KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS NOVEMBER 2015

www.kofcohio.org Monthly Publication of the Ohio State Council

Brother Knights,

A little about

membership…

As your State Deputy I

have to congratulate

the Brothers Knights

throughout Ohio. We

have done a fantastic

job with membership

intake in October. To

date we stand at 30% of

our Supreme Council

membership

requirements. We rank

18th of the 74 K of C

Jurisdictions worldwide

and we rank 3rd among

the Division 1 State

Councils.

On Wednesday, October

28, 2015 I received a

call from Mr. Al Cala.

Brother Al is the

Deputy Director of

Membership Growth for

the Order. He just

called to say “Thank

You” for Ohio’s efforts

in membership this

year. Needless to say it

was a gratifying to

accept this call on

behalf of all our hard

working members.

Membership should be

the foremost priority of

every Grand Knight

and Membership

Director throughout

this great state of Ohio.

We have shown an

increase in councils

recruiting and bringing

in new members. To

date about 35% of the

Council's around the

state are carrying the

load in new

membership. If the

State of Ohio is to

improve our

membership status and

grow as a jurisdiction

we need the other 65%

or roughly 260 councils

to step up and begin

recruiting.

We are again looking

for big opportunities

again in November.

There still may be some

left over prospects from

Octobers Parish Drives

that need to be

contacted. Inspector

Membership has some

incentives for

November for Councils,

District Deputies, and

Brother Knights. Watch

us on Facebook or get

signed up for our social

media blitz on some

unpublished midmonth

membership incentives.

(Continued on page 2)

Mission Statement We as men of the Knights of

Columbus, men of faith, are

called through Baptism to

grow and increase in faith.

We are thereby summoned

to serve as witnesses to that

faith in our daily lives, in

the lives of our families, and

in the lives of others

throughout our

communities.

Mission Objective Fostering men united in a

faith that will continue the

growth of Fr. McGivney’s

dream ensuring the spread

of Columbianism; becoming

more visible through the

good works of Charity,

Unity, and Fraternity;

creating an atmosphere

which encourages and calls

all Catholic men to serve

with their Brothers.

Check Us Out At

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STATE DEPUTY

Growth in new membership

brings new Brother Knights,

new ideas, and new energy into

your councils. Please get on

track with your councils

membership program and sign

up a new member today. If you

haven’t brought in a new

member this year please take a

moment and ask yourself why.

Congratulations to the

September Membership Contest

winners and all who brought in

a new member that month.

Contest winners should be listed

in State Membership Director

Nick Gresko’s column.

Some thoughts on degree

work…

Please continue to schedule

frequent degrees. Our

requirement is one 1st Degree

per District per month,

statewide. I see the results of

these frequent degrees already

paying off in our membership

numbers. Every District Deputy

is required to schedule and

conduct a 1st Degree in his

district every month. Please list

all of the degrees on the State

Website. The degree posting

page should be overflowing with

scheduled degrees. There should

be a minimum of 80 degrees per

month posted on the State

Website. If you schedule them

they will come. If you post them

others can see them and they

will come too.

Please continue to remind your

candidates about the proper

attire when they come to take

any of the degrees. A candidate

in t-shirts and shorts is just not

an acceptable dress for a

candidate making a degree.

They should be dressed at the

very minimum some type of

Dockers or dress pants and a

polo shirt or dress shirt.

Squires Congratulations...

Congratulations to our State

Squire Circle. They stand on top

of the Order with a percentage

net gain of 7.12%.

Congratulations as well

to Grand Knight Nathan

Helmstetter and Chief

Counselor Eric Huelskamp and

the Knights at St. Henry

Council #2640 upon the

reactivation of their Squires

Circle #3773.

Our Fall Fundraiser the

Football Frenzy

Sweepstakes…

The Football Frenzy

Sweepstakes is beginning to

take in revenue from around the

state. Early returns of

sweepstakes tickets are

promising. Final sales results

will be available soon. Thank

you to all who took the time to

either purchase a ticket or to

sell tickets at your council. If

your council has not made their

returns please make them as

soon as possible to Past State

Deputy Gary Eckstein.

Remember an increase this year

of $50,000 in profits at the State

Council will negate the $1.00

per capita increase that will be

proposed to the delegates at the

next state convention.

