First Spanish-speaking Knights of Columbus round table

Intermountain Catholic

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The Knights of Columbus round table in Ogden formed Oct. 29. Courtesy photo/Andy Airriess

OGDEN — On Oct. 29 the Knights of Columbus in Ogden welcomed 17 new members, marking the beginning of the first Spanish-speaking round table in the state.

"We already had a council but we wanted to create something for the Spanish-speaking men; the Knights of Columbus should be able to do business in Spanish," said Joe Garcia, Grand Knight of the Ogden Council No. 777, adding that the men feel more comfortable speaking their native language.

A round table is set up in some missions and smaller parishes to provide a link from an established council to a smaller, less formal group that is associated with that council.

"The round tables are designed by a coordinator who is the leader of the round table in Ogden," said Garcia.

Alex Guzman is the round table coordinator; his job is to run the meetings in Spanish, so everyone in the council knows what’s going on at the round table and everyone at the round table knows what’s happening at the council. "He is like the ambassador between both groups," said Garcia.

"More than 80 percent of the parishioners in Ogden are Hispanic," said Guzman. "We needed to create the link between the Hispanics and the Anglo men."

The goal of the round table is to be a bridge into full council life for these new Knights, who may not speak English very well, "and, by making this round table in Spanish, it would be easiest for those men to join," said Garcia.

"We are very excited and happy," Guzman said. "The challenge is to integrate instead of creating different groups. This is a way to create integration."

Andrew Airriess, the Knights’ state treasurer and program coordinator, said that the members of the round table, while being welcome at regular Knights meetings, will typically meet as a group where they can use their more familiar language. They will take part in regular Knights’ functions and come up with activities of their own in which English-speaking Knights will take part.

"The Knights of Columbus are trying to do integration," Garcia said. "We do not want anyone to think, ‘Oh! The Knights of Columbus – those are English-speaking white guys.’ No! We are all one group that refer to one another as ‘brothers,’ so we want to make it easier for the different language groups to work together."

The first official meeting of the round table took place Nov. 5. Their regular meetings will be first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. in the Religious Education Center of St. Joseph Parish in Ogden.

"The Knights are hoping to establish many such round tables in the state, thus the ground-breaking nature of this event for us and more importantly for parishes in the state with large Spanish-speaking populations," said Airriess.

"Anyone who is interested in the Knights of Columbus should contact their representative at their church," said Garcia.

The Knights of Columbus is a Catholic men’s fraternal society; its members are Catholic men, 18 years of age and older, who are committed to making their community a better place, while supporting their Church.

For more information about the Round Table of the Knights of Columbus in Ogden, contact Alex Guzman at 801-499-2246 or at Alex.Guzman@thomasarts.com.