Message From the Director

Pat Henz

Program Director

The success of any council comes from the success of its programs.  Successful programs bring new members.  Without these two, a council begins to fail. The FAITH IN ACTION program, organized into the FAITH, FAMILY, COMMUNITY, and LIFE categories, empowers Knights to come together to share their Catholic faith, celebrate fraternity with loved ones, and do what they do best – stand shoulder to shoulder in service to the community and to defend life at all stages and in every condition.  Woven within these four categories are the opportunities to share something that all generations and cultures within our organization seek in their membership in the Knights of Columbus.

Now that COVID restrictions are starting to ease up and churches are starting to open their doors, Councils need to prepare to come back strong and in a way that inspires members to become involved again.   The engagement of council members is the foundation for recovery.  It is no doubt that people are not coming back to church and/or finding it “convenient” to stay at home and watch Mass.  As Knights and leaders, your council should work with the pastor and plan programs that will inspire members and parishioners to come back to the Church. 

During COVID, many councils conducted programs virtually and were very successful.  The “Into The Breach”, “Virtual Holy Hour”, “Blessed McGivney Prayer Hour” are just some examples of programs that were successful and done virtually.  Now those programs can be done live and yet still done virtually for those who still cannot participate safely. 

Working with your pastor and planning the right programs for your parish will be key to your council’s success.  It starts now.  Supreme has many resources available to help you through this recovery process.  The “Faith in Action” guidebook, “COVID Recovery Program”, and “Working with Your Pastor” are just some of those resources.  Get them. Read them. Use them.  They are all good tools to help make your council grow and become a STAR COUNCIL.

The Program Team is here to help answer questions and provide suggestions in order for your council to achieve the ultimate goal – STAR COUNCIL.

Going forward, here are key points to remember when preparing and planning your programs:

• Ø Order the Fraternal Successful Planner (#5033). Give one to each of your officers and your directors.  This planner provides the timeline when to order supplies, all the due dates, and what forms to use for the various activities. 
• Ø Review the “Working with your Pastor” guide sheet, then meet with him and show him the Faith in Action booklet.
• Ø Plan and schedule these events.  Some of the activities are time sensitive. Make sure someone is assigned to lead or chair each event.  
• Ø After each activity, submit the Fraternal Program Report (#10784)
• Ø Promote your programs through the church bulletin, council webpage, emails, newsletters, and other social media.
• Ø Share photos of the event and/or write up a article for bulletin, social media, Texas Knight, Columbian Magazine, etc.
• Ø Consider your best programs from each of the four categories and submit them for the State Program Awards (Due March 1^st)
• Ø The Columbian Award form (SP7 / Due 6/30)) – To qualify for the Columbian Award, a council must do four activities in each of the four categories (16 total).  Councils can always do more. There are also “Featured Programs” that a council can earn two credits if the minimum requirements are met. The Columbian Award leads to the Star Council Award.
• Ø The Columbian Award is a special award that every council should receive. When councils focus on activities in all four categories, they are giving the opportunity for every man to be involved in something near and dear to their hearts.  And doing what the Knights do best – to serve one another. 
• Ø Remember to have fun doing the activities and build that bond of friendship among brothers and families.

The list below highlights the 32 Supreme Council recommended programs, inclusive of existing and new programs. Your council is encouraged to implement any program(s) that will help make a difference in your parish and community.  Obtaining a maximum of 16 program credits qualifies the council to earn the Columbian Award. The programs highlighted here are meant to inspire your council to put their faith into action.  I want to stress, your council may already be doing programs that fall into these categories but titled differently, or they may choose to conduct one or more of the programs in this manual, or they may develop programs unique to the parish or community.  Again, it is important that councils are doing programs that reach every members interest.  Successful programs bring in new members.  New members help make the council active and successful.  Qualifying for the Columbian Award is one step closer in earning Star Council – the highest award Supreme gives out to councils and something that all councils should strive to earn.

* FEATURED PROGRAMS

The Supreme Council has designated select programs (marked with * above) as featured programs in each of the Program categories. When your council conducts a featured program and satisfies the minimum requirements, it will receive two credits toward that program category.