WHY CONVERT TO COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP?

Here are four reasons why you should consider joining your local council

So you’ve joined the Knights of Columbus as an online member sometime since the option began two years ago. You’ve paid your dues, perhaps purchased a life-insurance policy, and have read the monthly Columbia magazine and checked out the website.

You’re a full-fledged member of the world’s greatest Catholic fraternal benefits society. So now what?

Now it’s time to consider the advantages of joining your local Knights of Columbus council. Here are four excellent reasons for doing so.

You need a “band of brothers.” Man was made for fraternity. You might sense that masculine tendency to want to go it alone and be self-sufficient, but in reality we need the friendship of other men — especially like-minded men who share our innermost values, particularly our Catholic faith. Like soldiers on the battlefield, you need to be among men who will have your back, men who will be the first to respond when you run into trouble or when misfortune strikes your family. You’ll find men ready-made to form that “band of brothers” around you in your local Knights of Columbus council.

You are part of something bigger. As Catholics, faith is not simply a matter of “God and me.” Yes, each of us needs that personal relationship with God in prayer, but we are also part of a greater community of believers. Membership in a local council is a unique and vibrant “link” to that greater community. The Knights connect up with your local parish, the families within your parish, your local diocese and the universal Church. You also connect with more than 16,000 similar councils around the world, all faithfully committed to the teachings and mission of the Catholic Church and to our Holy Father.

It will help you grow in your faith — and share it. A fraternity of men is greater than the sum of its parts. We can accomplish more together than we can individually. Your brother Knights in your local area are committed to supporting you in your Catholic faith in a very special way — just as you will be there to support them in turn. They will be your special partners in prayer as you encourage one another in facing the challenges of marriage, fatherhood, employment and living as faithful Catholics. The Faith in Action initiatives of the Order will not only help strengthen your own relationship with God, but your participation in them will also enable you to help lead your fellow parishioners to deepen their faith and practice as well.

You’ll be a man on a mission. The Knights of Columbus aren’t just about insurance and fish fries. We are about those four principles of Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism. We are unabashedly pro-life and pro-family. We serve the needy in our communities and around the world, particularly the poor, the homeless, persons with intellectual or physical disabilities, women experiencing crisis pregnancies, peoples seeking religious freedom and those affected by natural disasters. We support the men and women of our military; we stand ready to serve our local dioceses, parishes, parochial schools and religious communities with any project; we provide support to priests, seminarians and those in consecrated life. As a member of your local council, you will be on the frontlines of this multifaceted effort of serving our brothers and sisters in need, extending the love of Christ to others and building up the Church. You thereby will be enabled to live out your baptismal call in a vibrant way alongside your fraternity of brother Knights.

You are already a full member of the Knights of Columbus, even as an online member. But council membership will help you live out your Knighthood to the fullest.

There’s likely a Knights of Columbus council affiliated with your own parish. Find a council near you.

Originally published in a weekly edition of Knightline, a resource for K of C leaders and members. Access Knightline’s monthly archives.