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Our Goal, Our Plan, Our Duty
This fraternal year presents to us
another opportunity for success. With the support and effort of all our members,
we can reach yet another milestone and enroll our 8,000th member. Our family is
growing and it is doing so because of the grass-root effort at the local level.
We will enroll that 8,000th member this year. Our plan is simple. The first
phase, which has already been given to the District Deputies for dissemination
to councils, is the “Stars of Alabama” campaign. It begins immediately. The
second phase, the Membership Blitz, will take place in October. The third phase
will be new council and roundtable development throughout the state.
As a youngster living in the
suburbs, lying beneath the stars at night and just watching them glitter was an
opportunity not to be missed. The stars, in all their grandeur, were truly
something to gaze upon. As amazing as that starlit sky was, there was no more
exciting moment than that instant when the shooting star flashed across that
star field. Do you remember the feeling you got seeing that special star?
The membership theme for 2006 is
“Stars of Alabama.” Just as the night sky is full of stars, so too is the
Knights of Columbus in Alabama. Just as in nature, there are those special stars
that get our attention. We call them recruiting stars. These special recruiting
stars will be the key to our campaign’s success. I challenge you to be one.
As Catholic gentlemen, there is an
incumbent duty to spread the word of Christ and, more particularly as Knights,
to bring people closer to Christ. The Knights of Columbus, when taken as a
whole, is one vehicle to reach that closeness. How then, as Knights, can we not
endeavor to offer that closeness to Christ to other Catholic men and their
families? Recruitment is not just about growth of the Order. It is also about
growing a more enriched Catholic community. Recruit someone, nourish his
involvement, watch his growth, and know that you are part of a tremendous
success story.
The “Membership Blitz” will occur
twice during the year, once in the Fall and once in the Spring. Fall’s date has
been set, and it will occur on the weekend of October 7th & 8th. The District
Deputies were asked to help you get the needed supplies ordered so that you
would have them in time. Specially designed recruiter pins were ordered for the
“Stars of Alabama” campaign with the hope that they would also be used on Blitz
weekend to identify the recruiting stars. These and other details will be
dispensed at the regional meetings scheduled for later this month.
New council growth opportunities
abound. Currently, there are five sites being explored where the Pastor has
indicated a desire to have his own council. In still other places, roundtables
are currently being established or discussed.
As Christians we are called to
service of others. The Knights of Columbus provides the means for each of us to
fulfill that requirement. The following prayer is attributed to St. Ignatius of
Loyola. It reflects the spirit of our fine Order and its members. This is the
spirit that gives us the opportunity to serve in Christ. This spirit we must
share with every Catholic man.
Unlike in nature where the night
and its stars can be enjoyed externally by viewing them from a darkened field or
possibly from a front porch, the Knights in Alabama can only be enjoyed by
viewing it from within. The Knights of Columbus is an outstanding organization
of which we can all be proud. We owe the opportunity to all our Catholic friends
who may not yet be our Brother Knights to view us from within. Be special, be a
recruiting star, and ask a friend to join today.
Milton Larche
Membership Director |