Supreme Council Icon

Program…

The Holy Family Icon program

is on hold for now. We are

waiting on Supreme Council to

publish the program booklets

that will lead us through the

adoration ceremony. Hopefully

the four icons will circulate

through the State of Ohio soon.

Look further in this issue of the

“Voice of the Spirit” for the

schedule and when the icon will

come to your district. Please

take full advantage of this

prayerful opportunity within

your council and parishes.

State Council Financials…

State Secretary Brother Kevin

Miller has just issued the last of

the Measure Up Grant Checks

to those councils who were a

little late in getting their

collections in to the State

Chairman. I have instructed

State Advocate Brother Mark

Siracusa of a cutoff date of

December 1, 2015 for the end of

the 2015 Measure Up

Campaign. On behalf of all the

State Officers I would like to

thank everyone for their efforts

in the Measure Up Campaign.

Due to your efforts we showed

an increase in donations this

year.

Brother Miller has also paid the

last batch of the 2015 State

Convention Delegate Mileage

and Per Diem checks. The

checks have been set to the

Financial Secretary of record.

The only checks that may not be

paid are the councils who have

recently sent in the State Per

Capita check. Remember that

the 2015 Convention Mileage

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(Continued on page 3)

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STATE DEPUTY

and Per Diem check is not paid

until the State Council receives

the State Per Capita check.

The Matching Funds Campaign

is running a little behind usual

donations. Councils contributing

early have the opportunity to

have their contribution

“matched” by the Ohio Charity

Foundation up to the first

$25,000.00 collected. Remember

all funds stay in your diocese

and are used for religious

education.

A cutoff date of December 1,

2015 will end this year’s

campaign. Thanks to all who

have contributed to this worthy

fundraiser.

A little about the Statewide

Retreat…

Please reserve the weekend of

February 4th and 5th, 2016 for

the Ohio State Council State

Retreat. A Reservation Form,

event costs, rooming and

rooming availability will be

available in the next issue of the

“Voice of the Spirit”. I know I

promised it this month but will

have it next month for sure.

Please make every effort attend

this 24 hour day with your

Brother Knights in some

fraternity, meditation, and

prayer.

District Deputy Midyear

Meeting…

The District Deputy Midyear

Meeting will be weekend of

January 8, 9, and 10, 2016 at

the Columbus Hilton at Easton.

Supreme Council Membership

and Programming Consultant

Joe Ramirez and Supreme

Council Training Consultant

Tom Ciborski will lead the day

of training on Saturday

afternoon.

Every District Deputy is

required to attend this weekend

conference. Please plan to

attend and clear your calendar

for this all-important weekend.

District Deputies will receive a

personal invitation with

requirements he will need for

that weekend. Plan to provide

information concerning required

forms, membership,

programming, and degree work

that day.

“Town Hall” Meetings…

The “Town Hall” meetings seem

to be working well. I have

attended in the Archdiocese of

Cincinnati, in the Toledo

Diocese, and several in the

Cleveland Diocese. Meetings

have been very well attended.

There has been excellent

dialogue and debate among

myself, other State Officers,

State Directors and the Brother

Knights in attendance. These

meeting are a great place to

learn about the working of your

State Council, the State

Website, State General

Program, Church Drives, and

membership recruiting. All

meetings start at 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, November 5

Marian Council #3813

Tuesday, November 10

Mantua Council #3766

Thursday, December 10

Garfield Council #4130

Wednesday, December 16,

Greater Columbus Area

Thursday, December 17

Kenton Council #1597

Tuesday, January 19

St. Mary’s Chardon Council

#15942

Two dates in January in the

Steubenville Diocese are yet to

be confirmed.

Special Lapel Pin…

I have been working with Vice

Supreme Master Donald Hall to

produce a special lapel pin for

any 4th Degree member who

brings in a new member and get

him through his first 3 degrees.

Our 4th Degree Sir Knights are

always looking for ways to

increase not only their

membership but the State

Councils as well. I, Vice

Supreme Master Hall, and State

Social Media Chairman Jim

Maslach are working out the

final details of this pin. Look for

more on this in upcoming issues

of the “Voice” or from your

District Masters later this

fraternal year.

WWW.KOFCOHIO.ORG

The State Website is up and

running for the 1st General

Program grading period. Yes we

have had some web issues. All

problems to my knowledge have

been worked out with

Webmaster Brother Gilliland on

a person to person basis. He has

taken to task the corrections of

(Continued from page 2)

(Continued on page 4)

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STATE DEPUTY

any deficiencies that may have

come along. Remember our

website is only 125 days old so

it’s just getting up on its feet.

