Home of the Knights of Columbus #11730

Council 11730’s Knight of the Month for March is Matt Weir. Matt is the Worthy Chancellor for our council, where he assists the Grand Knight and Deputy Grand Knight in leading the council. Another duty of the Chancellor is to take lead roles on committees. Matt has done this recently by leading the Lenten Fish Fries that our council puts on for the parish. He also has taken ownership of the Oktoberfest our council puts on in the Fall. Matt gives many hours of his time during breakfast burrito fundraisers by precooking sausage and potatoes at home, by folding burritos on the assembly line, and by selling burritos after Masses. He even took the lead role in operating the Square credit card reader during burrito sales. This important fundraiser usually nets our council over $1000 during sales weekends. Lastly, Matt volunteered to be one of our council’s two delegates to the Colorado State Convention at the end of April.

The Family of the Month for March is the Hund Family ! The Hund family has been members of our parish for several years, and Andy is a knight in another council. Andy is a leader in Called, which is religious formation for 9th thru 12th graders that brings to life the beauty of our Catholic Faith and empowers our young to follow God’s call in their lives. Anne is a leader in middle school confirmation, helping to guided our young in attaining this very important sacrament leading to the fruits of the Holy Spirit. They have four boy, Charley, Henry, Finn and Nolan. Anne and Henry are proclaimers at Mass, and Andy, Finn and Nolan are hospitality ministers. Anne works in the Social Justice Ministry. The family serves the broader community by volunteering at the Marion House, which serves meals to the less fortunate in the city of Colorado Springs. Andy also serves as a coach for various sports, and Anne works with the Scouts as a merit badge counselor.

Brothers from our council gathered to lead the Stations of the Cross service on Friday, 14 March, and hosted the second Lenten Fish Fry on the following Friday on 21 March.

Knights participating from left to right are Gary Hall, Rod McNeil, John McGuire, Pierre Gaudreault, Paul Ceciliani, Logan Crain, Charley Walker, Sean Humbarger, Jim Flannery, Mike Snyder, and Javier Popoca

Logan Crain, Charley Walker, and Sean Humbarger led the procession through the stations.

Gary Hall and Ted Hanchett take a minute to enjoy their meal after helping serve.

Some Brothers enjoy the opportunity to break bread with Father Brad.

Please congratulate jim Dalrymple for Knight of the Month and Kevin and Melia Dunbaugh for Family of the Month.
Sir Knight Jim Dalrymple is a tremendous leader and administrator for the Knights of Columbus and our OLP church community. He created the application process for the new Knights $1,000 dollar sponsored scholarship program, and then developed the scoring criteria to ensure a fair and equitable selection process. He serves as a two-year Trustee for the Knights, maintains and updates the Knight’s website, and is leading the effort to select the new fraternal year slate of officers. He recently completed the compilation of thousands of volunteer manhours by the OLP Knights Council for their annual report. In addition to his amazing dedication to the Knights, he faithfully serves as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, and is a member of the Life Safety Team. It is an extreme honor to recognize Sir Knight Jim Dalrymple as Knight of the Month.

Melia Dunbaugh, the Respect Life Coordinator, Our Lady of the Pines Catholic Community, as part of the Respect Life Apostolate, Diocese of Colorado Springs, is most deserving of this recognition as the lead for the Respect Life Committee at OLP. She has spent countless hours promoting life for the unborn through the preparation for Spring Campaign for 40 days for Life, Mar 5th – Apr 13th, Walking with Moms in Need, Mater Filus, Colorado March for Life, Rocky Mountain Adoration for Life and the newly unveiled Respect Life Prayer Areas in our church. Also, to be recognized is Deacon Kevin Dunbaugh, for his dedication to this parish in providing spiritual guidance and support to those in need. His selection to become a spiritual director this year is apropos. Deacon Kevin will serve with the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center, focusing on prison and jail ministry to provide spiritual care and support to incarcerated individuals. Both Melia and Kevin serve as Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion including Homebound. The Dunbaugh Family has been a beacon for life, prayer and forgiveness to the OLP community. It is with pleasure we recognize them as the Council 11730 Knights of Columbus Family of the Month for February 2025.

Knight of the Month: Dan Szarkowski
Dan serves as Inside Guard for the Council, where he assists the Warden with equipment, securing the room and shepherding those gathered for meetings and activities when necessary. He has also assisted the Grand Knight with the visuals for meetings. Dan is a big player in the breakfast burrito fundraisers: he contacts precooks and delivers supplies to them as well as precooks himself. Recently, he had an idea for a new flavor of breakfast burrito (chorizo). After a successful test batch, it was incorporated into the breakfast burrito menu. In the kitchen, he fills any roles that are needed, and last month he weighed the ingredients to ensure each burrito had the proper amount. 650 burritos were wrapped that morning! Thank you Dan for all you do!

Family of the Month: Charley and Donna Walker
Charley and Donna have been been expressing their faith with service to our parish and community in many ways. Charley most recently promoted to our council a scholarship program for young adults starting college. He then worked the project with other knights to get the program underway. Also recently, Charley led the Keep Christ in Christmas Poster Contest. As Warden of this council, he keeps our Knights shed and its equipment in order. He also participates in our breakfast burrito fundraiser.
Donna, a retired registered nurse, has extended her proclivity for helping others to the parish and community by volunteering for many services. She is a Stephan Minister for the parish and diocese. In that role she meets with care receivers who just need someone to talk to. Donna helps with the Mater Filius home at St. Gabriel, where new mothers can go to get a better start. Donna is a member of the Ladies of the Forest where she participates in activities including fundraisers where she makes delicious items for bake sales. At times, she even helps at Knights events, and she helps serve meals at funeral receptions for the parish. Lastly, Donna just became an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion to help the congregation receive the precious Body and Blood of our Lord at Mass.
Thank you Charley and Donna Walker for all of the great work that you do for our parish and community.