The Family stands at the core of the Knights of Columbus’ beliefs and ideals. Councils should encourage families to make time to enjoy each other’s company, talk and be active together. Efforts to ensure families remain strong and viable will be a gift passed on to future generations. Encourage members and their families to choose the Holy Family as their model of interdependence, sharing and respect for other. Every council should invite all families to become involved in parish and community activities.
To help families live out the joy of Christ, Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William Lori has composed a prayer through which families will come together to consecrate themselves under the protection of the Holy Family. In this prayer, we ask for the aid or intercession of the perfect son Jesus Christ, Mary the perfect mother, and Joseph who is a model for every father. Seeking to strengthen families and revitalize our parishes, councils will guide their parishes and community to understand and offer this important and impactful prayer. Preparing for the Consecration to the Holy Family is not a single event. It is choosing a way of life for your family. Through this consecration, each participant is consciously choosing to be a beacon of God’s love through his Church. Council participation in Consecration to the Holy Family is REQUIRED to qualify for the Columbian award.
Help end hunger in communities across North America and around the globe. The goal of Food for Families is to ensure that as few as possible go to bed hungry each night. Many in our communities are struggling through hardship and unable to provide food for their families. Knights of Columbus are committed to helping end hunger through the Food for Families program which has donated millions of dollars and millions of pounds of food toward this end. A featured program, Food for Families counts for two credits toward the Columbian award. Council and parish families will raise funds to support their local food pantries, food banks and soup kitchens. For every $500 or 1,000 pounds of food donated, the Supreme Council will refund $100 back to the council — up to a maximum of $500 per council per fraternal year. Though in-kind donation of food is valuable, leaders of hunger-relief organizations often comment that financial contributions can be stretched even further and allow nonprofits to procure the exact items needed by the organization and its clients.
The “Family of the Month” recognition program is designed to honor one family each month for service to church, community and their council. Each council establishes a committee to recognize a deserving Family of the Month. Each month, the council Family of the month committee selects one parish family that models Christian family values and visibly lives them every day, document their efforts on form #1993A and present them with a certificate of recognition (Form #1843) at a Mass they normally attend or at a council family activity. To allow the family to be recognized by the Supreme Council, submit this form to the Supreme Council Department of Fraternal Service before the 15th of the following month or click here to submit it online Family of the Month. The council should also submit a copy of the Family of Month form to the State Family Director. The Supreme Council will randomly select 100 families on the 15th of each month from the forms submitted. Those winners will receive a Holy Family Gift along with a letter congratulating them from our Supreme Knight. Councils should publish the winners in their parish bulletin and council newsletter with the family’s permission.
Every council should select a “Family of the Year” from their monthly winners, complete the form and submit it to their District Deputy no later than March 10th. He will select a District winner from the entries received from the councils in his district and submit the entry to the Diocesan Judge no later than March 20th. Winners will be recognized at the State Convention in May. The State Family of the Year application will be forwarded to the Supreme Council for the International Family of the Year competition. The Knights of Columbus Family of the year is chosen by the Supreme Council and recognized each year at the annual Supreme Convention.
Promote the true spirit of Christmas in our homes, schools, parishes and communities. Councils will evangelize society through their faithful acts, celebrations and a variety of activities. The Knights of Columbus offers multiple activities that promote Christmas and the season of advent in their proper context: Journey to the inn, light up for Christ, Crèche or advent wreath Blessing, and the Christmas Poster Contest. These programs are centered on the example of the Holy Family and the nativity of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ. The new Keep Christ in Christmas (KCIC) program brings all KCIC activities together under one umbrella. It encourages councils to compel their neighbors to shift from a preoccupation with materialism to the light of Christ and the spirit of giving. KCIC activities include whatever efforts best suit the parish and community of a particular council and do not need to originate from the Supreme Council.
The Family Fully alive program asks families to invite God into their homes and cultivates each family as a miniature domestic church. Using the Family Fully Alive Booklet as a devotional guide, this program provides monthly themes, reflections, meditations and group projects. Through prayer and reflection, each family has the opportunity to grow in holiness together. This is a flexible program that can be started at any time of the year and continues year-round. Councils will order booklets to distribute or direct parish families to program resources on kofc.org, all available at no cost.
Knights of Columbus councils will dedicate a special week of the year for their parish to recognize the vital importance of families as the foundation of our domestic church and to promote Catholic family values. Activities presented in this program seek to strengthen the parish community and affirm the central importance of Catholic family life. When choosing a week, councils should consider factors that might affect parishioner schedules such as school vacations, holidays and other local events. Though traditionally celebrated in the summer to commemorate the birth and death of our founder, Father Mcgivney, this program can take place anytime during the year.
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 raise our children in the faith when their only exposure comes from Mom and Dad. Family Prayer Night is an opportunity for children to be exposed to regular people living their faith in a casual setting. This is an opportunity for council members, their families, and the whole parish community to come together once a month for an evening of prayer, dinner and fellowship. Families of council members, as well as other Catholic families within the parish and community, will gather for prayer, dinner and fellowship. Multiple groups can be formed and families are encouraged to rotate between these groups.
Despite good Friday’s central role in the heart of Christianity, attendance at services remains low. In an effort to change this, councils will encourage participation in good Friday services through a promotional campaign. In an effort to increase parish attendance and involvement, councils will conduct a promotional campaign to educate their parishes on the vital importance of good Friday. Setting an example for their community, Knights will attend Good Friday services with their families and work with their pastors to encourage increased parishioner involvement at these liturgies. In conjunction with these efforts, councils will also work to educate their parishes about the plight of Christians in the Holy land and other areas around the world where Christians are persecuted for their faith.
The Family Activity Scrapbook Award will be given to the council which has the best Family Activity Project. Each Council should prepare a scrapbook. Start saving your pictures, articles, notes and a detailed description, and send in scrapbook form NO LATER THAN APRIL 1. The State winner will be forwarded and entered in the Supreme Service Awards Program.