With this said and confident in

the working of the Website thus

far Brother Gilliland working on

the ability for District Deputies

to view all of their respective

councils programming. Brother

Gilliland is also working on the

State Chaplain’s Page, the State

Deputy’s Page, links to video

productions on the Supreme

Website, State Council Website

tutorials, and better

information to our Membership

Inquiry Page.

Please be patient with us. If you

have any issues please address

them to me and I'll get with you

and Brother Bob to get them

resolved.

A little about K of C

Insurance…

Earlier this Fraternal Year the

State Officers sat down with the

five General Agents of Ohio in

an informal day-long meeting

discussing how we can assist

one another. We are truly

blessed with a great group of

men dedicated to our Order and

the financial protection of our

families. Each and every one of

them is full time employees of

our Order and day in and day

out live Father McGivney’s

Dream.

Please take every advantage of

these fine gentlemen with not

only your insurance needs but

with Parish Drives and

Membership Promotion within

your council. They are all

excellent cold call recruiters;

well versed and able to help

secure that new member.

James Valent, 740-319-5632;

Dave Roberts, 330-614-2063;

Jeff Hearty, 216-592-8514

Chad Osterholt, 419-447-0404;

Patrick Murphy, 513-847-1306

Look for an article in upcoming

issues of the “Voice” by one of

our General Agents. We will

feature Brother Patrick Murphy

in the December issue.

In closing…

God Bless and continue to do

the work you do in Jesus name.

Dedicate everything you do for

Him to the honor and glory of

God and see what changes it

will make in your life.

Bob Collins

State Deputy

(Continued from page 3)

Council Grand Knights are reminded to get their orders for Measure

Up rulers to their District Deputies. The DD’s will receive their

District’s rulers at the Mid-Year meeting in January 2016.

The Holy Family Icon Prayer Books are still in the process of being

printed at Supreme. The Icon prayer program will hopefully begin in

late November or early December. All councils are District Deputies

will be notified as soon as the prayer books are printed and when the

program will start in Ohio.

Larry Droesch

State Warden

STATE WARDEN

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STATE CHAPLAIN

FATHER EDWARD JANOCH

On December 8th, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception;

Patroness of the United States, the Holy Year of Mercy will begin.

Inaugurated by Pope Francis, on 13 March 2015, during a Lenten

Homily, he wants the whole world to experience the Divine Mercy of

God, for only when we have been forgiven, do we become truly free.

We read below the purpose of this Jubilee Year.

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis presided over a penance service

in St. Peter's Basilica on Friday afternoon, during which he

announced an extraordinary Jubilee dedicated to Divine

Mercy. Below, please find Vatican Radio's English translation

of the Holy Father's homily, in which he made the

announcement.

Dear brothers and sisters, I have often thought about how the Church might make clear

its mission of being a witness to mercy. It is journey that begins with a spiritual

conversion. For this reason, I have decided to call an extraordinary Jubilee that is to

have the mercy of God at its center. It shall be a Holy Year of Mercy. We want to live

this Year in the light of the Lord's words: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

(cf. Luke 6:36)”

This Holy Year will begin on this coming Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and

will end on November 20, 2016, the Sunday dedicated to Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of

the Universe – and living face of the Father’s mercy. I entrust the organization of this

Jubilee to the Pontifical Council for Promotion of the New Evangelization, that [the

dicastery] might animate it as a new stage in the journey of the Church on its mission

to bring to every person the Gospel of mercy.

I am convinced that the whole Church will find in this Jubilee the joy needed to

rediscover and make fruitful the mercy of God, with which all of us are called to give

consolation to every man and woman of our time. From this moment, we entrust this

Holy Year to the Mother of Mercy, that she might turn her gaze upon us and watch over

our journey.

As your State Chaplain, I would like us to “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” in our

relations with one another whether it is in our families, parishes, schools and places of work, local

community and in our State and Local Councils. How this happens, as Pope Francis states, is

through “a spiritual conversion” of the soul. As we conclude the calendar year and also the liturgical

year, it is always a time to reflect on our lives and to constantly change our hearts towards God.

