Newsletter of The Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Knights of Columbus – September 2022
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 - KetteringHamilton - 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
Now is the Time to Step INTO THE BREACH
“A Knight is a leader who stands in the breach.”
This was the message Supreme Knight Kelly reminded the nearly 2,400 Knights in attendance that at the 2022 Supreme Convention held in Nashville, Tennessee this past August.
“We defend the faith. We protect the family. And when a need arises, we rise to meet it — with charity, unity and fraternity,” said the supreme knight.
In the Archdiocese and throughout the Order now is the time to Stand in the Breach. How we do that is by promoting within our parishes and participating in initiatives such as the Aid and Support After Pregnancy (ASAP) program, the upcoming Ohio March for Life on October 5th in Columbus (see page 2 for details), and of course the state-wide Matching Funds program which was covered here in the Archdiocese with last months article from Sean Ater, the Director of the Center for the New Evangelization in the Cincinnati Archdiocese.
Arch trainers like Rich Bischof, Jim Marks, and Dan Tebe. Look for announcements for dates and times.
And speaking of of training, this issue not only lists the upcoming regional training schedule by Jon Olson - Associate Regional Growth & Training Director for the mid-west, but also includes an article from District Deputy Coordinator Timothy Mangan on the bene fi ts of attending these training offerings.
Ohio Charity Foundation Scholarship Program
All told, in the last fraternal year, the Knights donated nearly $154 million to worthy causes and stepped up with close to 48 million hours of volunteer service, including Coats for Kids, sponsorship of nearly 6,000 seminarians and postulants; an ongoing partnership with the Global Wheelchair Mission.
The Ohio Charity Foundation, Inc. (our 501c3) is pleased to announce that, for the 2022-2023 school year, numerous $1,000 scholarships will once again be made available for Ohio Catholic students (grades nine through twelve) attending Catholic High Schools in Ohio.
In May of this year, the supreme knight also announced that the Supreme Council had developed eucharistic procession training materials in consultation with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and pledged $1 million in support of the multiyear event.
Training is taking on a more prominent role in the Order. Although Financial Secretary training is still in the works at the supreme level, the Ohio State Council thanks to State Advocate Jim Maslach has developed a module which will be offered with local
This is the twenty-sixth consecutive year that the Knights of Columbus Scholarships have been awarded to our outstanding Catholic High School students. More than $839,475 has been awarded during that period. For more information including qualifications, visit our Foundation website at: https://ohiocharityfoundation.org
Finally, thank you for making August 2022 the best month we’ve seen in the Archdiocese since I began tracking growth over six years ago. 38 new brother Knights were added to our ranks last month.
Vivat Jesus! Michael J. Felerski State Treasurer
Why Attend Knights Webinars?
By Timothy Mangan Archdiocesan District Deputy Coordinator
Webinars are important to attend because you will learn something you never knew before or something new! Whether it’s a topic that’s brand new or one that’s new to you, you’ll learn something from a knowledgeable expert from Supreme. They are another way for Supreme to pass on valuable information to you!
Webinars are another way for Supreme to communicate. In addition to the e-mails or snail mail, webinars are another way to reach out to you and share information with you. Webinars are conducted in a way that is more beneficial and effective then reading a newsletter or e-mail message. It’s another way for Supreme to communicate and communication is the key!
Webinars are designed to help you succeed! They’re another tool Supreme gives you to help accomplish your goals. They discuss topics that engage council members and build stronger councils. They discuss topics for effective council operation, membership growth and conducting charitable outreach programs that engage council members.
Best of all, webinars free! It does not cost you a penny to attend one. So, the price is right! If you can’t attend one live, you can always attend it on demand at your convenience. So, if you are not attending webinars then you’re missing out! If you haven’t done so already, start attending the webinars. Who knows, you just might even like it!
You can find the September schedule for webinars on page 3 of this issue.
Ohio March for Life
By Chris Sarka State Warden
The Supreme Council is collaborating with the March for Life to help organize and promote state Marches for Life across the United States.
With the Ohio March this coming October 5th approaching, the State Council is reaching out to all our Ohio Knights to see if you can offer any assistance.
The Supreme and Ohio State Councils are looking to see if there are any Knights planning to attend this year's march in Columbus and might be willing to volunteer some time as a Life Marshall. The duties are linked below. If you are interested, please contact Chris Sarka, State Warden, at (614) 546-6457 or via email at c_sarka@hotmail.com.
