Greetings brother Knights June 2026 GK Message
29 Days left in this Columbian year. We have basically found the finish line, for this year anyway.
With this Columban year at its end, this is my final GK newsletter message to you. It has been a fully rewarding last three years in this position for the council and I have been completely honoured to have served you in that capacity. I hope the things we have done have helped enrich and support you and the parish community in the best possible ways. I hope we have done so with the integrity and honour that is due to all of you, the men of Fr. Leduc Council 7061.
At the State Convention in April, the Supreme Director, Shawn Wilton, who was the guest and keynote speaker, talked about finding your “Why”. He said that when attracting other men to join, it was only really successful if you were able to identify and relate to them your reason. What is your “why”. He talked about how he struggled at times as a member when he was younger, and later was able to figure out that it was because he wasn’t finding a purpose. At first, it was to be with a close group of friends who also had joined the local council. But as those friends slowly were lost to time and circumstance, he also lost his reason to stay. They moved from parish to parish, council to council over a series of years, and eventually just before he was about to give up his membership, he had a discussion with a priest who made him realize that he lacked purpose. He didn’t know what his “why” was. It wasn’t because he didn’t have one. He just never prioritized figuring it out or striving to enrich it. Once he was able to nail that down, he never looked back. Every discussion, meeting or effort he made now had an underlying motivation and guiding light. And it radiated out from him to affect those around him and those who were curious about joining. He doesn’t use the typical selling points like insurance, pancakes, mass support, etc. He talks first and foremost about his “why”. And he encouraged everyone else to figure out what their “why” was, so it could help support them as they do the duties of a Knight of Columbus.
It may not be something everyone is aware of, but I was Grand Knight about 20 years ago for the first time. Between then and now I took about a decade-long hiatus from the Knights and participating in the church. That was due to the demands of a new job I had taken on. While I loved that job, those people and those years, something that I missed dearly was my connection and involvement with the council and church. It did feel like part of my soul had been asleep for most of that time. That might not be fair to anyone in my life at that time, but I do think something was just missing.
I had worried about coming back and getting involved again. It was on my heart for sure, but once again I found myself starting over with new jobs the last few years, and wasn’t really sure how much time I could offer the council. In fact I made John G wait a whole year before I said yes, because I had just started the job I am at now. But I’m glad I agreed to take on this role, for sure. Over the course of the last three years, being GK forced me to get right back into things at the most involved level possible. Everyone thinks that it’s a big job, but it isn’t that much when you get down to it. The job itself is mostly managing the things that come your way, and being as available as you are able to, for what comes along. And if you have a solid healthy group of guys to help out, and we do, then it’s not as hard as everyone might think.
The most significant part of being a Grand Knight is having a front row seat to everything. Every program, every budget item, every activity, every funeral, every parish support, every thank you letter, every dollar raised, every committee, every planning effort, every dinner, etc. That is the part that takes your attention. And almost all of it comes to you, rather than you having to go find it.
It’s my favorite part actually. That’s the part that allows a wallflower like myself to get to know you all. I admit that if left to my own devices, I might sit in the back of the meeting or on the table nearest the door, and never lift my hand up, never offer any thoughts or ideas, never find out how you are doing, or what gets you out of bed each day. I would happily be a spectator to what you all do and never be connected or involved. Obviously you cannot do that as a Grand Knight, and I am thankful for that.
It helped force me out of my own comfort zone and to really engage in being a servant rather than serving myself. Place yourself as the servant. It’s the way God asks us to lead as men in all facets of our lives. Prioritize God, then others, then yourself. It seems like a strange way to formulate your role, but when you do, it really becomes clear what needs to be done and how. It removes all of that self-doubt and self-pity that we can carry and replaces it with purpose for others.
How can we help others more? That’s the core underlying belief of the Knights of Columbus. We can decorate it up, and sometimes hide it, with programs, reports, pageantry and protocols, but at its core, it’s really the “why” for all of us. Serving others, serves God. It’s the reason we get frustrated when things get out of focus or disjointed. We can see when something stops serving that fundamental purpose and starts serving another less ideal goal. I think we can all feel the fragility of our integrity, and at times we can get crazy about re-establishing that by getting ourselves back on track. We want to protect and honour that integrity and ensure we remain focused on serving others. I don’t think we get far off the rails before things get real, and we haul ourselves back to the path. That is what we have in common with 2.2 million other good Catholic men in the world that are also Knights of Columbus. We all aim to serve, to remove our flaws and failings, to sharpen each other, steele on steele, to carry on giving and loving as God asks of us.
This group of men and their families have blessed me with purpose and connection outside of my normal life. I had/have a purpose as a father, son, husband, brother and friend for sure. But adding something like a leadership role in the Knights of Columbus can in some ways act like a turbo charger on an engine. It takes what you already have and revs the absolute crap out of it, making it much stronger. It takes the exhaust and pulls it out of the chamber, allowing the engine to breath fresh cool air in order to work at a much higher level. That is what these last three years have provided for me. I want to thank you all for that because you all play a huge role in that for anyone that sits in these leadership positions. And I am very excited for Ed and next year’s executive board to start that process all over with fresh eyes, fresh ears, fresh ideas and plans.
I love being a member of our council. I love being a Knight of Columbus. I loved being a Grand Knight for you again.
Thank you
Chris Carr
Grand Knight
Fr. Leduc Council 7061
