Join our council in conjuction with the Knights of Columbus and their families around the world as we pray the rosary for Our Lady’s intercession for unity and peace on Sept 8th; we will be celebrating at Annunciation BVM parish located at 401 Gray Street, Green Bay, WI beginning at 7:30pm.
For more information about this celebration visit http://kofc.org
I orignally wrote this for our newsletter but thought it worthwill to share it here also.
I was privileged this summer to be selected as one of eleven Wisconsin State Delegates to the Supreme Convention. This year’s 128th Annual meeting was held August 3rd through the 5thh in Washington D.C. The opening mass was at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, I’m not sure of the numbers, but there were more Priests, Bishops and Cardinal’s there then I have ever seen, the procession with the Fourth Degree Honor Guard leading the way must have lasted a good 15-20 minutes. In his homily Archbishop Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington D.C. said “The theme for this Supreme Convention of the Knights, “I Am My Brother’s Keeper,” highlights the commitment of service and the works of charity that have been intrinsic to our order since its beginning. Father Michael J. McGivney, Servant of God, understood with a piercing insight guided by the Holy Spirit that God’s love made manifest in Christ is supposed to be reflected and shared in our care for one another. We are our brother’s keeper. The very origins of our order are rooted in the recognition that we are called to exercise a ministry of service and charity.” The very essence of being a member of the Knights of Columbus is that we may serve not just each other, but those less fortunate in our society.
I came away from the convention with a better sense of what we as an organization are capable of doing and a better sense that belonging to the Knights can be a real vocation. It is my hope that in the coming months we can translate the theme of “I am My Brother’s Keeper” into action throughout our church and community.
Visit the Supreme website for more information on this years convention
http://www.kofc.org/un/eb/en/conv/2010/index.html
Jack
In answer to the many requests concerning the Haiti earthquake and what the Knights of Columbus plan on doing, please pass along the following.
This is a call to action. Haiti is a predominantly Catholic Country, so our aid will be a major mental and physical comfort to those suffering from this catastrophe.
To All Knights of Columbus:
In an effort to come to the aid of the people of Haiti, who are suffering a humanitarian catastrophe of huge proportions in the wake of Tuesday evening’s 7.0 earthquake, the Knights of Columbus has today sent an immediate contribution of $50,000 to Catholic Relief Services, and we invite Knights to make contributions through the Supreme Council so that we can maximize the impact of the funds raised, and document the amount donated in this tragedy by members of the Order.
Donations by individual Knights can be made on line, and this feature should be available on the Supreme Council website (www.kofc.org) by later this evening. Checks should be made out to Knights of Columbus Charities, Inc. and mailed to 1 Columbus Plaza, New Haven, CT 06510. Please write “Haiti Earthquake Relief” on the memo line of the check.
Contributions will be used to provide assistance wherever it can have the most immediate impact, and where the need is greatest.
We ask all Knights and their families to also offer their prayers for the victims of this terrible disaster.
6:00 p.m. EST Thursday, January 14, 2010
Vivat Jesus brothers
Get your pens out and start writing! This year’s theme is “The Freedom of Choice Act: How ‘Choice’ Affects A Baby In The Mother’s Womb”
For more information and Student entry forms please download the following pdf file: Essay Contest
Students in grades 7 through 12 of all schools in the state of Wisconsin and of any religious denomination or no religious denomination, are eligible to submit an essay related to this year’s theme.
This years Contest will be held on September 19th at St. Jude Parish, starting at 10:00am
Registration forms and permission slips will be available on the day of the event, or can be downloaded (here), filled out turned in the day of the event. Rules and Regulation
July 16th we held our annual summer picnic at Perkins Park in Green Bay. About forty or so members and their families showed up for some good burgers, hot dogs and a load of other dishes that our lady knights brought along. The weather was nice this year as we had one of our coolest July evenings. Visit our Gallery and check out some of the fun.
Knights extend thanks our supporters
The members of the Knights of Columbus Council No. 5382 (Fort Howard, Green Bay) want to express our thanks to everyone in the community who contributed to our recent (April 25-26) drive for the Intellectually Disabled.
We were able to raise over $5,000 that will be distributed to various local and state organizations that assist the Intellectually Disabled. Special thanks go out to the local businesses and partners; Westside Wal-Mart, Fleet Farm, Kwik Trip (corner of Shawano & Taylor Street), M&I Bank (off Military Ave) and the Quad-Parish community for providing us the ability to collect donations during the Knights of Columbus 2009 Tootsie Roll Drive.
Brian Caulfield, over at Fathers for the Good, has a couple of good posts, if you haven’t read ! His latest post “Man Your Battle Stations” talks about the 2nd annual Catholic Men for Christ Conference reminds me of the Esto Vir men’s conference I attended last month in Appleton, and although much smaller in size, it no less provided some of the same results. Here is a link the local Esto Vir site, thier next Monthly Mass and Spirtiual Talk is scheduled May 9th; check out what they have to offer. March 27th will be there will be an Evening of Recollection service starting at 7:30pm. Check them out
Several State Directors were very instrumental conducting workshops right after the State Convention. State personnel, District Deputies, Grand Knights, Deputy Grand Knights and council members were encouraged to attend one of the scheduled meetings in their areas.
