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Brothers All, As I write this article for the September bulletin, I cannot help but express my excitement and joy over the great possibilities COR will bring to Knights, councils and parishes across the Washington Jurisdiction. Having just watched the opening session of the COR training being held at Supreme in New Haven, CT, I am confident that District Deputy Jesse Schossow, the State Director of Evangelization and Faith Formation, and District Deputy Federico Lopez, the State Hispanic Membership Coordinator, will return from the inspiring weekend both on fire, ready to help councils implement COR. I encourage every member to learn what COR is and to understand how COR can help one encounter Jesus Christ. In doing so, we will be compelled to bring others to encounter Christ as Philip offered to Nathanael: Come and see! (John 1:45-51) I ask each District Deputy to implement COR in at least one council in his district this year. We are called today to be God’s instruments in bringing men closer to Christ. Let’s not fail. I firmly believe COR will transform who we are by strengthening our spiritual health and thus help us transform our misguided culture. We must act with urgency in leading men away from the empty godless secular ideology to the fullness of truth through Jesus Christ. Our children and future generations depend on it. Many look to the Knights of Columbus to lead the way and we must lead with our faith and the resources we have at our fingertips. The delegates who attended the Supreme convention saw firsthand Knights who lead with their faith. I must say that everything the Order accomplished last year would make Blessed Michael McGivney proud. The Supreme Convention in Orlando recognized individual Knights, councils, assemblies and jurisdictions for exceptional achievement in membership growth, charitable outreach, fraternal leadership and insurance sales and service. Order wide, we donated $185M to charity, contributed 49.9M volunteer hours and grew our membership to 2,084,191 Knights. In the WA Jurisdiction, we achieved Pinnacle level in membership growth, had 33 Star Councils and 15 Star Districts. This was amazing work by all. This is faith in action. We must build on the success of last year. Let’s start on the right foot by centering ourselves on Christ. Last month, I encouraged every member to spend more time in the presence of our Lord in the Eucharist. How are you doing? I know I can do better. I know councils can do more to bring focus on the Holy Eucharist and on prayer. I know COR will be a way to do that. I anticipate a great year for the Coats for Kids program and the Tootsie Roll drives. The Chairmen for these two programs report strong participation by councils. Grand Knights should include a strategy to recruit new membership through these programs. Keep in mind the goal for all councils is to be membership active this year. That means recruiting new members. Grand Knights should attain 60% of their recruitment goal by the end of December 2023. You can easily achieve this by implementing strong programs, including COR, with a recruiting strategy. At the time of this writing, we have a council that has already achieved 100% of its membership goal – Vancouver Holy Redeemer Council 12899 in District 11. Great work Grand Knight Micah Harpel and team. Congratulations and well done! Next step – 200%.
I look forward to the eight regional meetings scheduled through September and October. These meetings are intended for Grand Knights and council leaders and will cover important leadership, program, membership and administrative topics. Grand Knights are expected to attend one of the regional meetings. I highly encourage other council officers, directors, chairmen and members to attend one of the meetings. Consult with your District Deputy about meeting dates and locations. More detailed information will be published separately. I encourage all council leaders to stay mission focused by empowering Catholic men to live their faith and serve their family, parish, community and country. We are entrusted with Mission to go and make disciples of all nations – to build up the Order and to build up God’s Kingdom. Through Him, With Him and In Him – This is The Way; Walk in It Vivat Jesus! Vivat Jesus! Gregory S. Mahoney State Deputy
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