The Knights of Columbus Supreme Convention is an annual gathering of over 2000 Knights and their families, along with distinguished members of the clergy, from various parts of the globe. This year, the convention is taking place in Quebec City from August 6-8.
As the festivities commence, accolades and acknowledgments for the exceptional efforts of jurisdictions worldwide are being presented. Pictured here are Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly and his wife, Vanessa, extending a warm welcome to Michigan's Immediate Past State Deputy Christopher Kolomjec and his wife, Julie, as they accept the Pinnacle and Circle of Honor awards on behalf of all Michigan Brother Knights.
September 14th is the 33rd annual Detroit Archdiocesan Vocations League golf outing.
If a council or assembly buys two hole sponsors for $100 total and sends a foursome to play golf, they earn two points. Last year, councils and assemblies earned up to $950 back to be used for their RSVP support!
It’s not too late to join the many councils in the State of Michigan in our mission to provide warmth for deserving children during the cold Michigan winter months. Every council in the state has been invited to participate in any way that they can in the Coats for Kids program. So far, 19 councils have submitted funds for the Supreme Buy One Case and Get a Second Case Free program. You can still choose to participate. Here are some guidelines to take advantage of the BOGO option from Supreme:
The BOGO order must be submitted by the State Council.
As a Council (or District) determine where you want to distribute the coats in your area. As always, work with the pastor of any parish in the distribution of the coats.
After your fundraising efforts are complete, determine the number of cases of coats by type (see www.knightsgear.com) that you wish to order.
There is an order form posted on the State website that must be completed and sent in.
It is critical to have contact information provided on the order. Additionally, the full name and address of the shipping information must be supplied on the form.
Follow the directions on the form when submitting your funds. Checks must be made payable to ‘Michigan State Council’ and put ‘Coats for Kids’ on the memo line.
Checks are to be sent to either your SDRR for tracking locally (please verify this with your SDRR) or myself. My address is on the form.
Once the form and payment is received you will receive acknowledgement back from me. Any shipping information will be communicated then.
If your order is for 10 cases, it will be filled with 20 cases. So please plan accordingly.
We are on track to to submit our order before September 20, 2024. This order will be for all checks and orders received by September 9, 2024. We are planning to do a second order for the BOGO program. To participate in that order your checks and order form must be received by October 2, 2024. However, please be aware that the coats go on a first come first served basis. Popular sizes may not be available on the second order. We will do our best to accommodate all. These deadlines will help get the coats to the distribution sites between October 14 (for the first order) and October 28 (for the second order), 2024. Any questions, please contact me.
On Friday August 2nd, we celebrated Baseball Vocations Night at Jackson Field with the Lansing Lugnuts! It was a fantastic evening filled with support for vocations with family and friends, along with baseball and fireworks.
Even though our Lugnuts didn't come out on top, the love and backing for vocations was a total HOME RUN!
The Order provides resources for members to grow in spiritual health and encounter Christ
Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori
In a column this time last year, I mentioned my daily exercise routine. Consider this a follow-up report.
Like others my age who exercise, it is easy to overdo it. I did just that recently. As the result of my imprudence, I woke up one morning “down in the back,” as they say. I couldn’t sit in anything but a straight chair. Getting in and out of a recliner was excruciating. Getting dressed wasn’t exactly a picnic.
I took a pain reliever, but it didn’t do much good. After a while, I began to think that I had seriously injured my spine. Reluctantly, I went to my doctor. He poked around and then he shared some good news: My bones weren’t the problem. But I had strained my back muscles in the course of my workouts. “What you need,” he said, “are core exercises,” and with that he packed me off to physical therapy.
There I learned a new set of exercises designed to strengthen the muscles of my body’s core, or center — muscles that help to maintain balance and flexibility amid daily activities. I started the recommended exercise routine and soon discovered muscles I didn’t know I had. By stretching the same muscles that I had strained, the pain soon went away, and I felt much better.
You can probably see where this is going. It’s not a big stretch to see the connection between core and Cor, between exercising the core of the human body and the spiritual exercises of the Knights of Columbus initiative called Cor — the Latin word for “heart” and a biblical word for “soul” or the center of one’s existence. I hope many of you are already doing your Cor exercises or will soon begin them.
Why do we need Cor exercises? To start with, we often experience inward, spiritual pain. It may not be excruciating — more of an annoyance, a pain we try to ignore, deny or minimize. Or perhaps we’ve just become spiritually flabby. We tell ourselves that our spiritual life and relationship with God are in good shape and that we are pleasing in his eyes. But then something happens that causes us to think twice about our life, and the pain of guilt is harder to ignore.
Cor aims to help Knights encounter Christ and support one another in growing in faith and virtue, in becoming better followers of Christ, better husbands and fathers.
What to do? When my back hurt, my first move was to medicate, but it didn’t work. Pain relievers weren’t the answer. No, I went to the doctor to find out the underlying problem and to seek a remedy. So too, when we falter spiritually or experience guilt, we shouldn’t try to medicate ourselves with food or alcohol or distractions. No, we should go to the doctor. Encountering the divine physician in the sacrament of reconciliation, we receive God’s mercy and discover that we are not broken beyond his ability to repair.
