STATE DEPUTY S MESSAGE

Transcription

1 The Explorer A Publication Of The Kansas Knights of Columbus VOL. 20 NO. 1 January 2016 STATE DEPUTY S MESSAGE HAPPY NEW YEAR! When Father McGivney founded the Order, he wanted it to be a society of Catholic men, established in every Parish, supporting the Priest in his vocation and mission. My Brother Knights, our purpose is very clear. As the leaders of our organization, we must remember that our purpose, first and foremost, is the support of the Catholic Church. This includes, but is not limited to, evangelization and participation in operation of our Parishes. Many shining examples abound, including the RSVP program, 5th Sunday Rosary program, the traveling Religious Icon program, Corporate Communions, and the Kansas State Councils own Religious Education program. At the Mid-Year Meeting in Wichita in December, several major topics were presented and discussed, but I would like to boil the meeting, and what should be our major focus, into five major points. I would ask each of you to take these points to your Council and discuss them at your January Council Officer and/or Business meeting(s). All five are important for success this fraternal year, as well as the future of Knights of Columbus as a whole. The first point is the purpose of our organization. On November 20, 2015, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, while addressing the State Deputies at the Mid-Year State Deputy Meeting in San Antonio, delivered a speech announcing a new initiative entitled Building the Domestic Church While Strengthening Our Parish. The entire transcript is printed in the December Columbia magazine. I urge all to read this speech. In this presentation, the Supreme Knight addressed three of the five points that I mentioned in the previous paragraph. As Council leaders, we should be looking at our Councils and the business plans that are currently being followed, and assess whether the Council is doing the work of the Church, or the Council is doing the work of the Council. The Supreme Knight noted that, for our Order to be successful, we need to be more fully integrating families into the life of the parish through the many programs of our parish based councils. He also stated that Councils accelerate the process of moving away from the home association systems and moving toward more parish based councils. We should no longer expend valuable resources supporting home associations whose activities are outside the mission of the Knights of Columbus or the Church. The Supreme Knight essentially went on to say that each Council that has a home association should evaluate whether their Hall still serves the purpose of supporting the Council, or whether the Council is supporting the Hall. This is a serious question that should not be taking lightly. There are many Halls in Kansas that are valuable parts of the parishes and local communities. However, there are also many Halls in Kansas that are splitting membership, imposing large expenses that divert the Council from participating in the support of the parish, and are potential legal, financial and ethical liabilities that hinder the original purpose of our Order. I ask each and every Council that has a home association to ask about and determine the need for these potentially outdated fixtures. The second point is to strengthen the Parish. The Knights of Columbus should not be competing with any Parish based Youth Ministry. Therefore, the Supreme Board of Directors has decided that Councils will no longer sponsor Boy Scout Troops. Councils should move to end sponsorship as soon as practically possible, but no later than the end of I would like to emphasize that Councils can still support Boy Scout Troops with volunteer hours and financial contributions, but should end any existing sponsorships. The third point closely resembles the second in regards to Youth Ministries. The Councils that presently do not sponsor Squires Circles are encouraged not to institute new ones. Instead, Councils are asked to support existing parish-based youth ministry programs. Councils that have Squires Circles are encouraged to integrate these Circles into the youth ministries of the local parish. These may seem like radical fundamental shifts for our Councils, but the purpose of each of these three points is pretty clear: we, as Catholic gentlemen, have an obligation to support our Parishes and our Priests. Moving Council operations to the Parish, along with integrating support for youth ministries along Parish lines, will foster this founding purpose of the Order. The fourth point deals exclusively with membership in our Order. The Supreme Knight, at the closing session of the meeting in San Antonio, announced that the Order would once again renew the $4.50 per billable member credit for Councils that obtain the coveted Star Council Award for the Fraternal Year. My Brother Knights: this is money in the bank! This credit can be used on ANY Supreme expense, whether Supreme per capita, Catholic