Light of Christ Council 8726

The Light of Christ Council’s Elected Officers for the 2026-2027 Fraternal Year were installed at a special ceremony at St. Ignatius Loyola Church on Monday, August 10, 2026 which included forming a living cross pictured above. District Deputy Fred Henrich installed the officers, and they were presented with the ribbons of their respective offices which were blessed by Father Tom Bortz as part of the ceremony.

Grand Knight	Michael Hauser
Deputy Grand Knight	Richard Kemper
Chancellor	Kerry Williard
Financial Secretary	Joseph Kots
Warden	John Benson
Recorder	Nicholas Morrow
Treasurer	Frederick Henrich
Advocate	Ronald Keating
Trustee	James Nawa
Trustee	Raymond Newmaster
Trustee	Daniel Wozniak
Lecturer	Bernard Deren
Inside Guard	Kevin Semmel
Outside Guard	John Volpe

At a very special Exemplification on Monday, August 10, 2026 the Light of Christ Council welcomed two new members into the Knights of Columbus. New Brother Knights George Ondo and Tom Wambaugh heard the lessons of Charity, Unity, and Fraternity from our wonderful Degree Team. George and Tom were joined by their lovely ladies Ellen and Angela, respectively, at the ceremony held in St. Ignatius Loyola Church.

Our Degree Team included Jim Nawa, John Benson, Terry Williams, and Joe Kots along with pinch hitters Father Tom Bortz and Grand Knight Mike Hauser.

A full evening of special ceremonies is planned for the council’s August 10, 2026 meeting which will be held in the Church. Council’s own degree team will exemplify the principles of charity, unity, and fraternity for new members and current first or second degree members. Immediately following this ceremony, the council’s officers for the current year will be installed into their positions. Family and friends are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Registration is now open for our 7th annual Charity Golf Tournament to be held on Saturday, September 12, 2026 at Golden Oaks Golf Club. You may use the Registration Form below to Register and/or Sponsor.

You may also make payment online at

Knights of Columbus Council 8726 Golf Tournament

Our last breakfast for this school year will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026 from 8:00am to 11:00am in the School Hall. The Irish Dancers will provide entertainment as we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day a few days early.

A sizable crowd came out to cheer on our contestants in the 2026 Basketball Free Throw Tournament at St. Ignatius on Super Bowl Sunday! Fifty-four contestants battled in 11 different age groups and categories. Pictured below are some of the winners along with three of our wonderful volunteers.

Additional pictures can be found at 2026 Free Throw Tournament

Congratulations to the Light of Christ Council’s New Degree Team for their beautiful presentation of the Charity, Unity, and Fraternity Degree in St. Ignatius Church on January 12, 2026. At this Exemplification, new member Paul Troisi joined the Knights and we welcome him and wish him well in his journey.

During the Council’s meeting on January 12, 2026, District Deputy Fred Henrich presented Past Grand Knight Jim Nawa with both the Founders Award and the Columbian Award for efforts during the last fraternal year.

The Columbian Award recognizes the Light of Christ Council for the many events they presented throughout the year in the areas of Faith, Family, Community, and Life categories.

The Founder’s Award recognizes the Light of Christ Council for completing the requirements involving the Knights of Columbus Insurance Program and communication and participation efforts.

Congratulations to Jim and all the Knights for their outstanding efforts throughout the year.

Earning their “king for a day” status, members of the Light of Christ Council played key roles in helping to celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord at the weekend Masses on January 3 and 4, 2026.

In addition to presenting gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh before Mass, they presented the Offertory gifts as well. Great job, guys. A royal performance.

Our annual Breakfast with Santa Claus will be held on Sunday, December 21, 2025 from 8:00am to 11:00am in the School Hall. Music will be provided by Christmas Brass featuring former members of the Reading Buccaneers and some friends. Bring your appetite, a camera, and your best Holiday smile. Merry Christmas!

Many thanks to the volunteer Knights who helped to make this year’s event a great success. Additional photos at 2025 John Paul II Center Breakfast with Santa Claus – Light of Christ Council 8726

At today’s October All You Care to Eat Family Breakfast, we distributed proceeds from our 6th Annual Charity Golf Tournament to three of the four beneficiaries. The John Paul II Center, Mary’s Shelter, and St. Ignatius Scholarship Fund each received $5,400 from our event. Opportunity House of Reading will receive their check at the November breakfast.

Kaylee Simcik from the John Paul II Center along with Grand Knight Mike Hauser and Golf Committee Chairperson Dan Wozniak.

Christine Folk from Mary’s Shelter along with Grand Knight Mike Hauser and Golf Committee Chairperson Dan Wozniak.

Emilia Ward from St. Ignatius School along with Grand Knight Mike Hauser and Golf Committee Chairperson Dan Wozniak.

Our 2025 Holiday Crab Cake Sale kicks off this week with a deadline for orders of Sunday, November 16, 2025. Orders may be picked up at the School on Friday, November 21, 2025 from 3:00pm until 6:00pm. The order form is included below for your convenience.

The results are in and WOW! Because of our fantastic sponsors, our exceptionally generous golfers, and our dedicated volunteers, we can declare our 2025 Charitable Golf Tournament a huge success!

We raised over $21,000 to share among four local organizations. Our tournament booklet is attached, and we encourage you to support the many businesses who contributed towards our tournament. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all involved.

Check out our candid shots from the tournament at the following link:

2025 Golf Tournament – Light of Christ Council 8726

Monday, September 8 is just around the corner. If you haven’t registered, sponsored, or volunteered yet, time is running out.

Knights of Columbus Light of Christ Council’s 6th Annual Charity Golf Tournament will be held at Manor Golf Club in Sinking Spring.

The heat wave will be over, the kids back in school, and the leaves still on the trees… a great time to get out and golf.

For all the golfers who can’t put a foursome together, let us know. We have a waiting list and may be able to get you paired up with somebody.

For all our sponsors and donors… please don’t wait until the last minute. We want to make sure you get into our booklet and have a tee sign.

For all our wonderful volunteers… contact us as soon as possible so we can make arrangements and plans.

Fred Henrich

fphenrich@gmail.com

610-741-8487

At its regular council meeting on June 9, 2025 Mike Hauser was elected Grand Knight to serve for the new fraternal year starting July 1, 2025. He and his team of officers can be found at Council Officers – Light of Christ Council 8726. Congratulations, Mike! We wish you the best of luck.

At this time, we wish to thank outgoing Grand Knight Jim Nawa for his hard work and dedication to the council over the past two years. He moves into a Trustee position at this time.

We also wish to thank Rod Baumert and Al Wunder for their service in officer positions over the past year.

The Light of Christ Council will hold its annual Election of Officers on Monday, June 9 to elect our officers for the coming fraternal year which starts on July 1. Any member wishing to be considered for one of these positions should attend the meeting and be nominated.

Four new Brother Knights joined the Light of Christ Council at special Exemplification Ceremony on May 12, 2025. Kevin Semmel, John Benson, Will Bennethum, and Bruce Simmeth became 3rd Degree Knights at the Charity, Unity, and Fraternity Exemplification prior to our regular council meeting. Congratulations! And welcome aboard.

Lindy Barile became a 3rd Degree Knight at a ceremony held at St. John Baptist de LaSalle Church in Shillington on May 19, 2025. Thank you to the Holy Name Council Degree Team for performing this ceremony. Congratulations, Lindy, and welcome to the Knights!

Our 2025 Friday Night Lenten Fish Bake took place on April 5 in the School Hall. Many thanks to our Brother Knights for helping with this fundraising effort and thank you to our wonderful patrons who continue to support our efforts.