The Explorer A Publication Of The Kansas Knights of Columbus VOL. 22 NO. 8 http://www.kansas-kofc.org September 2018 After the long days of summer, with kid s home from school, ball games, swimming and possibly squeezing in a vacation, most of us have settled back into the routine of life that seems to reset itself every September. That means that your Council s Meetings and activities should settle back into a routine nature! If your Council has not done so, make certain that Forms 185 (Report of Officers), 365 (Service Program Personnel Report) and 1295 (Semi-Annual Council Audit Report) have been completed and submitted to the appropriate distribution list. Remember that each new Fraternal Year is another year and another opportunity to be successful. Let s make this year an exceptional year. Your Council should have had a representative at the District/Regional Meeting in your area and your Council should have gotten copies of the Official State Directory, the Programming and Membership Guide, Fraternal Success Planners, the necessary forms, books and everything and anything else you will need to insure your Council s success. If you still have not gotten this information, please call your District Deputy. If you can t get a hold of him, email me (Statedeputy@kansas-kofc.org) and I will help you. Remember that Charity is and will always be the first principle of our Order. Your Council should be planning programming activities to take place throughout the year. These activities should be in the four new Faith in Action programming areas, including Faith, Family, Community and Life. Activities in these areas can include, but should not be limited to State and/or Supreme sponsored programs. Listen to your membership and give them the opportunity to contribute their special talents to your council. As Grand Knight, ask for their help and keep them busy! Busy councils are successful councils. Last month I asked and encouraged you to start recruiting new members to help carry out the charitable works of the Order. I mentioned the Order wide membership drive in October, and suggested that your council order any pamphlets, flyers and/or posters so they will be available for your Council s recruitment drive. Your Council still has time if you haven t gotten this done, but don t delay any longer! If you don t order soon, your order may be too late to help you with your October membership drive! STATE DEPUTY S MESSAGE This year, our Supreme Consultant, Ray Lopez, spoke about why it is important that a council achieve the Star Council Award. This award identifies success in three very important facets of our Order, and will pay dividends in the future. First, it identifies success on the most basic level: Charity. Second, it recognizes the Council s efforts to spread fraternalism by recognizing the membership growth necessary to maintain a vibrant council. Finally, it acknowledges your Council s commitment to the well-being of its members who have taken the necessary steps to ensure that, in the event of an untimely tragedy, the member s families will be financially secure. The Star Council Award is indicative of a successful year. Why not have your year as Grand Knight be recognized as a successful year? Vivat Jesus, Dale A. Weber State Deputy CALENDAR OF EVENTS SEPTEMBER 9 Major Degree: Council 13012 - Topeka 11 Knights of Columbus World Day of Prayer for Peace 15 Family of the Month due to Supreme 16 Major Degree: Council 4759 - Osborne 16 Major Degree: Council 6984 - Hays 22 Major Degree: Council 5212 - Scott City 27 Deadline for Religious Education Fund requests to State Chaplain 30 5th Sunday Rosary Prayer Service and or Corporate Communion 30 Major Degree: Council 862 - Great Bend 30 Major Degree: Council 9510 - Colwich OCTOBER Respect Life Month October is Respect Life Month Schedule a Culture of Life Fundraiser or Seminar October is Order Wide Church Drive Month 1 Respect Life Sunday- present and or participate in Culture of Life activities 3 Major Degree: Council 6673 - Lenexa 8 Columbus Day Observed (National Holiday) 12-14 Conduct Tootsie Roll Campaign 15 Family of the Month due to Supreme 18 Order Christmas Poster Contest kit
