February 2015 Bulletin: Proving God's Not Dead

Lead article from the February 2015 bulletin, online now.

I watched a movie with the family this past weekend, and it got me thinking about the world today and what we can do to make a difference.

First let me tell you about the movie. I’m sure many of you have watched it already, or if you haven’t, I would highly recommend it. The movie is God’s Not Dead.  It’s about a young Christian man in college and a conflict with a professor. The professor at the beginning of the class wants all the students to write on a piece of paper that “God is dead" and sign it. This young man struggles with this and won’t do it  The professor challenges the student to change his and the other students mind and prove that God’s not dead. That is all I will tell you about the movie in case you have not had a chance to see it.

Now, on to the world today and all that is going on. What can we do to prove that God is not dead?  It starts with realizing that many people truly believe that there is no God and that is why bad things happen. We need to change that and let people know that God is not dead, and one of the greatest gifts He gave us was free will. 

If there was no God, then would there be a right and wrong moral compass? I think not. He set the standard and gave us the choice to follow or not. Which brings me back to what we can do to prove that God is not dead.

The easy thing is to continue to be Knights and show what we are about: the men in blue. We are strong and can continue to lead by example! We should be like the young man in the movie. When challenged about our faith, we should not waver, but accept the challenge, defend our faith, and prove that God is real.

I know that sometimes I don’t have the confidence in myself to defend my beliefs, but that doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t try. All it takes is listening to that voice in your heart and let the Holy Spirit guide you. Many of you are much better at finding the right words or able to quote scripture passages off the top of your head. This is great, but if you are like me, the words don’t come that quickly and you need time to process ideas.

The main thing I want to get across is to continue to help form our youth in the faith, and slowly we can change the perception that God is dead.  So, I have a challenge for you: the next time someone dumps on faith or religion, stand up and defend your beliefs.

Together we can change the world.

God Bless,

Jim Wiegers

He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.  He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded. -- Psalm 105:7-8

January 2015 Bulletin: Don't Give Up On God

Lead article from the January 2015 bulletin, online now.

Lyrics from Casting Crowns, “Praise You in this Storm”

I was sure by now

God You would have reached down

And wiped our tears away

Stepped in and saved the day

But once again, I say "Amen,"

and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls

I barely hear Your whisper through the rain

"I'm with you"

And as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise the God who gives

And takes away

And I'll praise You in this storm

And I will lift my hands

For You are who You are

No matter where I am

And every tear I've cried

You hold in Your hand

You never left my side

And though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

It is easy to Praise God when everything is going well for you and your family; on the same token we find it all to easy to curse God when things don’t go the way we planned.  I know all too well from experience how easy it is to get frustrated and give up on God.  Many of you know part of my story and for those who don’t, you soon will.  The Holidays are always tough on us for my wife and I have lost many pregnancies over the years, the hardest of which is the loss of my son Connor who was still born at 36 weeks.  It took me a while to get over this loss and I did a ton of blaming everyone from my wife to the doctors to God.  It has been over 10 years already and I can’t help but think how things could have been.  As I reflect on this and the other losses I see that this helped form me into who I am today.  It helped me to realize that I was on the wrong path and I needed to bring God back into my family.  So I guess what I am saying that even in your darkest hour, God is still with you and will help you along your journey if you help him.  I still find myself wandering and from time to time; I am still a work in progress, I guess.  But I know that if I stay strong in my faith and help my family stay strong in their faith we can make it through anything.

I remember when

I stumbled in the wind

You heard my cry to you

And you raised me up again

My strength is almost gone

How can I carry on

If I can't find You

But as the thunder rolls

I barely hear You whisper through the rain

"I'm with you"

And as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise the God who gives

And takes away

I lift my eyes unto the hills

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord

The Maker of Heaven and Earth

My little words of advice: even though you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, keep your faith and keep moving forward.  No matter what life brings you -- the ups, downs, twists, and turns -- don’t turn your back on your faith and know that God is with you on your journey.

God Bless,

Jim Wiegers

Grand Knight

December 2014 Bulletin: Christmas Fellowship

Lead article from the December 2014 bulletin, online now. 

Can you believe the fraternal year is half over already? Wow does time fly and our council has been very active yet again. We had a huge hand in building a new rectory for our priests, coat drive and we did a spaghetti dinner fundraiser for a fellow Knight. The youth had the soccer challenge, All Saints party and the St. Nicholas party is coming up. We did overnight adoration for the confirmation students retreat. We marched in 3 parades this summer, and made it through the storms during Albertville City Days. The trees are coming in for the tree lot and we are gearing up to start shortly, which will take us up till Christmas.

Let us not forget to keep Christ in Christmas; we need to help make sure the youth of our community don’t forget that it’s not all about just getting and receiving presents. I have to say our council does an excellent job of being active, visible and a positive influence on the youth of our community. Let us continue to be outspoken about our beliefs and support our faith.

Our next meeting will be an open meeting and we will be bringing back the wine tasting. So don’t forget to invite your spouse or significant other. We will have a shorter business meeting and get you to the sampling. It should be a good time and best of all you won’t have to listen to me fumble through a whole meeting!

Hope you all have a safe and joyful Christmas and a happy New Year!

God Bless,
Jim Wiegers
Grand Knight