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Building Catholic Fraternity and Developing Council Culture

Or How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Beat the Greeks!

52nd College Councils ConferenceSeptember 29 - October 1, 2017

IntroductionsPatrick Aselin

• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) - Troy, NY• B.S. Materials Engineering, B.S. Mathematics ‘18• PGK, Advocate - Council #13635

Zachary Myslinski• Benedictine College - Atchison, KS• B.S. Finance and Business Administration ‘19• Kansas DD, PGK - Council #4708, Trustee - Assembly #3700

Aaron Filzen • Minnesota State University, Mankato - Mankato, MN• B.S. Construction Management ‘18• PGK, Recruitment Chair- Council #16408

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What is the Purpose of this Session?

• Define our identity as a Knights of Columbus College Council.• Role and necessity of a fraternal culture in our councils.• Practical ideas and tools for strengthening fraternity, growing

membership, and developing/projecting a healthy culture.

Part I: Fraternity in the KofC

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Interests of College Students

Community:• To be respected and valued

• Meaningful, genuine friendships

• Becoming involved in a larger group• To make a difference• Receive support from upperclassmen• Have fun!

Enrichment:• Academic advancement• Learning about one’s self• Character growth• Leadership formation• Spiritual development

Organizations and Activities That Fulfill These

Religious:• Newman Clubs• FOCUS

Social/Fraternal:• Greek• Professional

Service:• Student Government• Habitat for Humanity

Interest-Based:• Intramural Sports• Hobbies

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Knights of Columbus - The Catholic Fraternity

The KofC Advantage:• College KofC is not a singular experience!

• Encompasses a broad range of opportunities.• Fulfills many of the interests of college men. • Students may share their unique interests with the council.

• Lasts beyond college: parish councils and career opportunities.

What are the Challenges?

• Competing for students’ time and interest with other groups.

• Tainted notions about what it means to be a fraternity.

• Focus on just one aspect of our order, avoiding the other three.

• How the public views us vs. our true identity.

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Responding to these Challenges

• Brotherhood is thought more in the eyes of us relating to each other not us relating to Our Father

• Rooting a brotherhood in Christ • Living authentically• “Why don't men Play The Man? Why don't they offer their strength

to a world desperately in need of it?”

What is a Fraternity? A Brotherhood

• A definition of “fraternity” or brotherhood: The bonding of men of various backgrounds, beliefs, places, and eras around a singular set of life-directing commitments within a common experience.

• Big ideas for a College Council:• The people are what make a fraternity!• Diverse membership• Catholic faith as shared beliefs• Shared college journey

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Fraternity - More than a Club, A Family

• Ideal environment for learning and development:• Identity• Morality• Leadership

• Discussion, Disagreement, Consensus• Identify values• Share insights• Develop self-identity

Personal Challenge

• Started a council because I saw men Catholic and non Catholic alike being starved spiritually and socially.

• Binge drinking and hooking up wasn’t filling the void. • Catholics need community

• Men need community

• All men want to live a life of purpose.

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Personal Success

• You and your councils are in the best position to serve Catholic men.

• Inviting other Catholic men involved in Bible studies, with FOCUS, events at the Newman Center, or just Catholics on campus into a brotherhood.

• The friendships we make matter far more than our events.• Root your purpose in your culture. Make your purpose clear.

Part II: Building Blocks of a KofC Fraternity

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First Thing, Who is Responsible for Culture?

• Grand Knight as CEO defines the culture of the council:• Responsible for vision, objectives, values, and motivation• “Culture lies in the shadow of a leader”

• Brother Knights:• Shape this environment as members through their interactions• Are the ones who achieve the desired outcomes

The Basis of Christian Brotherhood

• Faith. • Sacraments - “If a man never takes part in the brotherly meal of

Christians he cannot be considered as belonging to the brotherhood” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

• Wisdom - Truth lived // Morality. • Body of Christ is the Brotherhood of Christ.

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Authentic Friendships - Basis of Brotherhood• Intentional • Laugh • Think • Love Sacraments / FellowshipAchieving the end goal of raising Holy men

Authentic Friendships

Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

1 Peter 2:17: Honor all men. Love the Brotherhood.

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How can this be lived?