CALENDAR OF EVENTS - Oct. cont. 21 Major Degree: Council 1832 - Manhattan 27 Deadline for GKs to return Religious Ed Fund Tickets & Donations to DD 28 Deadline to report Soccer Challenge reports to Supreme & State Council 28 Major Degree: Council 883 - Pittsburg 28 Major Degree: Council 11067 - Leawood 31 Order Free Throw Championship Kit DID YOU KNOW? The Kansas Knight of the Month for July is Trent Andler Council 9535 District 3. Supreme Family of the Month winners for July: Michael Hurla Family Council 534-Topeka Ronald Ebert Family Council 902-Flush Congratulations to our winners. STATE CHAPLAIN S MESSAGE Father Jarett Konrade, State Chaplain He came toward them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. It is a ghost, they said, and they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid. Peter said to him in reply, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. He said Come. Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me! Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? (Mt. 14:27-32) Do you have trust issues? If your answer to this question is no, then you can stop reading right now, and by the way, congratulations, you are ready for the kingdom of God. The rest of us struggle, perhaps daily, with allowing our faith in Jesus Christ to remain unaffected by the winds of the world that distract us from God s water-walking power and thus, in terms of faith and trust, we can find ourselves sinking. I want to discuss a phrase that we perhaps have heard used today and I think is a symptom of our trust issues. The expression is contraceptive mentality. Naturally, the phrase draws us to think of artificial birth control, but I think it is connected to a much larger spectrum than just family planning challenges. A contraceptive mentality is a mentality that says, God, I love you, I believe in you, but I am not at a point that I can trust you enough to give you control of every aspect of my life. Obviously, the world contends that contraception is most definitely not a lack of trust; it is acting as a responsible individual. Do you think Peter was acting irresponsibly when he stepped out of the boat onto the water? The world would have said, Yes! What a fool! He was the head of the apostles; they looked up to him, what if he would have drowned in the midst of the storm and waves? However, according to God s standards, Peter was not acting irresponsibly; he was acting as a man transformed by love for Jesus Christ. The contraceptive mentality causes us to excuse our inability to trust and call it responsible decision making. As I mentioned, it seeps into so many other areas of life beyond the fertility decisions of married couples. There are so many areas that we desire to be in control and leave God in the backseat. How about your sons and daughters discerning a vocation, for example? Do you trust enough to allow and encourage your young ones to discern God s call or do you have success planned out for your children? Is a life dedicated to Jesus Christ as a chaste celibate a life wasted, or a beautiful option? As soon as we allow ourselves to be distracted by success, or responsible family size, or financial stability according to the world s standards, we become like Peter who was distracted by the wind and took his eyes off of the one who had the answers. In the midst of the storm, the world will tell you, be careful, protect yourself, don t be irresponsible and if you follow this advice you will surely sink, however, if you focus on Jesus Christ with faith and trust, you will walk on water. STATE MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR S MESSAGE Fall is knocking on our doors and in Kansas that means it is Church drive time! You thought I was going to say football season! As state membership director this is like Christmas morning. By now you should have your goals lined out for this fraternal year and a game plan of how you are going to get there. Each membership drive should include all the proper materials and handouts that you can order from supplies on line which can be found under officers online. An absolute must for this year should be a laptop, chrome book, I-pad or smart phone to access On-line Membership. As you were told in the regional meetings this is your new digital Form 100. We have over thirty members that have joined through E-Membership so you can see that councils and new members are using it. You should too. Simply direct your prospects to: knights.net and walk them through the registration process. It s quick, easy, and totally paperless. Your financial secretary will love you when you sign up a new member using On-line Membership. If you have any questions, don t hesitate to contact me, I would be more than happy to assist you. Vivat Jesus, Patrick W. Burnett, State Membership Director 2
