The St. Joseph Mantua Knights of Columbus Council 3766 and the St. Ambrose Garrettsville Council 11801 will be hosting the 2025 Basketball Free Throw Contest for all boys and girls ages 9 through 14 on Saturday, January 11, at the Crestwood Intermediate School gym beginning at 1 p.m. The participant’s age category is determined by his/her age as of January 1st. A parent or guardian’s signature is required for entry. Contestants receive a Certificate of Participation and each age/gender category winner receives a special prize. Winners will progress to the Regional competition that will be held at Garrettsville High School on February 22. If you have questions or need any additional information, please contact Ed Zwolinski at 440-413-4246 or [email protected] or David Vincent at 234-243-2999 or [email protected].

Knights of Columbus' Field Agent Daniel Slattery will be presenting a Long-Term Care Seminar on Thursday, January 25, 2024, beginning at 6 p.m. in Hughes Hall. This is open to all who are interested. For more information, please refer to the flyer or contact Daniel at 330-697-9548 or [email protected].

The Knights of Columbus annually honors people within the Council and in the parish and community at their Founder’s Awards & Dinner.  On Sunday, March 3, 2024, the K of C will hold their event in the church following the 9 a.m. Mass. Afterward, there will be a light breakfast. Everyone is invited to join this special presentation as they honor people within the Council and in the parish and community.

On March 3, 2024, the following people received recognition:
Religious Award—Doug Engelhart
Knight of the Year—Ed Zwolinski
K of C Volunteer—Greg D’Aurelio
Youth of the Year—McKenna Hirsch
Woman of the Year—Cathy Sherbondy
Parish Volunteer—Lynn Kelley
Parish Family of the Year—Weisenseel Family
K of C Family of the Year—Hirsch Family
Blue Coat Award—Ron Good

The Mantua Knights of Columbus are hosting a Polish Dinner & Dance on Saturday, May 6, 2023. Join us for 5 p.m. Mass with polka music followed by a 5-course meal in Hughes Hall. Music to be provided by The Don Wojtila Band. The menu includes Golabki (stuffed cabbage), Kotlet Schabowy (chicken cutlet), Bigos - Polish Hunter’s Stew (kielbasa & sauerkraut), pierogi, cabbage & noodles, appetizers, sides, dessert, and beverages. Tickets are $25/person, $50/couple, $10 Children 3-12 years (3 & under free). Ticket sales will be held in the Narthex (dates to be announced) or available through the Parish Office. For tickets or more information, please contact Ed Zwolinski (440-413-4246 or [email protected]). 

SIGN-UP TO ATTEND

Celebrating the ethnic heritage of the Polish, German, Slovenian, or Czech people, a polka Mass has all the elements of a regular Mass. The difference is the words of the liturgy and hymns are sung to familiar polka tunes or waltzes. The polka instrumentals are played in a slower, more reverential fashion. Many point to Rev. George Balasko as the creator of the polka Mass in the early 1970s, a time when the Vatican was permitting musical variations on the liturgy. Fr. Balasko, a Youngstown Diocesan priest also known for his contributions to Catholic-Jewish dialogue, re-worked polka favorites of his youth with English lyrics. He was pastor of St. Joseph Church September, 8, 1978 - July 1, 1981 and is now retired and living at the Villa Maria in Pennsylvania.

The Mantua K of C along with St. Joseph Parish will be hosting a Mass for People with Special Needs on Sunday, May 21, at 9 a.m. We all know people with special needs resulting from physical, emotional, mental, or cognitive conditions are all around us in society:  at school, at work, and in our families.
Unfortunately, it can sometimes be challenging for these important members of our society to participate in liturgies due to physical and social barriers or even family member anxiety. Celebrating a Mass for People with Special Needs can be the first of many steps toward integrating them into regular weekly or even daily Mass and more deeply into all the sacraments and other aspects of parish life.
Putting their faith into action, the Knights of Columbus are hosting this Mass and hopes to spread the message that all God's children are welcome under the parish roof and that every person is an integral part of the parish family. After attending Mass, everyone is invited to join us for light refreshments in Hughes Hall. 
A popular and successful fundraiser conducted by Knights of Columbus councils is the Campaign for People with Intellectual Disabilities, aka "Measure Up" or "Tootsie Roll Drive" (offering little gifts of appreciation for donations). The Knights continue to support Measure Up benefiting Hattie Larlham and Maggie's and More Donuts (Maggie's employs people with special needs). For more information, please contact Ed Zwolinski (440-413-4246 or [email protected]) or Don Fleming (205-533-2143 or [email protected]). 

Deacon Gerry Scopilliti, Raymond Markward & Fr. Joseph Ruggieri

Collecting for Measure-Up
Measure-Up is the Knights Of Columbus’ program that supports children with special needs. Each spring, members of the Knights, wearing yellow aprons and holding coffee cans, collect donations at the doors of our parish at the regular Sunday Masses. Funds collected are sent to the Ohio State Council. Twenty percent of the funds are retained by the State Council for its special needs purposes, and eighty percent is returned as checks payable to the Special Needs charities designated by the local council.
The Knights of Mantua raised $200.00 at their First Annual Measure Up -Tootsie Roll drive benefiting local charities Maggie’s and More and Hattie Larlham. Your generosity is appreciated. The Knights will continue to accept donations throughout June.