As Knights, we are called by our knighthood to be forgiving as our heavenly Father is forgiving. It is

said in the Gospel of St. Matthew “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to

give.” (Matthew 10:8b) What we are given without cost is God’s gift to us, through the Sacrament of

Penance, is Mercy and Forgiveness. That same Mercy and Forgiveness is to be given to others. Let

us find ways to begin to practice Mercy and Forgiveness even before the Extraordianry Jubilee Year

begins.

One way is to forgive debts that may be owed by brother Knights. Many Councils do or should have

set up resources to help their brother Knights who may be in financial difficulty and cannot pay their

6 | VOICE OF THE SPIRIT | NOVEMBER 2015 | WWW.KOFCOHIO.ORG

STATE CHAPLAIN

dues. One of our State programs

is to set up a fund and to hold a

fund raiser to collect monies to

fund this fund. During this

Jubilee Year of Mercy, we

should withhold any suspension

due to lack of due payments or

debts owed to a Council.

Some forms of forgiveness needs

to be given when the

forgiveness is not financial but

in our relationship with brother

Knights. Wrongs or perceived

wrongs occur among brother

Knights all the time. We may

have interpreted or more often

than not misinterpreted

something that was done or

said by a brother Knight. It

happens because all of us come

from different backgrounds,

ethnic groups or upbringing.

We see things differently and

can misinterpret something

said or done. These are

sometime great grievances but

more than often they are minor

grievances that probably had no

intentions of offending or

causing one brother Knight to

be angry with another brother

Knight. Whether they are great

or minor grievances, they must

be shown Mercy and

Forgiveness as our heavenly

Father shows that Mercy and

Forgiveness to all who seek

them from Him. This may also

be the time to re-activate a

brother Knight who left because

of a grievance. That grievance

may no longer be an issue

within the council, yet a brother

Knight still feels the anguish,

pain and bitterness caused by

the grievance. Invite the

brother Knight back and show

the Father’s Mercy and

Forgiveness to him. God has

done the same to us and for

greater sins than a brother

Knight may have done to us

and we are to show the same to

any brother Knight that asks

for it or needs it. This year of

Jubilee, Ohio Knights of

Columbus Councils should have

the lowest amount of

suspension in their history for

we are to show Mercy and

Forgiveness, just as our

heavenly Father is merciful.

There is no time than the

present moment to show God’s

Mercy and Forgiveness. We are

to do it NOW!

SAINT OF THE

MONTH: BLESSED

MIGUEL AGUSTIN

PRO, SJ November 23

Born on January 13, 1891 in

Guadalupe, Mexico, Miguel

Agustin Pro Juarez was the

eldest son of Miguel Pro and

Josefa Juarez.

Miguelito, as his doting family

called him, was, from an early

age, intensely spiritual and

equally intense in his

mischievousness, frequently

exasperating his family with his

humor and practical jokes. As a

child, he had a

daring

precociousness

that sometimes

went too far,

tossing him into

near-death

accidents and

illnesses. On

regaining consciousness after

one of these episodes, young

Miguel opened his eyes and

blurted out to his frantic

parents, "I want some cocol" (a

colloquial term for his favorite

sweet bread). "Cocol" became

his nickname, which he would

later adopt as a code name

during this clandestine

ministry.

Miguel was particularly close to

his older sister and after she

entered a cloistered convent, he

came to recognize his own

vocation to the priesthood.

Although he was popular with

the senoritas and had prospects

of a lucrative career managing

his father's thriving business,

Miguel renounced everything

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STATE CHAPLAIN

for Christ his King and

entered the Jesuit

novitiate in El Llano,

Michoacan in 1911.

He studied in Mexico

until 1914, when a tidal

wave of anti-Catholicism

crashed down upon

Mexico, forcing the

novitiate to disband and

flee to the United States,

where Miguel and his

brother seminarians

trekked through Texas

and New Mexico before

arriving at the Jesuit

house in Los Gatos,

California.

In 1915, Miguel was sent

to a seminary in Spain,

where he remained until

1924, when he went to

Belgium for his

ordination to the

priesthood in 1925.

Miguel suffered from a

severe stomach problem

and after three

operations, when his

health did not improve,

his superiors, in 1926,

allowed him to return to

Mexico in spite of the

grave religious

persecution in that

country.