STATE PROGRAM DIRECTOR S MESSAGE The Regional District Meetings have been completed and the programs for the 2018-2019 fraternal year have been presented to the councils. With all the information fresh in your minds, now is the time for Grand Knights to plan strategies with your council officers and program team to implement the Faith In Action programs and make this is the most successful year in history. If you haven t already, be sure to hold your planning meetings soon. The most urgent programs at this time are the Religious Education Fund Requests (Ticket Sales), Adopt-A-Seminarian, The Family Fully Alive, and Commitment to Humanities Drive to Help People with Intellectual Disabilities. Remember to call your local radio stations and ask them to play our PSA with the voice of Gregg Marshall, coach of the Wichita State Shockers Men s Basketball team, for the Tootsie Roll Drive scheduled for October 12-14. Are you using your Fraternal Leader Success Planner as much as possible? Be sure to review the Reminders and Things to Accomplish sections to help you with planning and tracking your council s activities. Has your council selected a Public Relations Chairman? By submitting this member s name on the Form 365 Service Program Personnel Report, he will receive helpful information from the Supreme Council concerning publicizing your council s activities. This person could also be responsible for ensuring scrapbooks are submitted in each of the four programming areas. Most of us carry a cell phone that is capable of taking photos. Encourage members to take pictures at council events and send them to the council Public Relations Chairman. In addition to the traditional scrapbook, you could also use a service such as Shutterfly, Snapfish, Wal-Mart, Costco, or others to print and bind a book to submit to the Activity Scrapbook competitions. Many councils go unrecognized for the fantastic programs and activities that they participate in. Scrapbooks are a visual reminder of the great works you do through the Knights of Columbus. Vivat Jesus, Gary L Wondra State Program Director FAITH Adopt-A-Seminarian (RSVP Program) All councils are reminded to support their bishops, priests and seminarians as we: Build the Domestic Church While Strengthening Our Parish. Church Activities Director, John Schulz, has contacted the Diocesan Vocation Directors in each diocese to request a list of seminarians. The official list of seminarians will be distributed to all councils and assemblies soon. Every council and assembly should submit to John the online pledge form or the post card pledge form provided by your District Deputy, by November 1st. Any council or assembly that needs a new or additional seminarian should contact John instead of trying to select one on their own. By allowing the state council to assist in appointing seminarians, this ensures equal amounts of financial assistance may be provided to all seminarians. Seminarians need your financial assistance at the beginning of their school year as many of their expenses are incurred at this time. In addition to your financial support, seminarians also need your prayers, cards, letters of encouragement, care packages and phone calls. Make sure your adopted seminarians know the Knights of Columbus will always be there to support them on their journey to the priesthood. Religious Education Fund Applications Religious Education Chairman Rev. Jarett Konrade awaits receipt of the applications for funds from your parishes. He would like to remind you that September 27th is the deadline for submitting those applications and reminds you to get them in early so they can be tabulated and funds can be distributed. Religious Education Fund Raising By now, Grand Knights should have received your council's tickets. Barney Wolters requests your council to work diligently at getting the allocated tickets distributed far in advance of the October 27 deadline to return tickets and funds to the District Deputy. A reminder: any person, group, parish, or organization may participate in the purchase of these tickets! Please be sure to request additional tickets to help make this the most successful year ever! Marian Prayer Icon A new Marion Prayer Icon, Our Lady Help of Persecuted Christians is beginning its many prayer services around Kansas. Please consider holding a prayer service during the two weeks the icon is in your district. Prayer booklets will be provided with the icon. FAMILY The family is at the core of the Knights of Columbus beliefs and ideals. Catholics often struggle with the reality that they do not have the opportunity to socialize and/or pray with other faith-filled Catholic families. It can be quite a challenge to continue to ground ourselves and raise our children in the faith when there is such limited exposure. Recognizing the Family of the Month can be as simple as the council nominating one family each month and completing the Form 1933A (located at the Supreme website council forms ). Councils can adopt this program as a devotional for all families throughout Continued on page 4 3
