Friday, March 6, 2020

(198) Mobilization of the Knights of Columbus Councils to Attend & Help Promote the Men’s Conference


AMDG

        I'm directing this e-mail primarily to the grand knights and district deputies, asking them to mobilize their men to attend the Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal.  However, I have sent a copy of this to many others, some of whom may now be grand knights, as well as former grand knights and other knights who can also promote the Men's Conference, simply by talking it up or by acting as a parish representative. This letter is also an invitation for all knights to attend.



February 21, 2020


Worthy Grand Knight:

          If the Men of the diocese are in good spiritual shape, the family is renewed.  If the family is renewed, the parish is renewed and so is the diocese.  The men must be spiritual leaders in their families.  The men must step up and be the pillars of the parish.......not only the women.  The men must put Christ into the marketplace and in their jobs.  Set the men on fire and we renew the parish, the diocese and ultimately the Country, thus transforming Society. 
That's what we're trying to accomplish with the Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal and it very much coincides with the mission of the Knights of Columbus.......the spiritual formation of our men and to strengthen families.  However, marketing is crucial to the success of the Men’s Conference and that's where the Knights of Columbus can follow their tradition in being there when help is badly needed. 
          In the spirit of service of the Knights of Columbus, a couple of other 4th Degree Knights and I are on the Steering Committee and we'd like to ask for your help in two big ways. 
          Number one and the most important.......as the Grand Knight, please help us to promote the Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal.  You and the leaders of your council would be invaluable in helping us to mobilize the men of your Council and the parish to attend the Men's Conference.  It will be on Saturday March 7 from 9 am to 4 pm at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption, 506 Fourth St. in Marietta off of Route 7 or Exit 1 on I-77.  One on one personal selling is ideal.  Word of mouth by those who have gone previously would be the best form of advertising.  The help of the district deputies in their contacts with their grand knights and councils would be indispensable.  Attached is our conference brochure.
The goal of the Men's Day of Renewal is to focus on the spiritual development of the participants.  The includes helping the men to take the right path before having to face the four last things.......Death, Judgment, Heaven or Hell.  Having spiritually strong men of faith and character translates into more solid families, more dynamic parishes, and better communities. This is crucial to the Church, now and in the future. It is also critical for nurturing vocations.
          The theme is The Challenge of Being Catholic” with St. Joseph, model of a true man of God, as the Conference’s patron whose intercession we count upon for its success.  Dr. Scott Hahn is Professor of Biblical Theology and the New Evangelization at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he has taught since 1990.  A former Presbyterian pastor, Scott entered the Catholic Church in 1986 after a long struggle with the truth.  He is internationally known through his many books and talks.   

The Conference will open with both talks of our main speaker, Dr. Scott Hahn since he will be on his way to Rome for a lecture series at the Angelicum Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas.   In his first talk, Scott will draw on Church's teaching and his own experience to show how ordinary Catholics can effectively share their faith, and so fulfill the New Evangelization.  Every one of us, as Catholics, is called not only to keep the faith, but also to share it with others. This talk will help Catholic laymen to reach friends, co-workers, and family members, especially those who are non-practicing or have drifted away from the Church. He will also address the question, why and how can we remain faithful Catholics -- in the face of clerical corruption and the scandals we have witnessed?
 
In his second talk, Dr. Hahn will speak on how to strengthen our marriages and our family life, both of which are in crisis.  Drawing from Scripture, and forty years of experience as a husband and a father.  Scott will offer some practical tips on how to make your home a domestic church --which St. Pope John Paul II advocated-- particularly with the help of the Holy Family.  He will also share some valuable lessons learned from his own struggles, drawing from his most recent book, The First Society: The Sacrament of Matrimony and the Restoration of the Social Order.   In fact the Knights of Columbus Supreme has begun a national program, “Building the Domestic Church and Strengthening the Parish. 

          The men will see how the participants are moved by the beauty and power of the faith.   The experience of seeing so many men enthusiastically participating and lifting up their voices in song is uplifting.  The men may bring their teen age sons, godsons, relatives, and friends.  Thus the Conference can also be a father and son event, a shared experience.   After all, the Kof C is all about family.  Non-Catholics are also welcome.  In the past the men have returned spiritually refreshed, reinvigorated, and enthusiastic.  For the first time boys 18 years old and younger will be admitted free of charge.  

          It involves sacrificing most of a Saturday with some travel, but Lent is all about sacrifice and the quest for holiness.  Organizing the men to go together in a van pool or even a bus for a two or three hour trip would be great fellowship and give it a pilgrimage flavor, especially if there's a rosary and discussion about the day's events along the way.  During the middle ages, pilgrims would travel for days by foot or horseback.  Traveling together is a great opportunity as well.  It can solidify the parish and the Council as the men get to know each other better, especially if the pastor accompanies them.  We will need confessors.

