Newsletter of The Archdiocese of Cincinnati Knights of Columbus – September 2020
Celina - Coldwater - St. Henry - Fort Recovery - Sidney - Versailles - Greenville - Russia Covington - Wapakoneta - St. Marys - Minster -Russells Point - McCartyville - Springfield Urbana - Bellefontaine Fairborn - Eaton - Huber Heights - Vandalia - Englewood - Piqua Troy - Tipp City - New Carlisle - Dayton - Xenia - Beavercreek -Centerville - Kettering Hamilton - Fairfield - Harrison - North Bend - Monroe - West Chester - Carthage - Sharonville New Burlington - Norwood - Shandon - Wilmington - Morrow - Mason- Lebanon - Milford - Loveland - Springfield Middletown - Miamisburg - Franklin - Trenton - Cincinnati - Ripley - Fayetteville - Hillsboro - Greenfield - West Union - Waynesville
– Arch Councils Soldier On – I had so hoped that by now we would be seeing some light at the end of the tunnel but if there is a glimmer of hope it comes from the councils of the Archdiocese finding new ways to do what we do as Knights, in spite of the pandemic restrictions we find ourselves saddled with.
Councils in the Arch are not only finding ways to Leave No Neighbor Behind but also hosting carry-out fish fries, farmer’s market waffles, barbecues, and golf outings. It was easy to be paralyzed in the first few months of the pandemic but the Knights of the Arch soon realized that we could carry on, albeit in maybe a smaller capacity. We are hosting Rosaries and streaming them live. We are wiping down the church pews after every Mass for Father. New needs, new challenges. In the spirit of Father McGivney we will soldier on!
Good “news”: Do you feel like you’re receiving too many emails? It’s almost like opening my inbox is like getting lost in the weeds in a fishing boat. Well the state officers understand this and our worthy State Deputy has brought back the state newspaper/ newsletter. The newly reborn publication is called The Buckeye Blast and it will be mailed soon and should be reaching you the second week of September.
The Buckeye Blast is a concise quarterly publication which will only be four pages (eight sides) of pertinent state information and programs updates along with contact information. It’s something you can hold in your hand, read in the car and reference when you need to. We hope you’ll find it useful.
The Matching Funds Program has officially started and I have already received several checks from councils in the Archdiocese - for this, I thank you! There is still plenty of match money available and I encourage all councils, assemblies, and chapters to donate - and I’m proud to chair this great program.
Every dollar donated along with any money matched by the Ohio Charity Foundation stays right here and goes to the Archdiocese Office of Evangelization and Discipleship. I had the pleasure of meeting once again
with Sean Ater, the archdiocesan director and presented him a check at the District Deputy’s January mid-year meeting. Sean is extremely appreciative of all the Knights of the Arch in support of religious education. The money is used to support:
Evangelization and Discipleship
Graded Course of Study (Theology of the Body)
Contagiously Catholic Parish Alliance
The Holy Family School of Faith Institute
Totus Tuus (Totally Yours summer program)
The NCEA IFG ACRE program evaluating religious education programs in our Catholic schools and parishes
• Latino Catechetical Certification
• RCIA Support
• Religious Education for those with Special Needs.
• • • • • •
Continuing in this issue you’ll find a great article by our own membership Director up north, Tom Wuebker on growing our councils, and an article by our General Agent, Jason Staas and his thoughts on September being Life Insurance Awareness Month.
Finally you will find an appeal for donations, support, and prayers by our soon to be Former Master of District #2, Ed Ponder for an ultrasound machine in our newest Elizabeth New Life Center in Mount Healthy!
I think the great words of Thomas Paine are applicable here today:
“THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” In service to our country, our community, church, parish, councils, and of course our families. As Knights we must continue to Soldier On!
Michael Felerski - State Advocate
By Tom Wuebker
Growth
W
hat a Summer!! What an understatement‌the shutdown in the Spring, family & community events cancelled or delayed; Masses being cancelled and then major changes when being allowed to attend in person! Through it all we had more prayers and a deeper commitment to our faith! A plus side is that we have had more time with family without all the distractions. Plus, we had more time to think about membership and ways to recruit new members!
I would like to thank all the councils in the Archdiocese for a strong finish to the fraternal year! Let us begin the new year with a renewed desire to increase membership and make this a year to remember in a positive way!
