Dealing with baby boomers

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Adamski

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I am the grand knight at my parish for the Knights of Columbus I am having a hard time with the 55-75 men at my parish. They rarely step up or vollenter. It is all 25-45 year old men doing all the work. I would think the older demographic has time but they don’t step up the ones that attend mass run for the door the second mass is over and you don’t see them until next Sunday.
 
Have the previous Grand Knights had the same problems? What about the councils at other parishes near you? Same problem for them?

You are wise to seek counsel. Be sure to bring this problem to God with prayer. I wish I could offer some more practical help.
 
It may depend on the group. In my husband’s KC group, it was the older men doing most of the work. He felt so overwhelmed that he finally - in his late 70s - dropped out. As the older men drop out, move away, or die, the younger (40+) men have stepped up. The even younger men don’t seem to be interested in KC.
 
Bonnie said:
It may depend on the group. In my husband’s KC group, it was the older men doing most of the work. He felt so overwhelmed that he finally - in his late 70s - dropped out. As the older men drop out, move away, or die, the younger (40+) men have stepped up. The even younger men don’t seem to be interested in KC.
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I second this. It’s generally the older men who are retired that have the time do all the work. The young men are busy with their children and careers.
Maybe it would be beneficial to have them each list 2 of their personal strengths, and then you can personally tap some fro their own areas of interest.
For ex:
I have a truck, so I wouldn’t mind hauling things, or help with grounds care
I am very computer savvy…I would be interested in helping with the newsletter or communications, etc.

Peace.
 
What sort of volunteering do you need? Are they tasks that are appropriate for a 75-year-old man? I mean, are you building houses and hauling sand bags or are we talking about greeting people at Mass? The retirees may have more time, or they may not. They could be looking after grandkids or helping care for siblings or their wife, or their own parents. Do they come to the meetings? Maybe you can discuss if the number and type of programs you are running is appropriate for the amount of time your chapter has to provide.
 
Bonnie said:
It may depend on the group. In my husband’s KC group, it was the older men doing most of the work. He felt so overwhelmed that he finally - in his late 70s - dropped out. As the older men drop out, move away, or die, the younger (40+) men have stepped up. The even younger men don’t seem to be interested in KC.
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This has been my husbands’ experience too.
 
Adamski said:
I am the grand knight at my parish for the Knights of Columbus I am having a hard time with the 55-75 men at my parish. They rarely step up or vollenter. It is all 25-45 year old men doing all the work. I would think the older demographic has time but they don’t step up the ones that attend mass run for the door the second mass is over and you don’t see them until next Sunday.
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In the long run, this is not a bad trend. It’s much better than having all the 55-75 year olds do all the work and the 25-45 year old men MIA.
 
Adamski said:
I am the grand knight at my parish for the Knights of Columbus I am having a hard time with the 55-75 men at my parish. They rarely step up or vollenter. It is all 25-45 year old men doing all the work. I would think the older demographic has time but they don’t step up the ones that attend mass run for the door the second mass is over and you don’t see them until next Sunday.
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I have to say you live in an unusual parish. The last parish I was involved in the 55+ did most of the volunteering. It was virtually impossible to get anyone under 40 to volunteer for anything.

On a personal level, I have pulled back from being involved. Quite honestly after 30+ years in religious education, evangelization work, and cleaning up after endless church supers I feel I have “done my time” and put up with all the silliness that often accompanies volunteering at church. It is quite liberating and spiritually freeing.

Good luck!
 
Our parish is 100 years old and our knights council is less than a year old I believe a major part of the problem at our parish is the older men in general haven’t had a conversion to christ and treat our parish as a social club to attend.
 
Adamski said:
… I believe a major part of the problem at our parish is the older men in general haven’t had a conversion to christ and treat our parish as a social club to attend.
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Please don’t judge them too harshly, or at least don’t tell them what you think of them. They will never want to get involved if you do. One of my husband’s complaints about KC (besides the amount of work involved) was that it was a social club. And since he doesn’t drink he felt like an outsider.
 
Adamski said:
Our parish is 100 years old and our knights council is less than a year old I believe a major part of the problem at our parish is the older men in **general haven’t had a conversion to christ and **treat our parish as a social club to attend.
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Comments like that are not the way to win people to your side and I find that statement to be very insulting.

Remember those men, with all their imperfection, married and raised families in the church the best they could and still attend Mass and pray. HOW DARE YOU insult them like that!

So what if they view part of parish life as social. You mean the K of C has no social dimension at all? C’mon, get real!
 
Allegra said:
What sort of volunteering do you need? Are they tasks that are appropriate for a 75-year-old man? I mean, are you building houses and hauling sand bags or are we talking about greeting people at Mass? The retirees may have more time, or they may not. They could be looking after grandkids or helping care for siblings or their wife, or their own parents. Do they come to the meetings? Maybe you can discuss if the number and type of programs you are running is appropriate for the amount of time your chapter has to provide.
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Anything taking lead, paper work, organizational skills
 
coachdennis said:
Comments like that are not the way to win people to your side and I find that statement to be very insulting.

Remember those men, with all their imperfection, married and raised families in the church the best they could and still attend Mass and pray. HOW DARE YOU insult them like that!

So what if they view part of parish life as social. You mean the K of C has no social dimension at all? C’mon, get real!
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Many look like grumpy zombies reading the bulliten during mass. Let’s say during conversations in general many of thier thelogy is more of a Unitarian than a catholic
 
I think a problem we might have had at our parish is we had a series of really bad priest, one was defrocked and second went away to alcohol rehab, this resulted in two differnt parishioners starting protestant churches in our town. Most of the young men are new to the area and didn’t experience this
 
Adamski said:
Our parish is 100 years old and our knights council is less than a year old I believe a major part of the problem at our parish is the older men in general haven’t had a conversion to christ and treat our parish as a social club to attend.
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If they sense your attitude towards them, you will have to work extra hard to overcome their distrust. As the head of the group, are you allowed to assign duties and work details? If I were you, I might approach the situation in the same manner that Pope Francis did in his short stay here in the States. Did he come to Congress and preach harshly - NOPE, instead he came and was a pastor who visibly showed us all how to live and to follow the Gospels. His very Jesuit life and thought process were showing!:rolleyes:
 
I think you are looking at the men of your parish as two groups and this is wrong. The men of your parish are individuals. It just so happens that the individuals in one group is volunteering more that the individuals in another group. Expecting groups of individuals to act any certain way is foolish. A more personal approach may be better.

As I say this, our GK is in the office beside mine. I hope he does not come over here to ask me personally to do something. (I’m kidding - I’ll do anything he asks).
 
Note – anyone over 70 IS NOT A BOOMER.

The Boom began in 1945 and ended in 1964 – therefore the youngest Boomers turned 51 this year and the oldest is 70.

Anyone born between 1920s and 1944 is part of the “Silent” generation, old enough to have experienced growing up in the Depression and WWII.
 
Magdalen2013 said:
Note – anyone over 70 IS NOT A BOOMER.

The Boom began in 1945 and ended in 1964 – therefore the youngest Boomers turned 51 this year and the oldest is 70.

Anyone born between 1920s and 1944 is part of the “Silent” generation, old enough to have experienced growing up in the Depression and WWII.
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I’ve heard once that the Silent generation was part of the problem we have today because when a number of the Baby Boomers starting going nuts with their “Spirit of Vatican II” stuff, the Silent generation remained silent.
 
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