“When two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
Support for the Parishes and Communities of the San Fernando Valley
Since our Council formation in July of 1948 the Van Nuys Council has strived to support the parishes and local communities in Van Nuys and the surrounding areas of the San Fernando Valley.
One of our greatest commitments as Knights is to serve the Church and all it stands for. One of our main purposes is to help the parish priest, whenever necessary. This creates a unique and effective support structure within the parish to better assist where there’s a need, in every condition, fundraising or actively participating in the parish.
Parishes We Serve
The parishes we currently serve are as follows: St. Bridget of Sweden - Established 1955, St. Cyril of Jerusalem - Established 1949, St. Euphrasia - Established 1963, St. John Baptist de la Salle - Established in 1953, Our Lady of Grace - Established in 1945, Our Lady of Lourdes - Established in 1958, and St. Anne Melkite Greek Catholic Cathedral - Established in 1965 (Current location).
Parishes we help support (these parishes now have parish councils where former members of Van Nuys Council 3148 were instrumental in their founding or revival): St. Catherine of Siena, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Genevieve, St. Jane Frances de Chantal, and St. Francis de Sales.
Faith In Action
Featured programs that draw men closer to their faith, families and communities — and defend life in all stages and in all conditions.
Below you will find some examples of our Council activities
Faith
We’ve established annual scholarships for seminarians and novitiates and honor our priests and religious in their vocation with our annual Clergy Night.
An annual Memorial Mass to honor our deceased brothers and sisters as well as the unborn children taken by abortion.
Family
We hold events throughout the year to assist with youth and community programs such as the Basketball Free Throw Contest, Spelling Bee Contest and the Children’s Christmas Party.
We support Loaves and Fishes in Van Nuys with weekly donations of food and clothing to help under served families in our area. Every year we supply more than 40 winter coats to children in need in partnership with Loaves and Fishes as part of the Coats for Kids program.
Community
We are proud of our support of Rancho San Antonio Boys Home. Since the 1950’s, the Knights of Columbus have provided most of the fundraising for Rancho San Antonio. Within the first three years enough money was raised to build a chapel, indoor swimming pool and the first four dormitories on the grounds. Recently we helped to raise funds for the repair of the statue of St. Anthony that was severely damaged by vandals.
We host an annual Thanksgiving Day Dinner. The 7th graders, parents and volunteers from St. Francis De Sales Parish School prepare a fantastic meal. The students help with seating, assisting and serving meals. When the Fr. O’Mahony Council 4956 at St. Francis de Sales reactivated their council, in the spirit of charity, unity and fraternity, we continued this tradition at the Council Hall to feed the homeless and families in transition who are in need in our community.
Life
We defend the rights of the unborn and the dignity of life from the moment of conception. We are proud to support Pro-Life programs such as the Pregnancy Counseling Center, 40 Days for Life and Crossroads.
We were the first council in Los Angeles to establish March for Life events. Our thanks to PGK John Riordan and PGK John Costello for implementing this powerful message defending the sanctity life. Its humble beginnings with less than a hundred participants gathering along Van Nuys Blvd. As it grew larger by the thousands it moved to Ventura Blvd gathering at St. Cyril’s. Eventually the Archdiocese of Los Angeles took over and renamed it One Life L.A. This past year over 35,000 marched for the dignity of life to the unborn.
We created the Charlie Howe Fund collecting recyclable materials and using the funds generated to help support the Pregnancy Counseling Center in Mission Hills.