By this time, all District Deputies should have had their organizational meetings with their councils. Organizational meetings are a good time to meet the leaders of all your area councils and share your expectations and goals for each council. This also allows all councils to be on the same page. We all agree that increasing membership needs to be a priority and knowing the expectations and goals at the start of the fraternal years helps all councils meet their membership goals.
The beginning of the fraternal years is the time for all district deputies and all councils to set both long-term and short-term goals to ensure the success of the council. The leaders of the councils along with the membership directors should meet to discuss the goals and how they plan to achieve those goals.
How many members does your council need to achieve your goals? Numbers have been lowered which should help each council achieve their membership goal. Our State Deputy is looking for a FAST START! September is a good time to start with recruiting new members and scheduling degrees whether it is at your council or online. (Remember that new members can complete all three degrees online). Ramp it up for the October membership month and then keep it rolling for the rest of the fraternal year!!
In closing, remember, we ARE the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and we ARE number 1!!
Be PROACTIVE in asking new men to join your councils!!
Let us continue to pray for our church, our family, our country and especially those individuals who have contracted covid along with their families.
Vivat Jesus
Tom Wuebker, Membership Director Northern Archdiocese
Michael Thomas, Membership Director Central Archdiocese
Dan Warner, Membership Director Southern Archdiocese
The Arch - September 2020
On Facebook: ArchCincyKofC
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Faith in Action New Women’s Center to Open in Mount Healthy; with the Help Local Knights
T
he Elizabeth New Life Center has signed a lease for a location to open a Women's Center in Mt. Healthy. The location is 8146 Hamilton Ave Cincinnati, Ohio 45231. This zip code was chosen because it has the highest number of abortions in the entire SW Ohio region, with 163 abortions in the last year. There is no pregnancy resource center nearby. While other areas have gone down in abortions, this zip code continues to climb. With some modifications to the location it's opening should be in November. An ultrasound machine is needed for the new center. We need to raise $15,750.00 which is one half the cost of the machine. We need to raise the money in a rather short period of time so that the machine can be in place when the center opens. So I am asking the help of the Cincinnati Councils and Assemblies. I have already asked the Dayton area Councils and Assemblies for their help. Please make your contribution checks payable to: Elizabeth New Life Center. In the memo write KofC ultrasound for Mt. Healthy. You can send the checks to me and I will take them to the main Elizabeth New Life Center office here in Dayton. My address is 8766 Normandy Creek Drive Centerville, Ohio 45458. Our Founder chose an unborn child as his first miracle. I believe that he was sending us Knights a message that our efforts on behalf of the unborn are also his cause. So please help raise the funds for the machine to combat abortions in the Mt Healthy area. Thank you, Ed Ponder
Knights Founder to be Beatified on Oct. 31, 2020 NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Carl Anderson today announced the creation of a new pilgrimage destination named for the Order’s founder. The Blessed Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center will be located at the current Knights of Columbus Museum in New Haven, Connecticut.
Fr. McGivney, a priest in the St. Mary’s Parish in New Haven, founded the Knights of Columbus 138 years ago to enable Catholic men to support one another and their families with spiritual and temporal needs. On May 27, 2020, Pope Francis approved a decree recognizing a miracle attributed to Fr. McGivney’s intercession, qualifying Fr. McGivney for beatification.
At today’s opening Mass of the Knights of Columbus’ 138th annual Supreme Convention, Archbishop Leonard P. Blair of the Archdiocese of Hartford shared that Father McGivney’s beatification Mass will take place on Oct. 31, 2020, at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford, Connecticut. At that liturgical celebration, an apostolic letter from the Holy Father will be read along with the bestowing of the title “Blessed” on Father McGivney. This is the step just prior to sainthood. An additional miracle attributed to Father McGivney’s intercession will be required for his canonization as a saint.
The Arch - September 2020
On Facebook: ArchCincyKofC
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Fraternal Benefits
S
eptember is Life Insurance Awareness Month. It’s the one month each year that the life insurance industry coordinates a campaign aimed at educating folks about the importance of life insurance and helping them get the coverage they need. I don’t want to bore you with lots of statistics, but a recent survey from LIMRA (Life Insurance Marketing Research Association) found that only 59% of Americans own life insurance and about half of those are underinsured. (Although this report didn’t say it, I’ve got to think these percentages are pretty much the same in Canada.) So that means that 70% of the population either has no life insurance or has too little life insurance.
