a promotional video for Serenity Pregnancy Resource Center, a

Pro-Life non-profit that provides free services to local pregnant women. They also helped run the cake walk

at the annual Who Party, which won the KOC International Pro-Life award. When she was in high school,

Abigail won second place at the KOC pro-life essay contest. Victoria also created a short documentary on

organ donation which won national awards and is now an informational commercial for the National Organ

Donation Alliance. Abigail and Jessica are also on the team that film Mass each Sunday to provide a live feed

for those in the parish who are unable to attend physically. All four of them have also held Quinceañeras, a

traditional celebration of a girl’s transition to womanhood and promise to Christ of purity, charity, and faith.

The Morales family invites the entire community to the Mass, dinner, and dance - exposing many in the

community to this tradition for the first time in their life. They’re especially proud of the example their

daughters have set within the community. Abigail and Jessica won Wyoming Journalist of the Year as seniors

in high school, because they constantly sought to deliver quality journalism to their school. Three of them

also signed up and were chosen to be on C.A.N. trading cards for local elementary school students. The re-

sponsibilities include a lifelong commitment to remain drug-free and volunteer work within the elementary

and middle schools. Thanks to this amazing community, Abigail, Jessica, and Victoria, first-generation col-

lege students, have attended school debt-free through private, local, and state scholarships. They say that

their volunteer work within the community will never be able to repay what this town has provided us. Alt-

hough they’re young, their four daughters have a dream of together setting up a private scholarship for a

Cody High School graduate as a way to say thank you.

August 2020 —Page 6

August 2020 —Page 7

August 2020 —Page 8

Wyoming’s Priest of the Year

Fr. Ray Rodriguez St. Anthony of Padua Parish

Casper WY

Wyoming’s Knight of the Year

Mike Dahl

Green River Council 7453

August 2020 —Page 9

Brother Knights

These last 2 weeks we have lost 2 very good priests, Fr. Fraher and Fr. Beavers. Who will re-

place them? These men served several parishes in Wyoming, Fr Fraher for almost 70 years

and Fr. Beavers for 44 years. I ask you again…. who will replace them? Granted we do have 4

seminary students preparing for the priesthood but that does not occur over night. It usually

takes 8 years, 4 years of college and 4 years of theology. We continue to receive priests from

other countries which is a blessing and we are most grateful. Several of our active priest now

are eligible for retirement and thankfully they have chosen to remain active in the Diocese of

Cheyenne. Without the current numbers of priest some missions and even parishes may be

closed. Deacons also are given more responsibilities within the diocese. Fortunately, we

have 6 men in Deaconate formation who will be ordained in September 2021. We need to

be more active in recruiting men for the priesthood from our own parishes. Young men just

need to be asked.

Fr. Joseph Fraher and Fr. Carl Beavers rest in Peace.

Deacon Terry Archbold

Knights of Columbus Vocations Director

CEREMONIAL NEWS

Reminder: You can register new candidates online and get them through the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Degrees in one shot in about 45 minutes. Please vote on the candidate in your monthly

meeting before signing him up for the degrees. It’s easy for the candidate and easy to sign them up. Go to KofC.org to do this.

We are looking to establish some teams around the State. If you have members in your Dis-trict or Council that can perform the degrees, please let me know. Bret would also like to es-

tablish a Virtual Team that can do the degrees through Zoom or other media platform. Let me know if you are interested in being on a State Team and what part you would like to do.

August 2020 —Page 10

Please feel free to make any submissions to wyokcnews@gmail.com. I will do my best to put out an issue of The Cowboy Bulletin every month, but I need your help to know what’s going on out there. Upcoming events, council projects or sharing ideas that could benefit other councils, are all things we as Knights are interested in hearing about. Remember that we are Brother Knights, united in one cause.

Vivat Jesus Steve Grapes Public Relations Director Wyoming Knights of Columbus

2020-21 WY KofCCouncil Per Capita Recruitment

Award Program

success

June 30, 2020 and save $1.00

per member

March 1, 2020 and save $2.00 per member

Meet your Council membership goal by January 1, 2020 and save

$3.00 per member

Per Capita Savings will be applied to the July 2021 Billing

Special incentive for meeting

Star Council

COMMUNITY NEWS

Now is a good opportunity for the Knights to step up and help your fellow Knights/Families, members of the parish in distress and members

in the Community that you know are in need of assistance. Our Council’s main fundraiser has been cancelled but we can still do a food drive to serve our community and reach out to people from our parish

that may need financial, physical help or just plain moral support.

