Annual Report of the State Deputy
Knights of Columbus / Chevaliers de Colomb
Nova Scotia State Council
“Building the Domestic Church”
“Making a Difference for Life”
“A Light to the Nations”
‘If not the Knights ofColumbus then who will?’
-by State Deputy Carl F. Reid
OVERVIEW
The 134th Annual International Supreme Convention for the Knights of Columbus was held this year in the city of Toronto from August 2nd to the 4th and hosted by the Ontario State Council.
I along with Past State Deputy George McCormack and State Membership Director Ron Dowling were the three delegates forming the Nova Scotia voting contingent. Together with our State Chaplain Reverend Father Toochukwu Okafor we discovered that our beloved principles of Charity, Unity and Fraternity were clearly evident among the more than two thousand participants and were exhibited in a natural and pleasant manner.
Ontario State Deputy Alain Cayer and his team spent a great deal of time, effort, talent and resources to ensure that the organizational plans to host such an event would come to a successful completion. The delegates and all attendees and participants were not disappointed. It was an inspiring and motivational week.
Regular business was conducted at the meetings with a charitable atmosphere, fraternal handshakes, and warm greetings among all participants and a genuine sense of unity was felt by brother Knights.
In a similar way, our July Organizational Meeting on the weekend of July 15th, 16th, and 17th held at the Ramada Inn provided the same type of experience for the participants. The response we received after the meeting was a testimonial to the genuine feeling of charity, unity and fraternity exhibited by our brother Knights.
This in turn is the manner in which our Council and Assembly meetings need to adopt if not already happening. Knights of Columbus meetings whether they are at the local Council or Assembly level; State Convention; Regional Workshops; Mid-Year District Deputy Meetings, are neither labor union meetings nor town hallmeetings. They are not designed for “soap box grand-standing”. Rather, they are meetings of good catholic men gathered to conduct the business of the day and guided in a manner that should replicate the character of our dear founder, the Venerable Michael J. McGivney.
In an age where many fraternal organizations are experiencing dwindling membership and an often disinterested attitude in the complexities of our society, the Knights ofColumbusoffers a fraternal organization based upon our Faith. This alone should encourage our extension of “outreach programs” to the peripheries of our local and global communities as has been the message from Pope Francis. If not the Knights of Columbus then who will?
The work that has been done by our Order worldwide especially in recent years has been captioned in the phrase-A Light to theNations.This was the theme of this year’s Supreme Convention. Although there are many organizations of Catholic men, none more than the Knights of Columbus strengthen the faith of its members while also doing so much good for its neighbors. The good that we do has been quoted as a “charity that evangelizes”. This has been the embodiment of our mainstream initiative this year for the Knights world wide- Building the Domestic Church whilestrengtheningFamilies. By bringing men and families back into the Catholic Church we will be able to encourage more men to join ourOrder.
Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson in his annual report at the Supreme Convention asked us to remember the words of Pope Francis. “He has called Catholics to a new sense of missionary discipleship and fraternal brotherhood; he has urged Catholics to go out to the peripheries; and he has placed much confidence in the Knights of Columbus.”
From this, came the theme for this year’s Supreme Convention and more specifically from the 49th chapter of Isaiah: “I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth.”
If not the Knights of Columbus then who will:
- …be the spokesperson for the unborn child
- …be the spokesperson to challenge physician assisted dying
- …officially demand our government to recognize the world wide genocide of Christians in the most barbaric and brutal manner since the Middle Ages
- …reach out to the poor, the destitute, the downtrodden, and the marginalized
My good Brother Knights there is no other group who can match our spirit, devotion and dedication to these causes more than the Knights of Columbus.
One would think that men who are not Knights would want to associate with us and become Knights. We have a purpose and a reason for living. Our founder died a very young man before reaching his 38th birthday. However, Father McGivney made an incredible impact on the world by founding the Knights of Columbus in 1882. Our brotherhood of men brings the light of faith to their families and their communities through prayer and charity. We don’t try to eliminate life either in its infancy or in its state of illness prematurely.
In 1649 men like Jesuit Father Jean de Brebeuf was tortured and killed while trying to be a missionary in the early days of the Canadian Exploration. He came to Canada to share his friendship with Jesus Christ with those he hoped would one day be his friends. With time other missionaries came and did share the good news of our Lord with these people.
The impact of our Order worldwide is incredible. As of December 31st, 2015 the Knights of Columbus had made Charitable contributions totaling$175 079 192.00
We had contributed Hours of service totaling 73 453 417. As of June 30th 2016 we had a recorded 15, 342 councils and a membership of 1, 918, 122.
