Welcome to the April 2025 edition of our Council newsletter!

As usual, a few quick but important items right up-front:

• Our next regular business meeting will be Wednesday, April 9th, starting at 7:30 p.m. Dinner for $5 will be at 6:30, as usual. All members are welcome. PLEASE BRING YOUR 2025 MEMBERSHIP CARD WITH YOU!

• Our Lenten Fish Fry Fridays are coming to an end this Friday, April 11th! Be sure to get in your order before our online store closes at 7 p.m. on Thursday. Go to carmelfishfry.com to see the menu and place your order. We'll have a full recap of our Fish Fry and the names of the charities which will benefit from the proceeds in a future edition of The Lake Current. Thanks for your support!



• Please see the special message about Easter and the parish Holy Week schedule at the end of this newsletter.

Mike Vrabel and Kim Crecco Honored at Chapter Awards Gala

Our Council and Ladies Auxiliary proudly honored two very special people for their service and leadership. Sir Knight Michael Vrabel and Ladies Auxiliary Past President Kim Crecco were our honorees at the 2025 Westchester-Putnam Chapter Annual Awards Gala, held at the beautiful Mulino's at Lake Isle in Eastchester on Sunday, March 24th.

We filled three guest tables and once again made ourselves known as the most spirited and active council in the Chapter.

The Council honored Mike Vrabel for his tireless and devoted service to our Council, Home Corporation, and Fourth Degree Assembly, including service in the Mother Cabrini Assembly Color Corps.

Mike is our very own "MacGyver," solving problems, and making repairs and improvements, mostly behind the scenes. He is also our Master Fryer for our Fish Fry Crew and our Lounge's Sunday Football snack bar. Mike was honored for his dedication, industriousness, service, culinary prowess, friendship, and fraternal spirit.

Our Ladies Auxiliary conferred well-deserved honors upon their Past President, Kim Crecco. Under Kim's leadership, the Ladies continued to add to their list of amazing accomplishments. Notable among them is Kim's creation of "Our Christmas Village," which has become the jewel in the crown of the Hamlet of Carmel's annual Holiday on the Lake celebration.

Kim also brings her creativity and fun spirit to our Council events, making them all the more special. She presently serves on the Ladies Auxiliary's Executive Board as a Trustee, continuing to help the Ladies with the many great things they do for our Council and our community year after year.

Get Your Game on at Game Night!

Get ready! Get set! GO! ... to our first Game Night on Saturday, April 12th, starting at 7 p.m.

Our Ladies Auxiliary promises that this will be great night with fun games that you can play or just watch and laugh along with the players. These are not board games! Instead, these are get-up-and laugh games, team games, and relay games (no running!). 

So put on some comfy attire, get your game on, and come out to have some fun!

Tickets Now On Sale for Murder Mystery Dinner Theater

Make your reservations for what promises to be a fun-filled night of interactive comedy dinner theater at our Council on Saturday, May 17, as Murder Mystery Manhattan presents:

The Soupranos: Gravy or Sauce?

The Soupranos become moon struck in this laugh-out-loud, “diss”-functional family farce. Pony and Hormella Souprano invite you to the party of the season to celebrate their anniversary. Become part of the famiglia as a guest at the party, and find out who the real bosses are – the men or their mamas? Pony tries to keep the peace between the rival crime families but instead, watch the ziti fly, and see who survives!

For only $100 you'll get an outstanding show, a full hot buffet dinner with appetizers and dessert catered by Luigi's Famiglia Cucina, and an open bar! Doors open at 6 p.m., dinner buffet starts at 7 p.m., and showtime is 8 p.m.

Advanced reservations and ticket prepayment are required to hold your seat. For tickets, please contact Bobby Palazzo at 845-216-1997.

Cash Bingo Returns Sunday, April 13!

Our Ladies Auxiliary presents another fun afternoon of Cash Bingo on Sunday, April 13th.

Doors open 1 p.m. First game is at 2 p.m.

Your $35 (if prepaid!) gets you admission and all-nighters. Extra Specials and Bell Jar tickets will be sold.

Reservations ONLY through Eventbrite. Click here to make your reservation.

Walk-ins will pay $40 at the door -- if there are any remaining seats.

Proceeds will be donated to worthy local charities and causes!

There will be a concessions table, but feel free to bring your own snacks. Complimentary coffee and tea will be available.

No persons under age 18 permitted.

The next bingo will be Sunday, May 4th.

Contact ladieskofc@gmail.com with questions.

Sign-up for The George Dean Memorial Golf Outing on Friday, June 6th!

Putnam County

Golf Course

9 a.m. Shotgun Start

Sponsorships Available - Take one Today!

Our fantastic George Dean Memorial Annual Golf Outing will be on Friday, June 6th!

In addition to a great round of golf at Putnam County Golf Course, you'll get a delicious lunch, beverage cart, golfer SWAG, prizes, and our own sumptuous filet mignon dinner, all for only $175.

Sponsorships are available: Hole Sponsor ($150, or $100 with a foursome), Lunch Sponsor ($500); Dinner Sponsor ($750) and Platinum Sponsor ($1000).