advertising, or supplies. The fifth and final point is about membership. As you can see by the Supreme Knights speech, our focus needs to move to the Parish. With this effort, we should be asking every available Catholic man to participate in the works of the Order. We are well on our way to achieving the membership goals that Supreme has established for us this fraternal year. Let us move forward, not with anger or fear, but with resolute commitment, towards obtaining those goals. We should continue Shooting for the Stars! The State Council is eagerly working with Council #4458 in their preparations for the upcoming State Convention in Wichita April 28-May 1. Grand Knights should be receiving Convention Packets in the mail this month. Make sure that your Council sends two delegates to the Convention. Let s make the 115th Convention the best ever! Vivat Jesus, Patrick D. Winchester State Deputy

2 CALENDAR OF EVENTS JANUARY: Support Culture of Life Activities 1-31 Council Free Throw Contests completed by end of month 1-31 Conduct 17th Annual Culture of Life Baby Shower 1 Deadline for articles to be submitted for the Knight s Lite 3 Major Degree at Garden City 10 Major Degrees at Greeley and Winfield 17 Major Degrees at Olathe St. Paul, Osage City 22 Deadline to file Request to Host 2017 Fraternal Year State Bowling Tourney 22 43rd Anniversary of Roe vs. Wade decision 22 March for Life Washington D.C. 22 March for Life Topeka, KS 24 Major Degrees at Wichita St. Ann 30 Deadline Form #1728, Annual Survey of Fraternal Activities due at Supreme 30 Deadline Form #4584 Partnership Profile Report due at Supreme 31 5th Sunday Rosary Prayer Service and/or Corporate Communion 31 Major Degree at Leawood St. Michael FEBRUARY: Sponsor a Blue Mass District Free Throw Contest (First Two Weeks) Regional Free Throw Contest (Second Two Weeks) Select Council Knight of the Year at Monthly Meeting Select Council Family of the Year at Monthly Meeting 13 Major Degree at Manhattan 15 Submit Squire, Circle & Counselor of the Year Applications to Squires Chairman 15 Form #1295, Semi-Annual Audit Report, due at Supreme 15 Deadline for Council Substance Abuse Poster Contest Winners to District Deputy nd Annual Men s Bowling Tourney in Lawrence (1st Weekend) 21 Major Degrees at Atchison, Liberal, La Crosse, Atwood, Russell, Oswego- Chetopa, Wichita St. Jude 28 Major Degrees at Olpe, Newton nd Annual Men s Bowling Tourney in Lawrence (2nd Weekend) DID YOU KNOW? The Kansas Knight of the Month is John Hermes of Council 7279 Hutchinson. Families of the Month winners of a Holy Family Plaque from Supreme were: Robert & Joan Franken Family of Council #657 Severance; Robert & Rose Morin Family of Council #1832 Manhattan; Larry & Alberta Tanking of Council #4219 Holton; Mike & Kathy Slipke of Council 8976 Downs. STATE MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR As we turn the calendar to a new year, we need to reflect on how we did in growing the order in the first half of the fraternal year. We averaged 80 new members a month that brought in 480 new members. Congratulations on hitting our minimum goals for Supreme s challenges each month. This is a good start to where we want to be, but we are going to have to pick up the pace if we plan on getting to our overall goal for membership. We need to get to 1300 new or reactivated members before June 30, This, along with 45 councils earning the coveted Star Council Award, will put us on track to achieving the overall goal of getting Kansas in the Circle of Honor. As the State Deputy mentioned in his article, the Supreme Knight and the Supreme Board of Directors renewed the Star Council initiative of $4.50 per billable member credit for each Council that obtains the coveted Star Council award. It is important that you start your membership and insurance drives early. It is far easier to recruit in January and make your Council s membership and insurance goals than it is to scramble to get it done in June. Also remember that it takes time for insurance policies, once written, to be approved. An insurance policy written and submitted to Supreme on June 30th has no guarantee of being approved. Your goals are already set. Men, I can t impress upon you enough that the only way to obtain these goals is to start NOW. Last year, we had 46 councils win the Star Council Award and 10 District Deputies make Star District. At that time, our Supreme Membership and Program consultant Dannie Harris said that he would put all of the names of the Grand Knights that won the Star Council Award in a drawing for a personalized Louisville Slugger bat. He also said that he would put the names of the District Deputies that won Star District award in a drawing, and they would also win a personalized Louisville Slugger bat. I met with Dannie a week ago and picked up these bats and the winners are: District Deputy #27, Robert Morris was the winner of the District Deputies Bat. Grand Knight Thomas Johnson of council #3146 Basehor won the Grand Knights Bat.