We also discover that going back to the same old sins and failings will only result in more spiritual discomfort and pain. So, a good next step is to engage in spiritual exercises. That is why the Knights of Columbus offers us Cor. Through prayer, formation and fraternity, it is designed to help us strengthen not our physical core but our spiritual “cor.”
Like the core exercises I was assigned, the spiritual exercises of Cor might be new to some. They take different forms: praying the rosary, reading Scripture, participating in spiritual discussions, to name a few. Cor aims to help Knights encounter Christ and support one another in growing in faith and virtue, in becoming better followers of Christ, better husbands and fathers. Cor is exercise for the heart!
At first, I was hesitant to start my core exercises, just as some may be reluctant to participate in Cor. But I’m glad I did, and you will be too.
The Lansing Quad District Meeting took place on July 29th at St. Francis Camp in Jerome, MI.
The meeting was attended by SDRR John Yanok, District Deputies, and council officers from 501, 503, 513, and 516. Also present were St. Francis Camp Liaison Russ Smith, representatives from the Borelli Agency, State Faith Formation and COR Director Paul Kelsey, State Life Director Ed Strach, Diocesan Membership Directors Lawrence Donnellon Jr and Chris Stevens, Diocesan Program Directors Richard Perry and Dave Freund, and Chief of Staff Paul Palka.
In addition to the various presentations on the agenda, the meeting also featured inspirational discussions about St. Francis Camp and Friends of the Master. Friends of the Master is a Catholic ministry that provides support to individuals who have previously been incarcerated.
By: Kenneth Unterbrink -
Wed, Jul 24, 2024 7:01 AM
Michigan Knights of Columbus
Seminarian Tuition Assistance Assessment
As voted and unanimously approved by the delegates at the State Convention.
$3.00 per member, per Fraternal Year
*Offset the tuition cost on Michigan seminarians
*The funds donated by each diocese will stay with the seminarians of the diocese.
*Each council Financial Secretary will receive the Official Billing in July.
*The Grand Knight should bring the Seminarian Tuition Assistance Assessment to the membership for approval.
*Support all the seminarians in Michigan through your convention Delegate approval.
Charity is a duty. Support those charities that adhere to the Teaching of the Catholic Faith.
Please continue to support seminarians with the RSVP program, the Michigan K of C Endowed Scholarship Fund, and all other diocese seminarian funds. The ask is for our future priests.Vivat Jesus!
PS: If your council needs a visit, you are just down the road.
Thanks to the efforts of Blessed Father Michael J. McGivney, assistant pastor of St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, and some of his parishioners, the Connecticut state legislature on March 29, 1882, officially chartered the Knights of Columbus as a fraternal benefit society. The Order, which has become the world’s foremost Catholic fraternal organization, is still true to its founding principles of charity, unity, and fraternity.
On Saturday, September 7, 2024, we will observe the installation of our new State Deputy, Barry M. Borsenik, the other state officers, state chaplain, diocesan chaplains, district deputies, state directors, and regional directors from across the state of Michigan. The Installation Mass will be held at the Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption located at 615 Hoyt Avenue, Saginaw, Michigan, at 4:00 pm. This will be followed by a reception and banquet beginning at 6:00 pm at the Horizons Conference Center located at 6200 State Street, Saginaw, Michigan 48603.
We are extending an invitation to your membership to attend this important occasion. Tickets are $65.00, which includes dinner, an open bar and entertainment. Tables seat eight people. Please send your check, made payable to Michigan Knights of Columbus, to Sue Thorn, 768 Lockmoore Court, Rochester Hills, MI 48307 no later than August 6, 2024.To access the fillable RSVP form, click here.
A block of hotel rooms at a special Knights of Columbus price is available at the Four Points by Sheraton located at 4960 Town Center Road, Saginaw, Michigan 48604. We ask that you present this information to your membership during your July meeting and consider sending representatives.
If you are traveling from outside the Saginaw area and would like to stay overnight, the Four Points by Sheraton Saginaw located at 4690 Towne Center Road, Saginaw, Michigan 48604 has been identified as the host hotel. Special Knights of Columbus rates are available if reservations are made no later than August 6, 2024. Reservations can be made by calling the hotel directly at (989) 790-5050.
For more information, please contact me at (734) 634-7989.
We hope you will join us in witnessing the installation of our newly elected officers and join us for the festivities afterwards.
Fraternally yours,
Clifford F. Wasmund Administrative Secretary to the State Deputy
Dear Grand Knights, Council Program Directors, and Council Membership Directors,
Viva Jesus!
As leaders within our councils, it is crucial that we are all fully prepared to excel in our roles. For those who were unable to attend the recent in-person training session, we are pleased to announce several catch-up training opportunities. Please note that each session can accommodate up to 90 participants, so be sure to secure your spot early.
Catch-Up Training Details:
Michigan Knights of Columbus Program & Membership Catch-up Training
If you cannot make these training sessions, please avail yourself of the online materials from Supreme. The latest training from Supreme for Financial Secretaries and Grand Knights can be found at: Officer Training Archives.
This training is designed to ensure that everyone is equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to fulfill their duties effectively. Your participation is vital to the continued success and growth of our council.
Thank you for your commitment and dedication. We look forward to seeing you there.
In addition to the various presentations on the agenda, the meeting also featured inspirational discussions about St. Francis Camp and Friends of the Master. Friends of the Master is a Catholic ministry that provides support to individuals who have previously been incarcerated.