If your council is sponsoring a bus to the March, please send a flyer to Jim Maslach, State Advocate at kofcjkm@gmail.com by Monday, September 5. The state will then send out the information to the councils so if there are members who are interested in attending and call the councils for spots. Visit KOFCOHIO.ORG for more information and for registration links.
Jon Olson - Associate Regional Growth & Training Director (Midwest Region)
Enhancing Member Experience
Sunday 9/18/22 at 6PM CDT (7PM EDT)
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/1402917888568837389
We will cover in this training:
Training
• Understand what’s meant by the terms membership experience and membership engagement and how the two terms are related.
• Complete the Council Engagement Assessment to assess their council’s strengths and weaknesses with regards to member engagement.
• Understand that member engagement is the council’s responsibility. Successful council engagement leads to members having posiPve opinions about their membership.
• Learn the five steps in the engagement cycle and how they relate to one another, ulPmately leading a member to go through them again.
• Discover tools that will help address deficiencies in your council’s current member engagement as based on your councils engagement score.
• Understand that retenPon issues result when a council has failed to engage a member and show the value of his membership. These issues can be overcome by discovering where this breakdown occurred.
You are your programs
Saturday 9/24/22 at 8AM CDT (9AM EDT)
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/9037359283845383182
We will cover in this training:
• Understand the council’s percepPon by fellow parishioners, parPcularly that of inacPve members and future potenPal members.
• Construct a council mission statement that reflects the council’s vision and goals. u Understand the Faith in AcPon program model and its four categories – Faith, Family, Community and Life.
• IdenPfy the council’s flagship program(s).
• Access the council’s current program regimen and idenPfy the current strengths and weaknesses among its program calendar.
• Develop a calendar for the next 6-12 months that responds to the council’s mission statement and addresses some of the council’s strengths and weaknesses idenPfied above.
• Understand the Program Director’s role in leading the council’s programming efforts.
Delta Drive
Sunday 9/25/22 at 6PM CDT (7PM EDT)
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/8322470017605277196
Come learn how to do the Delta Church drive method. this highly effecPve process of growth through communicaPon will help you go from prospects to members and answer the why of growth.
SEPTEMBER, 2022 Ohio’s Growth Update
My Brother Knights in the Great State of Ohio. I am going to give you an update as of today 9/3/2022 as to how our Growth is going in Ohio.
We are on the positive side of Growth first time in two years we do not have a – sign next to our total membership number, which is 54,723 +15. Overall we are #31 in our Order with an Intake since July 1 of 206.
We MUST continue to Grow our Councils. Just this week, we Lost 3 Brothers who were called away to their Eternal Rest.
Continue to ASK men in your parishes to join us, for you Know they will be Better Catholics, Better Men and Better Husbands and Fathers. We are a Catholic Brotherhood Changing the World.
Here are the Diocesan Standings in Growth. Since last week, Cincinnati jumped over Cleveland, and now Steubenville is coming on strong with eMembers coming out of the Seminary. Bravo…keep it up !!
1. Columbus is at 12.75 % of their Growth Goal
2. Cincinnati is at 11.67 % of their Growth Goal
3. Cleveland is at 10.76 % of their Growth Goal
4. Steubenville is at 7.62% of their Growth Goal
5. Toledo is at 5.90 % of their Growth Goal
6. Youngstown is at 3.68 % of their Growth Goal
We need to have at least 6-8 New Members each day to meet our goal of 1,750. So far for the past two weeks we have been attaining that. It is NOW time to crank it up a notch or two. We must continue to ASK/ INVITE men to join Us. There is no Vacation on Asking Men to Join us. We must continue to ASK 365 days a year. It has never been easier to join the Knights of Columbus than it is now. The quickest and easiest way is to go to kofc.org/join us. Within 1-2 minutes a man can become an E-Member.
ASK CATHOLIC MEN TO JOIN YOUR COUNCIL !!!!!
USING PUBLICITY AND PUBLIC RELATIONS TO INCREASE MEMBERSHIP
By Michael Thomas - Former Membership Dir.
Growth
As Knights of Columbus, we are all very proud of our membership in our Order and for the good that our individual and collective efforts bring to our parishes, our communities and to the nation and the world. The Supreme Council and State Council does a great job in “spreading the word” of the works of the Knights of Columbus. Councils participate in that effort through upward reporting though the Annual Survey of Fraternal Activity, Columbian Award Application, and reporting forms of program activities submitted to State Council.