3 Congratulations to the winners of the bats and thank you for the work you did in getting to the Star Council and Star District awards last year. As we move into 2016 we need to make sure that we are talking to every eligible candidate and asking them to join the Knights of Columbus. This is they way to grow our order and keep our councils SHOOTING FOR THE STARS. Thank you, Bob Duffin State Membership Director STATE PROGRAM DIRECTOR S MESSAGE Grand Knights - Don t Forget Star Council Report Requirements: The Annual Survey of Fraternal Activities (Form # 1728) is one of those requirements. Although the deadline for receipt of this form at Supreme Council is January 30, it would be of great assistance to have it there by January 15. This will eliminate the need for follow up phone calls at the last minute. Be sure to send a copy to our State Deputy at the same time. The report form can be found on the Council Report Forms CD and also through the Kansas K of C web site. This information assists Supreme in providing documentation to retain our non-profit status. Your District Deputy was asked to provide copies of the form to you prior to the District Meeting. Your council s scrapbook(s) in one or all six programming areas should be well under way. This is a year-long process, not something thrown together right before the State Convention. Be sure your Directors and Chairmen are working on this. The deadline to submit is April 1. CHURCH ACTIVITIES Vocation Poster Contest Vocations Director Bruce Luehring encourages all councils to participate in the Vocation Poster Contest. The theme is, Called Before You Were Born. The contest should be held during January or February. The winning posters must be received by your District Deputy no later than March 15th. Please review the guidelines in the Program and Membership Guide to make sure posters do not get disqualified. Adopt a Seminarian Church Activities Director and Vocations Chairman Bruce Luehring reports that as of December 13, 173 councils and 18 assemblies have reported pledges of $191,375. This is a GREAT start but there are still a lot of councils that have not submitted their pledges. If your council has not submitted a Seminarian pledge, please contact Bruce to get the names of the Seminarians that still need support. All councils are asked to complete their pledges to their seminarians as soon as possible, and to send cards and letters of support. Bruce also asks all councils to continue to pray for all seminarians. Religious Education Fr. Ted Stoecklein, Religious Education Fund Chairman, has processed all of the Religious Education Fund requests. Checks for the program were dispersed to the Grand Knights in December. He asks that you present the checks quickly so the Religious Education groups can make use of the money in a timely manner. Religious Education Fund Raising Religious Education Fund Raffle Ticket sales were a great success again this year. Religious Education Fund Raising Chairman Tom Halbleib reports all tickets were sold. The Raffle drawing was held at the Mid-Year District Deputy meeting on December 5 and a list of winners was sent to all Grand Knights. A Special Thanks to all Brother Knights for their hard work in selling the tickets. Because of this great effort, around $90,000 was dispersed for Catholic Education in Kansas this year. YOUTH ACTIVITIES Free Throw Contest All youth ages 9 to 14 years old are invited to participate in the free throw contest again this year. Please refer to the rules in your packet. The winners from your council will compete in the District, Regional and State Contest. Council Free Throw Contests should be held during the month of January. District Contests will be held the first two weeks of February, and All Regional Contests are scheduled for February 21, Gyms will open at noon and the Contest will begin at 1:00 PM. If bad weather occurs, the fourth weekend in February will be the makeup date. The State Free Throw Contest will be held March6, 2016 at the Sacred Heart High School Gym, Salina, KS at 1 p.m. Be sure the Official Contest Rules from Supreme are followed to the letter with no exceptions. Meet with your judges and scorers ahead of time to insure everyone is well prepared. Immediately after the contest, complete the Council Winner Free Throw Report Advancing to District, provided to you at your District Meeting, and forward it to your District Deputy. At the same time, be sure to file the Form FT-1 participation report with Supreme and our State Deputy by January 31. It is found on the Council Report Forms CD or on the Kansas K of C web Site. In the past three years, six of our statewide winners have also won the international contest. Substance Abuse Poster Contest Grand Knights, be sure your Substance Abuse Poster Contest is completed by the end of January so they can be judged the first week of February and the