The churches were closed

and priests went into

hiding. Miguel spent the

rest of his life in a secret

ministry to the sturdy

Mexican Catholics. In

addition to fulfilling their

spiritual needs, he also

carried out the works of

mercy by assisting the

poor in Mexico City with

their temporal needs. He

adopted many interesting

disguises in carrying out

his secret ministry. He

would come in the middle

of the night dressed as a

beggar to baptize infants,

bless marriages and

celebrate Mass. He would

appear in jail dressed as

a police officer to bring

Holy Viaticum to

condemned Catholics.

When going to

fashionable

neighborhoods to procure

for the poor, he would

show up at the doorstep

dressed as a fashionable

businessman with a fresh

flower on his lapel. His

many exploits could rival

those of the most daring

spies. In all that he did,

however, Fr. Pro

remained obedient to his

superiors and was filled

with the joy of serving

Christ, his King.

Falsely accused in the

bombing attempt on a

former Mexican

president, Miguel became

a wanted man. Betrayed

to the police, he was

sentenced to death

without the benefit of

any legal process.

On the day of his

execution, Fr. Pro forgave

his executioners, prayed,

bravely refused the

blindfold and died

proclaiming, "Viva Cristo

Rey", "Long live Christ

the King!"

Information courtesy of

ProVision and Brother

Gerald Mueller.

Prayer for Jubilee Year of Mercy

Lord Jesus Christ,

you have taught us to be merciful like the heavenly

Father,

and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him.

Show us your face and we will be saved.

Your loving gaze freed Zacchaeus and Matthew from

being enslaved by

money;

the adulteress and Magdalene from seeking happiness

only in created

things;

made Peter weep after his betrayal,

and assured Paradise to the repentant thief.

Let us hear, as if addressed to each one of us, the

words that you spoke to the Samaritan woman:

“If you knew the gift of God!”

You are the visible face of the invisible Father,

of the God who manifests his power above all by for-

giveness and mercy:

let the Church be your visible face in the world, its

Lord risen and

glorified.

You willed that your ministers would also be clothed in

weakness

in order that they may feel compassion for those in

ignorance and error:

let everyone who approaches them feel sought after,

loved, and forgiven

by God.

Send your Spirit and consecrate every one of us with

its anointing,

so that the Jubilee of Mercy may be a year of grace

from the Lord,

and your Church, with renewed enthusiasm, may

bring good news to the

poor,

proclaim liberty to captives and the oppressed,

and restore sight to the blind.

We ask this through the intercession of Mary, Mother

of Mercy,

you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy

Spirit for ever and

ever. Amen.

8 | VOICE OF THE SPIRIT | NOVEMBER 2015 | WWW.KOFCOHIO.ORG

MEMBERSHIP

TEAM

MEMBERS

Nick Gresko

“Inspector Membership”

State Membership Director

John Brown

New Council Development

William Wirtz

Retention Director (West)

Michael Jordon

Retention Director (East)

Raymond Darr

Ceremonials Director

DIOCESAN

MEMBERSHIP

DIRECTORS

Richard Chunnic

Cincinnati

Jerome Nowesnick

Cleveland

George Jones

Columbus

Thomas Offenberger

Steubenville

James Collins

Toledo

Dave Bender

Youngstown

4 MORES: MORE Knights bring MORE hands & hearts, to

raise MORE funds and to evangelize, doing GOD’S good

works helping MORE people in need!

Please Get Form 450, Form 450C and Form 100’s in ASAP

Form 450 and Form 450C is like GOLD!!!

District Deputies please make sure within two days of holding a degree in

your District the Form 450 is turned in. Grand Knights and Financial Sec-

retaries the Form 450C should be sent in within two days of doing a de-

gree. This is extremely important because this allows us to track if Su-

preme actually processed your Form 100’s! If you took the time to bring in

a new member the State Membership Team wants to make sure you get

credit for your work and effort.

Form 100’s

Within two days of a degree any Form 100’s should be emailed to the Su-

preme Council membershiprecords@kofc.org Supreme is able to process

the Form 100 much quicker this way and you have a receipt that they were

sent in your sent mail. Plus this saves your council the cost of a stamp

every time new members are brought in.

RETENTION Bill Wirtz (West)

Mike Jordon (East)

As we have had great

success in the month of

October bring in new

Brothers it is also our

job to keep them.

Fraternal: of or like a

brother or brothers.

