Ormskirk Knights family horse racing night - with a difference

Knights of Saint Columba Horse Racing Night

The Knights of Saint Columba in Ormskirk are holding a fun family horse racing night at St. Anne's Parish Centre on Friday 25th May 2012.

Unlike your typical video racing, the Knights have corralled a number of mechanically driven horses, who will 'gallop' down the track to the finishing line.  The race night made up of six races, each with six horses will raise funds for the Knights' benevolent fund.

Tickets are £5 each or £10 for a family ticket.  There will be a licensed bar. The evening starts at 7.30pm.

Ticket enquiries, please telephone: Mark Condon: 01695 573614, Tony Gill: 01695 573358, Peter Terry: 01695 571723

The Knights of Saint Columba Council 64 Ormskirk prepares for their 90th Anniversary in 2013

Knights of Saint Columba Council 64 Ormskirk

The Knights of Saint Columba – Article by Heather Wright

When my husband were married I have to confess, that at first, as a practising Anglican there were many aspects of Catholicism that were a complete mystery to me. I regarded myself as cosmopolitan having lived in Glasgow, Birmingham and Liverpool; some of the most multicultural cities in Britain. Yet, my knowledge of the Catholic Church was mainly based on what I had picked up from episodes of Father Ted.

Attending Mass at first was very daunting.  What if I stood up or sat down at the wrong time? Would I be denounced as an imposter?  Not only did I learn quickly that there were more similarities than differences in our two faiths, but also that the congregation of St Anne's Church in Ormksirk couldn't have been more welcoming.

Even so, when my husband was approached to join the Knights of St Columba, I was a little baffled.  I had seen their events on the weekly bulletin sheet.  But were they an historic re-enactment society, or a masonic order? I didn't know.  Of course, they are neither and in fact play a vital, if perhaps not widely enough known part in Church life.

The Knights of St Columba (KSC) were founded in 1919 by a group of Catholic men in Glasgow who had served in the trenches of World War I France.  These men became inspired by ethos and activities of the American Knights of Columbus.  By the early 1920's, based on the fundamental virtues of charity, unity and fraternity “Councils” of Knights, had crossed the border to England with a foundation in Liverpool.  Council 64 soon followed in Ormskirk in 1923.  By 1925 the Order had reached London.

Knights of Saint Columba ‘service’ badge & ribbon medallion (1930’s)

The period following the Second World War was an active period and membership continued to grow, but during the late 1950's and early 1960's, with the decline of the inner city parishes and consequent dispersement of the Catholic population, recruitment slowed.  However the Order still continued to develop and in 1982, the Knights of Saint Columba had a very public role, as stewards, during the visit to the country by Pope John Paul II.