Since June of 2008, Dave Catalano, the Green Bay Diocesan Coordinator, has put together three workshops of instruction for the benefit of the Grand Knights and Deputy Grand Knights. Additionally, in the Milwaukee Archdiocese there have been two workshops given by Dick Taddy and MarkWagner. The approximately two hour meetings emphasized Grand Knight training which was well received. The long term benefit from these workshops cannot be over stated. Based on the early returns from our successes in Green Bay, and Milwaukee, Dave Catalano is now buoyed to expand the training in late 2009, to include a session for Financial Secretaries and Trustees.
Dave Catalano has agreed to set up a program to “Train the Trainers” that is scheduled at St. Mary Magdalene in Waupaca on February 7, 2009. The tentative agenda is to meet at 11:00 AM for a lunch that State Program Director Robert Halaska and Lady Betsy will provide. The workshop will run from 12:00 to 3:00 PM with refreshments available throughout the workshop. Our hope is to have a minimum of two trainers from each diocese attend and of course everyone is welcome, only please let Program Director Robert Halaska know you are coming so that there will be adequate preparations. By June of 2009 the goal is to have Diocesan Teams scheduling training sessions in each of the 5 Dioceses to instruct both seasoned and new Grand Knights and Deputy Grand Knights. When the mystery is taken out of the job the job becomes easier and the results greater.
For more information contact Dave Catalano (smily2@sbcglobal.net) or Robert Halaska (rhalaska@wikofc.com)
Email from our Worthy State Program Director:
Worthy State Deputy Roland, State Officers and Brothers Knights of Wisconsin,
I would ask you all to read this assessment and request with humility, honesty, dedication and responsibility toward the future of our beloved Order.
Brothers, let us start by being humbly honest with ourselves. In some councils, negativity reigns. Standing, State Programs are not accomplished, Membership Drives yield little fruit or are non-existent and Council positions stagnate while chairmanships go unmanned. Many of us have the preconceived idea that this is typical of voluntarism in the US and that there is little or nothing that we can do to change this attitude. Thus the mudslide continues.
The Knights of Columbus will always have an ambivalent element and a dedicated, responsible group of brothers as well. This letter is directed to those responsible brothers who recognize the need and are willing to rededicate and redirect their efforts, in an organized and logical way, to stop the tide of negativism and reinvigorate our Order once again.
There is no need to scratch our heads and shrug our shoulders wondering how to make our Councils vibrant again. After 126 years of existence, methods are well developed and answers are very clear as to how to make our councils function better. Training, mentoring, socializing are tools that we have had in the past and are missing today. All we have to do is recapture the knowledge of successfully running our councils and what was once viewed as a burden will be seen, rather, as the thrill of accomplishment along with the honor of offering faith filled service.
Now is the time for a change of attitude so I ask each of you to search your heart for the right answer. The right answer is: We all share responsibility for our Order. The right answer is: Dedication without leadership is time wasted. The right answer is: A plan of action is better than no plan at all. The right answer is: Knowledge takes away fear and empowers.
Here is the plan; The Order has extensive training materials available and has recommended training at all levels starting with our very Exemplifications! Over the past 6 months several dedicated brothers have taken up the huge task of developing a plan to reintroduce training on a continuous state program basis. Diocesan Coordinators will be in charge of setting up times and places for training in their dioceses in the months immediately preceding the installation of new council officers. Training emphasis, at the onset, will be placed on the Grand Knights, Deputy Grand Knights, Financial Secretaries and Advocates but logically should expand to all officers. Grand Knights will be asked to allow District Deputies the courtesy of 10 to 15 minutes of council business meeting time for the sole purpose of instruction. This time should initially be spent in training the Service Personnel.
Where do we start? We need to “Train the Trainers” first.
Who: All Dedicated, Responsible, brothers who are not afraid to teach and train.
What: “Train the Trainers” seminar conducted by Green Bay Diocesan Program Coordinator Dave Catalano to last 4 hours with snacks and lunch prepared by the dynamic duo of Bob & Betsy Halaska
Where: St. Mary Magdalene Parish, Waupaca (the Corner of State Highways 22 and 10 in the heart of the state)
When: February 7th at 10:00 AM
How: RSVP to me so that I will know how much food to prepare
Why: Our Order is depending on those brothers who are responsible “Knowledge Vendors”. If you possess this wonderful capability and do not use it for our order at this time you will be banished to the fires of he– well maybe this is going a little too far but a little passion never hurt did it?
Brothers, search your souls and make the right decision. We need lots of help here. We need as many brothers to be experts in job function as there are positions in the Knights of Columbus and then multiply this by the number of Diocese and Districts in our State. As a testimonial to success, I can state with certainty that when you train you empower, when empowered programs succeed when programs succeed membership increases, when membership increases we all get the opportunity to grow in our Catholic Faith. Remember: Morality is taught, immorality grows out of ignorance.
I anxiously await your right decisions.
Vivat Jesus brothers
Bob
Congratulations to Fort Howard Council #5382 for earning their third consecutive Columbian Award for the fraternal year 2008-2009.
