Knights of Columbus

From The Desk of State Deputy Michael J. Grothoff
 

Finish Strong

Now that convention is behind us there is a tendency to relax, and by relaxing if you mean taking a breath take that much deserved breath. But there is a big difference between taking a breath and slowing down or even stopping when there is so much time remaining and work to do.

There are two more months in this fraternal year, so we don’t have time to slow down much less stop.  A fraternal year is 12 months not 10 months. We still have work to do, lots of work to do. Kansas has not yet reached its goals and there are 50 councils in the state that are just one or two more church drives and exemplifications away from earning the Star Council Award.

I encourage you to use these last two months to finish the race. Get those last few members on board, get that final Fraternal Benefit Event credit your council needs. Complete that Safe Environment training. The convention is not the finish line, think of it as the final pit stop that you need to win the race.

This is doable, if we all do our job of intentionally inviting our family, friends, co-workers, and parishioners to join the Knights of Columbus. That means hosting multiple church drives, recruiting at all council activities, and it means personally inviting men to join. How about it, can I count on you to run with me to the finish line? This is when great teams step up and show their character. This is when we show our Greatness.

I just met with our General Agents, and they are committed to growing the order and working to get their councils the Star Council Award. Can we settle for anything less. As leaders elected by our brother knights it is our responsibility and our duty to finish what we started.

Our membership team is reaching out to you asking for that final push. When they do, answer them with a resounding yes of course we can, and we will finish the year strong. Of course, we can host another church drive and organize a final Fraternal Benefit watch party. See the exciting incentive package they have come up with to reward your efforts.

Come July 1^st we can take another breath and prepare for the 2023 – 2024 Fraternal Year where we will again work to build up the Body of Christ through the Knights of Columbus.  Look for more about next year in the coming weeks but for now concentrate on the work we must do in May and June.

God bless you and Vivat Jesus.


Terminar fuerte

Ahora que la convención ha quedado atrás, hay una tendencia a relajarse, y relajándose, si se refiere a tomar un respiro, tome ese respiro que tanto merece. Pero hay una gran diferencia entre respirar y reducir la velocidad o incluso detenerse cuando queda tanto tiempo y trabajo por hacer.

Quedan dos meses más en este año fraternal, no podemos parar ahora. Un año fraternal es de 12 meses, no de 10 meses. Todavía tenemos trabajo por hacer, mucho trabajo por hacer. Kansas aún no ha alcanzado sus metas y hay 50 Consejos en el estado que están a solo una o dos campañas de iglesias y ejemplificaciones de ganar el Premio Consejo Estrella.

Se reto a utilizar estos dos últimos meses para terminar la carrera. Incorpore a los últimos miembros, obtenga el crédito final del evento benéfico fraternal que su consejo necesita. Complete ese entrenamiento de Ambiente Seguro. La convención no es el fin, sin no una pausa antes del ultimo paso, la pausa que una necesita para ganar la carrera.

Si todos hacemos nuestro trabajo de invitar a nuestra familia, amigos, compañeros de trabajo y feligreses a unirse a los Caballeros de Colón. Eso significa organizar varias campañas de la iglesia, reclutar en todas las actividades del consejo y significa invitar personalmente a los hombres a unirse. ¿Qué te parece, corras conmigo hasta la línea de meta? Aquí es cuando los grandes equipos dan un paso al frente y muestran su carácter. Aquí es cuando mostramos nuestra Grandeza.

Acabo de reunirme con nuestros Agentes Generales y están comprometidos a hacer crecer la orden y trabajar para que sus consejos obtengan el Premio Consejo Estrella. Como líderes elegidos por nuestros hermanos caballeros, es nuestra responsabilidad y nuestro deber terminar lo que comenzamos.

Nuestro equipo de membresía se está comunicando contigo para pedirte ese empujón final. Cuando lo hagan, respóndeles con un rotundo sí, por supuesto que podemos, y terminaremos el año con fuerza. Por supuesto, podemos organizar otra campaña de la iglesia y organizar una fiesta de Beneficio Fraternal. Vea el paquete de incentivos que han creado para recompensar sus esfuerzos.