However, one of the more forgotten activities – and underutilized programs – at the COUNCIL level –is the use of Publicity and Public Relations
Public relations can be a very useful communications tool to let people know what the Knights of Columbus is about and the good works that our members do. There are old adages that say that “good work speaks for itself” and that “actions speak louder than words”, both of which are truly excellent advice, but sometimes good works and actions need someone to give them a voice Matthew 5:15-17 teaches us that we should not light a lamp and put it under a basket – but to put our light on a lampstand where it gives light to everyone. In this vein, I encourage each of your councils to recognize the value of a strong and organized publicity and public relations effort.
What are the Benefits of a Public Relations Program?
• Increased Community Awareness of the contribution of the Knights of Columbus
• Increased visibility of the Council to your parish
• “Evangelization Effect” – helping draw less-active Catholics back to the church
• This publicity can result in INCREASED MEMBERSHIP and BETTER RETENTION
Where to Begin?
• Appoint a Council Public Relations Director – Creates/manages public relations at the council level and identifies and establishes contact with media and works with the GK, Program Director, and Membership to help the council “put its best face forward”
• Identify Sources of Publicity – Focus on targeted distribution
o Publicity, unlike advertising, is FREE. In every community there are a variety of avenues a council can use to spread the word of its success including
o Print media: local newspapers, Catholic media (Diocesan and Parish Bulletins)
o Broadcast media: TV, radio, Catholic/Christian broadcasting
o Web-based: blogs, websites, Facebook, and other social media
• Identify Methods of Publicity – Build Your Megaphone
o Press/Media Releases – upcoming activities and successful programs
o E-mail/Texts - create targeted emails to members, parishioners, community
o Social Media – ensure a website, Facebook, and twitter presence.
o Public Service Announcements - promote activities that help the community
o Video – reusable video showing Knights of Columbus in action
o Printed materials – Handouts on the works/successes of your council
• Capture Attention – Publicize your Activities
o Public Relations helps shout council successes from the rooftop!
o Potential Public Relations activities include
! Faith in Action programs
! Family-Based Activities
! Community-Based Activities including Senior, Youth, Veterans, and Right to Life Activities
! Council Activities
• Getting Started – Supreme Council provides guidelines in the Public Relations and Publicity Guide: (https://www.kofc.org/en/resources/for-members/2235-public-relations-and-publicity-guide.pdf)
o This publication will help with defining markets, distribution of public relations material, timing, use of media lists, establishing media relations, guidelines for use of the K of C name and symbols as well as providing sample press releases and media alerts
A well-run and organized public relations effort can work hand-in-hand with your membership efforts by showcasing the contributions that a man and his family can make to the parish and the community through our Order! Go forth and share our light!
Gene Cordier and Tom Hahn
The following is an excerpt from an interesting article forwarded by Past Chapter President Gene Cordier on the link between the Knights of Columbus and America’s Pastime. Gene found the original article in the Covington Diocese newspaper: The Messenger. Below is a link to the Blessed Father McGivney Pilgrimage website where this series on the connection between the Knights and Baseball is available for viewing.
https://www.michaelmcgivneycenter.org/en/baseball-intro.html
Online exhibit shows links between Knights of Columbus and baseball
Mark Pattison Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON — It’s not exactly the “church of baseball,” as stated by Annie Savoy in the 1988 film comedy “Bull Durham,” but the church AND baseball.
An online exhibit sponsored by the Knights of Columbus shows some of the many connections between the Catholic fraternal organization and the national pastime.
The work has been a labor of love for Andy Fowler, who worked for the Knights for the past four years. Even though his last day was July 8, he’s still fashioning two more installments in the exhibition to be unveiled before the year is out.
“Catholics and baseball lovers might find it fascinating,” Fowler advised during a July 11 interview with Catholic News Service from his residence in Milford, Connecticut, near the Knights’ head- quarters in New Haven.
The Pere Marquette Council 271 baseball team of Boston, Mass., 1915 was considered the “fastest baseball team representing the Order in Greater Boston.” This photograph is a gift of the family of Bernard J. McDonnell, member and manager of the 1915 Pere Marquette Council baseball team. (Knights of Columbus Multimedia Archives)
“The story of baseball cannot be told without a tip of the cap to the Knights of Columbus,” the exhibit’s introduction reads. “For the Knights of Columbus, the game served as an early avenue of assimilation for Catholic immigrants and first- generation Americans.”
The remainder of the story can be found in the July 15, 2022 issue of The Messenger available online.
Congratulations to District Deputy #8 Ken Haacke, Recipient of the 2022 Paul Gruhler Award.