4 winning posters sent to your District Deputy by February 15th. Essay Contest Encourage all 8th grade through 12th grade students to enter the Essay contest. The topic is, The Importance of Religious Freedom. Submit the entries to Youth Director Steve Abels by March 1. Columbian Squires Columbian Squires Chairman Mike Barnard reports that the State Columbian Squires Convention will be held April 1-2, 2016 in Derby. The Derby Circle will serve as the host circle. We ask all councils to make arrangements for their Squires to attend. FAMILY ACTIVITIES Family Life Congratulations to every council who has been selecting a Family of the Month for doing an awesome job. If your council hasn t been selecting, it is not too late to begin. It s time to begin thinking of who your council may want to select as the Family of the Year. In doing so, you may want to consider the stronger members of your council, parish, and community. Remember, when selecting the Family of the Year, the husband must be a member of the K of C. If he is not a member, this would be a great opportunity to hold a first degree to bring him into our Order. When you have the information you think you need to fill out the Family of the Year form, ask the family to look over the information and add to it. Make sure the forms are completed and sent to your district deputy no later than March 10. Your district deputy has a short period of time to make his selection before making sure the paperwork is sent to the Diocesan judge for your area. If you are late with your paperwork, your council family won t be judged, and may have lost an opportunity to be the State Family of the Year. The State Family of the Year and Diocesan winners will be recognized at the Kansas State Convention in Wichita. Have you started a Family Life scrapbook? If you haven t, now would be a good time to start. If you are struggling in putting the scrapbook together, ask your wife or significant other for help. Scrapbooks need to be sent to the Family Life Director Edwin Schmeidler before April 1 for judging. The winners will be announced at the Kansas State Convention in Wichita. COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES Pennies from Heaven Pennies from Heaven Chairman Richard Broz is looking for several nice donated items for the Country Store and Pennies from Heaven Auction. If you have a member who is talented in woodworking or crafts items, encourage them to make an item to donate. The sale price of these items will be credited to your Council s Pennies from Heaven donation. Please contact Richard as soon as possible so he can plan accordingly. If you can, take a picture of your item and a write a brief description about it and it to pennies@kansas-kofc.org. Council Pennies from heaven money may be turned into the County Store during the state convention until noon on Saturday, April 30. Tootsie Roll Update Has your council filed its Tootsie Roll Report? It was due December 15. If not, please file it immediately. The original along with the check from your fundraiser needs to be sent to State Treasurer Jamey Roth, and the yellow copy goes to Commitment to Humanities Chairman Paul Haverkamp. The Special Olympics Basketball Tournament is scheduled for March 17, 18, and 19, 2016 in Hays. Anyone interested in volunteering to help with the event should contact Paul Haverkamp. Remember to send Paul a copy of your Form 4584 Partnership Profile with Special Olympics. Culture of Life Update January is often the month councils will have their baby showers at their parishes. If you need suggestions for council and parish newsletters of needed items, here are some of the most requested: Disposable diapers, blankets, baby clothing (gently used is fine too) and financial donations for continuing education and upkeep of life changing equipment. Remember the activities that you do in support of Culture of Life need to be included on your report form that is due April 1, At the December district deputy meeting, several of you shared unique events that your council does to support the Culture of Life. We encourage you to share the ideas in your Culture of Life scrapbook for Convention and also towards the traveling Evangelium Vitae award. Without the continued generosity of councils like yours we would not be looking forward to assisting in providing unborn children in Kansas with a new ultrasound machine. A special Thank You to all of the district deputies and their families that donated to the annual baby shower at the meeting. We were able to present several large gift bags of items to each of the Four Diocese. If your council hosted this past years Silver Rose Program, do not forget to count it on the Fraternal Survey (due January 31, 2016). Do not forget that the Culture of Life activities are a separate program for the Columbian award. In the past, Pro-Life activities have been listed under Community Activities. Some suggested activities to report under Culture of Life are: 1. Participation in the Silver Rose Relay. 2. Culture of Life Baby Shower or Bottles for