So what does that have to do with the Knights? The historian, Christopher Kauffman, spent several years at the Supreme Office and at the Museum, researching the book that he wrote on the 100th anniversary of our founding. That book, Faith and Fraternalism, notes on page 13, “…he [Fr. McGivney] was deeply interested in pursuing the topic of a Catholic fraternal insurance society among groups of Catholic laymen of New Haven.” Then on page 35 Mr. Kauffman goes on, “…he [Fr. McGivney again] spent his energy in promoting the insurance feature…his emphasis on business was his pastoral concern for the social and financial security of the family.”
Fr. McGivney lived both the social and the financial insecurity of a desperate family, with the breadwinner suddenly taken, that had to be supported. He left the seminary to work and support his mother and siblings. He didn’t want other Catholic families to find themselves in such a predicament. That, and uniting men of faith, was the impetus for establishing our Order. Everyone who joined in those first years was insured; that was part and parcel of being in the organization. Now every member has a choice and every member should know what we do, and how we do it. Here’s the process we use when we meet with families:
1. Discover – Identify & prioritize your financial goals
2. Gather Data – Collect facts & figures based on your current situation
3. Analyze – Input data, run calculations, identify shortfalls
4. Recommend – Propose a financial strategy designed to satisfy your goals
5. Implement – Choose a financial strategy and implement
6. Periodic Review – Review regularly, measure success, make adjustments
As you can tell, this is a painless process. But it can help any family, at any age, determine if they have blind spots in their coverage. It can help you avoid the pain of being underinsured. With a variety of life insurance products we offer we can help just about any person within any budget.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to buy life insurance…I want to buy what life insurance provides: no change in lifestyle for the survivors…in the house where they want to be. It’ll pay for a daughter’s wedding, a child’s college education and much more. What does life insurance provide? Peace of mind, security, freedom from anxiety, a safeguard from the unknown.
That’s where we can help.
Vivat Jesus!
Jason C. Staas, MS, FICF
General Agent
KNIGHTS of COLUMBUS
YOUR SHIELD FOR LIFE
LIFE DISABILITY INCOME LONG-TERM CARE RETIREMENT
The Arch - September 2020
On Facebook: ArchCincyKofC
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Cincinnati Archdiocese Quick Reference Guide 2020-2021 State Sites… State Council Website: Facebook Page:
www.kofcohio.org
www.facebook.com/OhioKnightsOfColumbus/
Arch Sites… Dayton Chapter: Cincinnati Chapter: Facebook Page:
www.daytonkofc.org
www.cincykofc.org
www.facebook.com/ArchCincykofc/
The Arch…
A newsletter featuring relevant news and information for Knights in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati published eleven time a year. It can be viewed and downloaded at:
http://www.daytonkofc.org/DayCh_Arch_Newsletter.html
To subscribe for delivery directly to your email inbox, please contact Michael Thomas at:
michaeldthomas@aol.com
2020 Matching Funds
2020-21 Support Our Seminarians
State Advocate Michael Felerski
1580 Gelhot Drive, #234
Fairfield, OH 45014
Immediate Past State Deputy Kevin Miller
1101 Arbor Oaks Lane
Galloway OH 43119
mfelerski@icloud.com
km8007@att.net
2020-21 Measure Up
Archdiocese Membership Team
State Warden Jim Maslach
4927 Autumnwood Lane
Brunswick, OH 44212
kofcjkm@gmail.com
Tom Wuebker I-70 North wuebker@hometowncable.net
Michael Thomas Dayton [Chapter area] michaeldthomas@aol.com
Dan Warnock Cincinnati [Chapter area] danjowarnock@yahoo.com
2021 Super Cash Bonanza State Treasurer Jeffery Kiliany
559 Walnut Street
Leetonia, OH 44431 jtktg@yahoo.com
Retention
Michael Freil [Ohio West]
mcfreil2019@gmail.com
State Community Director
2020-21 State Per Capita Payments
Tim Mangan
tjmangan@icloud.com
State Secretary Mark Sirausa
15398 Silver Pine Court
Perrysburg OH 43551-1261
District Deputy Coordinator
cuzza52@gmail.com
Andrew Nuckols anuckols@cinci.rr.com
The Arch - September 2020
On Facebook: ArchCincyKofC
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