Author: Tim Kelley
Greetings from the mountains of western North Carolina.
Every month I begin this article with those words, but this month they carry a different meaning, don’t they? When I was writing last month’s article, it was pouring rain with the storm that came in a day and a half before Helene, which in and of itself caused some flooding, but no one had any idea of what was to come next. When driving around my neighborhood after the storm looking for cell signal, I saw downed trees everywhere and I thought that was pretty bad, but aside from the twice daily briefings I listened to on my car radio, I had no grasp of the devastation that had hit these mountains. We need to pray for those who were lost, those who are still missing, and those who lost everything.
The local radio announcers have described the destruction as “biblical,” and although we may have been about 38 days short of that being literally true, the two floods do share something in common…a sign of hope. Of course, after the flood of Genesis, the rainbow was the sign of hope, the sign of the Covenant. The sign of hope after our flood is one that’s near and dear to us as Knights of Columbus…Unity. The tremendous outpouring of love and concern from all over the state and the country has been absolutely amazing. People and organizations driving in food for those unable to get a hot meal, and bottles upon bottles of water, as we still don’t have drinkable tap water 4 weeks later. At one point, there were about 9 places I could’ve stopped for a free hot meal within 15 minutes of my house had I needed one. The general theme…everyone coming together to help everyone else. At a time when our country has never been more divided due to the vitriolic political rhetoric of an election year, we found a way to all come together to take care of each other. Let us remember this time when we all came together in unity as the best version of ourselves.
For my brothers still in need, your State Council is here for you – and I’m sure that is going to be a theme throughout this issue of the Tar Heel Knight. We are here for the long haul and for the rebuilding that will be necessary. Please continue to share any needs you’re aware of with us. Thanks to the generosity of brothers across the state, across the country, and our Supreme Council, giving their time, talent, and treasure, in support of their brothers. As we read in St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, “if [one] part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy. (1 Cor 12:26).”
As your State Advocate, I do want to give an update on Safe Environment. As of October 24, only 48.5% of our councils are Safe Environment compliant. It doesn’t require a doctorate to know that’s less than half, and we’re already four months into the fraternal year. Some are non-compliant because they haven’t submitted their Form 365 (please make our Warden happy and get those in), some have missing background checks, and some didn’t complete the training. If you have any questions about what you need to do or how to access the training, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. Yes, Safe Environment compliance is a prerequisite to be a Star Council, but much more important than that, it is our way to educate ourselves so that we can protect the most vulnerable in our parishes. Please make sure to get compliant…even if your council doesn’t have a chance for Star this year, do it because it’s the right thing to do.
Lastly, November is the month of Thanksgiving. Let us be thankful for all our blessings this year, and as we celebrate with turkey and football, let us not forget that the Greek translation of Thanksgiving is Eucharist, and for that we should all be most thankful.
“Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth ‘thrown in’: aim at Earth and you will get neither.” – C.S. Lewis
Vivat Jesus!