The Knights of St Columba (KSC)
The Knights of St Columba are an Order of Catholic Laymen, founded in Scotland in 1919, dedicated to the Service of the Church and fellow man. The Order is non-political and exists to support the mission of the Catholic Church and at the same time to work for the spiritual and material good of its members and their families. Members strive to achieve their aims through the fundamental virtues of Charity, Unity and Fraternity.
The K.S.C. is not a secret society and completely open and potential members may attend meetings. It is a Family Organisation, dedicated to The Holy Family and is firmly committed to the protection of human life and defence of the family.
A brief History of the Knights of St Columba in Basildon
The Basildon branch (Council 452) was inaugurated in 1951 and was based in Laindon. In 1963 after St Basil’s was built, it was decided to divide the area and create another branch (council 575) to look after just St Basil’s while the original Council looked after Holy Trinity and Laindon. Following a drop in membership, the original council folded in 1969 and 3 years later the new council also folded.
In 1981, the current council was erected and this time the decision was made that all three Catholic Churches in Basildon were to be covered by one council. When the Churches came under one umbrella in the ensuing years, Our Lady & All Saints Parish, the Clergy were pleasantly surprised that there was an organisation that covered all three Churches.
What we do, and how to join.
We currently have 18 members and this number is gradually increasing. One of our pet projects is the Brentwood Catholic Children’s society where we raise funds for their work by taking part in their annual sponsored Walk. Despite the size of our council, out of over 30 councils in the Brentwood province, we tend to raise the greatest amount of money for the walk, over £50,000 over the years. We provide the Easter and Christmas posters to our three Churches and have also supplied them to other Churches in the area. We help the Clergy in whatever way we can, transport, stewarding, etc. We constantly participate in activities for the betterment of the community at large and are committed to many charitable causes.
To join the order there are two entrance requirements:
- You need to be a practicing Catholic
- You must be 16 years of age or over
Our dues are currently £50 per year and we meet on the second Wednesday of every month at 8.00pm in the hall at Holy Trinity.
Our current (2024-25) officers are:
Grand Knight
Jonathan Emelieze
Deputy
James Moggan
Secretary / Treasurer
Patrick Gomes
If you would like to join or wish to know more about us, please contact one of the following:
James Moggan
01268 288904
Jim Walker
01268 410604
Charles McCafferty
01268 545451