          Another option is to stay at a motel in Marietta and make a retreat out of it.  The Basilica is one of the most beautiful churches in the world and is ideal for prayer and reflection.   There will be Eucharistic Adoration all day Friday until 7 pm in the Chapel of the English Martyrs to the right of the main altar.  Stations of the Cross will follow.  The men may bring their families to stay overnight at a motel and explore Marietta during the Conference.  Go to https://mariettaohio.org/  

          It should be a great day of enjoyable fellowship and spiritual reinvigoration. But most of all, the organizers expect that through grace there will be a few more good spiritually strong men for the kingdom of God in the battle against secularism and other evils and problems that our troubled society must confront.......men --not spiritual weaklings and wimps-- who will put Christ into their professions.  Finally, the men will become more knowledgeable, firmer in their faith, and better prepared for a more joyful Easter, not to mention a greater closeness to God, which life on earth is all about.  The annual Men's Day of Renewal fulfills a great need.
         
          Often the enthusiasm generated at a men's conference is contagious since the men see fellow participants moved by the beauty and power of the faith.  Non-Catholics are also welcome.  This is all a part of the New Evangelization......to fire up the apathetic Catholic who doesn't do much beyond attending Sunday Mass, the minimalist; to touch the drifting Catholic and the fallen away through the publicity and inviting them to attend.

It's also an opportunity for your KofC Council because you'll have a captive audience for up to four hours each way and that's great for recruiting.  Another option is to stay at the Microtel behind the Sunoco Gas Station off of the I-77 exit and make a retreat out of it.  Less than two miles from the St. Stephen’s Church which has a parish program of Stations of the Cross (Mass at Immaculate Conception Church nearby) on Friday at 7 pm preceded and followed by Eucharistic Adoration.  Wives could come along and spend the day in Marietta, shopping and sightseeing.  Pittsburgh is two hours away.

          The diocesan website at www.diosteub.org will have a link to the brochure and Additional Information (for now it has the Register article and photos of last year’s conference).  Hover over the "ABOUT" Menu at the top of the home page.  Then hover on "Men's Ministry" and click on "Men's Day of Renewal".  The link to our brochure and "Additional Information" are on the bottom left under documents.  More direct is https://diosteub.org/mens-day-of-renewal.  The Conference Blog, “Becoming a True Man of God” at diosteubmen.blogspot.com which is also devoted to articles to keep men in spiritual shape after the Conference.  For a greater variety, go to “A Little Bit for God and His People” at paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com.  One may also contact paulrsebastian@yahoo.com or call 740-245-9404.  Attached are the conference brochure and other resources.

          Also very important is a little financial help from your Council, whatever you can afford, in underwriting the Conference so that we can charge the men an affordable price.  My Council 3335 Gallipolis has given $100 each year since 2010.  It costs over $5000 to put this on and we need a reserve for next year to bring in the best speakers. 

          A leader or two in the council could do some one-on-one personal selling, organize a van pool, and register the men, both in the council and in the local parish.  Filling out the attached registration form in advance and giving it with payment of $25 to a representative would speed things up at the door.  A sign-up sheet would also be helpful.  This would also facilitate follow up on the undecided and for organizing a car or van pool.  A few days before the event, send a count to “Roger Huck” <huck4816@roadrunner.com>.  If sufficient time, please send the registration form to Roger Huck; %Men’s Day of Renewal, P.O. Box 54; Beverly, OH 45715.   That would help our planning and save time at the door.  Non-Catholics are also welcome.   

Even if you are no longer the grand knight of your council, please forward this e-mail to the current grand knight and/or bring this letter to the attention of the membership at your next council meeting.   If your next meeting is after the Conference date, please do what you can with the promotion by word of mouth or forward this e-mail to all the members of your council and quickly mobilize the men by phone to go together in a car or van pool.  Such a collaboration with the local diocese could be an example for other councils all over the country.  I copied many others in hope that they may be able to help.  

          The Knights have been invaluable in the past and we need your help again.  Thank you so much for your past promotional and financial help and for anything you can do this year.  The paid ads of different KofC councils in our program booklet are a big help.  I apologize for not sending you this material sooner, but there’s still time to send at least a few men to the Conference.  For the men who are drifting spiritually or are not faithful to the Sunday Mass obligation, this is evangelization at its best.......something that every Catholic is called to do.  God bless. 
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     St. Joseph, model of a true man of God, pray for us and for the success of the Men's Conference.
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A STARTING POINT FOR A SHORT ANNOUNCEMENT

Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal Saturday, March 7 from 9 am – 4 pm at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption in Marietta.  The theme is “The Challenge of Being Catholic”.  The main speaker is Scott Hahn, internationally known speaker and author.  Scott Hahn, internationally known speaker and author, will give tips on how each man can participate in the New Evangelization and how to make his home a Domestic Church as proposed by St. Pope John Paul II.  In fact the Knights of Columbus Supreme has begun a national program, “Building the Domestic Church and Strengthening the Parish.  The registration fee is $25, but for the first time boys 18 years old and under are admitted free of charge.  Contact Name of Parish Representative (phone no. & e-mail) (e.g., John Doe (245-9404 or jdoe@gmail.com) to register.  Enjoy the fellowship by going in the van, which leaves at 6:30 am from the Parish Hall.

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