News

Did you stop by to visit with the Easter Bunny April 6 at Ascension? Just hop on over to this link to find your picture. We’ve got over 100!

Congratulations to our squad of Monday Night Football pool winners. Watch for our next season later this year!

Jan. 9: Super Bowl: Sara Stiefferman, Norman Constable
Jan. 26: NFC Championship: Ron Meier, Todd Wilson, Mark Czajkowski
Jan. 26: AFC Championship: Don Walther, Ted Naegel 
Dec. 30: Sarah Chitwood, Kevin McKenna
Dec. 23: Matt Catinna, Bill Klein
Dec. 16: Ron Meier, Todd Wilson, Mark Czajkowski
Dec. 9: Bob Kalinich, Gerard Marshall, Bernie Schmidt
Dec 2: Val Wilkinson, Bill Boughner, Henry Hagenhoff
Nov. 25: Joe McHugh, Tina Fenili
Nov. 18: Don Walther, Ted Naegel
Nov. 11: Don Walther, Ted Naegel
Nov. 4: Ron Casey, Harry Bussmann
Oct. 28: Tom Arett, Aleta Marshall, Gwen Muzik
Oct. 21: Ron Meier, Todd Wilson, Mark Czajkowski
Oct. 14: Dan Fenili, Ron George, Michael Reib
Oct. 7: Andy Dyszlewski, Michelle Wilson
Sept. 30: David Copeland, Kathy Walters, Tony Newell
Sept. 23: Al Tornabeni, Steve Fultz
Sept. 16: John Avery, Lyle Gilbertson
Sept. 9: Brian Fenili, Joe Gallagher, Evert Cecil

Thank you for supporting our charities!

Two Knights of the Month were honored at the January Council meeting. Dave Zink was awarded for the Sunday with Santa event and Bill Klein for running the Monday Night Football pool fundraiser.

Thanks to the Knights’ support of October’s Developmental Disability (Tootsie Roll) Drive, Council leaders recently presented a check for $4,291.52 to Manchester-based Lafayette Industries, a sheltered workshop founded in 1976 to provide employment for adults with developmental disabilities.

Our “Santa Sunday” celebration was an outstanding event. It was a magical experience to see the joy of the children’s faces meeting with Santa and the happiness of the parents and grandparents. Santa’s helpers really had a workout to keep up with the crowd.  Thank you to Dave Zink, our Family Program Director, and all of our Knights, Ladies, and Santa’s helpers (more than 20 altogether!) who helped manage the crowds. This is one of our annual events that never gets old where we can witness firsthand the joy of our children and our parish family. Santa was very busy, as there were 165 children who visited him. Each child received a coloring book, crayons, a small bag of candy, and a toy. A small band played and sang Christmas music for an hour and a half. Click here for the photos that were taken of the children and families with Santa—Many thanks to our photographer this year, Kevin Hennessey!

In the month of August, three new Knights joined us: Chris Richie, Justin Cahill and Dennis Snyder. Please make sure to welcome these new Knights and get them involved in our Council! 

Also, mark your calendars and save the date of Saturday, Nov. 2. Our Council will be hosting the annual  “ Football Chili Bowl from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the Ascension Parish Hall. This event will be open to all men of the parish who are 18 years and older. Good chili, good football and good camaraderie are on top, and we may even throw in a 50-50 raffle.  — Ron Meier

Summer break is nearly over and we begin the new season on Saturday, Sept. 14. The dance parties will follow the same format as in prior years regarding location, times, special themes, etc.  The theme for Sept. 14 is simply “Welcome Back.” We will need a strong turnout of chaperone volunteers to handle the expected big crowd typical of the first dance. This is especially true at the start, because we require new updated registration forms. Set-up starts at 6 p.m. and doors open at 7 p.m.

Traditionally, the Operating Committee attends the 5 p.m. Mass at St Clare of Assisi and receives a special blessing to kick off our new year. All volunteers are invited to attend! — Bill Lukas

On Saturday, May 4, the Ascension Knights sponsored the fourth annual High on Life Kite Festival supporting pro-life causes and offering a family-fun weekend event to enhance awareness of the special gift of life God has given us. The sunny weather and moderate wind provided a great time for all.

One of the many advantages of this event is that it is held in our own backyard, so it is easy to get to and available for school kids and others who might not be able to travel to a farther destination. It seeks to bring awareness of the cause of life right in our community, and awareness for those who are considering abortion and seeing the help being offered versus going to an abortion clinic. The kite festival sends a message while having family fun and being “HIGH ON LIFE”. To our knowledge, this is the only kite event promoting the Respect Life theme.

Held for the second year at Chesterfield Central Park, the event was attended by over 120 people, ranging in age from several months to 80 years of age. The kids decorated kites with pro-life symbols—with the assistance of Rosanna Benitez—and flew them with their parents and grandparents while others looked on from chairs and viewing areas. It was truly a joy to watch all the families enjoying the gift of life that God has given us!

Our day started out with Brother Knight Kevin Hennessey in full dress with his bagpipes leading the start of the festivities. The Gateway Kite Club, based in St Louis, was with us also, displaying their large and colorful kites. Thank you to the many Knights and Ladies and other volunteers, the Gateway Kite Club for their awesome displays, bagpiper Kevin Hennessey, photographer Tim Walsh, Thrive for its gift and supply donations, Chesterfield Parks, and many others. A special thank-you also goes to Father Patrick Hambrough, our Pastor, and Father Kent Pollman, our Council chaplain, who stopped by at separate times and spent time with everyone.

If you missed this year’s event, you can view the online photo gallery and plan to join us next year as we continue to promote the gift of life!