Knight's of Columbus

The Knights of Columbus were founded in 1882 by Fr. Michael J. McGivney, the assistant pastor of St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Conn. From those humble beginnings 143 years ago, our Catholic fraternal service order has now grown globally to over two million members!

The Knight's guiding Principles:

• Charity – Our Catholic faith teaches us to “Love thy neighbor as thyself” and this is the driving force behind our programs and activities.

• Unity – None of us is as good as all of us. Members of the Knights of Columbus all know that—together—we can accomplish far more than any of us could individually. This unity is also exemplified in the aphorism, “Many hands make small work.”

• Fraternity – We follow the counsel of St. John the Evangelist, who told us: “Whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” Friendship and mutual support provide a foundation for us to stand united with our brothers as we put our faith into action.

• Patriotism – Members of the Knights of Columbus are patriotic citizens, regardless of their ancestry or ethnic origins. We are proud of our devotion to God and country, and we believe in standing up for both.

The Mission of the Knight's

It would be understandable if you associated the Knights with “food service.” Our cook crew led by Jaime Rivera: jrivera360@msn.com, is involved in most of the church activities involving food. We usually host two big dinner and dance events each year, as well as many other dinners, breakfasts, box lunches, and special social events such as picnic celebrations. But the truth is, we’re much more than that. Our members (and spouses) are involved with effectively every aspect of supporting our parish and priest. (In fact, our priest, deacons, Director of Faith Formation, Director of Youth & Young Adult Activities, and Facilities Steward are all Knights of Columbus!) We have members participating in virtually every ministry of the church, from the routine duties of helping with Mass to leading Faith Formation classes—in every regard, Knights are integral with how the parish puts our Catholic faith into action. And yet, that is still just part of what we do—the Knights are actually responsible for a full spectrum of regular activities besides these. 

Here are a few Mission Initiatives our Council is involved in:

• Working with other area Councils, we are providing a crucial community service by loaning out durable medical equipment free of charge with our KC HELP efforts. (The incredible growth of this group attests to how helpful they are. In 2023 over 4,000 pieces of equipment were loaned out, saving those most in need in our community over one million dollars. KC Help: www.kchelpkitsap.org

• In recent years, we have raised tens of thousands of dollars to support people with disabilities, including the Easter Seals Camp “Stand by Me” and the Washington State Special Olympics. (Besides financial donations via the Tootsie Roll Program, we have done hundreds of hours of volunteer work at Camp “Stand by Me”: http://www.easterseals.com/washington/programs-and-services/camping-recreation

• We also work closely with the Bremerton St. Vincent de Paul Society. Several Knights and their spouses are volunteer workers at the food bank. The Knights conduct food and diaper drives, and other drives in support of St. Vincent de Paul.

• Since the pandemic our parish has donated over 60,000 lbs. of food and $60,000 to the St. Vincent de Paul food bank! www.svdpbremerton.com

There are other programs we are involved with. Our full list of charitable efforts fall under our four program categories of: