Grand knight
1/10/2025
Brothers,
As mentioned we could use some help tomorrow taking the Creche down and putting it away. As putting it up proved, many hands make it go so much easier and quicker so if you are available (and the weather permits) please meet us at St. Charles around 8 am.
Also as mentioned last night we have several Brother Knights in need of prayers:
First our brother Frank Rademacher. As you all know Frank has suffered from various health issues for the past few years and is currently in need of many prayers. Please also pray for his wife, Cheryl, and his family.
Our brother Stewart Smith had eye surgery yesterday and may be having more today.
And our brother Jason Greenawalt who is recovering from knee surgery earlier this week.
Vivat Jesus,
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
1/6/2025
Worthy Brothers,
I'm sure for many of us today marks a return to our normal schedules. On that note tomorrow is the Winter Diocesan Meeting In Jenison. Robert and I are planning on attending but if anyone else would like to attend as well please let me know. Registration will be around 5:30, Dinner at 6, and then Meeting starting at 7pm.
We also have our regular business meeting this Thursday. It's been a bit since we've had one and I look forward to seeing many of you there.
Lastly, this Saturday is when we would traditionally take down the Creche. Please let me know if you are able to help.
Thank you,
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
12/23/2024
Brothers,
Our Christmas Angels program has been amazing this year and one of the things we pride ourselves on is doing our absolute best to not turn anyone away. With that in mind Sarah could use our help with 3 last minute families today.
She is getting all the things around now, but she could use 1 person/ family to deliver a basket to a family and one Knight to meet 2 families with her at Starbucks around 6pm so she isn't there alone. If you can come through for these families with us please call her at 616-894-3893.
Thank you,
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
12/19/2024
Brothers looking forward to seeing some of you tonight.
Thank you to everyone who volunteered to help this weekend so far. Think we're in decent shape on the food basket help for Saturday.
We could still use one helper at St. Charles from 11-1 tomorrow and a couple between 6:45 and 8:30 pm For gift distribution. We have close to 20 families coming tomorrow night and Sarah could really use some extra hands.
Thank you,
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
12/12/2024
Brothers,
As mentioned we unfortunately weren't able to hold our meeting tonight and there are some important things to bring up.
1. On Thursday the 19th we host the Hour of Adoration for fostering Vocations from 7 to 8pm at St. Charles. Knights all over the Diocese are traveling to a parish in their deanery to ask the Lord to help those he is calling to the Priesthood, Diaconate or Religious life hear that call as well as praying that we can better foster an environment conducive of vocations in our community, families, and homes. I know some folks already have prior commitments for the parish that day, but if you are able please attend and encourage others to attend so we can have a strong showing given we're hosting and I can't think of too many better reasons to pray.
2. Our Christmas Angel program could use some assistance. We have families signed up and have received many generous donations over the past few months, but don't have as many families volunteering to sponsor a family this year. As mentioned before we have the funds to run this program but could use some volunteers to go out and shop for a family. Sarah would provide you with the list of suggested clothing items and presents as well as a few "family essentials" You would be welcome to submit your receipt to the council for reimbursement if you would like. I believe we have 2 families unspoken for at the moment. We could additionally use some help handing out the gifts to the families on Friday the 20th from 6pm- 9pm and or Saturday the 21st from 8:30-10:30am.
3. Ron (and Family) are crushing it with our new Christmas Basket initiative (providing baskets like our Thanksgiving baskets) to those that may not be a fit for one of the other programs in the area. As Fr. mentioned in his homily the past weekend this one way we help people meet Jesus and hopefully touch some hearts. As of now it sounds like this one is covered, but be on the lookout in case we need last minute help.
4. The Keep Christ in Christmas poster contest is kicking off. Students at the school will be taking posters and sign up sheets home and returning them before they break for the Holidays. I will most likely arrange a judging for anyone interested after a Mass before Jan 7th which is when we need to turn in our winners. I am not eligible to judge with two students participating, but this is a fun one.