For our own Jurisdiction of Nova Scotia our hours of service and charitable contributions have varied over the last few years. The large concern for us as a Jurisdiction is our dwindling membership. Ourmembership tally for June 30th, 2016 was 4645. This is roughly the same figure as it was in 1986!
We had good success with the “Coats for kids” program this year and last year. It in turn drew a number of new members into the Order. This is the manner in which we need to increase membership. Asking men to assist us when implementing programs in our churches and communities is a good way to ask them to join us as Knights. We are about good works and programs. We are not about asking men to join to simply come to business meetings. Of course they are important. However, it’s our programs and assisting with recruiting which is more important.
Retaining the members that we have is also high on our priority list. We shouldn’t be recruiting members to simply suspend them a year or two later. It’s the responsibility of Councils to provide the programs that will hold our members’ interests.
The province of Nova Scotia has a total population of 940, 592 according to the statistics available for 2015. Apparently 297, 655 are Catholic. Our 4670 members in the Knights of Columbus represent about 1.5% of the total Catholic population. The male Catholic population stands around 119,000 men. About 4% of that number represents the present membership in the Knights.
We realize that the remaining number of Catholic men(about 114,000) who are not Knights is not spread evenly throughout the province. However that still leaves a great number of Catholic men to potentially become Knights. Those men are out there.
Supreme and State Offices have the resources available to help councils recruit these men. We need a very active membership program in each and every council to reach out.
State Membership Director Ron Dowling and State Program Director Sean Kelly are available to assist with your program and membership needs. That’s what the Knights of Columbus initiative-“Buildingthe Domestic Church”- is all about. Councils who carry out active programs need to solicit brother Knights as well as other Catholic non-Knights to assist. From there we have a better chance of increasing our much needed new membership.
Of the 55 Councils in Nova Scotia, 47 are considered Active and in good standing. If every Council brought in one new member every month from September to June inclusive we could potentially have 480 new members this year. This would translate into a lot more members helping to do the valuable work in the local communities and peripheries.
The challenge to the Knights of Columbus in Nova Scotia is clear. Recruiting new members in abundance can only enhance the work that we do and fulfill the dream of our beloved founder-Venerable Father Michael J. McGivney.
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STATE MEETINGS & EVENTS
The Columbian Year as of July 1st, 2016 saw our Knights offering their services to the Steubenville Initiative on the weekend of July 8th to the 10that DalhousieUniversity in Halifax. We provided a donation to the event as well as Shuttle services for the attendees arriving from the Stanfield International Airport.
That same weekend saw the Knights’ involvement in Wolfville for the Special Olympics Track & Field events taking place atAcadia University. I attended the opening ceremonies and witnessed the tremendous outpour of thanks to the Knights of Columbus by the Olympians as they paraded into the complex.
We began our administrative business of the year with the OrganizationalMeeting being held at the Ramada Inn in Dartmouth.
Planned “workshops” were the model for the weekend. This allowed State Program Director Sean Kelly and State Membership Director Ron Dowling to facilitate “workshops” to smaller groups of participants enabling specific information on Programs and Membership to be delivered within an atmosphere of Instruction and “Question and Answer” exchange and dialogue. The Organizational Meeting in July is the event that really all Grand Knights need to attend in order to receive the specific direction and tone for the new Columbian Year as delivered by the State Deputy, State Officers and Directors. In turn, the District Deputies and the CouncilGrand Knights are able to hear the same message and share this at the initial District and Council meetings throughout the State Jurisdiction.
The Supreme Conventionheld inToronto on August 2nd to the 5th allowed the State Deputy along with delegates Ron Dowling (State Membership Director) & George McCormack (Immediate Past State Deputy) and their wives as well as State Chaplain Reverend Father Toochukwu Okafor to view how well our Nova Scotia Jurisdiction faired in comparison to the other 73 Jurisdictions worldwide during the past Columbian Year of 2015-16. The easiest way to describe the experience is that the convention reflects true fraternity and unity amongst all the participants. Whether it’s sharing lapel pins, social dining and conversation, business proceedings, or simply idle chat, the charitable manner in which brother Knights treat one another seems as natural as if it were “scripted”, but much more genuine. A lesson here to be taken by all of us!
In September, State initiated a “Membership Challenge” throughout our Jurisdiction for the month. Other initiatives followed beginning in January and are presently continuing until June 30th. These initiatives have proven to raise our membership numbers over the last 8 months. The details and results are provided to you in Ron Dowling’s State Membership Report contained in the Resolutions and Reports Booklet -2016-2017. Please take the time to review the information and share with your councils.
