Future Center/Clinic
Site in Fairbanks, Alaska
The Scottish Rite Masons of Fairbanks,
Alaska, recently erected a sign on the future site of
the new Fairbanks
Masonic Center and RiteCare Childhood Language and
Speech Clinic to be located on Steese Highway. Construction
is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2005. Ill. Mitchell
R. Miller, SGIG in Alaska, is pictured above, third
from
right.
Back to top
Veterans
Honored by Scottish Rite
Freemasons in Arkansas
Pictured right at the Searcy Library
meeting are Glen Pace,
Dr. and Mrs. Hudgins, Marylen Bethell, Gabe Gentry, Lawnie
Coffman, Mayor Belinda LaForce and Dwane Treat.
As reported on The Daily Citizen Web site (www.thedailycitizen.com)
of December 2, 2004, nearly 500 friends of the Scottish
Rite Temple of Little Rock and the state of Arkansas
poured into the Temple recently to honor Arkansas veterans
of World War II.
Gabe Gentry, grandson of Ill. Dwane F. Treat, SGIG
in Arkansas and Grand Herald of the Supreme Council,
emceed
the program. Inspector Treat noted that “very few
textbooks have recorded much of our history about the
Great War.” Consequently, Gentry took it upon himself
to interview 34 Arkansas veterans and record their comments
on a set of 10 DVDs. A boxed set of the DVDs (below)
was presented to each veteran and to each public library
in Arkansas.
Gentry noted, “These interviews give students the
opportunity to learn of WWII exploits first hand from
senior Arkansas veterans."
At the Little Rock Temple ceremony, Major General Don
C. Morrow related how the young men of WWII “held
up their hands and said ‘I’ll defend our
country,’ and then did."
Editor’s note: The boxed
set of 10 DVDs, funded by the Scottish Rite Freemasons
of Arkansas, is not available
for general distribution at this time, but prominent
note will be made here and in the Scottish Rite Journal when it is available for purchase.
Back to top
Columbus Day Reunion in Italy
On Columbus Day, October 9, 2004, American Military
Scottish Rite Brothers, Orient of NATO Bodies, who comprise
the
Degree Teams and are stationed in Italy, brought their
Candidates from Aviano, Gaeta, Livorno, Naples, Piza,
Italy, and Sigonella, Sicily, to Vicenza, Italy, for
a Reunion (group photo above) held with impressive ceremonies
at the Hotel Aries in Vicenza.
The successful event included a Friday evening meal
on October 8 at a local restaurant with 40 in attendance.
Then, on the following day, as the result of a tremendous
amount of planning by Ill. Ronald Reynolds, 33°,
and his team, 16 Candidates received the 4° through
32° Degrees. Ill. Reynolds conferred the 4°;
Bro. Thomas J. Bankston, KCCH, conferred the 14°,
Ill. Alan I. Moses, conferred the 18°; Bro. Robert
R. Launius, KCCH, conferred the 30°; and Ill, Johnny
C. Ledford conferred the 32°.
The members of the Reunion Class were Brothers Fernando
L. Amarillo, Alex C. Balce, Mark A. Clariza, Andrew M.
Clarke, David B. Crotchett, Ramon L. Cruz, Erdalin M.
Hernandez, Eric K. Kretzer, Scott D. Landreth, Peter
H. Luste, Myron H. Murley, Calvert R. Pagud, Valentino
P. Reyes, Todd K. Smith, Thomas J. Verry and Michael
T. Zarella. The Class Director was Ill. Roe E. Ritt,
Jr., and the Credentials Committee was headed by Bro.
Clyde A. Barton, KCCH, Assistant Secretary, American
Military Scottish Rite Bodies.
After the Reunion was completed,
the Brothers, their ladies, and their children attended
a gala evening banquet
during which Ill. Robert W. Woodward, 33°, Grand
Cross, Deputy of the Supreme Council, Orient of NATO
Bases, and Ill. Ledford conducted the 32° capping
ceremony. Ill. Woodward presented his Deputy’s
Award to Ill. Patrick J. Dorsey, 33°, Bro. Forest
S. Sutton, Jr., KCCH, and Bro. Clarence B. Daniels, KCCH.
The Reunion was attended by over 100 Brothers, families,
and guests from Belgium, Germany, Slovenia, and the United
States. Everyone was officially introduced and thanked
for traveling such a long distance to be with the Brothers
and Sisters who reside in Italy and participate in this
memorable event.
Back to top
Ill.
Bro George E. Dewese and
Wife, Matsue, Honored
Photo: Albert Mah, Radford University
On December 1, 2004, during an informal luncheon at
a Radford, Virginia, restaurant, near their hometown
residence
of Shawsville, Virginia, Ill. George E. Dewese, 33°,
and his wife, Matsue, were honored to receive the Pillars
of Charity presentation gift from Ill. Bros. Earl E.
Ihle, Director of Development for the Supreme Council,
33°, and James D. Cole, SGIG in Virginia. Barbara
Golden, Director of Planned Giving for the Development
Office, was also in attendance. Pictured above (l. to
r.) at the luncheon are: Ms. Golden, Ill. Bros. Ihle,
Cole, Dewese, and Matsue Dewese.
The presentation is modeled on design elements of the
Pillars of Charity Alcove in the House of the Temple.