5. The Free Throw contest is fast approaching also and we need to select a date in early January as the District level competition is on Sat Jan 26th and ours needs to be before that. I have run this program in the past and it's a relatively easy one if someone would like to take this one on and I can assist this year.
6. We have the Diocesan meeting for any who would like to attend Jan 7th. Details to follow and the TriDistrict meeting on the 31st at St. Charles.
Of other note: We have a new brother, Ryan Orzechowski who would like to join our council!
I want to thank Ron, Jacob, Max, Krysta, Charlie, Mike Smith, Gene, Rob, Tim Reno, Josh and Dave for running our Food for Families program (sorry if I missed anyone). It was a record on both bags donated to the pantry and provided to families this year.
Also thank you to the Creche helpers Joe Haen, John Taylor, Tom Cripps, Rob Pratt, Gene, Josh O’Brien and little Collin. It was up in record time so apologies to anyone who showed up at 9am.
I'm sure I'm missing some details and will need to send out some more but thank you for all that you do.
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
Brothers,
Please join us tomorrow for our regularly scheduled meeting if you are able. With where Christmas falls this year this will be our only meeting in December.
Looking forward to seeing you,
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
Brothers,
Thank you for all the well wishes. Feeling much better. Tomorrow we will put up the Creche. As mentioned before this is one where many hands make light work and a little extra muscle never hurts. We'll get started at St. Charles between 8am and 9am so please come help out if you can. Usually takes us a couple hours.
Thank you,
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
Brothers,
Unfortunately I'm ill and several of the other brothers who typically help with the creche are out of town. Unless there are any major objections, I think we should move the setup to next Saturday.
Thank you,
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
November 26, 2024
Brothers,
With Thanksgiving this week we won't be having our meeting Thursday.
On that note from everything I'm hearing we had a record year for our Food for Families programs.
First we collected over roughly 180 bags at St. Charles for the Greenville Ecumenical Food Pantry and 29 for Pantry at St. Joseph, plus a decent number of the emergency bags for the homeless. Big thank you to all of you who helped, especially Dave Mendrea for once again coordinating this wonderful program.
Then this past weekend we handed out 70 "baskets" to needy families in the area. huge shout out to Ron, Jacob, Max, and I'm sure Krysta Woycehoski for coordinating this program this year along with Gene Charlie, Mike, Jason, Tim, Robert, and Roger for all their help.
Lastly this coming Saturday we should look to set up the Creche. As I mentioned last year this is one where a little extra manpower and some of our stronger Knights. Last year we got rolling around 9am and were done in a couple hours. Please let me know if you're able to assist.
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
November 20, 2024
Brothers,
Still need some helpers on Saturday morning from 9 am till noon when the families are coming to pick up their baskets. Please let us know if you can help us finish this program strong.
Thank you,
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
November 18, 2024
Brothers,
Thank you all for your support and help with our Food for Families drive, especially those of you coordinating, handing out bags, and collecting.
The Parish's generosity was as strong as ever and we're in a great position to not only donate a lot of food to the panties but help over 60 families this year with baskets.
What we could use some help with the rest of the week are two things:
1st. We could use some folks to call and simply confirm the family is still looking to receive a basket. As mentioned we have about 60 names so the more volunteers we have the less calls folks need to make.
2nd. We'll need help assembling the baskets this Friday at 6pm and distributing Baskets from 8:30 (pickup starts at 9) to noon on Saturday.
Please let Ron Woycehoski know if you can assist with any of these at either 616-250-9457 or rogueriverholdings@gmail.com
Thank you and Vivat Jesus
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
November 14, 2024
Brothers,
Just a reminder we have our regularly scheduled meeting tonight at 7pm Rosary at 6:30 at St Charles. Looking forward to seeing those of you who can make it.
Vivat Jesus
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
November 13, 2024
Brothers,
Thank you to everyone who helped hand out bags last weekend. Round two refers to picking up the bags this weekend. Please let me know if you are able to assist this weekend at one of the 4 Masses.
