District 68 District Deputy s Report - September Ernie Sobczak, Jr. District Deputy 414-525-0837 Home / 414-687-3138 Cell Email at eesjr525@yahoo.com District Website: http://district68wisconsin.weebly.com/ Membership: We are at 779 members in District 68. Looking at our recruitment goals for the year we are -3 against a goal of 36 for membership and at zero against a goal of 15 for insurance members. Council goals are shown below: Membership Insurance Council Quota Gain Loss Net Quota Gain Loss Net Members 4106 6 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 96 4580 15 0 4-4 5 0 0 0 233 6448 6 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 92 7048 12 2 0 2 4 1 0 1 190 8172 6 0 1-1 3 0 1-1 85 13733 6 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 85 The district membership number and goals will likely change once the Supreme records are updated for the re-districting. These are the numbers that are currently showing for our district. There are new membership incentives for councils and members. For councils, the membership incentive in the Wisconsin Jurisdiction for the first quarter of the fraternal year is that the State Council will rebating to the council $7.50 on the April 1st per capita billing for each new member brought into the order in the months of July, August and September. For members, the Supreme is currently offering a First Quarter Membership Incentive for which every member may qualify. Here are the details: 1. Recruit 1 new member between July 1 and September 30 and receive a Knights of Columbus pen 2. Recruit 2 new members between July 1 and September. 30 and receive a Knights of Columbus travel mug. 3. Recruit 3 new members between July 1 and September 30 and receive a Knights of Columbus padfolio. 4. Recruit 5 new members between July 1and September 30 and receive all three. 5. You will also continue to receive 500 VIP points for each member recruited. These numbers do not reflect the new district alignment, as that information has not yet been updated in the Supreme database. Keep carrying your Form 100 and keep asking your friends, neighbors, and fellow parishioners to join us in the Knights of Columbus. If you ask enough men, some will say yes. If you don t ask anyone, no one will say yes! One member, per council, per month!
Diocesan Meeting: The Milwaukee Archdiocese Diocesan Meeting will be held on Sunday, September 8th at the Sacred Heart School of Theology, 7335 South Highway 100, Franklin, WI 53132. Grand Knights, Deputy Grand Knights, Financial Secretaries, Program Directors, Membership Directors, Youth Directors, and any other interested council officers or members are encouraged to attend. Mass starts at 7:30 am. Registration is at 8:30 am and the meeting opens at 9:00 am. Your council s reservation form needs to be submitted to our Diocesan Program Coordinator, William Frayer, no later than September 1 st. Please remember to send in the reservation form for your council even if no one is attending the lunch. They still need a count of attendees to make sure they have sufficient rooms for the breakout sessions. You should have all received your meeting information including the reservation form by now. If you haven t, or if you have misplaced it, please let me know and I can give you a copy. Be sure to copy me on your reservation form. Don t forget too, the Life Savers for the Life Savers for Life Drive will be distributed at the Diocesan Meeting. Punt, Pass, & Kick Competition and Soccer Challenge: Currently, I believe only St. Leonard Council #64448 in Muskego is conducting these contests. That will be on Sunday, September 8 th starting at noon at the north end of the parish campus. If your council has any children interested in participating, I am sure they will be welcome there. I would like to encourage the other councils in the district to think about trying these events next year. Youth activities get our children involved in something beside video games and social media. It is also another way to get your council out in the public view in your community and parish. The diocesan level competition is set for Saturday, October 5 th at Acquin Field St. Catherine s High School - at 1200 Park Avenue, Racine, WI 53403-1847. Registration is at 12:00pm, competition at 1:00pm. Rain date is Sunday, October 6 th, same time, same place. Also note that at the diocesan level and up, a youth can only compete in either the PPK or the Soccer Challenge, but not both. Good luck to all those children that participate. Congratulations!: Three of our councils have earned the Columbian Award for service programs conducted during the fraternal year ending June 30 th. Congratulations to St. Leonard Council #6448, Muskego; Thomas Aquinas Council #8172, Waterford; and St. Joseph Council #13733, Big Bend. Congratulations also to Trinity Council #4580, Franklin which also earned the Columbian Award while a member of our district! All of the councils in our district have active programs providing service to their parishes and communities. Thank you to all of the members and officers who gave of their time and talents and congratulations again to those councils recognized for their hard work. New Chaplain Membership Cards: There is a special and new membership card for chaplains. It has the standard background gold color of the life time member, and council and member number. New is the large picture of Fr. McGivney and the designation "Chaplain" on the front. On the back is a copy of the prayer for the canonization of Fr. McGivney. This membership card is available only to chaplains, not all clergy. I urge all councils to order this card from the Supreme Office. Please make sure you designate this card as the "Chaplain's Card" in your order.