Mike Dahl

Community Director

August 2020 —Page 11

Faith in Action

Council 3477 in Gillette serving the masses literally with a parish picnic following the Sunday morning mass July 26. Our heavenly father provided the best Wyoming weather with none

of that Wyoming wind.

Council 7453 conducted our Annual Highway Cleanup on the west Green River Interchange on July 15. Thank you, Brother Knights and Families, for helping out.

The Powell Knights helped the Dept of Homeland Security and Park Co public Health services hand out a truck load of free food last Sat. It was a full truck, about 20 pallets of food. We had approx. 20 volunteers and served food to about 200 people.

August 2020 —Page 12

“Monthly Challenge from the Supreme Chaplain” THIS MONTH'S CHALLENGE AUGUST 2020

“And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the

netherworld shall not prevail against it.” (Gospel for Aug. 23, Mt 16:18)

That’s quite a promise! Christ established Peter as the head of his Church on earth, with his teaching au-

thority and the guarantee that hell itself would not defeat it. How we practice our faith in word and deed in-

fluences the moral and spiritual formation of others — our family, friends, fellow parishioners and neigh-

bors. With the help of God’s grace, fathers have a sacred role to protect their families from the devil’s as-

saults. May we all take seriously this responsibility to be a “rock” of the Catholic faith in our domestic

churches, parishes and communities.

Challenge by Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori:

This month, I challenge you to join with others — family, friends, brother Knights — in praying the rosary

for the intention of remaining steadfast in the faith. Second, I challenge you to encourage members of your

parish to stand firm in the faith by starting or promoting the Faith in Action Building the Domestic Church

Kiosk program at your church.

Questions for Reflection: Do you regularly lead your family in prayer by saying grace before meals, reciting the rosary, reading Scrip-

ture or practicing other devotions? Do you openly discuss the Catholic faith so that your children know and

understand the faith and its truth, goodness and beauty? Do you pray for your wife and children that God

may protect them from the attacks of the devil?

FAITH IN ACTION FAMILY OF THE MONTH/YEAR

Faith in Action - Family Programs Stimulate and support the development of strong and vibrant families. A Higher Purpose

Promote and support the development of strong and vibrant families. Each council establishes a committee

to recognize a deserving Family of the Month and Family of the Year with potential for recognition on the in-

ternational level.

Overview

Each month, the council Family of the Month committee selects one parish family that models Christian fami-

ly values and visibly lives them every day. Once a year, each participating council also selects one of the

previous twelve Family of the Month winners to represent the council/parish as the potential international

Family of the Year. The Knights of Columbus Family of the Year is chosen by the Supreme Council and rec-

ognized each year at the annual Supreme Convention.

August 2020 —Page 13

PRAYER FOR THE POPE

Heavenly Father, be pleased to bless and protect our Holy Father, Pope Francis, whom you have chosen as the successor of St. Peter as the chief minister of the unity and charity in the Church. Keep him safe in holiness of life and in wise fulfillment of his awesome responsibili-ties.

We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen

PRAYER FOR THE BISHOP

Heavenly Father, in these trying times when the spirit of the age threatens Christian values, give our bishop holiness of life and wisdom to direct and guide our diocesan family so that we may grow in your love.

We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen

PRAYER FOR PRIESTS

Heavenly Father, bless and protect priests and fill them with the joy and courage of their vocation as personal ministers of Christ in preaching your word, forming communities in your name and nourishing us with the Sacraments.

We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen

PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS

Heavenly Father, bless your Church with an abundance of holy and zealous priests, dea-cons, brothers and sisters.

Give those you have called to the married state and those you have chosen to live as sin-gle persons in the world, the special graces that their lives required.

Form us all in the likeness of your Son so that in him, with him and through him we may love you more deeply and serve you more faithfully, always and everywhere.