The Paul Gruhler Award is sponsored by the Dayton Chapter of the Knights of Columbus and dates back to 1975. It is named in honor of Paul Gruhler who was dedicated to his family, his community and epitomized the principles of the Knights of Columbus: Charity, Unity Fraternity and Patriotism.
Every Council in the Dayton Chapter has an outstanding Knight who is deserving of the recognition afforded by this prestigious award. The nominee will be evaluated on their contributions to their Church, the Knights of Columbus and their Community.
Paul Gruhler
By Jason Staas Advisor
Fraternal Benefits
Every September a non-profit organization known as Life Happens coordinates the Life Insurance Awareness Month campaign. This campaign is dedicated to informing people about how important life insurance is to protect their families. Life insurance is a cornerstone of a family’s future financial security.
Blessed Michael McGivney certainly knew how important life insurance was to a family. But many members don’t understand how involved Fr. McGivney was in developing the Order’s insurance program. According to Christopher Kauffman, the author of the centennial history of the Order, Faith and Fraternalism, The History of the Knights of Columbus 1882-1982, one of Fr. McGivney’s two main reasons for founding the Order was “the need to protect families during sickness and death.” (pg. 17) Kauffman goes on to say that Fr. McGivney “spent his energy in promoting the insurance feature.” (pg. 35) Originally, when the Order was founded, there was no such thing as an “associate member.” Everyone was insured; that was one of those two primary reasons for joining
While the Order is now well known for its charitable works and strong advocacy for the most vulnerable, strengthening men in their faith and protecting them and their families with life insurance were twin catalysts in forming the Order. While young Catholic men still seek to strengthen their faith, we know families still need protection from untimely death. This mission remains just as important today .
In an attempt to make every member and every eligible Catholic man aware of how important life insurance is, the Order has made a substantial investment. The Order has provided me with a hightech, state of the art financial needs analysis platform that can help us determine where you stand today. It can help me formulate a strategy for you and your family and offer meaningful insurance and financial solutions...a strategy specific to your family and your situation.
The analysis can be done in the comfort of your home or virtually. What can life insurance provide? Peace of mind and security.
Vivat Jesus!
Cincinnati Archdiocese Quick Reference Guide 2022-2023
Web Sites…
State Council Website: www.kofcohio.org
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/OhioKnightsOfColumbus/
Dayton Chapter: www.daytonkofc.org Cincinnati Chapter: www.cincykofc.org
Facebook Page: Search for: ArchCincykofc
About The Arch…
A newsletter featuring relevant news and information for Knights in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati published twelve times a year! It can be viewed and downloaded at: http://www.daytonkofc.org/DayCh_Arch_Newsletter.html Or at kofcohio.org > For Members > Diocesan Pages > Cincinnati
To subscribe for delivery directly to your email inbox, please contact Michael Thomas at: michaeldthomas@aol.com
State Deputy
Mark Siracusa 15398 Silver Pine Court Perrysburg, OH 43551-1261 cuzza52@gmail.com
Matching Funds*
State Advocate Jim Maslach 4927 Autumnwood Ln Brunswick, OH 44212 kofcjkm@gmail.com
Measure Up*
State Warden Chris Sarka 7239 Winterbek Ave New Albany, OH 43054-9097 c_sarka@hotmail.com
Super Cash Bonanza*
Will return in April 2023
Support Our Seminarians*
Will Return in winter 2023 Form 100 Questions? Contact Michael or his team below In progress
State Treasurer Michael Felerski 1580 Gelhot Dr. #234 Fairfield, OH 45014 mfelerski@icloud.com
State Per Capita Payments*
State Secretary Jeffery Kiliany 559 Walnut Street Leetonia, OH 44431 jtktg@yahoo.com
Immediate Past State Deputy Bob Byers
565 Indian Run Rd Marietta OH 45750-6693 robert_byers@hotmail.com
Andrew Nuckols anuckols@cinci.rr.com Starts September 1st 2022-23 due now
State Membership Director Michael Freil mcfreil2019@gmail.com
Archdiocese Membership Team
Dan Tebbe: I-70 North dtebbe1@outlook.com
Vic Lauterbach: Dayton [Chapter area] vslauterbach@gmail.com
Rich Bischof: Cincinnati [Chapter area] richbischof@outlook.com
District Deputy Coordinator Tim Mangan tjmangan@icloud.com
State Program Director
FYI: To Supreme Form #1295 semiannual audit PAST due #185 and #365 PAST due
*Make Checks payable to: Ohio State Council Knights of Columbus