Building Catholic Fraternity and Developing Council Culture Or How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Beat the Greeks! 52 nd College Councils Conference September 29 - October 1, 2017 Introductions Patrick Aselin Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) - Troy, NY B.S. Materials Engineering, B.S. Mathematics 18 PGK, Advocate - Council #13635 Zachary Myslinski Benedictine College - Atchison, KS B.S. Finance and Business Administration 19 Kansas DD, PGK - Council #4708, Trustee - Assembly #3700 Aaron Filzen Minnesota State University, Mankato - Mankato, MN B.S. Construction Management 18 PGK, Recruitment Chair- Council #16408 1
What is the Purpose of this Session? Define our identity as a Knights of Columbus College Council. Role and necessity of a fraternal culture in our councils. Practical ideas and tools for strengthening fraternity, growing membership, and developing/projecting a healthy culture. Part I: Fraternity in the KofC 2
Interests of College Students Community: Enrichment: To be respected and valued Meaningful, genuine friendships Becoming involved in a larger group To make a difference Receive support from upperclassmen Have fun! Academic advancement Learning about one s self Character growth Leadership formation Spiritual development Organizations and Activities That Fulfill These Religious: Newman Clubs FOCUS Social/Fraternal: Greek Professional Service: Student Government Habitat for Humanity Interest-Based: Intramural Sports Hobbies 3
Knights of Columbus - The Catholic Fraternity The KofC Advantage: College KofC is not a singular experience! Encompasses a broad range of opportunities. Fulfills many of the interests of college men. Students may share their unique interests with the council. Lasts beyond college: parish councils and career opportunities. What are the Challenges? Competing for students time and interest with other groups. Tainted notions about what it means to be a fraternity. Focus on just one aspect of our order, avoiding the other three. How the public views us vs. our true identity. 4
Responding to these Challenges Brotherhood is thought more in the eyes of us relating to each other not us relating to Our Father Rooting a brotherhood in Christ Living authentically Why don't men Play The Man? Why don't they offer their strength to a world desperately in need of it? What is a Fraternity? A Brotherhood A definition of fraternity or brotherhood: The bonding of men of various backgrounds, beliefs, places, and eras around a singular set of life-directing commitments within a common experience. Big ideas for a College Council: The people are what make a fraternity! Diverse membership Catholic faith as shared beliefs Shared college journey 5
Fraternity - More than a Club, A Family Ideal environment for learning and development: Identity Morality Leadership Discussion, Disagreement, Consensus Identify values Share insights Develop self-identity Personal Challenge Started a council because I saw men Catholic and non Catholic alike being starved spiritually and socially. Binge drinking and hooking up wasn t filling the void. Catholics need community Men need community All men want to live a life of purpose. 6
Personal Success You and your councils are in the best position to serve Catholic men. Inviting other Catholic men involved in Bible studies, with FOCUS, events at the Newman Center, or just Catholics on campus into a brotherhood. The friendships we make matter far more than our events. Root your purpose in your culture. Make your purpose clear. Part II: Building Blocks of a KofC Fraternity 7
First Thing, Who is Responsible for Culture? Grand Knight as CEO defines the culture of the council: Responsible for vision, objectives, values, and motivation Culture lies in the shadow of a leader Brother Knights: Shape this environment as members through their interactions Are the ones who achieve the desired outcomes The Basis of Christian Brotherhood Faith. Sacraments - If a man never takes part in the brotherly meal of Christians he cannot be considered as belonging to the brotherhood Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Wisdom - Truth lived // Morality. Body of Christ is the Brotherhood of Christ. 8
Authentic Friendships - Basis of Brotherhood Intentional Laugh Think Love Sacraments / Fellowship Achieving the end goal of raising Holy men Authentic Friendships Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17) 1 Peter 2:17: Honor all men. Love the Brotherhood. 9
How can this be lived? Authentic Friendships are attractive 2 by 2 Be bought in- Don t do things half hearted Practical Recruitment Strategies First impressions make all the difference: Encounter the culture and identity of the KofC Form students opinions over the long-run Strategies for initial exchanges (one-on-one): Lend a hand for freshmen move-in day, attend welcome events in armor Greet students arriving at the Catholic Center, present at school activity fairs Be prepared to talk about your council and know the Order s history! Be visible, engaged in the Catholic community Around campus too! 10
Recruitment Drives: Rush/Roman Weeks First few weeks of each semester Effective way to engage new students and gear up the council: Choose activities that exhibit the order s values Build up to a large event/1st Degree Include officer contact info Email signups [Made with Serif PagePlus] First Degree & Integrating New Members Ceremony basics: Admits members and provides the common experience. Keep goals in mind: formation and sharing an experience Involve the entire council. Use your own degree team whenever possible Have an after-party! 11
Programming to Build Brotherhood Basic model: Weekly meetings (business or officers) - Bring food! Ideally two events per week, balancing social, service, faith Growing fraternity: Manly activities: BBQ s, Men's Fellowship Nights, Hiking, Campfires, Bowling, Paintball, Movie Knights, Walking Rosary, Sword Fencing, etc. Praying as a council! Team building programs: http://nicindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/nic-brotherhood-building-2-08-1.pdf Deeper Discussions to Deeper Relationships Into the Breach: Apostolic Exhortation by Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, Diocese of Phoenix Opportunity for discussion and consensus Conversations about deeper topics 12
Standards, Interactions & Communications Watch your language! Vivat Jesus! Deus Vult! Battle cries; KofC buzzwords Address members as Brother Rosary Checks (Rosary as a shared symbol) Internal messaging: Examples: Groupme, Messenger, FB groups, emails, etc. Transparency and encourage participation in the decision-making process. Embedded resources: Send location, event RSVP,reminders, polls Branding and Projected Image We want to do good while looking good! Apparel/accessories: t-shirts, polos, hats, water bottles, stickers Be visible on campus - Armor Day Don t be afraid to brag!: Post on social media before/after events Let people know what s going on Post flyers and calendars 13
Council Branding in Print and Digital Media Basic strategies for branding: Have a well-crafted message, what you say is as important as how. Simple, easy-to-read or visually appealing delivery Share through a variety of mediums: posters, handouts, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, email MailChimp (www.mailchimp.com) Free, includes adding multiple admins Produce visually appealing and content rich emails for desktop/mobile viewing Easy to use out of the box with simple templates and endless customizations with additional features Native list creation and management with subsetting List subscription forms for website, on device, and mobile Reports for email opens, clicks, etc. 14
Canva (www.canva.com) Online/mobile graphic design tool Mostly free, but some paid features Upload and edit photos, add text and image elements Many templates for media applications 15
IFTTT - If This Then That (www.ifttt.com) Free task automation client 100 s of services available (Google, FB, Instagram, MailChimp, etc.) Applets, recipe-based concept: IF trigger in service ; THEN action in same or different service Save time, do more, create new experiences! 16
Conclusion We need fraternity! Focus on culture to grow in brotherhood and develop Catholic men Invest in your membership through engaging programming Many free and easy-to-use resources are available to build the visible image of a council Q&A/Contact Info Patrick Aselin Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute aselip@rpi.edu; (518) 225-5236 Zachary Myslinski Benedictine College dd04@kansas-kofc.org; (636) 373-3588 Aaron Filzen Minnesota State University, Mankato aaron.filzen@mnsu.edu; (507) 429-4919 17