Eucharistic Rosary Rally for Peace and the Family: On Saturday, September 7 th there will be a Rosary Rally at the Wisconsin Exposition Center at State Fair Park. It is hoped that this will produce, by the power of the Holy Spirit, a spiritual revival through Our Lady and Her rosary. In our personal lives, in our families, in our communities, our States, for our country and echo throughout the world. This looks to be a very dynamic event and is endorsed by our Archbishop, Timothy Cardinal Dolan of New York, and the other bishops of all the Wisconsin dioceses. I would encourage the councils to promote this rally in your meetings. A copy of the informational poster is attached to this email. World Day of Prayer for Peace: This September 11 th marks the 13 th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States. As the Knights of Columbus observe the World Day of Prayer for Peace on that anniversary, we recall the tragic events of that day and honor the thousands who lost their lives. We also pray for peace among and within nations, especially in those places where war, violence or turmoil persist. We pray that religion will be a means of peace and accord and not a pretense for violence and division. At its annual meeting in 2004, the Supreme Council passed a resolution that Sept. 11 be observed each year as a World Day of Prayer for Peace. Thus, all Knights of Columbus leaders are urged to begin planning for this event now and hold an appropriate prayer service in a church, or in a public place such as a war memorial, a municipal park or on the grounds of the town or city hall. To assist your council in its participation in this event, the Supreme Council offers a Day of Prayer poster (#9483) and prayer card (#9484). The prayer card includes a prayer taken from the remarks of Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to the site in New York where the Twin Towers once stood. Today, more than ever, our world is in need of prayers for peace. The Knights of Columbus World Day of Prayer for Peace provides an opportunity for Knights throughout the Order to participate in a powerful international offering of prayer for peace. For more information please visit kofc.org/prayerforpeace. Sentiments for Seminarians: Please start collecting materials for the Sentiments for Seminarians program. Items needed include personal care items such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, shaving supplies, bathing needs, etc.; clothing items such as hats, scarves, gloves, etc. (many seminarians are from warmer climates and are ill-prepared for our Wisconsin winters); other items such as phone cards (to call home), gas cards (to get around), gift cards (to buy needed supplies), etc. The seminarians live on a rather small monthly stipend, and even though their needs for shelter are covered, they are on their own for most of their other needs. Help support vocations by supporting our seminarians. District 68 Columbus Day Dinner: Just a reminder on the district Columbus Day Dinner. This is the first year our district will be celebrating the event with District 65. Trinity Council #4580 is hosting this year s dinner at the Sacred Heart School of Theology -. The event will be held on Saturday, October 26 th starting with a 5:00pm mass. Mass will be followed by a social hour in the Trinity Council s clubrooms and a buffet dinner of carved pit ham, herb-baked chicken, roasted red potatoes, green beans, baked acorn squash, dinner rolls and butter, and for dessert the ever-popular ice cream sundae bar! Cost of the dinner