This defines our

relationship within the

order,

As we continue to grow

our order we must also

continue to train our

Brothers to be the best

Knights that they can

be. We do this in a

multitude of ways,

training, mentoring and

leading. This month we

would like to take a

closer look at training

our Brothers. Activity

#83 Train the

proposers. We as

Brothers need to know

what is expected of us a

proposer. This activity

Brothers is one that is

good for the lecturer or

his guest speaker to

talk about. The theme

that we recommend is:

It’s not a transaction,

it’s a relationship.

Using this theme truly

fulfills Our Theme of “

Through Him, With

Him, In him”.

Brothers we would like

to wish you all a Very

Blessed and Happy

Thanksgiving.

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The leaves have turned and the cooler weather has started

to creep into the Great State of Ohio. No one would be able

to tell that from what the Knights of Columbus have been

doing in fulfilling the missions of Inspector

Membership. Ohio is HOT and there is no stopping the

train.

November is here and that means turkey with all of the

fixings. The Inspector has another mission for you - are

you ready? Working those community meals, helping to

feed the hungry and sitting around your dinner table this

month - recruit future members of the Knights of

Columbus. Talk Turkey and gain a member and the Inspector will reward you!

Your mission is on the video and on the next page attached. Pass it on to your councils. Lets talk

turkey!

MEMBERSHIP INCENTIVE

Click to Watch Your Mission for November!

10 | VOICE OF THE SPIRIT | NOVEMBER 2015 | WWW.KOFCOHIO.ORG

GENERAL SERVICE PROGRAMS

TEAM

MEMBERS

REPORTING

DIRECTORS

Robert Walsh

General Program

Director

Gary Anderson

Culture of Life

Jeff Kiliany

Church

Stewart Vetter

Family

Tom Buehner

Council

Mike Nau

Youth

Tom Forsthoefel

Community

NON-

REPORTING

DIRECTORS

Joe Mackos

Vocations & Round

Table

Harding Christ

Editor “Buckeye

Bulletin”

Marty Schumacher

Squires

Robert Gilliland

Website

Jim Maslach

Social Media

CULTURE OF

LIFE Gary Anderson

The Ohio jurisdiction got

off to a rousing start

during the first few

months of the fraternal

year, with a strong

contingent of councils

jumping right into the

state Culture of Life

program with gusto. From

the Fortnight for Freedom

in early July to the

National Day of

Remembrance for Aborted

Children and 40 Days for

Life in September, councils

have displayed their

passion for defending the

sanctity of human life.

Your commitment and

dedication to standing up

for the innocents are so

very inspiring, brother

knights, and for that, I

thank you.

Among the brand new

Culture of Life activities

added to the program this

year, is one about which I

am so completely

enthused: Promote Teen

Chastity, Activity #52.

With our youth undergoing

increasing spiritual

assault, this activity will

help serve as a shield for

them. By providing a 12-

segment study program,

Theology of the Body for

Teens, for our schools and

parishes, councils can go a

long way towards

protecting the innocence

and wholesomeness of our

youngsters before the

stench and corruption of

today's secular culture can

entrap and enslave them.

The program is based on

St. John Paul II's

monumental Theology of

the Body, in which he

outlined his integrated

vision of the human person

-body, soul, and spirit-that

he delivered through 129

catechetical lectures. The

study program uses John

Paul's vision for love and

life to answer the tough

questions kids are asking

about God, sex, and the

meaning of life. It is

available in both high

school and middle school

editions. Worthy grand

knight: I humbly ask your

council's participation in

this most worthy activity.

October, now in the rear-

view mirror, is always

dedicated to the Holy

Rosary. There is no better

weapon against the culture

of death than Our Lady's

Rosary, which is credited

for many Christian

victories over the

centuries. Most notable

among them was the

Battle of Lepanto on

October 7, 1571, when a

Christian fleet defeated a

far superior Ottoman

Muslim fleet and

consequently, stopped

further westward

expansion of Islam in the

Mediterranean.

Flash forward to today, as

once again, radical Islam,

through its embodiment-

ISIS-is metastasizing

across the Middle East and

into Europe, committing

genocide against innocent

Christians and threatening

to take its murderous

campaign even to our

shores. So again, we

turn to the Holy Rosary for

protection of Christians

and all people of good will,

as well as for the defense

of sacred human life in

general

Those wishing to assist

with the relief efforts can

donate by CLICKING

HERE or by sending

checks or money orders

payable to Knights of

Columbus Charities at

P.O. Box 1966, New

Haven, CT 06509-1966.

The memo portion should

indicate that the check is

for Christian Refugee

Relief.