the liturgical year. Please submit the form electronically by Emailing COPIES TO: State Deputy, your District Deputy, Council File (your own email) and FAX TO: Supreme Council Department of Fraternal Services (203) 752-4108. Taking the process a step further, by presenting the family with a certificate signed by Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, is an excellent way to elevate your families and provide them with a conversation piece reminding them of their family values involving love and patience. Certificates are ordered on line at Knights Gear by your council family life committee representative or Grand Knight. Take it a step further by working with your parish pastor and presenting the family with their certificate following Mass with a blessing. One last step, we need 55 Families of the Year submitted this year. You will receive a phone call reminder and written reminders in January 2019. Keep up the great works and Building the Domestic Church one FAMILY at a time. Paul Haverkamp, Family Life Director family@kansas-kofc.org Council Activities - Athletic Events Chairman Tom Smith reports that the 2018 KofC State Golf Tournament was held at the Mariah Hills Golf Course in Dodge City, on July 21st and 22nd. A special thank you to the members of LaCrosse Council 2970 for hosting this years tournament. There were 22 teams that played in the tournament. The results of this years tournament are not available. The 2019 KofC State Golf Tournament will be played at the Salina Municipal Golf Course, and will be hosted by Salina Council 601, the weekend of July 27th and 28th. Information regarding the 2019 KofC State Bowling Tournament will be coming to all Grand Knights in the next few weeks. We are still looking for a council to host the 2020 golf tournament. If your council is interested please contact Tom Smith, Council Activities Chairman for more details. COMMUNITY Now that all the regional meetings have been completed, all councils should be aware of the new Helping Hands program. This program is now a required program to qualify for the Columbian Award. Generate program ideas from your council. Guidelines are broad in order to allow councils to serve their communities in whatever way is most needed. Programs can include forming partnerships with local aid organizations or independently planning unique activities. For more information about this Supreme program please go to www.kofc.org/faithinaction and look for Helping Hands under the Community Program section. If you have any questions regarding this program you may also contact Community Director Doug Wietharn at: community@kansas-kofc.org. 4 Webmaster Webmaster Doug Wietharn reminds all councils and assemblies to please review their respective information which can be found under 'Councils' on the Knighthood Degree page or Assemblies on the Patriotic Degree page, then 'By City' or 'By Council Number or Assembly Number'. Please email any updates to webmaster@kansas-kofc.org. Does your council need help hosting a successful degree? We would like to help. Councils can e-mail their Admission Degree information to the webmaster and it will be posted for other councils to see. The information should include the date, time, location including street address, and contact person. Please note that hosting councils that publish their first degree date on the state website must be prepared to hold the Admissions Degree even if they have no candidates as there may be candidates from other councils that may be attending. Let's work together to help ensure that candidates don't wait weeks or months to take their Admission Degree. Fraternal Knight of the Month! What better method to recognize a member that goes above and beyond assisting your council to perform great works of charity. Please submit your Knight of the Month to Fraternal Chairman Heath Ohl by the 15th of each month, and they will be entered into the monthly drawing for State Knight of the Month! By now Grand Knights should have received the state directory, if your info is incorrect please email State Secretary Jamie Roth the correct information. statesecretary@kansaskofc.org Publicity Has your council assigned a Publicity Chairman? If not, please do so and encourage them to utilize the parish bulletins, local newspapers, social medias, and ask them to announce upcoming activities at the end of mass. Your Publicity Chairman will receive mailings from the Supreme Council for tips and ideas. If you have not done so already, please create a Facebook page for your council and look at Social Media 101 on the Supreme website. If you need any additional help, please contact Fraternal Chairman Heath Ohl at fraternal@kansas-kofc.org Pennies from Heaven Dustin Hern reminds all Grand Knights that you should have already started your fundraising efforts for the Pennies from Heaven Program. It will be easier to obtain your Goals when you raise funds each month. Contact Dustin Hern with information on the items you have for the Country Store or the auction at the State Convention. District Deputies are asked to remind all councils to become involved in this worthy program. You never know who in your District or community that you will have the opportunity to help through the EDAP program.
