Knights of Columbus

Knights of Columbus - STA Council #9287

Thank you for inquiring about becoming a member of the Knights of Columbus. Let me be the first to welcome you, and invite you to join our council. We serve the St Thomas Apostle Community located, at 24th Street and Campbell in Phoenix, Arizona. The information below covers most of what you need to know. Should you have any questions please, contact our Financial Secretary listed below.

Financial Secretary - Council #9287
Jim Tweedley
602-954-6778 Home
602-405-2551 Cell
jamestweedley@cox.net

What are the Knights?
The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. God, Community, and Charity, is the foremost principles of the Knights. Please visit us at www.kofc.org.

Requirements
Any Catholic male, 18 years or older, may join the Knights of Columbus.

Dues
Annual dues are currently $25 per year and billed in January.

Benefits
Knights of Columbus members, automatically receive a One-Thousand dollar life insurance policy at no cost to the member.

Discounted Insurance
Additional insurance may be purchased through the Knights of Columbus. Life Insurance, long term Care Insurance, and Annuities are available to members only. Since, K of C insurance is a privately held, no commercial insurance company can match our discounted rates!

What we do
STA Knights do more than serve coffee and donuts after Sunday Mass. Council #9287 supports the entire Saint Thomas Community. This includes the needs of the Parish School and Seminarians. We provide financial support through fund raising activities such as, Christmas card sales and raffles. In addition, we are often called upon to provide man-power for events, such as, the Ordination of a new Priest, Parish breakfast, or School function.

If you are a member of the STA Parish, and/or have children enrolled in the school, there is no reason not to be a member of STA Knights. Everything we do, benefits you as a member of the Saint Thomas Community. The funds we generate go back into our STA community. For example, donut sales directly support STA Seminarians. Other events support our Parish School in the form of Tuition Assistance.

Time Commitment
Understandably, you may be reluctant to join the Knights of Columbus due to concerns of a huge time commitment. However, this is not the case. Many of our council activities are typically held after Mass and require 20-30 minutes of your time. Our monthly meeting is typically about one hour long.

STA Dads
Extra demands on your time by becoming a Knight are minimal. The service hours you dedicate to the school by coaching STA sports teams, volunteering at the school auction, or other similar activities, fulfill Service hour requirements for the Knights.

Meetings
Our council meets 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM on the second Tuesday of the month. Meetings are held in classroom #13 located adjacent to the east entrance of St Thomas the Apostle Church. Meetings are about one hour. Should you be unable to attend, we will keep you informed Via Email.

Council Requirements
Each Knight is required to participate in at least two council activities per year. There are a number of opportunities to participate. For example, you could represent our council by becoming a Eucharistic Minister in the Church, or volunteer for a few minutes after Mass selling Donuts.

Members that are unable to participate due to health issues or work schedules can participate by offering a daily prayer for our St Thomas the Apostle community.

How to Join the Knights - New Members
If you are new to the Knights of Columbus, you must first contact the Council Financial Secretary (FS) listed above. The FS will help you fill out a "Form 100" membership application, and get you registered for your 1st Degree Ceremony. These ceremonies are held several times a month at different locations throughout the greater Phoenix area. There are plenty of options to fit your schedule. You will be escorted to the 1st degree Ceremony by one of our council officers. Once you are "Knighted", you may attend our monthly meetings and events. Typically, 1st degree Ceremonies take about an hour.

Transfers
If you are already a Knight, and are transferring to our council, you need to contact the council Financial Secretary listed above. He will help you fill out a Form 100 transfer, and get you all set-up.