In each case we get there 20-30 minutes early and help those returning full bags move them from their car to a designated spot in the Narthex (activities building probably at St Mary).
Demand is up this year and we are already at 49 families on our list so all this work is definitely going to help a lot of people.
Thank you for all that you do, you should be very proud.
Vivat Jesus
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
November 8, 2024
Brothers,
Currently we don't have anyone handing out bags after Mass in Belding for the St. Joseph food pantry. Whether you are attending the Sat afternoon of Sun morning Mass or not, is there someone who can be there for 10-15 minutes when Mass ends to hand out the bags?
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
November 5, 2024
Worthy Brother Knights,
This weekend we hand out the paper bags to parishioners for our food for families program. We could use a few Knights per Mass to stand in the back and hand them out like the bulletins.
At St. Charles, the food will go to our baskets and the eccumenical food pantry in town, while at St Joseph and St. Mary the food will go to the food pantry there.
Please let me know if you are able to help and I will make arrangements to have the appropriate bags at that Mass.
Need is very high this year so our efforts will be much appreciated.
Vivat Jesus,
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
October 22, 2024
Worthy Brothers,
We've had a lot of new members join over the past few years. THANK YOU for answering the call to serve God, your families, and our parish.
Last meeting we discussed that we don't have a process by which we share everything we do throughout the year with incoming members and so this Thursday the plan is to have an abbreviated business meeting and use the remainder of the time to share the events and programs that we do through the year and encourage any ideas you may have. All members are of course encouraged to attend but we would like to particularly invite any of our younger/ newer Knights, or anyone who hasn't been able to make it in a while.
We know as men time is often tough to come by, but the hope is in sharing all of the great things the council does throughout the year one or two things in particular might be something you're passionate about and that you might want to assist with when the time comes.
Please make an effort to attend this one and hope to see many of you there.
Meeting at 7pm downstairs at St. Charles. Rosary at 6:30
Pizza and drinks provided
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
October 17, 2024
Correction:
Parnell is actually starting at 6:30 with a Rosary and Adoration right after.
October 17th
Saint Patrick Parish, Parnell
4351 Parnell Ave. NE
Ada, MI 49301
Church is handicapped accessible
Vivat Jesus
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
October 17, 2024
Reminder that this Saturday at 9am we could use some Knights, limb cutters, and a chainsaw or two to clean up some trees growing next to Father's house. As a brother knight and out Chaplain, Father Jim is incredibly supportive of us, and it'd be great to have at least 4 or 5 Knights to assist. So far I have 2 confirmed.
Also this evening there is Adoration tonight for Vocations below at the following locations. Parnell is in our District, but please attend if you are able.
October 17th 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM.
Saint Patrick Parish, Parnell
4351 Parnell Ave. NE
Ada, MI 49301
Church is handicapped accessible
Saint Alphonsus Parish, Grand Rapids
224 Carrier St. NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49505
Church is handicapped accessible
Cathedral of Saint Andrew Parish, Grand Rapids
301 Sheldon SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Church is handicapped accessible
Vivat Jesus,
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
October 10, 2024
Brothers,
Tomorrow is the start of the MI Drive and we still have a lot of open slots for both days. If you haven't already please take a look and sign up for one that works for you.
It might be a little cold but kids and families are welcome (last year my boys brought in way more than I did alone the day before and they had fun helping too.)
Please grab a slot or two at www.stcharleskofc.org/tootsie_signup or reach out to me directly and I can get you signed up.
Thank you,
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
October 8, 2024
Brothers,
Thank you to the few of you who have signed up for a shift for the MI drive so far.
We still have lots of open spots and will need all the help we can get to make up for not being able to do Walmart this time around.
Please grab a slot or two at www.stcharleskofc.org/tootsie_signup or reach out to me directly and I can get you signed up.
