ESTEVAN — The Estevan Knights of Columbus is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the local council, uniting members and serving the community.
The local council No. 3165 was chartered on July 11, 1948, in what at that time was still the town of Estevan.
The Knights of Columbus is a Catholic fraternal organization, founded in 1882 by Father Michael J. McGivney in New Haven, Conn., as a benefit society to render financial aid to members and their families, and with a mission of charity.
For over 140 years, mutual aid and assistance have been offered to sick, disabled and needy members and their families, and social and intellectual fellowship has been promoted among members and their families through educational, charitable, religious, social welfare, war relief and public relief works, according to their website.
Estevan grand knight Sheldon Spilchuk said the local council is true to its founding principles of charity, unity and fraternity, which keep them together. Through the decades, they've been sponsoring local youth and community activities, contributing to food hampers through the Community Hamper Association and supporting social justice causes. They also support other local organizations by volunteering at different events and fundraisers, such as United Way Estevan Telethon and others.
Their faith has always been central to their council. The pandemic times have been challenging for the group, as it was for everyone, Spilchuk said, but their activities, membership and engagement are picking up again now.
"Last meeting was really strong. We're really busy this month and then going into December with the holiday seasons and Christmas. We serve Christmas supper at Creighton Lodge," Spilchuk said.
"We're basically men of the community from all different aspects and trades. The common part is our Catholic faith. And besides taking care of our own parishioners and the church, we also take care of our community and [try] being role models, as men in the community, for others and for kids growing up," he added.
Spilchuk said there are three generations of Knights of Columbus in his family, with his father Michael and son Jake also being members.
The organization is open to new members who are practising Catholic men over 18 years of age. For more information people can visit the provincial website at kofcsask.com. To join, reach out to Spilchuk at 306-634-6852. The Catholic Women's League is the female counterpart.
The Knights of Columbus organization has grown to more than 16,000 local councils and about two million members throughout Canada, the United States, Mexico, the Philippines, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, Guatemala, Guam, Sipan, Poland, France, South Korea, Ukraine and Lithuania.
According to the Saskatchewan Knights of Columbus website, in 2019 alone the Knights gave more than $187 million to charitable causes and contributed more than 77 million hours in volunteer service.
The Knights of Columbus annual charity appeal will present a Johner Brothers concert and supper on Nov. 4 at the Wylie-Mitchell Hall. The doors will open at 5:30 p.m. Guests will be treated to a prime rib and chicken supper by A Little Taste of Heaven Catering. The night will also see draws and a dance. The event is open to the public.
"We are celebrating our 75 years of a Catholic men's organization, the Knights of Columbus, and we are hosting the draw. Every year, they have it in a different community. This year, we figured we'd amalgamate everything and do it all together in one celebration," Spilchuk said.
The Johner Brothers are well-known and popular in the community. They took the Canadian country music audience by storm in 1991 with the release of their single and video Goodbye for Good. For that year, the Canadian Country Music Association honoured them with the Duo or Group of the Year Award. Since then, they racked up two more CCMA awards, several Western Canadian Music Awards, four Juno nominations and an unprecedented 56 Saskatchewan Country Music Awards.
In the 1990s, the name The Johner Brothers was synonymous with dancing, good times and great homegrown country music. Their touring took them to clubs, concert halls and festivals across Canada and overseas to Bosnia, Caribbean cruise ships, the Netherlands, and even Japan. With 11 music videos, 26 released singles to radio and six CDs to their name, The Johner Brothers are back together along with three of the Johner Boys to entertain fans across Canada and keep the good times rolling.
Anyone wishing to purchase individual tickets or a table of eight can call or email Kim Skjonsby at 1-306-421-8908 or kim@mcph.ca.