A plaque in the Alcove recognizes the generosity
of Ill. Dewese and his wife, and is, like the Scottish Rite Supreme Temple
Architects Hall of Honor portrait of Ill. Dewese (pictured
above), one of the tokens of
appreciation given to major donors to the Scottish Rite Foundation, S.J., USA,
Inc., or the House of the Temple Historic Preservation Foundation, Inc.
Back to top
Masons Provide Lifeline for SANDS
in
Edinburgh, Scotland
by Fiona MacGregor
http://news.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id+140171204
A closure-threatened charity which helps hundreds of
city families cope with the pain of losing a baby has
received a vital funding boost. The Stillbirth and Neonatal
Death Society Lothian (SANDS) has been given £6000
by the Masons of Edinburgh’s Provincial Grand Lodge
to help it keep operating in the face of a major cash
crisis.
The money means SANDS will be able to offer support
to bereaved families over the Christmas period, which
the
staff at the charity say can be one of the most difficult
times of the year for parents who have lost a baby.
The charity, which has received the public support
of Chancellor Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah, launched
an appeal for private donations after NHS Lothian, Edinburgh
City Council, and the Scottish Executive all refused
to offer ongoing funding for the organization’s £60,000
bill.
It is expected that the latest donation, which has
been raised by the city’s 38 Masonic Lodges, will allow
SANDS to continue running its service until the end of
January, when it is expecting a major donation from Scottish
Equitable. SANDS manager Dorothy Maitland said: “I
was absolutely over the moon when I got the phone call
at the weekend. We are so grateful to the Masons. Christmas
has come early. This money means we will be able to operate
our 24-hour support line and have the office open two
or three days a week."
Since September, the charity
has had to cut back its operating hours to one day a
week because of the funding
shortage, although its four part-time staff have been
putting in extra hours on a voluntary basis. Around 100
babies are stillborn or die soon after birth in the Lothians
every year and SANDS has about 600 families from the
area on its books.
Ms Maitland added: "Now we will be able to keep
working over the Christmas and New Year period, which
is particularly vital because Christmas can be such a
difficult time for parents who have lost a baby.
"
This donation really couldn’t have come at a better
time. It’s wonderful."
SANDS will be holding a special Christmas memorial
service for families at Craiglockhart Parish Church,
Edinburgh,
next Monday.
"
It had also been in doubt whether we would be able to
[hold the service], so this will help with that as
well," added
Ms Maitland.
Alex McLauchlan, Provincial Grand Master of Edinburgh,
said: "The Freemasons support a lot of non-Masonic
charities."
He added that each October the organisation makes a
major donation to a couple of elected charities, but
although
members had not heard about the crisis at SANDS until
after this year’s October payout, the urgency of
the situation was felt to require an immediate donation.
"
When we read about the situation at SANDS, their need
was obvious and urgency was of the essence. We, as Freemasons,
are always happy to help a deserving cause, and we couldn’t
see an organization such as SANDS going down. The expertise,
support and commitment they offer is so important and
hopefully this donation will keep them going until they
can get core funding."
Last month, Tory health spokesman David Davidson and
his SNP counterpart Shona Robison called on ministers
to intervene and ensure the charity was given proper
funding.
SANDS can be contacted at Craiglockhart Sports Centre,
Tournament Building, 177 Colinton Road, Edinburgh,
EH14 1BZ.
Back to top
Ukrainian Parliamentarian Suggests Jailing Freemasons
http://www.mosnews.com/news/2004/12/07/masonsukraine.shtml
Editor’s Note: Is the
following news item a joke? Unfortunately, no. Clearly,
one of
the great missions
of Freemasonry is to educate the public about the true
character of the Craft. This item was forwarded to the Journal by
Bro. Mark A. Tabbert, 32°, Member of the
SRRS Board of Directors and Curator of Masonic and Fraternal
Collections at the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the
Scottish Rite’s National Heritage Museum in Lexington,
Massachusetts.
Ukrainian MP Taras Chornovil has suggested that the
country’s
parliament, the Supreme Rada, introduce criminal responsibility
for Freemasonry, the MigNews web-site reported on Tuesday.
Taras Chornovil is the son of the late nationalist
leader Vyacheslav Chornovil, and his appointment as an
adviser
to presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovich on West-Ukrainian
affairs earlier this year provoked much criticism in
nationalist circles. He will head Yanukovich’s
campaign headquarters in the repeat of the controversial
second round of Ukrainian presidential elections.
He has submitted to the Rada a bill entitled "On
amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine", according
to which, membership of Freemason organizations, or any
other organizations that require rituals and oaths of
higher priority than the current law, must be punished
by a jail sentence of up to three years.
The bill also reads that the members of Masonic organizations
who are Ukrainian civil servants, law enforcers or military
servicemen must be jailed for three to seven years. Ukraine’s
president, members of parliament, civil servants of ministerial
rank, military servicemen and law enforcers of the rank
of major-general or higher, if discovered to be members
of Freemason organizations, may face up to 10 years in
prison.
If the membership in a Masonic organization causes
deaths, a threat to Ukraine’s national integrity
or its defense potential, members of the organization
must be
imprisoned for 10 to 15 years, the bill reads.
In February, the leader of Ukraine’s Socialist
Party, Aleksander Moroz, said that about 300 of Ukraine’s
top officials were members of the St. Stanislaus Order
Masonic Lodge. Later, other left-wing parties and also
the pro-Western bloc headed by Yulia Tymoshenko also
called on the government to ban the St. Stanislaus Order
in Ukraine.
Back to top
