Recap of Our First-Ever Morning Meeting

Thanks to all of you who were able to rearrange your schedules last Saturday. Our apologies to those of you who were unable to make the change. It was a rare occurrence that allowed us to participate in the Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally in Howell. There was a small turnout this time so our presence was very well-received. God willing, our federal government will soon cease with its unconstitutional attacks and these rallies will become unnecessary. 

Even though the meeting was shorter than usual, the boys had a great time with formation. Plus, we had time for a whiffleball home run derby and fathers vs. sons dodge ball. Nicely played, boys; we'll get you next time!

We now return to a regular meeting schedule of every other Saturday. We'll see you on the evening of Saturday November 3rd!

Update: A ConQuest Poll!

The results of the survey favor having the meeting early at 10:00 AM at the Barn with some time for formation and possibly a brief activity. We will plan to have some pizza delivered for lunch and then head over to Howell for the rally. If you and your son(s) cannot join us at the rally, then please note that the regular portion of our meeting will end at 11:30 AM.

In a recent post I mentioned the Stand Up Rally for Religious Freedom that will take place in downtown Howell at the historic courthouse this Saturday at Noon. It has been suggested that we combine this event with the meeting that we have already planned later this same day. This would require us pulling our meeting ahead several hours.

While the rallies are nationwide and have been planned for some time, the Howell location was added only within the last couple days. We realize that many of you may have already have made other plans. Therefore, we have created a poll to determine whether or not to pull our meeting forward and combine it with the rally.

What is your preference for the meeting this Saturday?

This could be a marvelous opportunity to demonstrate Catholic leadership-in-action to the boys . We as individuals and as a Church are under attack by our own federal government. Our basic freedoms are being trampled upon and our bishops have made it clear that we cannot comply with the government's demands.

From Fiendish Elephants to Hammered Dulcimers...ConQuest's Got It Covered!

We had an excellent meeting to kick-off the new season! Despite the cold, rainy weather, we had a lot of fun inside the warm barn. In fact, we had such a blast that we ran out of time for our scheduled formation! Fortunately, Br. Joshua Thompson was on-hand to provide us with a great spiritual talk about one of St. John Bosco's famous dreams, "The Fiendish Elephant".

As a bonus, we met Br. Adam Zettel who brought his hammered dulcimer along and demonstrated his skill in playing it. I think I speak for everybody when I say it was unexpectedly cool!

Thank you, Br. Joshua and Br. Adam, for contributing so much to our meeting!

STAND UP Rally in Howell this Saturday at noon!

Right To Life - Livingston County is holding another Stand Up Rally for Religious Freedom this Saturday from Noon until 1:00 PM at the historic Howell Courthouse. Over 140 rallies such as this will take place nationwide at the same time.

The first two nationwide rallies were held on March 23 and June 8 with a total of over 300 cities and 125,000 participants.

This is a perfect opportunity for our ConQuest families and friends to make a statement to those in government and in our communities who do not value our rights as individuals to live our Catholic Faith freely. 

For additional information, please contact RTL Livingston County at 810-227-5788.

The wait is finally over...first meeting this Saturday!

At long last, we WILL have our first regular meeting of the season this Saturday evening from 6:45-8:45 at the Barn. We are excited to welcome several new families to ConQuest! Please try to arrive promptly so that we can explain what ConQuest is all about and discuss some of the minor changes that are new this year. If you need help with directions, please email or call me at 248-563-1671.

In an effort to make our meetings run more smoothly we are asking the dads to volunteer ahead of time for occasional jobs throughout the season. Your contribution can vary from one meeting to the next, and at some meetings you may have no specific job at all. These responsibilities fall under the following main categories:

Check-In / Code Checks: Arrive 10 minutes early to check in the boys, collect dues, award points, then do "code check" talks with boys to discuss commitments and accountability during activity part of the meeting
Prayer and Points: Prepare point belts, set up point tally board, opening prayer, squad points announcement at beginning/middle/end, closing prayer, announce next meeting
Snack: Juice, snack, cups, and plates for 24 people, facilitate serving the boys and clean-up (use other dads and older boys)
Fun Activity - Club (Older Boys): Plan and facilitate games or educational activity that is fun and exciting, and normally involving physical activity (may be combined with younger boys). Examples from previous meetings include kickball, dodgeball, fishing, and sledding. We are looking for some new, creative ideas here.
Fun Activity - Younger Boys: Plan and facilitate games or educational activity that is fun and exciting, and normally involving physical activity (may be combined with older boys). Examples from previous meetings include kickball, dodgeball, fishing, and sledding. We are looking for some new, creative ideas here.
Slice of Spirit: Provide a short reflection (roughly 2-3 minutes) during snack time, leader/man talk, virtue story, interesting facts, fun video, song, etc.

For this first meeting, we already have volunteers for "Prayer and Points" and "Snack", plus we will be joined by Fr. Thomas Flynn, Br. Joshua Thompson, and Br. Adam Zettel from the Legionaries of Christ. You can expect them to provide us with a great talk including some solid catechesis. So we are still looking for somebody to help check everybody in and to select an activity for the boys to do. On the blog, there is a recent post from one of the dads with some idea starters. If you have any interest in helping fill some of these roles for the first meeting, please send us an email. I will be happy to explain some of the terminology for you.

The cost we are requesting to cover the group's educational materials and other supplies is $70 for each boy. We purchase this ready-made package from the national ConQuest organization which maintains it and updates it each year.

Remember it is never too late to spread the word to anybody else you may know with boys between ages 5 and 16 who is seeking a solid, Catholic organization that builds Virtue and reinforces the Faith. There is so much to gain in the small amount of time that we spend together as fathers, sons, and brothers in Christ!

See you Saturday!