Past Council Activities

Council Activities Include:

Church Activities,
Youth Activities,
Family Activities,
Community Service and
Council Activities

The St. Cecilia Council has sponsored or been a part of the below events.

The St. Cecilia Council was formed on Columbus Day, October 14, 2002 in the basement of St. Cecilia's Catholic Church in Glen Carbon, Illinois. Thirty-one new members received their first degree that evening; welcoming them as official Knights of Columbus. The officially charter date is November 22, 2002, the Feast Day of St. Cecilia, the church's patron Saint. Our current membership is 96 members and growing. If you are a male, 18 years of age or older, and a practicing Catholic at St. Cecilia Parish in Glen Carbon, please prayerfully consider joining our Council. In the few short months since its start, the Council has been very active; getting organized and running many worth-while activities. If you would like to receive information about joining, complete the request membership info form. A summary of the past activities are below.

Pancake and Sausage breakfasts are run almost every month; raising funds for the Parish Youth Groups and our Council.
Marched in the Edwardsville Veteran's Day Parade in 2003 and 2004, helping other local Councils carry a very large U.S. flag. This is an annual program.
Corporate Communions on November 22, 2002, the Feast Day of St. Cecilia, and each fifth Sunday of months with five Sundays. At a Corporate Communion, all members and their families attended the same Mass and sat in a section of reserved pews. This was a display of solidarity and unity. This event is repeated during months with five Sundays.
Keep Christ In Christmas Raffle in 2002 with two nice prizes.
Conducted a Light-up for Christ ceremony in Church and served snacks and beverages afterwards in the hall. There was also a visit from a large, jolly guy dressed in a bright red suit. This is an annual program.
Sold tickets for the State of Illinois Knights of Columbus Vocations Raffle; raising money that will be donated to a seminarian. This raffle aslo helps the State for their vocations fund. This is an annual program. Annual sponsorship of seminarian Jeff Long and started with Kevin Muniz in 2005. Kevin keeps a blog for everyone to look at and contribute to.
Set up the outdoor holiday season decorations and the nativity scene; also took everything down and returned the items to storage. This is an annual program.
Moved the old oil fryers out of the chicken coop.
Organized a Super Bowl party open to the whole Parish. This is an annual program.
Organized and run a Free Throw competition in the Glen Carbon Grade School gymnasium. This is an annual event.
Conduct a pot-luck dinners on January 29 for the membership and families; this was a wonderful opportunity for families to get to know each other better.
Had a Rosary Weekend to show and share our love for the Blessed Mother and support the Holy Father's call for renewed interest in the Rosary. We handed out over 600 pocket rosaries and prayer cards to young and adult Parishioners.
The Ash Wednesday Fish Dinner; serving well over 320 people the first year. We were expecting a crowd of about 225 based on advanced sales and were kept hopping by the heavy turnout. This is an annual event.
Our Brother Knight and the Most Reverend Bishop Lucas requested via the Springfield Diocesan Chapter that the Knights of Columbus in the diocese of Springfield help fund the youth activities at the upcoming Sesquicentennial Diocesan Jubilee Celebration at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield on June 28, 2003. Our council made a donation.
The council prompted the Village of Glen Carbon to start an Adopt-A-Highway program when we approached Village officials expressing our desire to adopt Main St. from Route 159 to the I-270 overpass. The Council will be picking up trash and tidying up this stretch of roadway in front our Church three times a year. The Village now has a program in place for other local groups and organizations to join in.
Our Council and Edwardsville Council #1143 team up each year to collect food for the Glen-Ed Food Pantry. Food and cash donations were accepted from Schnuck's and Shop-N-Save patrons. In 2003, 1,120 pounds of food and $247.55 in cash donations for the Glen/Ed Food Pantry. The Edwardsville Council #1143 collected a similar amount at Shop-N-Save. In 2004, 970 pounds of food and $277 in cash donations were collected. Numerous events will be run for the pantry every year.
Instituted an Scholarship program; offering two graduating high school students from St. Cecilia Church, Glen Carbon with one $500.00 scholarship each beginning with the 2003-2004 academic year. The scholarships are payable in two equal installments (one at the beginning of each semester) to a college or vocational school that the selected students plan to attend. This will be an annual program.
Several Council members attended a "Serve It Safely" seminar at the Edwardsville UofI Extension Office; the seminar was hosted by the Madison County Health Department. The Council then had a representative from the Madison County Health Department speak about food safety at our May 2003 membership meeting.
Conducted a "Baseball Fever" raffle with four great prizes highlighted by two field level tickets to a weekend Cards vs. Cubs game and a night's stay in Drury Inn at Union Station the night before the game. This is an annual program.
The Springfield Diocesan Chapter of the Knights sponsored a Vocations charity bowl; conducted by Highland Council 1580 at Hi Top Lanes. Our Council had two men's teams and one women's team of bowlers in 2003. The Council had two men's teams and two women's teams in 2004.
Conducted Potluck Dinners open to the entire Parish. These will be conducted during months that have five Wednesdays.
Handed out carnations to all mothers on Mother's Day. The Council plans to do something to say "thank you" to all mothers each year.
Three members attended the 2003 State KofC convention in Springfield, IL on May 23-25. These members represented our Council at the 105^th State Meeting at the Hilton Hotel. Our Council was selected along with 21 others to be part of State Deputy William Spainhour's "Circle of Honor". There are over 400 councils in Illinois that competed for this annual award. Recipients are honored for exemplary performance in the areas of charitable work, program success and membership recruitment. This award is a testimony to the hard work and dedication the council members and families have made on behalf of our brand new council. The Council was also awarded THE Outstanding newsletter for Councils with 100 or fewer members.
Organized and ran a Vacation Bible School (VBS) for any child in the area in pre-school through fifth grade. In the first year, 2003, the first VBS at St. Cecilia Church in many years, there were at least 70 children in attendance each evening. Over 100 children attended at least one session. This will be an annual program.
Community bar-b-que fundraising projects.
Family events during KofC Family Week in August of each year.
Food booth and a craps table at the 2003 Glenfest. A craps table and a black jack table at the 2004 Glenfest.
Trivia night in the fall. This is expected to be an annual event.
Keep Christ in Christmas card sales for Christmas. This is expected to be an annual event.
Kid's matinee before Christmas; allowing parents to drop their kids off and spend some time together or take care of those last minute errands. This is expected to be an annual event.
Participated in the Glenfest Parade, was the first place float for organizations in 2004. This will be an annual event.
Participated in the Hallowen Parade organized by the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce, this will be an annual event.
Participated in the Last Night, serving food. The event is organized by Eden Church with proceeds benefiting the Edwardsville and Glen Carbon Food Pantry. This is an annual event on New Year Eve night.
Chicken Wing sales.
Prayer at weekend Masses for Prayer Day for the Unborn.
Golf tournament; this will be an annual event.
Plant-a-row; this will be an annual event. We plant a garden lot on the Village Farm, care for the plants by weeding and watering the lot, harvest the fresh produce and take it to the local pantry for them to distribute to need individuals in the area.
Scriture rosary prayer service for pro-life.
Some type of involvement in National day of prayer; usually the first Thursday of May.
Drug abuse poster contest.
Providing assistance at the Special Olympics.
Organizing and running the new parishioner lunch. This activity happens every six to twelve months in the Parish Hall.
Flag retirement ceremony, this will be an annual event around Flag Day in June.
Ice Cream Social, this will be an annual event on the third Sunday of July.
Funding for Frank Cleary's farewell party.
Soccer Challenge, this will be an annual event.
Planning for walking trails and outdoor stations in the wooded area behind the church and rectory buildings.