Good Morning everyone and welcome to the first day of
Summer!
Now just because it’s Summer and most of our Masonic
activity has gone, ‘dark’ doesn’t mean that we’re totally quiet. Far from it!
We have the Annual Convocation of the Pennsylvania Council
of Deliberation coming up on 9 July at the Valley Forge Casino Resort. Now, for
those of you who’ve never attended the Annual Convocation before or are not a
member of the Council; you are of course welcome and encouraged to attend. The
8 June deadline has past for reservations for the luncheon and banquet, if you
didn’t get yours in on time, yes it is too late for that now, but it is not too
late for you to attend the meeting itself on Saturday afternoon on the 9th.
The meeting begins at 1:30 PM and will last until approximately 4:30 PM. The
dress code for the meeting is business suit or sport coat and tie. We sit in
groups by Valley.
Now in past years the Valley of Philadelphia has had a row or maybe two rows of Brethren attending. In recent years, we’ve seen that grow to two and half to three rows of Brethren attending the Annual Convocation at Hershey (formerly) and at Seven Springs (next year by the way). It’s great to see that many Valley Brethren supporting not only our Valley, but Scottish Rite in Pennsylvania.
Now in past years the Valley of Philadelphia has had a row or maybe two rows of Brethren attending. In recent years, we’ve seen that grow to two and half to three rows of Brethren attending the Annual Convocation at Hershey (formerly) and at Seven Springs (next year by the way). It’s great to see that many Valley Brethren supporting not only our Valley, but Scottish Rite in Pennsylvania.
With this year’s Convocation being held in Valley Forge, I
expect that we might have one of the largest delegations present. Personally, I
would love to see us have as many attending as Allentown, Harrisburg,
Pittsburgh and Reading some day. I think this year might our best chance yet.
Will we do it? We’ll find out on the 9th of July.
For those that did pay to attend the Banquet and Luncheon,
you will want to arrive at the hotel in the morning on July 9th.
When you get there you will go to the ‘Ask Me’ table, which this year will be
staffed by our very own, Ill. James C. Rae, 33° MSA and Bro. Thomas H. Wible,
32° MSA. They will have your tickets for both events. If you get to the hotel
between 9:30 AM and 11:30 AM, be sure to stop by the Council’s Hospitality
Room. Bro. Norman R. Greene III, 32° MSA and myself are your gracious hosts
during that time period and based on recent years, we could sure use the
company. A lot of folks have just had breakfast at that time of the morning and
they’re usually not interested in cookies, potato chips, pretzels, sodas and
the like. But stop by any way, Norm and I will have some good conversation for
you.
On the 30th of July, we will again gather in the
picnic grove at the Cannstatter Volkfest Verein, 9130 Academy Road in NE
Philadelphia for the Valley’s Annual Family Summer Picnic. Cannstatter is
located right off the Academy Road exit of I-95. Our picnic is on from 12 to
5PM and lunch and dinner are served. The cost per person of for tickets is $15
for those ages 13 and up and $10 for those 12 and under. Master Masons, WHO ARE
NOT SCOTTISH RITE MASONS AND MEMBERS OF THE VALLEY OF PHILADELPHIA, are welcome
to attend for free. They are welcome to bring their families along for the
admission fee. Talk to the Lodge Brother and invite him to come along. We’ll
have games and activities for everyone, or you can just enjoy the day anyway
you’d like. Tickets must be purchased in advance! Get yours by sending in your check to the Scottish Rite Office, Masonic Temple, One North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107-2520. Don’t miss
out on the picnic, it’s always a fun day. Our Sovereign Prince, Ill. Harry
Rutter, 33° and the other Officers of DeJoinville Council, Princes of
Jerusalem, 16°, hope to see YOU and your family there!
So that’s what’s happening this Summer. Hopefully we’ll see
you at both events.
Don’t forget the Double Eagle Car Show on Saturday, October
1st at the Cannstatter. The event runs 10 AM to 2 PM. If it rains,
we’ll see you on Saturday, October 8th. If you have a custom or
classic car, and you want to enter in the show, it will cost you $20, if you want
to come and see the cars, the cost to get in is only $5. There will be music,
food, games, and trophies for the cars.
Special thanks goes out to Bro. Timothy J. Curran Jr., 32°
for putting this thing together. This is a fund raising event for YOUR Valley
Brethren. Your support of it is appreciated and vital to its success. Spread
the word and please plan to attend. Tim’s calling it the Double Eagle Car Show
this year, I told him if we have one next year, we’ll have to change the name
to the Double Eagle Classic. Imagine that on a trophy; ‘Double Eagle Classic –
Best in Show.’ Cool huh? Please support our show and thanks again to Bro. Tim
for his vision.
Sometime later this week, I will have a SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
regarding another fund raising event for the Valley that will take place this
September. I promise you, you will not want to miss it!
Our Fall Reunion will begin as part of the Grand Lodge’s One
Day Masonic Journey on Saturday, 29 October at LuLu Shriners. We will present
our work that day via DVD. All Master Masons are welcome to join our Valley
that day for the price of our annual dues, $99. Spread the word!
The Fall Class will be named in honor of our Right
Worshipful Grand Master, Ill. Raymond T. Dietz, 33°. We will invite all the one
day Class members to attend a Special Communication of Philadelphia Lodge of
Perfection and a Special Assembly of Kilwinning Chapter of Rose Croix, on
Friday, 11 November here at the Grand Lodge, when those two Bodies will present
their signature Degrees. The Right Worshipful Grand Master will be here to
welcome those new Brethren to our Valley and to Scottish Rite Freemasonry.
Plan now to attend our Valley’s Holiday Party on Saturday,
December 17, 2016 at the Heritage Ballrooms, 2107 MacDade Boulevard in Holmes,
PA. The cost per person is $30. The evening will include a Social Hour at 6PM
with a delicious buffet dinner following at 7PM. DJ Bill Scheivert is back to
rock the place again this year, so be ready to hit the dance floor after
dinner! Beat the holiday rush and send your check in now. There is a flyer for
the event in the May issue of The Double Eagle, or you can download one from
the Valley’s website by visiting, http://www.philascottishrite.org/announcements.html
I’ve ordered our 2017 Dues Billing from the Supreme Council.
Which means once they are run you will receive your bill in the mail. Please be
sure to include your billing statement with your check when paying your dues.
Make your dues check and any check you make out to the Valley for any purpose,
payable to, ‘Scottish Rite Bodies.’ Please be patient, we are one 107 Valleys
that the Supreme Council will be running billing for. I promise I won’t suspend
anyone, well, at least not until this time next year and only if you’re two
years behind in dues. Believe me, I don’t enjoy
having to do that.
Well, it’s the first day of Summer and they’re calling for
it to be in the 90’s. Stay cool, stay hydrated and check on the elderly. Ill.
G. Kent Hackney, 33°, are you okay? Have a great day!
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