Family Week

A Higher Purpose
Dedicate a week to celebrate our families. Councils plan a special week for their parish celebrating family life. Activities presented in this program will strengthen the parish community and affirm the central importance of Catholic family life.

Overview
Knights of Columbus councils will dedicate a special week of the year to recognize the vital importance of families as the foundation of our domestic church and to promote Catholic family values. When choosing a week, councils should consider factors that might affect parishioner schedules such as school vacations, holidays and other local events.

Though traditionally celebrated in the summer to commemorate the birth and death of the founder of the Knights of Columbus, Venerable Michael McGivney, this program can take place anytime during the year.

Action Steps

  1. Working with your pastor, obtain his recommendations on organizing a Family Week.
  2. Designate a specific week for your family celebrations. Choose a time that allows as many people as possible to participate. Be mindful of schedules of both area youth and adults and other events such as school vacations, holidays and local activities.
  3. Plan a schedule of fun events that affirm faith and strengthen family ties. Ideally, the week of activities should begin with Mass on Sunday and conclude the following Sunday.
  4. Order the Family Week Program Kit (#FW-Kit) through Supplies Online, the supply ordering portal available on Officers Online.
  5. Prior to the start of your Family Week, use the sample press release as a model to create and distribute a tailored release to local media.
  6. Build public interest for the week’s events! Promote the Family Week activities in your parish and larger community through a variety of efforts:
    • Prominently display promotional posters (found in the Family Week Program Kit (#FW-Kit))
    • Bulletin announcements
    • Pulpit announcements
    • Posting on your council and parish website/ social media pages
  7. Celebrate your Family Week! Remember that family prayer should play an important role in all of the activities that your council conducts during the week.
  8. At each event, wear Knights of Columbus-branded apparel and have the council membership director set up a table with brochures and membership documents (including Prospect Cards #921A). Do not forget that this event is a recruiting opportunity!
  9. Enlist a fellow Knight or community member to photograph each event.
  10. Following your Family Week, update the community on the success of all of your activities by amending the Family Week sample announcement and distributing it to the local media, along with energizing photographs from the events.
  11. To gain credit for your program, complete the associated reporting forms and submit them to the Supreme Council Department of Fraternal Mission. Remember to retain copies for your council records.
    • Immediately after your event is finished, complete Family Report Form (forthcoming)
    • At the end of the fraternal year, complete your Columbian Award Application (#SP-7)

 

Resources

  1. #10510- Family Week - Vertical Poster
  2. #10652B- Family Week - Calendar Poster
  3. #10652A- Family Week - Calendar Flyer
  4. #10662- Family Week - Suggested Activities
  5. #10656- Family Week - Press Release
  6. #10609- Family Week - Guide Sheet

Kit Contents
Order the Family Week Kit (#FW-Kit) through Supplies Online, the supply ordering portal available on Officers Online.

  • #10510- Vertical Poster
  • #10652B- Calendar Poster
  • #10652A- Calendar Flyer
  • #10662- Suggested Activities