5 Life program. 3. Put Culture of Life articles in your Knights newsletters and church bulletins. 4. Lead rosaries for Culture of Life - From concep tion to natural death. 5. Hold fundraisers to help buy an ultrasound ma chine or pregnancy crisis center. 6. Fill out an Evangelium Vitae and Culture of Life Report Form and turn in by April Enter a scrapbook in the Evangelium Vitae and the Culture of Life Program April Have an active Culture of Life chair couple for your council. Wrap up your month with the 43rd Anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. The March for Life Rally will be in Topeka, Kansas, Friday, Jan. 22, For more information on the registration, workshops, lobbying, Mass and march visit: Council Activities The 72nd Annual Knights of Columbus Bowling Tournament will be held at Royal Crest Lanes in Lawrence and hosted by the councils of District 18. The dates of the tournament are February 20-21, February and March 5-6. All Brother Knights are encouraged to participate. You need not be a league bowler to participate. All that is required to participate is a current Knights of Columbus membership card. For more information and to register for the event, visit the Kansas State website at Any council interested in submitting a bid to host the 73rd annual tournament must make their submission in writing to Mike Grothoff, Council Activity Director, before January 22, The date for the Annual Sporting Clay Tournament in 2016 has not been finalized but it will be held in Augusta and hosted by Council Wichita St. Jude. Look for more information in the coming weeks. No formal bid to host the 2017 Sporting Clay Tournament has been received at this time. Requests to host the tournament must be made in writing to Mike Grothoff, Council Activity Director, before March 1, Fraternal As we begin the new calendar year, all councils should recognize one of your members as your council Knight of the Month for each month of the remaining fraternal year. Present that member with a certificate (form #1726) at your monthly council meeting and let him know that his dedication and commitment to the Order is appreciated. Submit an application to State Fraternal Chairman Gary Wondra to give that brother knight a chance to selected as the Kansas State Knight of the Month. Publicity Most councils have hosted special Christmas activities and completed Tootsie Roll Drives. Did you remember to publicize these events in your council newsletter, parish bulletin, diocesan newspaper, local newspaper and on social media? It is not too late to share that information. Please remember to continue to submit your articles regarding these events to State Publicity Chairman Gary Wondra. History State Historian Jim Pritchard reminds Councils and Assemblies that have not updated their history to do so as soon as possible. It is never too late to update. Out of 258 Councils, only 85 have their history up-to-date and 48 Councils just need one year. Out of the 51 Assemblies, only 17 are up-to-date. These numbers are as of December 1. There will be several requests coming up for celebrations in the future. I have also had several Councils and Assemblies requesting information on specific questions. If your Council history is on file, this information is available to you quickly. Please don't delay any longer. Do it now before it slips your mind. There are still several state history books to sell, Contact Jim if you would like to purchase any. The order form is on page 88 in the official directory or call anytime. Webmaster Is your council receiving messages from the State Council? The State Council sends s concerning sickness or death of current and past state personnel, updates on programs, and important messages from the Supreme Council and the Bishops of Kansas. addresses are never sold or shared, and messages are only sent with the approval of the State Deputy. If your Grand Knight does not wish to share his personal account with the State Council, perhaps your council would consider creating a council address using one of the many free services available today. There would be no cost to your council, and when the Grand Knight changes there is no need to notify the State Council of an address change. The address could be kofc and the council number like kofc1234@gmail.com. Please contact Doug Wietharn at webmaster@kansaskofc.org if you have any questions. Todd R. Bachamp, State Program Director program@kansas-kofc.org

6 Vincent P. Melvin III State Secretary 6016 S.W. Fairlawn Road Topeka, KS ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED FIRST CLASS MAIL US POSTAGE PAID AXTELL KS Permit No. 9 SHOOTING FOR THE STARS! JANUARY/2016 EXPLORER INSURANCE REPORT The Knights of Columbus agency department is proud to congratulate the following men for achieving the honor of Field Agent of the Month for their respective agencies: Eastern Kansas Agency: Kirby Schmelzle wrote $2,100,000 in life insurance protection on members and their families in November. Central Kansas Agency: Adam Bruna wrote $1,450,000 in life insurance protection on members and their families in November. Western Kansas Agency: Tyler Meyer wrote $3,400,000 in life insurance protection on members and their families in November. The three agencies combined to write a total of $48,880,192 in life insurance during the month of November. Please join us in congratulating the following men for their outstanding performance. These men lead the state or the Knights of Columbus insurance program in November of Darin Reed Joe Cummings David Soukup Adam Riopel J. J. Deges Dan Reed Joel Crane Bill Weber Adam Bruna Wade Greif Steve Schmidt Tyler Meyer If you or someone you know would like to join our winning team of Field Agents please call for more information.