El 1 de julio podemos tomar otro respiro y prepararnos para el Año Fraternal 2023-2024, donde trabajaremos nuevamente para edificar el Cuerpo de Cristo a través de Caballeros de Colón. Busque más información sobre el próximo año en las próximas semanas, pero por ahora concéntrese en el trabajo que debemos hacer en mayo y junio.

Dios te bendiga y Vivat Jesús.

Please click HERE for the lastest Star Council report to see where your council stands!

The Knights of Columbus this week released "The Magazine and the Miracle: Finding Father Kapaun," a short documentary highlighting the extraordinary life and legacy of Servant of God, U.S. Army Chaplain, and Medal of Honor recipient Fr. Emil Kapaun. To view the video click HERE. 

2023 Free Throw Championship
International Winners

 
The winners from the Kansas Knights of Columbus State Free Throw Championship contest, which was held March 5^th in Salina, were submitted to Supreme for the international contest. International champions are determined on the basis of the best scores from each jurisdiction competition for each age category. This year, Kansas had two winners from the international competition. Elin Rice from Garfield (Council #2131) won the 9 year-old girls division, and Connor Mullane from Overland Park (Council #10932) won the 10 year-old boys division. Elin and Connor will each receive an international Free Throw Championship Trophy. Congratulations to Elin and Connor on their sharp shooting efforts this year!

Kansas State Golf Tournament

Please click here for registration information 

Membership and Missing Forms Reports

How is your council progressing in its quest for the Star Council Award? The requirements for the Star Council Award are 1) make the membership goal, 2) host two Fraternal Benefit Seminars, 3) complete and submit three forms to the Supreme office. Click on the links below to view the progress your council is making towards achieving these goals. These reports will be updated each weekday, so check back often!

Membership Report
Report Summary

The 2022-2023 Theme for Recruiting this year is “Made For Greatness”. You are encouraged to offer membership to any Catholic male age 18 or older. It’s simple, all you have to do is ask them.

Social Media Links

Knights of Columbus Kansas State Council information and notices can now also be found on Twitter and Facebook. Just follow the links below to their respective account.

Our Twitter account is @Kansas_KofC and is located here: https://twitter.com/KansasKofC

Our Facebook account is KansasKofC and is located here: https://www.facebook.com/KansasKofC

When it comes to social media please follow these guidelines, similar to those required for the Columbia Magazine.
Click here to view social media guidelines.

Kansas Knight of the Month

For the Month of April
The Casey Phillips Family
Council #7485, Andover

For the Month of March
The Joe Kubec Family
Council #1149, Paola

Supreme Faith in Action Program

Supreme Council Faith in Action Program information can be found at
https://www.kofc.org/en/what-we-do/faith-in-action-programs/index.html

Safe Environment Program

Our Safe Environment Program safeguards children and other vulnerable persons, assures members and their families that we maintain a safe environment, protects members from awkward situations, misunderstandings, and appearances of impropriety, builds trust with arch/dioceses and parishes, and protects the good name of the Knights of Columbus.

Three training modules are required for members serving in youth leader and certain officer roles: “Meet Sam,”addressing the issue of sexual abuse awareness, “Duty to Report,”covering legal reporting obligations, and “Know Your Policies,”a review of Knights of Columbus safe environment policies. We also maintain a youth leader screening process, including background checks, specifically for members who lead Knights of Columbus youth activities.

Please click on link below to access Supreme Councils webpage for more information and what positions are required to acquire this training:
http://www.kofc.org/un/en/members/programs/youth-activities/safe-environment-program.html

A Higher Purpose

Spread devotion to St. Joseph and pray for the courage to stand up and carry out our mission of protecting, defending, and raising future generations.

This program is designed to inspire communal acts of prayer and devotion, every year a special icon of a saint whose patronage is inspiring to Knights and their communities. As the Pilgrim Icon makes its journey through each district in the state, councils will host the St. Joseph Icon for a prayer service at their parish. A schedule for Kansas can be found by clicking here.

Resources are available on the Supreme website at https://www.kofc.org/en/what-we-do/faith-in-action-programs/faith/pilgrim-icon.html

The Convention issues of The Explorer have been published.

2023 Sunday Convention Explorer
2023 Saturday Convention Explorer

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