Service Programs
A
Knights of Columbus council can work wonders; in fact, with its many programs,
it can help change the community, town, city or neighborhood in which you live.
However,
a successful Knights of Columbus program depends on people taking the initial
idea, modifying it to suit specific situations and local needs, then
implementing the program in the way it works.
The
Knights of Columbus is a Catholic, family, fraternal, service organization.
This theme permeates the entire Service Program: all Church, community,
council, family, culture of life, and youth activities.
The
Service Program is designed to establish each council as an influential and
important force within the community, elevate the status of the programming
personnel, provide more meaningful and relevant programs of action, establish
direct areas of responsibility, build leadership, and ensure the success of
council programs.
To assist your council in
obtaining volunteers for your activities, use this information at this
link on volunteer
recruitment and retention.
To further aid councils
in implementing service programs, the Supreme Council annually sends out a
Surge Kit to all financial secretaries of record. This is usually done by early
to mid-June. Use this link to review the materials included in the Surge Kit.
No
council needs to undertake all of the service programs listed through the links
below. These activities are only suggested areas of involvement for your councils,
its members and families. No council need undertake all of these programs or
should they be limited by these suggestions. Evaluate the needs of your
community and implement those programs and activities that are needed most.
CHURCH SUPPORT
As a fraternal
organization of Catholic men, the Knights of Columbus has strong ties to the
Church. At all levels, from the local councils to the Supreme Council, the
organization has the volunteer power, communications abilities and organization
to help strengthen the Church while offering members and their families to grow
in the faith. Through the sponsoring of Church-related activities the members
of the Knights of Columbus continue to show that they are the strong right arm
of the Church.
VOCATIONS SUPPORT
Founded
by a parish priest, the Knights of Columbus has always worked hard to encourage
young men and women to consider God’s call to service in the priesthood or
religious life.
Under the motto “Keep the Faith Alive,” the Order’s vocations
initiative has a number of programs based on prayer and designed to reach the
hearts and minds of young people, as well as to provide financial support
during their years of seminary training or religious formation.
In keeping with Knights of Columbus tradition, an attractive new
vocations tool has just been released that should serve as the centerpiece of
your council's vocations programs.
The DVD – "Everyone Has a Vocation to Love. What’s
Yours?" (#50046) – combines five Knights of Columbus vocations films
onto one digital video disk. Featured are The Vocation to the Priesthood, The
Vocation to the Religious Life for Men, The Vocation to the Religious Life for
Women, The Vocation to Marriage and the recently completed, The Vocation
of the Laity.
Although the focus of the Order’s vocations programs is on
encouraging men to consider the priesthood or religious life and women to
consider religious life, the DVD also includes films on the lay vocations to
underline the fact that everyone is called through their Baptism to serve God,
the Church and their neighbors.
The heart of the Order’s
vocations effort continues to be the Refund Support Vocations Program (RSVP) by which
assemblies, councils and Squires circles provide monetary and moral support for
seminarians and postulants who are preparing for the priesthood or religious
life.
SCHOLARSHIPS
Endowed Scholarships
The Knights of Columbus offers a limited number of endowed scholarships provided from earnings of funds established in the donors’ names. In accepting these gifts, the Order’s Board of Directors voted to administer endowed scholarships in conformance with the rules of the Fourth Degree Pro Deo and Pro Patria Scholarship program, subject to the donors’ wishes.
The Knights of Columbus offers a limited number of endowed scholarships provided from earnings of funds established in the donors’ names. In accepting these gifts, the Order’s Board of Directors voted to administer endowed scholarships in conformance with the rules of the Fourth Degree Pro Deo and Pro Patria Scholarship program, subject to the donors’ wishes.
Matthews and Swift Educational
Trust Scholarships
Delegates to the 62nd Supreme Council Meeting in August, 1944 voted to establish an Educational Trust Fund by the raising of $1 million through a special per capita tax on the members of the Order.
Delegates to the 62nd Supreme Council Meeting in August, 1944 voted to establish an Educational Trust Fund by the raising of $1 million through a special per capita tax on the members of the Order.
Vocations Scholarships
The Supreme Council adminsters two scholarship programs for students in the first four years of theology pursuing a vocation to the priesthood.
The Supreme Council adminsters two scholarship programs for students in the first four years of theology pursuing a vocation to the priesthood.
Fellowships at The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., provides Knights of Columbus Fellowships for graduate study leading to a master’s degree or doctorate.
The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., provides Knights of Columbus Fellowships for graduate study leading to a master’s degree or doctorate.
