QUIZZYLIMPICS COMES TO SAINT JOHN FISHER'S IN PRITTLEWELL 

This was a long time coming after this quiz had changed venues and dates on more than one occasion but after advertising this in the bulletins around the five parishes and seven churches locally, the Knights of Saint Columba finally held this event in the Borough of Southend-on-Sea on the evening of Saturday 20th February and a very enjoyable evening was had by all present. This regional quiz was contested with a chance to reach the grand final as part of an initiative by the Brentwood Catholic Children's Society (BCCS) and was free to enter which made the evening very attractive.

The teams set about choosing a name for their tables and if points were awarded for the names they all picked then the scoring would have been high before the quizmaster had even asked the first question.

Sitting at the top table helping the quiz to function along its merry path can certainly give you a relieved feeling when you see the questions and think 'Oh I know that', and then when the answer is finally given, you realise that what you thought was a name of a type of tortoise was in fact one of the most deadly snakes on the earth. Yes I was having a bad day and lucky for the teams that I wasn't placed on one of their tables!

With that confession out the way, the quiz was highly contested with two teams tying for last place and two teams finishing joint first. Thankfully the two teams that came first represented two different churches so they qualified to both go forward to the BCCS Quizzylimpics final on March 18th in the hall at Brentwood Cathedral.

We held a mid quiz raffle with some fantastic prizes on offer; well it wouldn't be the same if we didn't and a retiring collection for the BCCS ensured that as a fundraiser the whole evening was a worthwhile exercise.

New Member joins Southend-on-Sea 192

The parish of Saint John Fisher has a new member of the Knights from within their community

Today, on the fifth Sunday of the Church's year, and after the Gospel where we heard Simon leaving his fishing boats to become a fisher of men, a new brother; Brother Duncan, joined our Council during Mass at Saint John Fisher's Church in Prittlewell.

Father Lee, who is parish priest at Saint John Fisher's, and is also a Member of Honour spoke some very kind words about our work and support locally, and after the solemn declaration, initiated Brother Duncan into our Order which was followed by a round of applause from parishioners. Brother Duncan, has pledged to support the clergy and the Church and has already been a great help with the work of the Knights this year and we wish him many fruitful years ahead.

Chairman Liam welcoming Brother Duncan after Mass had finished

Most of the Knights present took advantage of the sumptuous cake and coffee on sale in the hall after Mass on the last Sunday before Lent begins. A much needed energy boost ahead of the forty days of Lent to come!

QUIZZYLYMPICS – Saturday 20th February 

Organised by the Knights of Saint Columba (KSC) of Southend-on-Sea in aid of Brentwood Catholic Children's Society (BCCS). Free to enter to anyone, please bring a team to Saint John Fisher Hall to compete in this topical quiz where the winning team will advance to the Diocesan Final to be held in Brentwood later in the year. If you do not have a team don't worry, we can form individuals and couples into groups. Doors open at 6.30pm for a 7.00pm start – there will be a raffle during the interval in aid of the KSC and a retiring collection in aid of BCCS. 

Who are the Knights of Southend-on-Sea 192? 

Not just the official line as that can be found on our
home page of our website (www.ksc192.org) but just
who are we in Southend-on-Sea?

People could say we are like worker ants busying ourselves around the parishes we work in. This is certainly true because we were the forerunners to Parish Councils back in the day, working with and for our parish priests who were also members, carrying out duties to assist the clergy in the running of the parishes. It is no coincidence that some of our main key members in years past were key to supporting my journey through life while growing up in a Catholic family with Catholic values, in a Catholic community not just in the parish I grew up and served in but around the parishes of the Borough of Southend. People that my family met with regularly and socialised with and it all centred around parish life. Charles and Doris Ogden who sadly both are no longer with us were always there in my parish of Saint John Fisher in Prittlewell while growing up. Charles was a member of the Knights for over fifty years until he passed away. I recently found my Children's Bible I was given at my First Holy Communion and in there is a card from Charles and Doris. In our parish he was involved in everything. The man in the background supporting the parish. I will never forget the words that Father (now Canon) Peter Connor said at Charles' funeral "that if there are any squeaky gates or doors in heaven then we can be certain that Charles would be reliably there to oil and fix them".

My Dad used to take me occasionally to Our Lady Help of Christians and Saint Helen in Westcliff-on-Sea. One of the key figures in that parish was a gentleman named Frank Persighetti who passed away on Monday March 17th 2014. Just like Charles Ogden, Frank was a key worker in his parish also involved in everything and well respected within the parish. He was also a member of the Knights for over fifty years when he passed away; sixty-four years a member to be precise.

One of my favourite churches to visit was Our Lady of Lourdes and Saint Joseph in Leigh-on-Sea. Here I used to met my extended family and cousins. My Uncle Gerard was until very recently Master of Ceremonies in this parish. My Granddad lived here too. Did I mention they were members of the Knights? Well, just like my Dad they were. My Dad has been an active member for well over fifty years.

The Knights of Saint Columba have been around in Southend-on-Sea since 1928. We have had many highlights and have reached some serious lows as well. We are the sum of our parts. Consistent, loyal and just eager to support our Church and our parishes. Individually we are nothing special. Dedicated perhaps but as a team we have done some phenomenal work. We all have different skill sets to offer. We all have flaws in our faith and as human beings. As Knights we can come together as a brotherhood, and this helps us all to develop our faith on our individual journeys.

As our blog entries develop, we (meaning our collective number) hope to add stories from years passed to build up a catalogue of our involvement in Catholic Action both locally and in wider circles as well as current activities and what we hope to achieve moving forward.

We hope we can share articles of value and we hope this blog can develop to record our history and contribution to our communities both past and recent.

Thanks for reading
Damian Dillon