The Brethren
of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry are constantly generating
news relevant to their local or national programs, awards,
and other initiatives. There is just too much news to fit
into the “Current Interest” feature of the
Supreme Council’s official bimonthly publication, The
Scottish Rite Journal. Thus, timely items that cannot
be placed in the published version of the magazine,solely
because of space limitations will appear here in the “NEWS” section
of the Supreme Council’s Web site. Subsequently,
these items will be archived and more recent incoming items
that cannot be in the published magazine will be listed
here. Congratulations to all the Brethren, whether published
on the Internet or in the printed Scottish Rite Journal! Your dynamic contributions to Freemasonry and America are
deeply appreciated.
For the week of
June 14, 2004
New DVD Available
 The 2004 Scottish Rite Leadership Conferences began
with a six-minute video production which was so successful
that it is now available as a DVD for general use. Titled “An
Introduction to the Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction,” the
DVD traces the development of Freemasonry and our Order
from eighteenth-century England to present-day America.
The short program makes a dynamic presentation at any
Masonic meeting and is available for $10(s/h included).
Send checks payable to The Supreme Council to: The Supreme
Council, 1733 16th St., NW, Washington, DC or order through
the Online Store at www.srmason.sj.org.
Back to top
Governor
of Alabama Declares Scottish Rite Week
On March 24, 2004, in a ceremony marking
the 130th anniversary of the Montgomery, Alabama, Lodge
of Perfection (constituted by Grand Commander Albert
Pike on April 13, 1874), the Honorable Bob Riley, Governor
of Alabama, issued a Proclamation declaring the week
of April 13, 2004, “Ancient and Accepted Scottish
Rite Week.” In the Proclamation, Governor Riley
noted that “the Montgomery Lodge of Perfection
has quietly, lawfully, successfully and continuously
toiled with its work in accordance with the blessings
of the Great Architect of the Universe to improve the
lot of all Humanity for One Hundred and Thirty Years.” Congratulations,
Brethren of Montgomery, for receiving this public recognition
of Scottish Rite Freemasonry’s good work for over
a century in Alabama.
Back to top
Scottish
Rite Brother Composes Civil War Symphony
 On March 1,
2003, Bro. Todd W. Goodman, 32°, Valley of Omaha, Nebraska,
was honored to participate in the world premier of his
Symphony No. 1, Fields of Crimson, a musical reflection
on the Civil War battle of Gettysburg, performed by the
Altoona, Pennsylvania, Symphony Orchestra under the direction
of Nicholas Palmer.
Fields of Crimson evokes the battle of Gettysburg through
music and a narrative written as diary entries from the
perspective of an adolescent girl living in the town of
Gettysburg in 1863. The work’s five movements take
the listener through pre-battle preparations, the three
days of battle, and a heartwarming elegy.
Bro. Goodman writes: “When I was a boy growing up
in central Pennsylvania, the Civil War was an omnipresent
theme. The older I got, the more I realized how integral
these few years of history were to the molding of the foundation
of America. When I visited these battlefields, the impression
left on my mind was one of humble and noble awe. Lives
were lost for freedom; freedom from tyranny, freedom of
rights, and freedom for life. Symphony No. 1 “Fields
of Crimson” is my rendition of this story, my realization
and understanding of the necessary horrible evil of war,
and my memorial to this great battle.”
Brother Goodman, age 26, is a member of Bedford Lodge #320,
Bedford, Pennsylvania, where his father, Richard Goodman
is currently Worshipful Master, and his brother, Air Force
Major Richard Goodman II, is also a member. Brother Goodman
now lives in Broomfield, Colorado, and is an active member
of the El Jebel Shrine “True Blue” big band.
For more information on the CD “Fields of Crimson,” contact
Wrong Note Media online at www.WrongNoteMedia.com, call
720-890-0380, or e-mail Brother Goodman at ToddGoodman@WrongNoteMedia.com.
Back to top
Centennial
Celebrated in Tokyo
Masonic Center
Sinim Lodge was founded December 2, 1903,
in Shanghai, China, under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge
of Massachusetts. However, when the “Gang of Four” closed
down all Lodges in China during the 1950s, the Lodge relocated
to Tokyo, where it flourishes today. On December 3, 2003,
as part of a celebration of the Lodge’s Centennial,
an enthusiastic audience of Brethren and guests nearly filled
the Tokyo Masonic Center’s beautiful Scottish Rite
Hall to hear Bro. Robert H. Ryker, 32°, Valley of Tokyo
(left above), conduct a special performance of Bro. Mozart’s
famous Masonic opera, The Magic Flute. Above right, three
talented singers, fulfilling roles as attendants to the Queen
of the Night, are pictured performing one of the opera’s
brilliant trios. Ill. Joe A. Diele, GC, Deputy in Japan and
Korea, joined many Scottish Rite Brethren in giving the performance
a well-deserved standing ovation.
Back to top
Deputy
Kerr Receives Outstanding Award
 On the evening of January 10, 2004, Ill.
Arthur J. Kerr, Deputy of the Supreme Council, 33°, S.J.,
at the Panama Canal, representing SGC Ronald A. Seale, 33°,
attended the installation of MW Enrique Lau Cortes (left
above) as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Panama. Immediately
after the installation, a reception was held at the City
Club in Panama City, Panama, and in the presence of about
300 Masons and guests, the new Grand Master presented Deputy
Kerr with the Grand Master’s Medal in recognition of
Ill. Kerr’s continued support, wise counsel, and exceptional
Masonic service to the Grand Lodge of Panama.