Bishop Charles P. Greco Graduate Fellowships
Established in 1973, the Bishop Charles P. Greco Graduate Fellowship Trust offers fellowships for full-time graduate study leading to a master’s degree in a program designed for the preparation of classroom teachers for people with intellectual disabilities.
Established in 1973, the Bishop Charles P. Greco Graduate Fellowship Trust offers fellowships for full-time graduate study leading to a master’s degree in a program designed for the preparation of classroom teachers for people with intellectual disabilities.
Mexico,
Philippines and Puerto Rico Scholarships
Scholarships for students attending colleges and universities in these areas are administered by the respective jurisdiction, not by the Department of Scholarships in New Haven. Please contact your local jurisdiction for more information..
Scholarships for students attending colleges and universities in these areas are administered by the respective jurisdiction, not by the Department of Scholarships in New Haven. Please contact your local jurisdiction for more information..
The Patriotic Degree of the
Order
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New
Military Chaplain Scholarship Announced
The
Knights of Columbus has established a new scholarship program to help fund the
education of seminarians preparing to become Catholic chaplains in the U.S.
Armed Forces.
The program will distribute $1 million in scholarship money to
the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, over a period of five years at
a rate of $200,000 per year. These funds, in turn, will help produce a new
generation of much-needed Catholic chaplains to minister to U.S. military
personnel and their families. Fundraising for the Orderwide project will be led
by the Fourth Degree, the patriotic degree of the Knights.
The idea for the scholarship
developed during Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson's recent visit to the aircraft
carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.
While watching flight-qualifier tests with an assistant secretary of the U.S.
Navy, the supreme knight had the opportunity to think about Catholics in
uniform and the hardship they face of having to go weeks — and sometimes months
— without being able to attend Mass or receive spiritual guidance from a
priest.
"It
can be very difficult for Catholic members of the armed forces when they're on
forward deployments," Anderson said. "The U.S. military archdiocese,
which supplies Catholic chaplains, estimates that it needs 800 priests to fully
serve all of the Catholic men and women in uniform today, but they are only
able to supply 280 — barely a third of the number needed."
The military chaplain scholarship aims to provide a solution to this problem. According to Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, the scholarship money will be dedicated to the archdiocese's "Co-Sponsored Seminarian Program," which was initiated to recruit priestly vocations for the military for the benefit of the armed forces as well as participating dioceses and religious orders throughout the country. Through this program, the military archdiocese contracts with each participating diocese to fund 50 percent of the cost of a seminarian's five-year education — typically $12,500 per year. In return, the candidate agrees that, following ordination and three years of service at a parish, he will commit to serve as a military chaplain under the auspices of the military archdiocese for a minimum of three to five years.
So far, the Co-Sponsored Seminarian Program has seen impressive
results. Since its inception, the initiative has garnered an increase in
co-sponsored seminarians, from seven in 2008 to 30 in 2010.
"These results, while extraordinary, place a large
financial burden on the archdiocese, which annually generates only enough funds
— 95 percent from donations — to cover its operating costs," said
Archbishop Broglio, who joined the Order in 2007 while serving as the apostolic
nuncio of the Dominican Republic. "The archdiocese has no funds on hand to
meet the long-term contractual commitments of the Co-Sponsored Seminarian Program,
especially if, as it is hoped, the numbers continue to grow."
Through
this new scholarship, the Order, too, hopes to ensure the future development of
the Co-Sponsored Seminarian Program.
"Thanks to the generosity of the Knights of Columbus, this
military chaplain scholarship will help fill this need for years to come,"
Broglio added. "The Knights of Columbus, over many years, has been most
generous in providing much-needed financial support to this archdiocese....
[This] is but the latest instance of the organization's generosity. For that, I
am most grateful."
Religiously Devoted, Patriotically Proud
For
most men who follow Jesus, there comes a time when duty extends beyond our own
lives, beyond how we lead our families, and into how we serve our fellow man.
That's what the Knights of Columbus is all about. The Patriotic Degree allows K
of C members to take this one step further. "Sir Knight" is more than
a title — it’s an honor.
An honor guard of Fourth Degree
Knights from Michigan Fourth Degree District #2 looks on as (from left) Vice
Supreme Master George A. Dann, Supreme Director Thomas M. Wegener
and Joseph Salvia place a wreath at the fallen soldier memorial at Patriarche
Park in East Lansing. Following the district's Fourth Degree exemplification,
216 new Fourth Degree Knights joined other K of C members, an Armed Forces
color guard and a bagpipe band for a procession and memorial service at the
nearby park.