Knights of Columbus
Visit the official Council 5816 website for the most up-to-date information.
Who are the Knights of Columbus?
Founded by a young parish priest now on the path to sainthood, the Knights of Columbus has helped strengthen men, their families, their parishes and their communities since 1882. Today, there are more than 1.9 million members of the Knights of Columbus doing good across the world. The Knights of Columbus stands as the strong right arm of the Church, and challenges members to grow in their faith through programs, fraternity and exclusive membership benefits.
Together, we’re empowering Catholic men to live their faith at home, in their parish, at work and in their community.
What are some of our council programs?
Our council has several ongoing programs as well as many events occurring throughout the fraternal year.
Parish Life
We support the parish through our labors. Individually, many of our members are active on parish commissions or other groups such as St. Vincent de Paul, instruct faith formation, serve as Eucharistic Ministers, lectors and ushers, and the like/ As a council, we sponsor and organize various events, and staff or otherwise support other parish activities, including the following:
ICC Festival
Auction
Parish Picnic
Various Theme Dinners and Pancake Breakfasts
Stations of the Cross and Fish Fry dinners
Renovations and clean-up projects
End-Of-School Student BBQ
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Throughout the year, the council participates in fundraisers to support its activities and charities. We try to support what we believe in as Catholic Gentlemen with prayer and work. Besides raising funds for charities, these are also events of fraternity and fun.
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This shelter is operated by Catholic Community Services and is located adjacent to the Coast Guard Facility on the south Seattle waterfront. Council members serve dinner every month to approximately 200-250 men.
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STM holds adoration of the Blessed Sacrament the first Friday of every month from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM in the Parish Chapel.
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Each general meeting, a collection is taken for support of seminarians. The original concept of this nation-wide K of C program was members would take pennies collected during their everyday life out of circulation until donated to this cause. During the life of the program so far, this council has donated over $40,000 to seminarians directly and the bishops of Washington State for use in their seminarian programs. In addition to supporting the state fund, our council often provides direct support to a local seminarian.
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Founded by Thomas Chapman, this fund is used to provide tuition financial aid through the parish school at St. Thomas More to families in need every year. A potion of proceeds from all council fundraising events is automatically placed into this fund.
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We look out for and care about our members and their families. As situations arise, we want to acknowledge, console, support, and pray for them. We are especially concerned with any serious injury or illness, or the passing away of a member or a loved one. Also, we want to celebrate joyful occasions as well, such as the birth of a child.
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A central concern o four founder, Fr. Michael McGivney, was for the well-being of widows and children. In a poor, working-class community, Fr. McGivney saw too often husbands die and leave their families with no resources. In organizing the Knights of Columbus, a core objective was to pool resources to provide for these situations. From this beginning, the K of C life insurance program has grown into the largest, most respected private insurance organization, receiving the top ratings from A. M. Best and Standard & Poor’s. Not only providing excellent life insurance at reasonable rates, but proceeds also support many worthy church causes both nationally and internationally.
How Can I join the Knights of Columbus?
For more information please contact council leadership at info@LynnwoodKnights.org
I am a Knight. How can I get involved?
Our council meets every first Thursday of the month, unless rescheduled because of holidays, beginning at 7:00 PM in the council hall, to conduct council business. This general council meeting is open to all members of the Knights of Columbus.
Please contact the Grand Knight at GrandKnight@LynnwoodKnights.org for more information.
History of Our Council
Our council, Father Chirouse Council #5816, was chartered in March 1963 and at that time served St. Pius X, Holy Rosary and St. Thomas More parishes. Since then, other councils have been formed to serve St. Pius X and Holy Rosary. It is customary for councils to be named in honor of a bishop, priest or another distinguished Catholic. In our case, Father Eugene Casmir Chirouse was one of the early pioneer priests in the Oregon Territory.
Eugene Chirouse was born in 1821 in Bourg du Peage, France. He joined the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (O.M.I.) and arrived at Ft. Walla Walla in the fall of 1847. After several years of ministry to the tribes of that area, Fr. Chirouse was reassigned to minister, initially alone, to the tribes of the Puget Sound region. He settled on the banks of Ebey Slough, within the nearly formalized Tulalip reservation, and built a church.
His ministry was physically, mentally, and spiritually challenging as any. Living conditions were of minimum comfort and generally of deprivation. Language difficulties were enormous, with dialects differing from tribe to tribe. Illness and disease were rampant among the native peoples and Fr. Chirouse found himself frequently providing medical care to the sick and vaccinations to the others. Tensions between the tribes and the growing influx of white settlers occasionally placed Fr. Chirouse’s life in jeopardy as he tried to mediate. Support and resources to carry out his ministry were few.
He served the Puget Sound native peoples for 22 years until reassigned to British Columbia. He passed away in 1892. Fr. Eugene Chirouse was highly respected by the native peoples he served and regarded as a great missionary by them and his contemporaries, superiors and others observant in his work. He has been called the “Apostle of the Puget Sound Indians” and is truly deserving of the honor our council has given him.