Funds raised from this raffle support charitable giving (the first principle of the Order). The Knights of Columbus Ohio State Council supports parishes and Catholic schools, youth programs, and programs for the sick, bereaved, and developmentally disabled to name a few. There are 25 cash prizes awarded for a total of $49, 680.00! Tickets are $5.00 each. Drawing date is May 18, 2024. Please see any K of C Council #3766 member for more details and to purchase tickets.  Good luck!

K of C members join the hundreds of volunteers offering their time for our parish's annual Ox Roast Fair. Set-up, take-down, and the Kiddie Tractor Pulls are just a few of the areas with which they lend a hand.

Come join the fun on Saturday, August 17, as the Mantua Knights of Columbus Council 3766 will be serving up a Pig & Chicken Roast from 6 to 10 p.m. Held under and around the pavilion at St. Joseph Church, the event features good food, live music, corn hole tournament and other picnic-type games, 50/50, and fellowship. With food being served at 7 p.m., the menu includes roasted pork and chicken, mac & cheese, baked beans, corn on the cob, pop and bottled water (BYOB). Cost is $30.00 per person ($10 for 12 & under). Seating will be available in the pavilion but you may wish to bring lawn chairs. Click here for a flyer.

"The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning." 

Following the United States Flag Code, 
Fr. Cassidy Assembly #3034 of the K of C 4th Degree periodically offer proper disposal of worn flags with a Flag Burning Ceremony. The next ceremony will be held in June of 2024 (date TBD), at St. Joan of Arc Church's Pavilion in Streetsboro, and begins promptly at 3 p.m. Gather your worn or torn symbols of our nation's courage and bring to the Narthex for this reverent disposal (look for the designated box or see any K of C member) or join in this special ceremony - all our welcome. Light refreshments will be served following the event.

St. Joseph Church & the Knights of Columbus Father John Cassidy Assembly #3034 & Mantua Council #3766 presents A Celebration of all First Responders & Military Blue Mass on Sunday, September 29, at 9 a.m. Family and friends are welcome as we honor those who have died in the line of duty, veterans, retirees, and those currently serving as first responders and military. It is an opportunity to show our gratitude and to pray for the safety of our first responders, military, and their families. A reception will follow in Hughes Hall. For more information, please contact Don Fleming (250-533-2143) or Ed Zwolinski (440-413-4246) or St. Joseph's Parish Office (330-274-2253).

On August 22, John Kruis, Ed Zwolinski, and Doug Szygenda, members of St. Joseph Parish Knights of Columbus Council #3766, presented Mary Corrigan of Our Lady of Perpetual Help with a check for $9,000.00 as a donation to a local pregnancy center. This donation along with others from Knights of Columbus Councils in Northern Portage County will be used to purchase a “state of the art” ultrasound machine to be housed in a new location in northeast Ohio. 

The Mantua Knights of Columbus  hosted a Soccer Challenge on Saturday, September 30th @ 1:30 p.m. on the soccer fields at St. Joseph Church. The competition  designed for players ages 9 to 14 to demonstrate the most basic of soccer skills - the penalty kick. Each player was be allowed 15 shots at the goal from the designated penalty line for their age group. Points were awarded depending upon the area of the scoring zones which the ball passes. Entry is free and all competitors must register at the time of the event. There were a total of 16 participants which was a great turn out. Winners will progress to the district, regional, and jurisdictional competitions. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Brian Hirsch at 216-346-2042. 

2023 Soccer Challenge Winners
Boys (9,10,11) - River Kasper
Boys (12-14) - Cole Shira 
Girls (9-11) - Brynn Kennedy 
Girls (12-14) - Jaley Wilson  

The Mantua Knights of Columbus Council #3766 cordially invite you to a Halloween-Themed Reverse Raffle on Saturday, October 28, in St. Joseph’s Hughes Hall. Doors Open at 6 p.m. and Dinner begins at 7 p.m. Ticket Price includes Dinner, Beverages & Dessert. There'll be an open bar, musical entertainment, and dancing, plus a chance at $1,000.00 Grand Prize along with other games of chance! Only 100 tickets will be sold—2 for $100.00. Tickets will be available after Mass on October 1 & 22 or by contacting Don Fleming at [email protected]. Payments may be made through Venmo: @mantua-kofc (2143) or check made out to Mantua Knights of Columbus #3766 c/o Reverse Raffle, St Joseph Parish, 11045 St Joseph Blvd, Mantua, OH 44255.
 

The Football Sweepstakes involves the last 10 weeks of games played by the NFL this season – games that will be played between late October through December/January. Donation is $20.00 per ticket. At least $2,500 in prizes will be awarded each week or at least $25,000 over the contest period. The 23 winners are determined by ticket holders with the four teams that score the most – or the least – number of points in that given week of games. The scores from the previous week’s games are used for teams that are not scheduled to play on any given week. A winners’ list will be posted on www.fundcrazr.com and www.kofcohio.org. The Mantua Knights will be selling in the Narthex after Mass.

The 2024 Knights of Columbus Senior Citizen Thanksgiving Dinner will be held on Sunday, November 24, 2024, at 1 p.m. The reservation line will open on November 1. Please call the NEW NUMBER 330-274-4266 and leave a message with your name, phone number, and how many will be in your party. A full Thanksgiving feast is served, entertainment is provided and door prizes are given. This free dinner will be held in Hughes Hall at St. Joseph Church in Mantua. Reservations are first come, first served. 

2023 Photo Album