Back to top
AFJROTC
Award in Mississippi
 Recently, Cadet Lt. Col. James Robinson received
the Scottish Rite’s JROTC Education and Americanism
Award. Cadet Robinson is a student at the South Panola High
School, Batesville, Mississippi. The popular award consists
of a certificate suitable for framing, a medal engraved with
the Scottish Rite’s double-headed eagle and the words
JROTC (or ROTC) Education and Americanism, and a ribbon which,
like the medal, can be worn on the ROTC uniform. The Scottish
Rite, S.J., also offers a ROTC award for college and university
students. In a letter dated April 26, 2004, to the Supreme
Council, Colonel Orville G. Robertson, USAF (Ret.), Senior
Aerospace Science Instructor, noted that Cadet Robinson is “a
super young man who will represent your organization in an
outstanding way. He is our Cadet Wing Chaplain and plans
to go into the ministry upon the completion of his studies.” The
award was presented to Cadet Robinson (photo above) by Bro.
Billy W. Shankle, 32°, member of the Valley of Clarksdale,
Mississippi. For information on the JROTC or ROTC programs
sponsored by the Southern Jurisdiction, please contact your
Valley Secretary. Inquiries from the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction
of the Scottish Rite should be addressed to the Grand Executive
Director’s office by calling 202-232-3579, ext. 121.
Back to top
Austin
Learning Center Sponsors Lecture at University of Texas
Principal
participants in the recent dyslexia lecture presented by
the Scottish Rite Learning Center of Austin at the University
of Texas, Austin, were (l. to r.): Dr. Jeffrey L. Black,
32°, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas;
Dr. Bennett Shaywitz and Dr. Sally Shaywitz; Ill. Jack E.
Hightower, SGIG in Texas; and Ill. William B. Hilgers, President,
Scottish Rite Learning Center of Austin.
Photo: Ill. James G. Dougherty, Valley of Austin, Tex.
On March 1, 2004, the Scottish Rite Learning
Center of Austin, Texas, a RiteCare Childhood Language Program
facility, sponsored a dyslexia lecture by the renowned
researchers Drs. Sally and Bennett Shaywitz from the Yale Center for the Study
of Learning and Attention. The event, which was co-sponsored by the University
of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts, Department of Psychology, drew
a standing-room-only audience in the Lyndon B. Johnson Library
and garnered wide
positive attention of the Scottish Rite’s main philanthropy by the University
of Texas community, Austin’s newspapers, all three local TV stations,
Time-Warner Cable News 8, and the Associated Press. It was a special pleasure
for Inspector
Hightower and his wife, Colleen, to welcome Mr. Dick Rathgeber to the event.
Mr. Rathgeber recently donated a substantial piece of real estate to the Scottish
Rite Learning Center of Austin for a new Scottish Rite Learning Center campus
Back to top
SGC
Seale Honored by Society for International Scholars
During the
opening exercises on March 25, 2004, of the 18th International
Conference of Phi Beta Delta, held in the Temple Room of
the House of the Temple, several distinguished persons
received Honorary Life Memberships in Phi Beta Delta in recognition
of their contributions to international relations and scholarship.
Pictured above (front row, l. to r.) are Mr. Michael S.
Swetman,
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Potomac Institute of
Policy Study; Dr. John W. Boettjer, GC, Managing Editor,
Scottish Rite Journal, receiving the award for SGC Ronald
A. Seale who could not be present; Dr. Paul Rich, 32°,
International President, Phi Beta Delta; Dr. William D.
Evans, Honorary Advocate General, Phi Beta Delta; Dr. David
Kay,
Senior Fellow, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies and
formerly United Nations Chief Nuclear Weapons Inspector;
Dr. Frank
Plantan, Professor of International Relations, University
of Pennsylvania, and Executive Director of Sigma Iota Rho;
(second row, l. to r.) Professor Jack A. Siggins, University
Librarian, The George Washington University Library; Dr.
Fritz Korth, Legal Advisor, University of the Americas;
and Dr. Leo Ribuffo, Society of the Cincinnati Distinguished
Professor of History, The George Washington University,
and
International Historian, Phi Beta Delta, who delivered
the Keynote Address for the occasion.
On March 25, 2004, in recognition of his services to international
Freemasonry, Sovereign Grand Commander Ronald A. Seale, 33°,
received Honorary Life Membership in the Gamma Sigma Chapter
of Phi Beta Delta, an honor society for international scholars.
Grand Commander Seale’s induction took place during
the society’s 18th International Conference, which
was held in the Temple Room of the House of the Temple. The
society’s International President, who conducted the
ceremony, is Brother Paul Rich, 32°, Valley of Boston,
Massachusetts. Bro. Rich is Titular Professor of International
Relations and History, University of the Americas-Puebla,
Mexico; a Fellow of the Hoover Institution, Stanford University,
San Francisco; and a noted Masonic scholar published in the
Scottish Rite Journal, the Plumbline, and Heredom.
With some coming from as far away as Colombia and Mexico,
21 outstanding college students or professors were formally
inducted into the society. After the ceremony, about 60
guests attended a reception with refreshments in the
Atrium or enjoyed
a short tour of the House of the Temple. All participants
were given a packet of materials relevant to Freemasonry,
and several expressed their pleasure at both visiting the
national headquarters of the Scottish Rite and learning
more about Freemasonry.
Back to top
|