Thank you,
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
October 5, 2024
Brothers,
Tomorrow we welcome two new brother Knights into our Council after the 11am Mass. As always it means a lot to these men if we show up in force and make it clear that we are happy to have them.
Please make an effort to attend if you are able.
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
September 18, 2024
Brothers,
They are looking for an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion for the Funeral Friday if a brother Knight would like to volunteer.
Thank you,
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
September 17, 2024
Brothers,
Please pray for Richard Laurent and his family as I was notified he passed away today. He was a Knight for 68 years and I know he touched the lives of many in our parish community.
His funeral Mass will be on Friday at 11:00 am at St. Charles. Visitation will be Thursday at Marshall Funeral Home and 1 hour prior to the funeral Mass on Friday.
Vivat Jesus,
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
September 13, 2024
Brothers,
As you may have heard, another of our brothers, Leo Marshall, has been called home to heaven. Please keep him and his family in your prayers. Leo was a Knight for almost 59 years. He is fondly remembered for all he did for the council, in particular the years he hosted the council picnic at his house and the wonderful time everyone had.
The funeral Mass for Leo will be Monday, September 16th at St. Charles Church at 11:00 am. Visitation will be Sunday, September 15th at Marshall Funeral Home from 4-6:00 pm and 1 hour prior to the funeral Mass at St. Charles Church. Please keep Leo and his family and friends in your prayers.
Link to his Obituary
Vivat Jesus,
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
September 11, 2024
Brothers,
The Rosary was also very near and dear to Tom's heart as many of you know. His family has also asked that we say a Rosary tomorrow before the funeral which we will be doing at 9:30 at St. Charles.
Thank you,
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
September 10, 2024
Brothers,
Tom's Family has asked if we could help with ministers for the funeral this Thursday. Please let me know if you can assist with any of the following roles.
- 1 or 2 Lectors for the First Reading, Second, Reading, and Prayers of the Faithful.
- EMHC
- 2 Knights to bring up the gifts
- 2 or 3 Knights to assist with hospitality. Our normal crew is unavailable. Diana Eakin will be there to guide
We also still need help for Saturday. 3 more people to carry the canopy for the procession following the prayer service at 4pm and then folks to help put away chairs and clean up after the event.
Please let me know if you can help.
Hope to see many of you tomorrow.
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
September 5, 2024
Brothers,
We have a lot going on next week so I wanted to sum everything up in one nice easy spot. Please read through and plan to help/ attend as much as you can.
On Monday at Ralph's house from say 1-3pm they are doing the clean up of the aebleskiver booth. For those not working during those hours they would love some extra assistance. Please contact Ralph with any questions.
Then on Wednesday Sept 11th we have our Prayer for Peace Prayer Service at 7pm at St. Charles. As you may know, we are the only council to have held this service since it's inception in the wake of 9/11. All are welcome.
On Thursday the 12th, there is the funeral for our brother Past Grand Knight Tom Russell. Visitation is at 10, Funeral at 11. I know many of you will be there to commemorate him and pay our respects to a man who did so much for our council.
That evening we have our regular meeting.
Last but certainly not least On Saturday we have been invited to participate in the ECCE eventon Saturday the 14th. As I share in the article for this weekend's bulletin. Our Order has a long history of standing up to the clan and defending religious freedom. Here's a link to an article telling the story. I'd like to encourage all of you and your families to continue this proud tradition and attend the event in force.
We also have been asked to assist with a few things.
1st. Volunteers to carry the canopy during the procession with the relic. The prayer service will start at 4pm and shortly thereafter we will process around the blocks and into the church for Mass. This is similar to what we do for Corpus Christi.
2nd. After the event is over they could use our help putting things away. The council has generously greenlit us to supply a round or two of drinks for this crew so we can get some fraternity in too :) I'm estimating we'll start picking up around 7.
If you're able to help with either please let me know.
Thank you,
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
August 27, 2024
Worthy Brother Knights,
Our Brothers at St. Joseph and Flat River Right to Life could use our help this weekend with our Labor Day Ice Cream Social. Proceeds from the event will go to Flat River Right to Life and their efforts to save the unborn and promote a culture of life.
