• Keeping calm begins with prayer. Please pray the Novena. Ask Fr. McGivney to intercede for us.

• We need to carry on inviting, welcoming, and engaging new brothers and their families into our councils.

• Be engaged in our parishes, communities, and neighborhoods and work together to address the issues within our control.

Pray, pray, pray. My family is praying the novena prayer with our evening meal. I encourage all Knights to do likewise. I pray our founder Fr. McGivney, himself a victim of influenza and pneumonia, will intercede for us in this time of need.

Continue to invite, welcome, and engage as best you can within these constraints. Please continue inviting, welcoming, and engaging whilst observing the best practices to reduce the spread of illness. We have important work to do and need to use different methods to get it done within our new public health constraints.

During these times, we all must take precautions to prevent the spread of illnesses. This begins with:

1. Praying;

2. Being well rested;

3. Eating well, staying hydrated;

4. Practicing good hygiene—washing your hands and covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze; and

5. Avoid group settings and practice social distancing.

Wash your hands often and for at least 20 seconds. A friend suggests saying two Hail Marys while you wash your hands.

We have taken an unprecedented step of rescheduling our State Convention. We’ve not yet agreed on a specific date, but we are working with the hotel to have this convention during this fraternal year.

We have cancelled the major degrees scheduled for 3/29 at Lafayette.

Please continue to invite and welcome new brothers and their families into the Knights of Columbus. This can be done safely using the telephone, internet, and video. Call the men on your prospect lists and invite them to join us. Use email or the virtual meeting capability within our Google Suite to approve new men for council membership. Use the video to present the combined Exemplification of Charity, Unity, and Fraternity one-on-one or in a small group.

Councils can also invite new brothers to join us online today with assurance of soon welcoming them into the council through a Degree Exemplification. New members save $15 this month by using promo code “INKOFC” when joining online at www.kofc.org/joinus.

Seminarians still join for free—they don’t pay dues while in formation. Neither do transitional deacons and priests. All they need to do is enter the promo code SEM18 when joining online. It really is that easy.

Get engaged and stay engaged! Each council needs to reach out to their pastors, brothers, and neighbors as soon as possible. What help do your pastors need? What help do your brothers need? What help do your neighbors need, especially the sick and elderly? What help do working parents need? Please pray for them and help them.

The work we are called to do as Knights of Columbus is saving lives and changing lives. This is important and must continue. Remember the watchword of our Order: “Tempus Fugit. Memento Mori.” Time marches on and tomorrow has never been guaranteed for anyone. Men and families need us today and will benefit from the support of Brother Knights during this time of stress; they need our spiritual and corporal support.

This crisis will pass away, but the work we’re doing today to support our brothers, parishes, and communities will be remembered. We’re going to be okay.

Nothing is impossible with God!

In Charity, Unity, and Fraternity,

Paul Zielinski

Indiana State Deputy

statedeputy@indianakofc.org