We continue to hear

reports that several

Ultrasound Initiative

campaigns are underway

around the state. Brothers,

is there really any more

critical, finer endeavor

carried out by the Order

than the Ultrasound

Initiative, through which

lives are saved every day

by each and every free

ultrasound machine we

provide to qualified

pregnancy care centers? I

think not! Keep up the

good, and holy work.

Now is the time to be

firming up plans to attend

the March for Life 2016 on

Friday, January 22. The

day kicks off with the noon

Rally while the March

itself steps off at 1:00 p.m.

Those arriving a day early

can make plans to attend

the March for Life

Conference on Thursday

from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00

noon at the Renaissance

Washington Hotel.

Download a PDF of the

March for Life Trip

Planner by CLICKING

HERE. I hope to see you in

D.C!

11 | VOICE OF THE SPIRIT | NOVEMBER 2015 | WWW.KOFCOHIO.ORG

GENERAL SERVICE PROGRAMS

CHURCH—VOCATIONS &

ROUND TABLES Joe Mackos

The week of November 1st is

National Vocation Awareness

Week. The attached prayer card

was printed by the Diocese of

Youngstown, and made possible

through the generosity of The

Knights of Columbus.

What is your council doing to

promote Vocations in

your area? One idea

is the RSVP program

(Refund Support to

Vocations Program.)

If your council is

unable to write a

check for $500.00

consider a smaller

gift. If throughout

the year by some

chance your finances

change then consider

giving a little more.

For every $500.00 for

donate you would

then receive $100.00

back from Supreme.

You do however need

to have all the

cancelled checks, and

photo copy them to

Supreme along with

form #2863.

Has your district

deputy talked to you

about filling out a

roundtable form?

Has your district deputy given

you form #2629 (Report of

Roundtable Coordinator? If not,

ask him for the form. District

deputies that attended the June

DD meeting received enough

forms for each of their councils.

As there is a quota for the State

Council for Membership, and New

Councils, there is also a State

quota for the number of round

tables the state needs. At this

time we only have 19 roundtables.

We need 81 more.

The form is easy to fill out. (For

example, is your council a parish

base council?) In the 1st box the

question asks “IS YOUR

C O U N C I L A P A R I S H

COUNCIL”? If you are, check the

box that says “YES”. Put the

name of the parish, your council

number, city, jurisdiction, and

diocese. In the 2nd set of boxes

your membership number, name,

address, city, state, zip. Parish,

city, number of council members

at the parish and in this case the

total number of members, the

number of families at the parish

and the GK sign the form and you

mail it off to Supreme.

If you’re not a parish base council

then fill in as many boxes you can

with the names of council

members that belong to others

parishes. One of the best ideas is

to find out which of your members

sit on parish councils. These

brothers would be the best to

become roundtable coordinators

for they are already working with

their parish.

As I have been going to different

councils within the Youngstown

Diocese, I have been

taking the form 2629

with me. Please

District Deputies, do

the same. Let’s all

work together to

achieve this goal. 81

m o r e r o u n d t a b l e

needed, it’s doable, but

we all need to work at

it.

I would like to thank

the following councils

for submitting

roundtables already:

Co. #500, #558, #752,

#1341, #2158, #3269,

#4733, #6373, &

#10003. These 9

councils have

submitted a total of

19 roundtables.

THANK YOU!

Prayer for Vocations

Father Almighty,

As part of your divine plan you have created us for some

definite purpose.

Bestow your grace upon us to know the path you have

designed for us in this life snd help us to respond with an

unconditional “Yes.”

Make our diocese, parishes, homes and hearts fruitful

ground for Your gift of vocations.

May we your faithful, especially our young people, re-

spond to Your call with courage and zeal.

Inspire among our men a desire and the strength to be

good and holy priests.

Bless us with an abundance of consecrated religious, per-

manent deacons, lay ecclesial ministers, and those called

to a chaste single life.

Sanctify the union of man and woman as one in marriage

so that they may be a sign of Christ’s love for his Church.

Through the intercession of Mary our Blessed Mother, we

offer our prayer for vocations to You, Father, in union

with the Holy Spirit, through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

GENERAL SERVICE PROGRAMS

12 | VOICE OF THE SPIRIT | NOVEMBER 2015 | WWW.KOFCOHIO.ORG

YOUTH Mike Nau

Have you ordered your Free Throw

Kits? November is the month you

need to that. You need to go to the

Supreme website, go to forms and go

to Free Throw Kits. Last year

119000 young people participated in

Knights of Columbus Free Throw

Championships. The Council level

needs to be done by the end of

January. District needs to be done

the mid-February and the Regional

will be done the end of February.

