The Taylorville Kiwanis Club held its Annual Prayer Luncheon and awarded this year’s Kiwanis “Outstanding Spiritual Leader” recognition, at the club’s weekly meeting on Tuesday at the Taylorville Moose Lodge.

The event was again chaired by Kiwanis Spiritual Aims chair Dick Wamsley who presided over the meeting.

This year’s Kiwanis “Outstanding Spiritual Leader” award went to Sister Rose McKeown who has served as chaplain at Taylorville Memorial Hospital for over 28 years.   Her award was presented by Wamsley.

Special speaker for the event was Father Peter Kosk, who began his service at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Taylorville as well as Catholic parishes in Stonington and Kincaid, 11 months ago after serving a parish in Highland, Illinois.  Father Kosk, who is from Poland, talked about his journey in becoming a Catholic priest, focusing on service and ministry, adding it's been a constant learning experience.

Father Kosk also spoke about the ongoing war in the Ukraine, an adjacent country to his home country of Poland, saying some 3 million Ukranian refugees have been taken in by Polish families in their homes.

The Taylorville Kiwanis Club is part of a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time.  Weekly meetings are held Tuesdays at noon at the Taylorville Moose Lodge.  For information on the club, go to taylorvillekiwanis.com.