will be $17.00 per person and the event is open to members, families, friends, and guests. A flyer is attached to the email with all the information, including the reservation contact information. Let s make this year s event an even bigger success than last year s! I look forward to seeing you all there. Forty Days for Life Fall Campaign: The dates for the next coordinated 40 Days for Life campaign will be September 25 to November 3. Forty Days for Life is: Prayer and fasting: Christ told us that some demons can only be driven out by prayer and fasting. The two go hand in hand. Peaceful vigil: 40 Days for Life's most visible aspect is a peaceful prayer vigil outside an abortion facility. Community outreach: During 40 Days for Life, the message is proactively taken to the community through focused efforts. In the Milwaukee area, the vigil takes place outside Affiliated Medical Services at 1428 North Farwell Avenue next to Shank Hall. Many of the councils in the area participate in the vigil. More information is available at the local website: http://40daysforlife.com/milwaukee.html. Family of the Month / Family of the Year: Congratulations to the Joseph and Mary Uchytil family from Monsignor Gehl Council #7895 of Hortonville. The Uchytil is the current Family of the Year for Wisconsin, and was named 2013 International Family of the Year at last month s Supreme Convention! This is the second time in three years that the International Family of the Year has come from Wisconsin. Last year, the Wisconsin Family of the Year was the runner-up. This is truly a source of pride for our state and our jurisdiction. Now is the time to start selecting a family to be nominated as a Family of the Year nominee. Do not short this family by doing the bare minimum for the nomination. If you are serious about your nomination, a good family biography has pictures of family participation in their activities, newspaper articles, and several letters of recommendation, as well as an explanation of how the family uses their lives to do the works of Jesus Christ. Last year, there was no Family of the Year nominee from the Milwaukee Archdiocese. We should view this as a challenge to mount a successful Family of the Year nominee from our area. Families are the foundation upon which our Order is built. Because of the importance that the family holds for the Knights of Columbus, councils are encouraged to regularly participate in the Family of the Month and Family of the Year programs. Much of the work our councils and members do would not be possible without the help and support of their families. It is an excellent way to recognize families and to increase your council s visibility. As we approach a new council year, please include this program in your council planning. I would like to see all of our councils recognizing their families next year.
Dates to Remember: a. Notice of Appointment of Round Table Coordinator ( Form #2629) 09/01/13 b. Eucharistic Rosary Rally for Peace and the Family 09/07/13 c. Diocesan Meeting at SHST 09/08/13 d. Council Corporate Communion 09/14 15/13 e. Beginning of 40 Days for Life 09/25/13 f. Columbus Day 10/14/13 g. Columbus Day Dinner 10/26/13 Degree Dates Scheduled in and around District 68: First Degrees: September 15 th at Michael-James Feider Council in Mukwonago / 6:30pm sign-up, 7:00pm degree October 17 th at Trinity Council #4580 in Franklin / 6:30pm sign-up, 7:00pm degree October 20 th at Michael-James Feider Council in Mukwonago / 6:30pm sign-up, 7:00pm degree October 28 th at St. Joseph Council in Big Bend / 6:30pm sign-up, 7:00pm degree Second Degree: October 17 th at Trinity Council in #4580 Franklin / 7:30pm sign-up, 8:00pm degree October 26 th at 1604 in West Bend / 9:30am sign-up, 10:00am degree Third Degree: October 26 th at 1604 in West Bend / 9:30am sign-up, 10:00am degree Fourth Degree: April 12, 2014 in Waukesha District 68 Upcoming Council Events: 4106- St. Pius X Council Union Grove: 4579 Lakeland Council East Troy: Volunteering at Historical Society 5K Run September 7 th ; and Annual Family Picnic September 15 th. 6448- St. Leonard Council Muskego: Time and Talent Weekend September 7 th & 8 th ; and Punt, Pass, & Kick Competition and Soccer Challenge September 8 th. 7048 Michael-James Feider Council - Mukwonago: Ongoing event Packers vs. Bears Ticket Raffle. 8172- Thomas Aquinas Council Waterford: 13733- St. Joseph Council Big Bend: