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Knights urge public to 'Keep Christ in Christmas'
By Joyce Coronel, news@catholicsun.org
December 18, 2008
GILBERT — Displays of snowmen and Santa Clauses dot the desert landscape this time of year, but the Knights of Columbus are renewing their national campaign to remind the public to “Keep Christ in Christmas.”
“The Knights want to remind everybody what Christmas is really about. It’s not just about commercialism or buying presents or Santa — it’s to celebrate Christ’s birth,” said Mike Fraser, deputy grand knight of Council 13779 of St. Mary Magdalene Parish.
Members of the council gathered at the site of the future church building on Williams Field Road in Gilbert on Nov. 29 to take their campaign into the spotlight.
Since mid-November, they’ve been selling $5 car magnets with the Keep Christ in Christmas message after the parish’s weekend Masses. So far, they’ve sold more than 800.
“We wanted more people to be able to see the message,” said Fraser. They decided to erect a large, illuminated sign on the property where the parish will soon break ground for its church.
“We have a sign that says that’s where the church will be built, but we figured we’d put something on the lot to let people know it’s not just an empty lot but part of our church community and part of their community, too,” Fraser said.
One of the council’s Knights, Tim Oeinck, made a copy of the Keep Christ in Christmas magnet and drew an outline of it on a large piece of wood. Over the course of a couple of weekends, the Knights painstakingly painted and cut out the form.
Even with the help of seven Knights and a couple of young grandsons who pitched in, it took them the better part of a Saturday to get the display set up. Motorists traveling down Williams Field will see the sign for the next several weeks.
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