By Robert Camilleri
Special to the Herald
On Feb. 16, over 200 priests, deacons, religious women and men, and members of the Knights of Columbus and their families gathered in the Kroc Community Center in Ewa Beach for the annual Knights of Columbus Hawaii State Council Religious Appreciation Dinner.
For the first time, before the dinner, each priest, deacon and religious woman or man received a welcome gift of a water bottle from the state council. Each water bottle bore words from the Gospel of Saint Matthew: “With God all things are possible.”
The evening began with a fourth-degree color guard posting the colors, which included both the U.S. and Hawaii state flags; the Pledge of Allegiance and stirring renditions of the national anthem and “Hawaii Pono‘i” followed.
Master of ceremonies and state advocate Alberto Morales introduced state deputy Lito Alvarez, who welcomed attendees. After the invocation offered by Deacon Rafael Mendoza, people enjoyed a delicious buffet dinner and socializing.
After the meal, 16 grand knights, each representing a Knights of Columbus council, lined up to present a check from their respective councils to Msgr. Gary Secor, vicar general of the Diocese of Honolulu.
Each of the council checks was donated to the diocesan Priests’ Retirement Fund, totaling $8,793.
Msgr. Secor thanked the Knights of Columbus for their donation to the Priests’ Retirement Fund. He ended the evening with a benediction for all in attendance.
Through the annual dinner, the Knights of Columbus and their families again showed our priests, deacons and religious women and men how much they appreciate their service to the people of God and the Diocese of Honolulu.
Above: Grand Knight Ryan Brown presented a check to Msgr. Gary Secor in support of the diocesan Priests’ Retirement Fund. (Courtesy Cam Dataragan)