First Lenten Fish Fry of the season at St. Raphael Catholic Church

Photos by Jane Winstead

2015 Italian "Knight" Dinner in the Parish Center

Hundreds of parishioners turned out on Saturday for the Knights of Columbus fundraising event. Here's a photo album of the festivities.

Knights monthly pancake breakfast

Photos by Jane Winstead

Here are photos from the first free Knights Pancake Breakfast of 2015.

Knights of Columbus second annual Christmas Pot Luck Dinner

Photos by Jane Winstead 

St. Raphael Knights of Columbus members and their families joined their brother Knights on Thursday, December 18, for the second annual Christmas Pot Luck Dinner in the Parish Hall. The gala event is becoming an annual tradition in the parish.

Knights of Columbus Italian Family "Knight" Dinner

Photos by T. Allan Smith 

Knights of Columbus Council 10157 at St. Raphael Catholic Church presented its first annual Italian Family "Knight" Dinner on Saturday, September 20, in the Parish Center. Food, music, and fun were the order of the evening.

Save the date for the 1st annual Italian Family "Knight"

Lenten Fish Fry Friday -- 03.21.14

Photos by Jane Winstead

Knights of Columbus Super Sub construction party

Photos by Jane Winstead 

Members of the Knights of Columbus gathered on Saturday afternoon to build Super Subs for the Super Bowl, a fund-raising project of the Knights. Subs were distributed to parishioners on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. The slideshow below has photos from Sunday.

Knights of Columbus Free Pancake Breakfast

Photos by Jane Winstead

Rest in Peace, Sir Knight Richard 'Dick' Haight

Photos by Jane Winstead 

Color Corps Commander

Richard "Dick" Haight, 72, who was known for his local service in the Knights of Columbus council, died Monday, September 2. He most recently served as Commander of the Color Corps and frequently led K of C ceremonies at St. Raphael. (Above is a photo tribute to Dick Haight assembled by Jane Winstead.)

He was a member of St. Paul's Catholic Church and a former parishioner at St. Raphael.

 Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, September 5, at St. Paul's Catholic Church. The Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. on Friday, September 6 at St. Paul's.

Please pray for Dick's wife, Glenda, and their family. Here is a link to the obituary for Dick Haight in the Tampa Bay Times. 

Knights prepare free pancake breakfast after Mass

Photos by Jane Winstead 

Knights of Columbus prepared a free pancake breakfast for St. Raphael parishioners on Sunday, September 1. It is just one more way in which the K of C give back to the parish and diocese community.

Knights Pinellas Hope dinner raises $2,000

Knights of Columbus donated more than $2,000 to Pinellas Hope, the proceeds from the third annual Pinellas Hope Dinner. Some 121 parishioners from St. Raphael and other parishes attended the event. Sheila Lopez, chief operating officer of Catholic Charities, and Angela Mosley, housing manager of Pinellas Hope gave an update on the status of the project. Pinellas Hope provides temporary shelter for homeless men and women at a facility on 20 acres in Clearwater. The project, a program of Catholic Charities in the Diocese of St. Petersburg, began in 2007.

K of C Pancake Breakfast was tasty

Photos by Jane Winstead 

Parishioners turned out for the Knights of Columbus annual Pancake Breakfast on Sunday morning after the 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Masses. Mmmmm! Love those pancakes drenched in syrup and those delicious sausages.

CCW-K of C luncheon card party

Photos by Jane Winstead

The Council of Catholic Women and the Knights of Columbus sponsored a lunchtime card party on Saturday, October 15, in the Parish Center. Participants played bridge, rummy, poker and other games. Numerous people won great door prizes. Chris Winstead was surprised with a special birthday cake.

Pinellas Hope dinner 10.08.11

Photos by Julie Lynch and Ed Lynch

St. Raphael parishioners and supporters of Pinellas Hope around the diocese attended a fundraising dinner in the Parish Center sponsored by the Knights of Columbus on Saturday, October 8. Sheila Lopez, chief operating officer of Catholic Charities in the Diocese of St. Petersburg, was among the speakers. She told of the great work being done at Pinellas Hope to help homeless people find shelter and get back on their feet.

A history of the project was also presented. Pinellas Hope began in 2007 when Bishop Robert Lynch opened 10 acres in downtown St. Petersburg as a temporary shelter for the homeless. The program has grown now much larger. A new 20-acre site was opened last year and, with the help of local and state governments and donations from Catholics in the diocese, Pinellas Hope is providing a safe living environment for homeless people and support to become self sufficient.

Andrew Wargo, Knights of Columbus ministry

I came to Florida to work with Franklin Templeton Investments back in 2006. 

At that time I was on my own with no family in the area.  I knew that God was important to me and I wanted to find ways to better grow toward Him. 

I participated in the Fall Harvest Festival for Saint Mary's church in November 2006 and the event was a great success. During the event, I was approached by a man named Don who asked if I had ever considered becoming a Knight. 

Having little knowledge of the organization based on my memories in Pennsylvania, I decided to join as I was looking for more opportunities to get involved with charity.  

The Knights of Columbus began in 1881 in the basement of St. Mary's Church in New Haven, Connecticut. Father Michael McGivney brought a group of men together to   K of C is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization.

Since then, I have helped raise money for the Knights that has gone toward seminarians, distressed brothers, the handicapped, and the church. 

Most of these events are not glamorous and are things that the majority of people would not be interested in doing. 

I have served the Knights by standing outside of churches and Publix, by hosting dinners and pancake breakfasts, providing meals at Pinellas Hope, working the Papa Johns pizza booth at Tropicana Field, and taking an officer role in Council 2105 to provide input for how we could better serve the community. 

There are 14,000 councils and 1.8 million members throughout the world.

I am currently the Deputy Grand Knight and have been nominated for Grand Knight this coming year. 

I am greatful for all that I have been able to do with this organization and I encourage anybody at Saint Raphael who is interested in charity to join.

If you're interested: If you would like join the Knights of Columbus, send an e-mail to Andrew Wargo at wargocc83@hotmail.com