Remember that the State Free

Thrown will be held on March 19,

2016. Remember that the age levels

are 9-14 years old. Let’s get out and

promote the Free Throw. Let’s stop

the trend, and get more

participation.

Don’t forget Activity #60 Drug and

Alcohol Abuse Poster Contest. This

is a Supreme Program to help bring

the abuse of drugs and alcohol to the

attention of the children in our

communities. It gives them the

chance to discuss these problems

with each other and support each

other not to use drugs and overuse

alcohol. You need to order your Drug

and Alcohol Abuse Poster Contest

kit from Supreme Council in

November to have everything in

place for the council level completion

in January.

I know that everyone thinks that

youth are important and that each

Council does activities to help the

youth. Please take the time to

submit the reports. The numbers of

Activities reported are down.

However, there are several very

good ones. This time of the year

there’s always some kids that need

coats. What a great way to show you

care by giving coats to needed

children. That would be Activity #56.

During the Holiday Season no child

should go Hungry. Hold a food drive

for the local food bank. Or hold a

fund raising event to give more.

That is Activity #55.

We had one Squire Circle

Reactivated. A big thanks to Council

# 2640, St. Henry’s in the Cincinnati

Diocese. They have been awarded

100 points in the Youth program.

Thanks for all your work. Activity

#66, Sponsor or promote new or

existing Squires Circle. Squire

Circles are vital to the growth of our

Squires Program and in turn benefit

greatly the Knights through the long

-time proven fact that Active Squires

make Active Knights, who often take

on leadership roles in councils once

they become 18 years old.

Hope all have a blessed Holiday

Season. Keep up the good work and

take time to report those great

activities under the Youth Program.

You’re Only A Click Away …

Resubmitting Returned

Programs and closing

Incorrect or Duplicate

Programs.

If you get a “Returned”

program, simply “Edit” the

program and make the

corrections that the Program

Director is asking for and click

“Update Program Listing”.

When you use the State Program

Website to enter your programs,

sometimes a mistake is made

when selecting the program

group or program activity or

sometimes a program is returned

as a duplicate program by the

Director.

Instead of leaving these

“Pending” or “Returned”

programs in the system, and to

make this easier for the Council’s

to manage their program

information, there is now a

“Closed” status that is available

(see images below).

This is available ONLY if the

program is in the “Pending”

or “Returned” status.

Once the program is set to

“Closed”, it will no longer be

counted towards your Council

points and is in effect will be

“archived”.

Later this month, the “View

Programs” page will have

separate tabs for the various

statuses (“Pending”,

“Returned”, “Graded”, and

“Closed”) so that they will be

easier to manage.

If you have any problems, or

need any help, please feel free to

email me at BobG@sceinet.com.

Robert Gilliland

State Website Director

13 | VOICE OF THE SPIRIT | NOVEMBER 2015 | WWW.KOFCOHIO.ORG

SPECIAL POPULATION FREE THROW

It is time to get your gear for the Special

Population Free Throw Contest! The or-

der form is linked underneath the picture

and is required to obtain T-shirts and

plagues. The Special Population Free

Throw contest runs until April 30th, of

this fraternal year, for our citizens with

Developmental Disabilities. Every council

still has plenty of time to plan and partici-

pate in your own council’s Special Popula-

tion Free Throw contest.

All Grand Knights will receive this free-

throw T-shirt and plaque order-form with

their 2016 Measure-Up Campaign packet.

Please duplicate this form as needed.

All free-throw forms must be filled out completely: T-shirt sizes, number of plaques and the proper

shipping address. Any council who would like to have t-shirts please submit a check along with the

order form. Again, the Ohio State Council will supply the award plaques at no cost to the councils.

The basic price of the T-shirts have increase this year to: $ 5.00 for all sizes, 6-8 through XL; size XXL

- $ 6.50; size XXXL - $ 7.50; size XXXXL - $ 8.50. The latest date to submit order forms will be April

30, 2015. Please allow two weeks for delivery of order to allow arrival before the contest date. Phone

orders will be accepted by calling 614 – 679-4238. Please make checks payable to

“T-Shirts By Eckstein”.