Promoting the Knights

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I’m trying to come up with a short blurb about my local Knights council. I am going to ask each parish in my city to post this blurb on their website.

I’m not great at marketing. The one suggestion I’ve received about the blurb that I wrote is to give it some more impact. I was wondering if anyone had a minute to read my blurb and suggest the wording to give it more impact. I’m drawing a blank.
The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a worldwide Catholic organization that follows the principles of charity, unity, fraternity, patriotism, and defense of the priesthood. The local Knights group is Father Theobald Spetz Council #5135, which was founded in 1961. Membership is open for Catholic men 18 years of age and over.
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The Waterloo Knights hosts both social and non-social activities that serve several local community needs and charities. A few examples are KidsAbility Foundation, both local hospitals, Dog Guides of Canada, and our signature event the New Toys for Needy Kids Toy Drive. We build leadership and networking skills, and are a great choice for individuals and/or families contributing to the community. We also encourage students to volunteer at our events to receive their community hours required for graduation. We have facilities available for rent at very competitive rates. We are also active supporters of the Knights of Columbus Insurance program!
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The Waterloo Knights is an organization where many hands make light work. Our work is always enjoyable and the people involved are very friendly. You’ll have fun with the Knights! There are opportunities to volunteer frequently, or whenever you have time.
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The Waterloo Knights is found online at {website}, and on Twitter using @WaterlooKnights. Call us at {phone number}.
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I am a Knight myself and have been for a number of years. As I understand it, each council is attached to a particular parish and is supposed to serve that parish. It seems strange to me that you want to post this advert in each parish in the city. Do any of those parishes have their own council? If so, you don’t want to be “poaching” their members.

If not, the ideal thing would be to try to get men in some of those parishes to start their own councils.

Pax.
 
It doesn’t work the same way everywhere. We are a city council. No parish in my city has their own council.
 
I your goal to introduce the Knights and their activities to the community? To attract new members? To market volunteer/mentorship opportunities to High-schools/students with capstone activity requirements?

It would help if you would share a bit of information concerning what has inspired you to create your blurb so that we can target our support.
If this will be published in a bulletin, what sort of space allowances are you envisioning?
One way to ‘punch up’ your writing would be to remove instances where ideas are repeated, another is to trim unnecessary words. A bit of variation in your punctuation will enable you to set the pace for your reader. A colon setting off the list of activities will bring increased attention.
May God bless you and your fellow Knights! Amen.
 
JugglingReferee said:
It doesn’t work the same way everywhere. We are a city council. No parish in my city has their own council.
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Well, well - you learn something new every day. Or so the saying goes. I had never heard of that.

Frankly I doubt you will get much results from putting a blurb in the bulletins. Getting guys to sign up for the Knights is hard. The best way to get results is face-to-face. See if you can get a couple of guys from your council, ones who are outgoing and don’t get tired of talking to people; and have them travel around the city week by week, and staff an information table after Mass at each church. With permission of the pastor at each church, obviously.
 
jeannetherese said:
Is your goal to introduce the Knights and their activities to the community? To attract new members? To market volunteer/mentorship opportunities to High-schools/students with capstone activity requirements?
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I will bet that the goal is to attract new members. This is something that most councils always struggle with. You get a few guys to join, after a while they lose enthusiasm, stop coming to the meetings and don’t help out with projects. You have to keep going back to the well, i.e. going back to the parish and trying to get more recruits.
 
If that’s the case, then networking with the youth catechesis groups/ young adults/ would be a great way to become visible and appreciated by future members. Working on projects together, offering mentoring opportunities, camping overnights that combine adventure, catechesis, and strategizing new projects. Perhaps starting a K of C Scouting group. Having Father speak of K of C activities, or provide a moment during the announcements for a quick standup, networking with the public and Catholic schools about capstone volunteering and organizing drives to raise funds for vocational support would all attract a bit of attention and educate future members through ‘hands on’ activities.
Encouraging parish social justice commiteess to work on projects together would also be good-an investment both in increasing the visibility of K of C in the parish and in supporting priestly formation. That formation has so much potential for future catechesis and well catechised adults are well prepared to take good care of their brothers and sisters.
Of course, I’m still looking forward to learning more about how we can help with the bulletin blurb-I don’t want to derail the thread if there is a different priority that reaching out for new members.
 