• Authentic Friendships are attractive • 2 by 2 • Be bought in- Don’t do things half hearted • Practical

Recruitment Strategies

First impressions make all the difference:• Encounter the culture and identity of the KofC• Form students’ opinions over the long-runStrategies for initial exchanges (one-on-one):• Lend a hand for freshmen move-in day, attend welcome events in “armor”• Greet students arriving at the Catholic Center, present at school activity fairs• Be prepared to talk about your council and know the Order’s history!Be visible, engaged in the Catholic community• Around campus too!

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Recruitment Drives: Rush/Roman Weeks

• First few weeks of each semester• Effective way to engage new

students and gear up the council:• Choose activities that exhibit the

order’s values• Build up to a large event/1st Degree• Include officer contact info• Email signups

[Made with Serif PagePlus]

First Degree & Integrating New MembersCeremony basics:• Admits members and provides

the common experience.• Keep goals in mind: formation

and sharing an experience• Involve the entire council.• Use your own degree team

whenever possible• Have an after-party!

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Programming to Build Brotherhood

Basic model:• Weekly meetings (business or officers) - Bring food!• Ideally two events per week, balancing social, service, faithGrowing fraternity:• Manly activities: BBQ’s, Men's Fellowship Nights, Hiking, Campfires, Bowling,

Paintball, Movie Knights, Walking Rosary, Sword Fencing, etc.• Praying as a council!• Team building programs:

• http://nicindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/NIC-Brotherhood-Building-2-08-1.pdf

Deeper Discussions to Deeper Relationships

Into the Breach:• Apostolic Exhortation by Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted,

Diocese of Phoenix• Opportunity for discussion and consensus• Conversations about deeper topics

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Standards, Interactions & Communications

• Watch your language!• Vivat Jesus! Deus Vult! Battle cries; KofC buzzwords• Address members as Brother ___• Rosary Checks (Rosary as a shared symbol)

• Internal messaging:• Examples: Groupme, Messenger, FB groups, emails, etc.• Transparency and encourage participation in the decision-making process.• Embedded resources: Send location, event RSVP,reminders, polls

Branding and Projected Image

We want to do good while looking good!• Apparel/accessories: t-shirts, polos, hats, water bottles, stickers• Be visible on campus - Armor Day

Don’t be afraid to brag!:• Post on social media before/after events• Let people know what’s going on• Post flyers and calendars

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Council Branding in Print and Digital Media

Basic strategies for branding:• Have a well-crafted message, what you say is as important as how.• Simple, easy-to-read or visually appealing delivery• Share through a variety of mediums: posters, handouts, Facebook,

Instagram, Twitter, email

MailChimp (www.mailchimp.com)

• Free, includes adding multiple admins• Produce visually appealing and content rich emails for

desktop/mobile viewing• Easy to use out of the box with simple templates and endless

customizations with additional features• Native list creation and management with subsetting• List subscription forms for website, on device, and mobile• Reports for email opens, clicks, etc.

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Canva (www.canva.com)

• Online/mobile graphic design tool

• Mostly free, but some paid features

• Upload and edit photos, add text and image elements

• Many templates for media applications

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IFTTT - If This Then That (www.ifttt.com)

• Free task automation client• 100’s of services available (Google, FB,

Instagram, MailChimp, etc.)• Applets, recipe-based concept:

• IF __trigger__ in __service__;• THEN __action__ in __same or different service__

• Save time, do more, create new experiences!

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Conclusion

• We need fraternity!• Focus on culture to grow in brotherhood and develop Catholic men• Invest in your membership through engaging programming• Many free and easy-to-use resources are available to build the

visible image of a council

Q&A/Contact Info

Patrick Aselin

• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

• aselip@rpi.edu; (518) 225-5236

Zachary Myslinski

• Benedictine College

• dd04@kansas-kofc.org; (636) 373-3588

Aaron Filzen

• Minnesota State University, Mankato

• aaron.filzen@mnsu.edu; (507) 429-4919