With Mary we ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

THE MEMORARE

Remember O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help and sought thy intercessions, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To thee I come, before thee I stand sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen

Here’s a collection of prayers that may be handy for use at your council meetings

August 2020 —Page 14

Our Current Diocese of Cheyenne Seminarians are:

Seth Hostetler

2nd year Theology University of Saint Mary of the Lake Mundelein Seminary 1000 East Maple Avenue Mundelein, Illinois 60060 shostetler@usml.edu

Birthday- Sept 2

Linh Vu

3rd year Theology St. Meinrad Seminary & School of Theology 200 Hill Drive St. Meinrad, Indiana 47577 vulinhdldt@yahoo.com

Birthday -Aug 3

Deacon Dan Kostelc

Theology Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology PO Box 429 Hales Corners, WI 53130-0429 dkostelc@shsst.edu Birthday-March 2

Lee Noel

Formation University of Saint Mary of the Lake Mundelein Seminary 1000 East Maple Avenue Mundelein, Illinois 60060 lnoel@usml.edu Birthday – Aug 27

August 2020 —Page 15

Wyoming Knights of Columbus—For the Good of the Order

Deceased Knights

—Fred Billick, a 27-year member of Council 7214 passed away October 3, 2019.

—David Larchick, A 40-year member of Council 7214 passed away October 9, 2019.

—Donald Brooks of Council 6623, passed away October 1, 2019.

—Edgar Erickson of Council 4031 in Cody passed away November 4, 2019.

—Robert Corso of Council 801 in Cheyenne passed away November 11, 2019.

—Kenneth J Jeziorski, of Council 7214 Greybull, passed away Nov. 18, 2019.

—Dale Thompson, of Council 3477 in Gillette, passed away December 20, 2019.

—Nicodemus (Nick) Paul, 92, of Cody Council 4031 passed away on January 15, 2020.

—Marlowe Halbur, of Council 3043 in Powell, passed away on Dec. 28, 2019

—Thomas N. Imburgia , Council #4031 and Assembly #1888, in Cody, passed away on February 24, 2020

—Ronald G. Spomer, member of Council 4031 in Cody, passed away on March 8, 2020.

—Manuel Zamora, 85, of Council 6623 in Torrington passed away April 28, 2020.

—Samuel Cochran, 72, of Council 6623 in Torrington passed away May 12, 2020.

—Don Cywinski of Council 7453 in Green River passed away in late June 2020.

—Kevin Reddy of Council 9917 in Casper passed away July 6, 2020,

—James Malkowski of Council 9756 in Pinedale passed away July 4, 2020. His obituary can be seen at

https://www.covillfuneralhome.com/obituary/jim-malkowski.

—Don Cywinski of Council 7453 in Green River passed away on July 3, 2020. His obituary can be seen at https://www.vasefuneralhomes.com/obituary/donald-cywinski

—Paul Shablo of Council 7453 in Green River passed away July 24, 2020. His obituary can be seen

at https://www.greenriverstar.com/story/2020/07/29/obituaries/paul-shablo/7527.html

Please continue to pray for: —Brother Vic Braman Council 7453, Green River —Brother Ron Pivik Council 7453, Green River —Brother Tom Ryan Sr., Council 2578, Thermopolis

—Brother Greg Opdahl, Council 3551-Wheatland

—Brother Dick Fulton, Council 6558-Douglas-Glenrock

—Brother James Leseburg , Council 2578, Thermopolis

Please send any future prayer intentions to

wyokcnews@gmail.com

August 2020 —Page 16

Join the Father McGivney Guild

As the sainthood process for Venerable Father Michael McGivney continues, it becomes ever more im-portant to increase membership in the Father McGivney Guild. Membership stands at over 171,000, but only 464 listed to be from Wyoming. There are 2600 members shown in Wyoming.

Please encourage every Knight in your council, and their families, to join the McGivney Guild. Membership is open to everyone, not just Knights and families. It is easy to sign up at http://www.fathermcgivney.org/en/index.html. And please continue to pray the canonization prayer for Father McGivney.

Shawn Moody

Father McGivney Guild Chairman

esmmoody@gmail.com