I tried about 3 times to join the KofC but they never got back to me. Any group I join I get involved with. After I moved I contacted Hartford, the headquarters, askingg for info. They e-mailed back that I should hear from two local councils but neither one ever did. Eventually I did join a council at St John’s in Winfield but never heard from again and don’t know when or where the meetings are held.

I gave up.
 
wondrousgnat said:
I tried about 3 times to join the KofC but they never got back to me. Any group I join I get involved with. After I moved I contacted Hartford, the headquarters, askingg for info. They e-mailed back that I should hear from two local councils but neither one ever did. Eventually I did join a council at St John’s in Winfield but never heard from again and don’t know when or where the meetings are held.

I gave up.
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Hmm… obviously things aren’t the same everywhere. Sorry to hear about your experience.
 
I am seriously considering becoming a Knight of Columbus. I am a truly devoted Catholic and am looking for more in my life towards GOD. The problem is I am confused about the knights and freemasonry. I see that Jeb Bush is a 3rd degree knight but both his brother and father are both Skull & Bones. So are the KOC then truly part of freemasonry even though they condemn it? Also why is the pledge I found about the KOC so horrific? If this truly is not the pledge where is the real pledge found? Also why is the ceremonies such a secret like the Freemasons? Jesus wants us to spread the word of his dying on the cross to everyone. So why would the KOC want to keep ceremonies private and not share with the families of the man being initiated. These are just some questions I have. I truly want to be a KOC but I don’t want to be mislead and join something that might not be right in the eyes of GOD. Please help me out
 
You will find the real pledge when you undergo the degree ceremony. The reason our ceremonials are secret is chiefly to preserve their impact on those who undergo them. If you knew beforehand exactly what went on in a degree ceremony, then they would not achieve their goals, which are to teach us how to be Knights and introduce us to the Order. I can assure you that the Knights do not engage in any activity condemned by the Church and that we indeed do many things for the good of the Church and the community. Many clergy and even bishops are Knights. My own bishop and auxiliary are both Knights, my pastor and parochial vicar and deacon, and pretty much every priest who passes through our parish, we make sure they all join the Knights. And these are men who would certainly never betray the Church. I encourage you to take a step, and take the First Degree exemplification. You will not be disappointed.
 
I realize that the Knights do great charity work but I just get concerned when a fellow knight like Jeb Bush has family history with his brother and father who are both Skull & Bones which is a very high freemason group. I just want to have a Knights of Columbus true word that the pledge is not what I read online and that I won’t be in shock when I am standing with people I see everyday at my church at my ceremony and say the pledge not to feel bad that these individuals are here for me and I don’t want to let them down. That’s my biggest worry.
 
Also if its such a joyous event being brought into the Knights of Columbus why can’t my wife and sons enjoy the moment with me? Just doesn’t make sense!
 
If you begin to feel during the course of a degree ceremony that you do not agree with something or it causes you to be uneasy and unsure, you are always welcome to leave early and not complete the degree. There is no coercion or forcing from the Knights of Columbus.

As for Jeb Bush and his family, it is commendable that Jeb is a Knight, but so what if his family are members of other organizations? My family can do immoral, sinful things too - their sins are not mine. Each person has free will and a soul to be judged separately. Just because Jeb is a Knight is certainly no sign that the Knights support Freemasonry or whatever Skull and Bones is.