Youth Activities If you are a Grand Knight, Program Director, Community Director, or Family Director please complete the Praesidium s Armatus online training ASAP. The training can be found on the Supreme Council home page under Safe Environment in the top right corner. Also, deadlines are approaching or past so don t wait to order kits for the Soccer Challenge, Free Throw Contest, or Essay Contest. There is no deadline to order coats for the Coats for Kids Pogram, but please allow for 3-4 weeks for the coats to arrive. Any questions please call or email Kevin Baalmann anytime youth@kansas-kofc.org or 785-222-6029. LIFE Did you know that October is Respect Life Month? At the July meeting, the District Deputies were challenged to ensure that 100% of our Kansas councils were Pro-Life Active. What s this mean? Being Pro-life active means that the council is actively supporting AND promoting the Culture of Life in their communities and parishes. This challenge calls councils to go a step further than simply writing a check. Supreme has great resources including posters, pamphlets, and prayer cards that can assist a council in this mission. As October approaches, your council should make a plan during the September meeting. If your council has never participated in the Life Chain before, get started! Host a movie night, showing a movie with a good pro-life message. Organize the Novena for Life in your parish. Hand out rosaries, encouraging people to pray for Life. The Ultrasound Initiative is alive and well in Kansas! To-date, the state has 4 active projects in the works. Every council is needed to raise the necessary funds. Time is of the essence. The sooner we can get these ultrasound machines placed, the sooner they can start saving lives. Conduct a drive for the Ultrasound Initiative soon. The Silver Rose is coming to Kansas on September 16th. It will begin its run across the state in Bellville. The annual Running of the Rose is conducted to encourage people to pray for the Culture of Life. Ask your District Deputy if your district is scheduled to host the Rose and get your council involved. If you have any questions regarding these programs, feel free to contact Matt Micek, State Life Director by e-mailing him at life@kansas-kofc.org. Commitment to Humanities (Tootsie Rolls) Brother Knight s, by now your council should have ordered your Tootsie Rolls, asked radio stations in your area to play Coach Marshall s public service announcement and be contacting your fund drive locations to assure they are secured for the weekend of October 12th, 13th and 14th. Commitment to Humanities Chairman Lino Munoz reminds councils that if the big box company can no longer allow you set up at their location, councils should look to the small box company for assistance. Ask merchants if there are matching funds or if base donations or grants are available. Many merchants will do this. Also seek donations for case quantities of your Tootsie Rolls. Brothers, with all of us working together, we can achieve the challenge of raising the $400,000 goal and beyond. Remember that our Order will be sponsoring the Special Olympics Basketball and Cheerleading Tournament in Hays and Topeka next March. Helping the citizens with intellectual disabilities here in Kansas, and watching them become filled with joy, is our victory and makes all our work worthwhile. Knights-Lite January 1st is the upcoming deadline for articles to be sent to Editor Gary Wondra in order to make the February edition. INSURANCE AGENCY MESSAGE 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: David Soukup wrote $2,700,000 in life insurance protection on members and their families in July. Central Kansas Agency: John Schibi wrote $610,000 in life insurance protection on members and their families in July. Western Kansas Agency: Darin Reed wrote $1,091,000 in life insurance protection on members and their families in July. The three agencies combined to write a total of $30,226,704 in life insurance during the month of July. 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 July of 2018. Darin Reed, Tim Voegeli, John Schibi, Chris Hoffmann, John Dorsey, Tyler Meyer, Zach Caro, Tyler Bruggeman, David Soukup, Bill Weber, Jon Reboulet, Adam Bruna, Kirby Schmelzle If you or someone you know would like to join our winning team of Field Agents please call 1-866-391-8781 for more information. 5
Jamey C. Roth State Secretary 1202 Hickory Victoria, Kansas 67671 FIRST CLASS MAIL US POSTAGE PAID AXTELL KS Permit No. 9 ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED WELCOME ONE ANOTHER AS CHRIST HAS WELCOMED YOU. KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS IN SERVICE TO ONE. IN SERVICE TO ALL.