2020 State Convention Transcript

MINUTES OF THE ONE HUNDRED TWENTIETH ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE MICHIGAN STATE COUNCIL KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS HELD VIRTUALLY MARYSVILLE, MICHIGAN MAY 23, 2020 William Chassé: Supreme Knight, Worthy State Chaplain Reverend Paul Erickson, Worthy State Officers, Worthy Past State Deputies, Worthy District Deputies, Worthy State Regional and Diocesan Directors, Worthy General Agents, and Convention Delegates, this is State Deputy Bill Chassé. Thank you for joining us today, and welcome to the annual meeting of the Michigan State Council. I now declare this meeting in order. As we open this virtual meeting, I will ask our state chaplain, Rev. Paul Erickson, to open with prayer. Rev. Paul Erickson: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O Mary, you always brighten our path as a sign of salvation and of hope. We entrust ourselves to you, Help of the Sick, who at the cross took part in Jesus’ pain while remaining steadfast in faith. O Loving Mother, you know what we need, and we are confident you will provide for us [inaudible]. Intercede for us with your Son, Jesus, the Divine Physician, for those who have fallen ill, for those who are vulnerable, and for those who have died. Intercede also for those charged with protecting the health and safety of others and for those who are attending to the sick and seeking a cure. Help us, O Mother of Divine Love, to conform to the will of the Father and to do as we are told by Jesus, who took upon himself our sufferings and carried our sorrows so as to lead us through the cross to the glory of the Resurrection. Under thy protection we seek refuge, O Holy Mother of God. In our needs, despise not our petitions but deliver us always from all dangers, O Glorious and Blessed Virgin. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. William Chassé: Thank you, Fr. Paul. There are a few announcements I need to make as we proceed with this virtual meeting. We know that this will be a unique experience for all, including state officers, directors, and delegates, so I am grateful for your patience. Please do not mute your phones; the system automatically mutes participants. The minutes of the 2019 state convention and all reports of committees, reports of officers, and resolutions have been distributed prior to this meeting and posted on the state council website for your review. The deadline for objections and questions has passed. Our goal is to complete this business in 90 minutes, so many items will be abbreviated or eliminated. I ask that everyone, especially delegates, stay connected until we have concluded the meeting. If you are dropped from the call, please rejoin the call in progress by dialing 1-877-228-2184. The event ID: 119382. Today, this virtual convention will be conducted under the amended rules and procedures earlier recommended and approved by the state officers. These will have been previously provided for the delegates, and no objection has been received, so they are adopted for use without objection. Due to the circumstances of the virtual state meeting, I have asked our state secretary and state treasurer, along with the executive secretary, Larry Grabowski, to serve as our credentials committee. I have also appointed brother Fred Boncher to serve as our parliamentarian for this virtual meeting. If there are any nominations today for state office, now would be the time to push *3 to be placed in the queue. When asked to speak, please be ready. We are pleased to have our Supreme Knight, Carl Anderson, participating in our meeting today, and at this time I call on him for his message. Worthy Supreme Knight. Carl Anderson: Thank you very much, and may it please our worthy state chaplain, Fr. Erickson; our worthy state deputy, William Chassé; and all my brother Knights; I hoped to be with you in person this year on Mackinac Island, but unfortunately the pandemic has made that impossible. Nevertheless, I applaud you for holding this virtual convention and I appreciate the extra effort you’ve made to make this teleconference meeting a reality. I especially want to express my gratitude to the archbishop of Detroit, His Excellency Allen Vigneron. It has been a privilege for me to work with him on the board of trustees of the Catholic University of America and in the transformation of the John Paul II Cultural Center into the St. John Paul II National Shrine. I also want to take this opportunity to thank my friends and former Supreme Directors Bob Stebler and Tom Wegener. Well, this coronavirus pandemic has changed our daily lives, but it will not change our commitment to fraternity. This is not the first pandemic the Knights of Columbus has faced. In the 19th century and again in 1918, we remained strong and active as sickness spread. And what was true then is true now. Why? Because we have remained true to our principles. I have said before that where there is a need, there is a Knight. And this is a time of great need. And so once again we must stand together as brother Knights to meet it. We have the financial strength to address much of the suffering we see around us, but more importantly we have the fraternal strength to do the great works of charity that the times demand. As our leaders in Michigan, you have the responsibility to mobilize our efforts. Thank you for what you’ve already done; it is impressive. Your brother Knights will continue to look to you for leadership. Continue to show them the Knights of Columbus way to put their faith into action. In response to this pandemic, in March we launched our new initiative, Leave No Neighbor Behind. It calls on all Knights to support our brothers, to support our parishes, and to support our communities; to feed the hungry; and to participate in blood drives. Our councils are the starting point in these efforts to leave no neighbor behind. And I would ask you to begin with the brothers in your council. Please contact every one of them, especially those you may not have seen or heard from in a while. Do they need our helping hand? During this time, no brother Knight should feel forgotten or left behind by his council. And then we should work with our local pastors to reach out to those in our parishes who may have a special need during this time. At the start of Holy Week, we announced a multimillion dollar campaign to support food banks in the United States and Canada. We are providing urgent support to the hardest-hit communities and the neediest among us. Our initial commitment of $1,250,000 was only the first phase of this campaign, and $50,000 came here to Michigan to support the work of Catholic charities’ food pantries. Many councils and individual Knights have contributed to our efforts. Our work continues, and it must continue in the days ahead. In addition to our charity, we are also standing strong for unity with our Church experiencing serious financial strain. The Order established a $100 million church loan fund for dioceses in the United States and Canada, and this will offer dioceses a $1 million line of credit. And this will help them address the serious economic impact of the crisis. We are also proud to sponsor the pope’s Holy Week broadcast, including his historic Urbi et Orbi blessing of the city of Rome and of the world in response to the pandemic. Pope Francis has called on all Christians to unite their voices to heaven, and I urge every Knight and his family to continue to pray our prayer for the protection in time of pandemic. As the pandemic continues, so will the need for charity and unity, and the same is true of fraternity. With all in-person Knights of Columbus meetings still canceled and reopening still uncertain in many places, we are finding new ways to bring brother Knights together, and this convention is a sign of what’s possible. Our insurance agents and our customer service team at the home office also remain available to help members with any insurance or related financial needs. The challenges are great, but our determination to overcome them is greater still. Here is a quick summary of what we have accomplished since early March. Given the Supreme Council’s proximity to the epicenter of the US outbreak in New York City, we took early action, before most other companies, to ensure the health and safety of our employees and the continuity of our business operations by adopting a remote work plan with employees working from home. That transition went forward in an exemplary manner, as did the work of our insurance agents as they, too, transitioned to a new operating model to virtual online meetings of brother Knights demanded by social distancing. We also developed IT and procedural solutions to holding virtual state conventions and online exemplifications of our new ceremonial, and as I just mentioned, we announced our emergency church loan program, implemented a multimillion dollar food assistance program, and launched our Leave No Neighbor Behind initiative. So, as you can see, during this pandemic we will forge ahead together as brother Knights, and we will leave no neighbor behind, and we will come through this crisis stronger than before. I believe our response to this crisis will be recorded among the Order’s finest hours.

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