As for having your family participate, the Knights are first and foremost about fraternity. This is the charism of our Third Degree and you will learn more in that ceremony. The first thing you should realize when becoming a Knight is that your fellow Knights are brothers and they are there to support you and encourage you in all things. Since the ceremonies are secret, your brother Knights will be the only ones eligible to attend and go through the degrees with you. However, this certainly does not mean that the Knights exclude your families from things or that we feel that families are unimportant. Much to the contrary, our mission is dedicated to supporting families. We were conceived as an insurance organization to take care of widows and orphans of deceased Knights. Our service projects are always oriented to the family unit. We welcome wives and children of all Knights to our service projects and functions. When you make your Fourth Degree exemplification, there will be an all-day ceremony; your wife will be invited to a special lunch with the other wives, and there is a dinner banquet attended by all.

You will soon see that becoming a Knight is the best thing that you can do for your family. It will make you a better man, a better husband, and a better father.
 
Fireman4Jesus, I am a 4th degree Knight and have been involved in the Knights for more than 10 years, in various places around the East coast. I can assure you that the Knights of Columbus is a good Catholic organization. Elizium23 gave some excellent explanations and I concur with everything he said.

What difference does it make if some other members of the Bush family belong to other secret societies? That is their decision, the responsibility for what they do rests on them, not on Jeb Bush or the Knights of Columbus.

And what is this pledge that you found so horrific? If you found it online, can you post the link so that I can read it?
 
I’d change this from being third person, which can be remote and sterile, to second person:

Men, are you looking for an opportunity make lifelong friendships with other Catholic men? Support the community and make it a better place for your family? Voluteer and help those in need? Have a lot of fun while doing it?

If so, the KofC is the right place for you!

The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a worldwide Catholic organization that follows the principles of charity, unity, fraternity, patriotism, and defense of the priesthood. The local Knights group is Father Theobald Spetz Council #5135, which was founded in 1961. Membership is open for Catholic men 18 years of age and over.

The Waterloo Knights hosts both social and -]non-social/-] service activities in the local community. A few examples are KidsAbility Foundation, both local hospitals, Dog Guides of Canada, and our signature event the New Toys for Needy Kids Toy Drive. We are also active supporters of the Knights of Columbus Insurance program!

The Waterloo Knights is found online at {website}, and on Twitter using @WaterlooKnights. Call us at {phone number}. The Knights has something for everyone, whether you can give a lot of time or just a little.
 
This is attributed to St. Ignatius of Loyola? :eek:

If it weren’t so heartbreakingly sad, it would be hilarious to imagine that this could be real.

Would any person, let alone any organization in the Church, get away for long by commanding us to sin, to deny the dignity of the human person such as this?

Would so many good Catholic men belong to an organization that commanded such violence on us? What about good deacons, priests and bishops? My bishop is a Knight. Timothy Cardinal Dolan is a Knight. Archbishop Lori, Carl A. Anderson, what kind of opinion do you have of these men that you could envision us carrying out the commands of this ridiculous oath?
 
Fireman4Jesus said:
louisak, here is the link to one of many sites that says this is the oath or pledge of the Knights of Columbus.
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Fireman4Jesus, on that site, the oath is identified at the top as a Knights of Columbus Oath. But there is no reference in the text to the Knights; in fact in the very first paragraph, it states clearly that this oath is for the Society of Jesus, otherwise known as the Jesuits, founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola - and indeed the oath is attributed to him at the top, although his name is given incorrectly. So right away, you can see that this web site is not trustworthy, as it makes no attempt to explain or even acknowledge the discrepancy.

You really need to exercise a little skepticism and prudence regarding things you find online. Any moron or liar can get himself a web site and post any kind of nonsense.
 
Had my meeting with the Knights of Columbus Insurance agent yesterday. Advised me of the great life insurance the knights offer and I took full advantage of it for myself as well as my family. My Knight of Columbus insurance agent welcomed me to the Knights of Columbus and advised me that my info would be given to my parish council and that they would call me to begin my 1st degree as a Knight of Columbus. I am very excited and was wondering how long it usually takes??

P.S. To all the fellow brother Knights that had (name removed by moderator)ut into my discussions, I want to say thank you for giving me your knowledge about the Knights of Columbus and what they stand for. Thanks again!!
 
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