The three Regional workshopseminarsbegan with Region 3(Comeauville) on the weekend of October 29th, followed by Region 1 (Halifax) on November 5th and Region 2(Pictou) on November 12th . The aim of these workshops was primarily to review how the new State Action Plan process works and how it would be able to better assist Councils with the challenges surrounding recruiting members and delivering meaningful council programs. The model for the seminars was individual groups sharing and presenting ideas based upon the agenda delivered. State Secretary Jim MacDonald along with State Program Director Sean Kelly and State Membership Director Ron Dowling were able to answer specific questions on membership and programming within this model.
We also took the time to make presentations of Supreme Awards to specific Councils during the seminars.
The Mid-Year District DeputyMeetingstook place December 2nd to the 4th at the Ramada Inn in Dartmouth. At that time District Deputies were given the opportunity to view the State Action Plan in more detail and how it is being applied to the local Councils. Of special note was having our Sunday mass celebrated by State Chaplain Father “T” at St. Thomas More Church. After the mass, special presentations were made to District Deputies.
*State Planning Team Meetingsbegan in late June of 2016 and continued to take place each month up to the present. The agenda for each of these meetings is designed to an assessment of the health and condition of each Council on a month to month basis. The State Deputy, State Secretary, State Treasurer and State Warden along with the Directors of Membership,Programs and Operations are the prime attendees for these meetings. The District Master and General Agent are invited when they are available. We are able to discuss the condition of each council and monitor its progress. We consult with the District Deputies for additional information as needed. Our intent is to provide “pro-active” assistance and aid to the Grand Knights and the District Deputies as they require.
These Planning meetings also allow the State to discuss requests from the public which may not go directly to Councils. The State Webmaster often receives communication through our State website from the public at large. Once it’s forwarded to the State Deputy it forms a part of our Planning Meeting agenda. Also, any specific requests coming to the State Secretary from Councils are included in the agenda.
The result is that these monthly meetings end up being an all day session. Typical agenda items would include such things as:
- State Action Plan
- Culture of Life
- BDC Initiative & Progress
- Membership Challenges
- Program Status
- Membership Status
- New Council Development
- State Convention Progress
- Mid-year Meetings
- July Organizational Meetings
- Regional Seminar workshops
- Council Activity Assessment
- Insurance Status
- Patriotic Degree Status
- State Convention Progress
- Specific State Events & Requests
- Additions to agenda
- Fraternal Leader Success Planner
MEMBERSHIP GROWTH
State Membership Director RonDowling has done an excellent job this year of monitoring the progress of the Admission Degree (27 to date) and Formation Degree(8 to date) exemplifications. His Report is contained in the Resolutions and Reports Booklet-2017.
The Divisional Membership Report from Supreme Office dated April 28th 2017 shows that Nova Scotia has gained 101 new members since July 1st 2017. There is reason to celebrate this. Our Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland Jurisdiction counterparts have unfortunately not fared nearly as well. They are the Jurisdictions along with Nova Scotia that form what is known as Region 11. Supreme Membership & Program Consultant Paul Perry is the consultant for all three Jurisdictions and he knows the challenges facing dwindling membership in all three. We have until June 30 to advance our recruitment. The Nova Scotia State Membership Challenge which is in place from April until June 30th offers an opportunity to encourage increased membership. The recruitment efforts being done by all of our councils are sincerely appreciated. State also recognizes the demographic challenges that exist in certain geographic areas in our province which face some councils more than others.
Suspension of member Knights has taken place this year. It is always a difficult and unfortunate process for a Grand Knight and his council to commit to suspending any brother Knight. Hopefully, councils will discover more ways of reducing the amount of suspensions within their membership. It certainly is a challenge for many councils and State knows the dilemma that it creates in many councils.
This has also been a tragic year for the number of fallen brother Knights. The number is staggering in comparison to other years. MAY THEIR SOULS AND THE SOULS OF ALL THE DEARLY DEPARTED THROUGH THE MERCY OF GOD REST IN PEACE. AMEN.
PROGRAM STATUS
State Program DirectorSean Kelly has described in detail in the Resolutions &Reports Booklet-2017, the programs, projects, events and activities which have taken place in our Jurisdiction over the past year. Our involvement with the “Coats for Kids”, “Special Olympics”, “Basketball Free Throw”, and more recently the “Mancini Cup Soccer Challenge” reveals our Order’s dedication to encouraging the promotion of Youth. They are our future in society, church, family, community and hopefully the Knights.