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commenter
Guest
In attaching the link, I meant to add a few comments. The K of C has some local councils that are part of the structure of a parish; other councils, that are renting space from a parish; and other councils that are free-standing. Councils are not permitted to directly own a building, but some get around that by establishing a “Club” which technically owns their building.
K of C Supreme has been hinting for years at more unification with parishes, but the new initiative is much stronger. They not only want local councils to combine into parishes, but seem to be curtailing some of their own K of C youth activities, in favor of K of C action within the parish. For instance no more K of C sponsored Boy Scout Troops after 2016, and some discouragement of any new Columbian Squires circles (the K of C youth program). Existing Squire circles will be maintained, and current Scout Troops will be transferred to Parish sponsorship, ideally. Other kinds of K of C activities will also be more parish focused.
Any thoughts? I have mixed feelings in our local situation. Most K of C councils (indirectly) have their own halls, some extremely large. Those halls were built when nearby parishes had no extra building space, a very different situation than now. Another problem is that my council, for instance, has men from at least 20 parishes. If we were to locate in a parish, which one? For most men, it would not be their home parish.
You might say the one where our chaplain is pastor. But that building might not have what we need, and he, like any priest, might not be pastor there in a few years, or for that matter, he might not be able to be our chaplain in a few years, due to needs of the diocese.
I can see the need for some kind of change, as our membership ages, and we need new ways to attract youth and young men. I think a better strategy, maybe, would be to merge our council with other councils, which are also shrinking and aging. But I appreciate your thoughts. My brother Knights are attached to our own building, they remember it going up decades ago. But we spend enormous time and money doing things to keep up that building, we have to change. Any suggestions from brother Knights or non-Knights would be appreciated.
K of C Supreme has been hinting for years at more unification with parishes, but the new initiative is much stronger. They not only want local councils to combine into parishes, but seem to be curtailing some of their own K of C youth activities, in favor of K of C action within the parish. For instance no more K of C sponsored Boy Scout Troops after 2016, and some discouragement of any new Columbian Squires circles (the K of C youth program). Existing Squire circles will be maintained, and current Scout Troops will be transferred to Parish sponsorship, ideally. Other kinds of K of C activities will also be more parish focused.
Any thoughts? I have mixed feelings in our local situation. Most K of C councils (indirectly) have their own halls, some extremely large. Those halls were built when nearby parishes had no extra building space, a very different situation than now. Another problem is that my council, for instance, has men from at least 20 parishes. If we were to locate in a parish, which one? For most men, it would not be their home parish.
You might say the one where our chaplain is pastor. But that building might not have what we need, and he, like any priest, might not be pastor there in a few years, or for that matter, he might not be able to be our chaplain in a few years, due to needs of the diocese.
I can see the need for some kind of change, as our membership ages, and we need new ways to attract youth and young men. I think a better strategy, maybe, would be to merge our council with other councils, which are also shrinking and aging. But I appreciate your thoughts. My brother Knights are attached to our own building, they remember it going up decades ago. But we spend enormous time and money doing things to keep up that building, we have to change. Any suggestions from brother Knights or non-Knights would be appreciated.
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pianistclare
Guest
Where I grew up the K of C had there own hall, which they rented out fro all kinds of events and kept up themselves. Any council could use it as song as they planned well in advance.
We’d LOVE for our Council to build a parish hall down the street. We have NO place to hold big functions and it would be a boon tot he parish.
We’d LOVE for our Council to build a parish hall down the street. We have NO place to hold big functions and it would be a boon tot he parish.
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PaulfromIowa
Guest
I grew up in a town with 4 parishes. There was one KofC council with its’ own building/hall. I now live in a somewhat larger town with 5 parishes. There was, for many years, only one KofC council, but recently, each parish has started its’ own council. I am told that this is to get back to the original KofC charism, which was parish based.
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Della
Guest
Yes, that’s how it is here, too. Each parish has its own council, but an assembly (4th Degree) has four/five councils represented in its membership. That’s how to combine KC councils–by encouraging 4th Degree assemblies.
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Paganus
Guest
Yes, it appears that the Knights of Columbus is dying.
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Della
Guest
Not at all.
We get their publication, “Columbia” in which councils/assemblies (from several countries) charitable activities are featured, along with visits with the Holy Father, special Masses, conferences, etc. The KofC is very active and growing, not dying.
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commenter
Guest
No, membership overall increases a little every year. It’s getting stronger in areas of the US that are growing, and newly developing in other areas like Eastern Europe. But I live in a formerly heavily Catholic area that has lost a lot of population. The K of C is affected by that.
The K of C is opening lots of new councils, almost all in parishes. That’s a good strategy for new growth, but not sure what the strategy should be for legacy, older areas like where I live, where free standing, non parish councils are the norm, each drawing members from lots of parishes.
In terms of Catholicism, the K of C worldwide, and in my city, is very much alive, much more reliably Catholic than so many other religious organizations and institutions. Check out the website.
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christofirst
Guest
Our local K of C council is quite active, has operated a dedicated hall since 1958, and draws from three neighboring parishes that often work together in other ways as well, such as joint confirmation classes. In our case, I don’t see an advantage to changing, and the hall would be irreplaceable now, with the way our city has developed.
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