Click here to download the handbill with the reservation and sponsorship form.

Registration is 8 a.m.; shotgun start at 9 a.m. Cocktails and dinner for golfers at our Council immediately following the outing.

Prizes will be awarded for best foursome, longest drive, and closest to the pin.

This is our annual major fundraiser that enables our Council to do the many charitable, community and parish activities that we do on a regular basis. Please support this event by golfing, taking a sponsorship, donating prizes, or helping us get others to do the same.

For reservations, sponsorships, or more information, please contact PGK Bill Forbes, Anthony Falco or GK Rick Kreps.

Fourth Degree News

MEETING NOTICE

The next meeting of Mother Cabrini Assembly will be Thursday, April 17th, at our Council. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. All Fourth Degree Sir Knights are welcome and encouraged to attend.

West/Put St. Patrick's Day Parade Awards



The Northern Westchester / Putnam Saint Patrick's Day Parade Committee will be presenting awards for the best groups in this year's parade on Tuesday, April 8th.

The festivities begin at at 7 p.m. in our Council Hall. All are welcome to attend.

Below is the list of 2025 Parade Award winners. Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to all of the participants and sponsors for another outstanding event.

• April 27 (Sat.): Volunteer for Special Olympics Hudson Valley Regional Spring Games at USMA West Point. It is always a fun time and a very rewarding experience to help with these events. The Knights of Columbus has a unique partnership with the Special Olympics and has helped disabled athletes train for and compete in games around the world. If you wish to volunteer, please contact Chris Cohen at cohenc@pcaobus.org.



• May 23 (Fri): Tenth Annual Founders' Day BBQ & Trongone Award Ceremony - There's no better way to kick-off summer than with an incredible feast for the whole family (including our fantastic pig roast!) and our tribute to a member who has provided exemplary service to our Council over many years. Save the date!.

Closing Thoughts On Holy Week

Beginning April 13th with Palm Sunday, And Culminating Easter Sunday, April 20th.

Holy Week is a very sacred time of the year, when we will commemorate and remember the last week of Jesus' life on this earth. The greatest focus of the week is the Passion (suffering) and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the events that led up to it.

It begins with Palm Sunday, which marks Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The central feature of the service proper to this day, as it was in the earliest times, is the procession of palms. The palms are blessed and are then borne in procession to the church, where an entry is made with a certain amount of ceremony, after which the Mass is celebrated. The other notable and very ancient feature of the present Palm Sunday service is the reading of the Gospel of the Passion by three readers.

Especially important for Catholics is the Easter Triduum. This is the three days just before Easter. On Holy Thursday, we reenact the Lord's Last Supper, which He shared with His apostles on the night He was betrayed and arrested. This is one of the most beautiful liturgies of the entire liturgical year. At the Mass, the priest will wash the feet of twelve men, just as Jesus did. Also on this night, priests all over the world will renew their sacred vows. This is because, at the Last Supper, Jesus not only instituted the Mass (Eucharist) but also the ministerial priesthood.

On Good Friday, the day of the crucifixion and death of our Lord, we have the veneration of the Cross. A service is typically held at three o'clock in the afternoon (the hour He is believed to have died) and another later in the evening. We go forward and kiss the Cross in order to show honor and respect for Christ's sacrifice for our sake. There is no consecration of the Eucharist on this day, and the Communion we receive will be from the night before, which has been reserved in the tabernacle.

Holy Saturday is a vigil. We keep watch for the expectant rising of Our Savior. This was the day He went down into the netherworld in order to bring back up with Him into heaven those who had died before His coming. Up to this time, the gates to heaven were closed and no one could go there because of the original sin of Adam. Jesus changed all that. By paying the price for our sins on the Cross, He gained for us our eternal salvation, and heaven was opened once more. Also on this night, persons who have spent months of preparation will be received through Baptism and Confirmation into the Catholic Church for the first time. It is a joyous occasion.

Those who engage themselves wholeheartedly in living the entire paschal cycle (Lent, Triduum and Easter's Fifty Days) discover that it can change them forever. This is especially so of the Triduum which, standing at the heart of the Easter season, is an intense immersion in the fundamental mystery of what it is to be Christian. During these days, we suffer with Christ so that we might rise with Him at His glorious Resurrection. Holy Week is a time to clear our schedules of unnecessary activities. Our minds and hearts should be fixed on Jesus and what He did for us. Let us bear the Cross so that may be worthy of wearing the crown He wore.

[Thanks to the Catholic Education Resource Center for this information.]

In addition to the services described above, 0ur parish, St. James the Apostle & Our Lady of the Lake/Mt. Carmel, also conducts Tenebrae services on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Tenebrae is a Latin word meaning shadows or darkness and designates a special form of prayer which is prayed by the Church on these days. Tenebrae is an ancient service of gradual darkness that symbolizes the darkness of Jesus’s death. Please see the schedule below for times and location.

The officers of Our Lady of the Lakes Council wish you and your family a blessed and joyous Easter Season!