CEREMONIALS
Phillip E. Apgar, Chairman
Exemplification of Charity, Unity and Fraternity
Onward and upward Brothers! This new fraternal year will see unprecedented membership growth and through our Ceremonials we will form these men in the knowledge of our faith and the principles of our Order. As you all know, your Councils are in control of their own destiny regarding Ceremonials, as they can form their own team to conduct the exemplification of Charity, Unity and Fraternity.
This past fraternal year saw the rise of the online exemplifications through Supremes efforts to make this exemplification available to all and provide the resources to each of the councils on the Supreme website. If you have not been there, I encourage you to look. The URL for the website is: http://www.kofc.org/en//index.... When you get there scroll down to the bottom of the first page and under Member Resources click For Members. Scroll down to the middle of the next screen and click the button on the right which says Ceremonials. Everything you need to know about the exemplification is on this page or the links that are located on this page. Take the time to explore it and get familiar with it, as it is valuable information. Make you Councils aware of it as well.
I encourage you to make sure that your Council’s put their team together and schedule regular exemplifications as we move forward. You should set as your goal to get 100% of the Council’s in your district to establish their own team. It’s easy to overcome the objections, as the costs are low to start a team and the parts can be read. At a minimum, every district should have one Council that has its own team or there should be a district team. Diocesan teams were very successful in the most recent fraternal year, as there were many players willing to step up and help overcome the challenges we all faced.
The Exemplification itself is simple to set up, as there are only eight players, those being:
1. Presiding Officer (Serves as Master of Ceremonies)
2. Chaplain (Leads Assembly in Opening and Closing Prayers)
3. Presenter on Charity (Teaches the Lesson on Charity and Delivers The Discourse on the Rosary)
4. Presenter on Unity (Teaches the Lesson on Unity)
5. Presenter on Fraternity (Teaches the Lesson on Fraternity)
6. Warden (Guides the Candidates)
7. Investing Officer (Presents Rosaries and Lapel Pins to the Candidates)
8. Financial Secretary (Registers Candidates and Obtains the Signature on the Constitutional Roll)
9. Field Agent (Meets and Greets the Candidates and Assists the Financial Secretary)
The Exemplification should be held in a Church but can be held in the council chamber or another room if it is not possible to hold it in the Church. Candidates, their families, friends, fellow parishioners, and anyone interested in learning more about the Knights are welcome to attend the Exemplification. Depending upon the number of candidates, the exemplification will typically last no longer than thirty to forty minutes. To make the new members and their families feel welcome, be sure to schedule a social or dinner after the Exemplification. There should not be any talks at the conclusion of the Exemplification, as the social or dinner would be the appropriate time to recognize the Field Agent and the Grand Knight, if they wanted to say a few words to the group.
Supreme has provided a copy of Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQ’s”) regarding this new Exemplification which is seven pages in length and available in both English and Spanish. Both copies of the FAQ’s, along with a copy of the Script in English and Spanish, as well as the new Form 450 can be found at the Ceremonials link of the Supreme website.
The Form 450 has undergone revision to accommodate the new exemplification and it is vitally important that you complete this form for each Exemplification and send a copy to both ceremonials@kofc.org and forms@tkofc.org. I will get a copy from the State Office to use for Ceremonials reporting. I am appending the Form 450 herein:
The Form 450 should be completed by you, the Grand Knight of the Host Council, their Financial Secretary or anyone appointed by the Grand Knight to complete this form. It must be completed the night of the Exemplification and turned in as soon as possible after the Exemplification.
The upper section of the form is the basic information regarding the particulars of the Exemplification. In the next section, check the box for “Exemplification of Charity, Unity and Fraternity” and then check the appropriate box below that for “Location”. The Admission, Formation and Knighthood boxes do not need to be checked, as these were on the form for the phase-out period of these former Ceremonials. If you had an Honoree for the Exemplification, indicate who next to Honoree, followed by the Total Number of Candidates and Length of Degree. In the gray area for “Candidate Details” enter the numbers in each of the items listed. For New Members, indicate the count of those who joined a council via the membership form (not online), the number of Priests who became new members, the number of Online Members who participated in the Exemplification and for Advancing Members, the total number of those who were 1st degree members and are now members in full Knighthood. The sum total of the numbers you list in this section should agree to what you put on “Total Number of Candidates.” Also, be sure to list the “Total Observers” in this same section. The last section is to list the new member totals by council for those in attendance.
Brothers, to summarize, be sure to encourage all of your Councils to form their Exemplification team so we can get new candidates to full Knighthood as soon as possible. Please make reporting your priority to make sure it is done or do it yourself. At any time, should you have any questions, please email me or call me and not Supreme. I can be reached via email at skpa@tx.rr.com or my cell number is 469-964-6358.
And as always, Vivat Jesus!