If you are able to help for a few hours between 9-3 on Monday at St. Joseph please let me or Bob Thompson know.
Vivat Jesus,
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
August 13, 2024
Thank you to everyone who has signed up so far. We could still use some help in the booth Sat 12-2 and 4-5 both day or in the kitchen on Saturday.
Please let me know if you are able to help or you have talked to someone who plans on helping but isn't on the list yet.
Thank you,
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
August 11, 2024
Brothers,
Past Grand Knight, Tom Russell was called home to be with our Lord this morning.
Please continue to keep his family in your prayers. As soon as I have details for funeral arrangements I will pass them along.
Tom has done so much for our council and will be greatly missed.
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
August 7, 2024
Brothers,
We are close to 1 week away and still need a lot of volunteers to make the booth at the festival happen. We have shifts of two hours both Friday and Saturday in either the booth cooking or in the kitchen from 7am to 5pm (7-10 and then every 2 hours after that).
Thank you to those who already have signed up, otherwise please let me know when you can help, call me at 616-916-0143, or stop at the back of Mass this weekend.
Also our regular meeting is tomorrow where we will be having an installation of officers, (so officers please make every effort to attend tomorrow).
Thank you,
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
August 2, 2024
Brothers,
In preparation for the Danish Festival we will be cleaning the booth at Ralph's house on Monday, August 5th. Cleanup starts at 5pm, (but feel free to show up at 4pm) and we'll be eating afterwards around 6. Many hands make light work and we have jobs for people of all ages so it is a family affair.
14198 MacClain St. NE
Go north of M-57 on Montcalm Avenue or south of Wise Road to MacClain. On MacClain, travel about half a mile west of Montcalm Avenue. Look for the "VanOcker Drive" sign, and head up the hill to the house.
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
August 1, 2024
Brother Knights,
It is time to start asking for volunteers for the Danish Festival. I'm looking for 1 volunteer per Mass this week to stand in the back after Mass and sign up volunteers if we can please.
They will be announcing that we are back there.
Vivat Jesus,
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
July 29, 2024
Worthy Brothers,
Next Sunday is the Parish picnic at our St Mary location. We have been asked if we would volunteer to set up the grills and cook. Please see the signup link below for all the open spots, but again, if possible, they were hoping we'd take the cooking spots.
Signup Link
Thank you,
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
July 23, 2024
Worthy Brother Knights,
Due to the Diocesan meeting taking place on Thursday during our regularly scheduled meeting, our meeting was moved to tomorrow. Same time as always (6:30 Rosary, 7pm Meeting start) and will once again be in the gym due to the construction taking place.
Look forward to seeing many of you there.
Vivat Jesus
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
July 10, 2024
Brothers,
Our regular meeting is still tomorrow night, however it will be in the Gym instead of McKinney hall due to construction. It should be pretty set up with tables and seating from a funeral.
Please continue to pray for Tom as he is in the ICU last I heard.
Thank you,
Kevin
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143
July 9, 2024
Worthy Brothers,
Please keep our brother Tom Russell in your prayers. I'm told he has suffered from a stroke and is currently in the Hospital in Grand Rapids.
Kevin
July 7, 2024
Worthy Brothers,
I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th and has a great weekend. Thank you to everyone who helped hand out bags this past weekend. Tomorrow and Sunday we have 2 Baptisms, 1 at each St. Charles liturgy. As many of you know when a child is baptised we give the family a small basket with a "Made in God's image" receiving blanket, a Casey teddy bear, and a few prayer cards and a brochure on the Knights.
I will already be at the 11am Mass doing donuts, but could someone give the basket to the family after the 7PM Mass tomorrow?
Please let me know. The basket is in the Library and I can give you the code if you need it.
Vivat Jesus,
Kevin Norton
Grand Knight
St. Charles Council 2084
(616) 916-0143