GLENDALE — As Americans look forward to celebrating the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding on July 4, Knights of Columbus members in Queens have produced a unique way to remind their fellow citizens that God should be a part of the birthday bash.
The Monsignor Sherman Council No. 5103 at Sacred Heart Church is selling lawn signs designed by one of its members, Knight Frank Kotnik, featuring an American flag with the words, “One Nation Under God for 250 Years … Happy Birthday America!”
The Knights are selling the 12-by-18-inch signs for $20 each, with the proceeds donated to a charity to be selected later, according to Kotnik.
“It would be nice to see these signs on people’s lawns, in gardens, tree pits, he said. “And they would look nice in windows all over Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island.”
Kotnik and his fellow Knights have already sold a handful of the signs at craft fairs in Queens and are planning to set up tables outside Sacred Heart (their church), St. Pancras in Glendale, and St. Margaret in Middle Village, over the next few weeks.
The council doesn’t have a fundraising goal in mind, Kotnik said.
“The idea isn’t to make money,” he explained. “We want to make people remember that we have always been a country of people who love God.”
Another Knight, Sal Laurenzano, echoed those sentiments.
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“We just want to bring a sense of joy to everyone. Jesus brings that joy,” he added. “And we need to be more in touch with our country and what it stands for.”
Father Kevin McBrien, pastor of Sacred Heart Church, said the signs are an important reminder for Americans to ponder as they celebrate the country’s semiquincentennial.
“Religion has always been a part of the American story, and I really do think that it’s something we cannot put to the side,” he said.
“We should accentuate, as we celebrate the anniversary, that it is faith that has allowed this country to endure.”
The Happy Birthday America lawn sign isn’t the only greeting the Knights are extending to the public.
At Father McBrien’s request, Kotnik also designed a lawn sign to commemorate the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart on June 12.
One day earlier, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will officially consecrate the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ.
According to the USCCB, bishops voted on the consecration at their November meeting as a way for the faithful to contribute to the 250th-anniversary celebration.
“We wanted the sign to have an image of the Sacred Heart with the unfurling American flag,” Father McBrien said.
The signs Kotnik designed are two-sided, with one depicting the consecration and the other featuring the birthday greeting.
“The bishops thought it would be a wonderful thing as a form of evangelization and of course, being that we are Sacred Heart Church, we thought it would be a good way to commemorate this historic moment,” Father McBrien said.
Kotnik, a retired Department of Transportation blacksmith, is a fourth-degree Knight and has been a member since 2015. He said he designed the lawn signs two months ago out of patriotic impulse.
“I’m 65 years old, and I grew up at a special time,” he said. “When I was a kid, I was fortunate to meet World War II veterans. And some World War I veterans were still around back then, too.
“These guys made our nation the great nation that it is.”