Scottish Rite Masons and their Families VALLEY VOICE November 2015
Valley of Detroit VALLEYVOICE November, 2015 Valley Voice is the official publication of Detroit Scottish Rite. The Bodies of the Scottish Rite, sitting in the Valley of Detroit, State of Michigan, acknowledge and yield allegiance to the Supreme Council, 33 o, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry for the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States of America whose Grand East is in Lexington, Massachusetts. Ill. John Wm. McNaughton, 33 o Sovereign Grand Commander On the Cover: January Valley Meeting Tuesday, January 12, 2016 ~ 7:30 p.m. INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO Produced by Ric Testasecca, 33 o, MSA Director of the Work Ill. David R. Bedwell, 33 o Deputy for Michigan Ill. William J. Dover, 33 o, MSA Active Member for Michigan Ill. Walter F. Wheeler, 33 o Active Member for Michigan Ill. Erwin W. O Dell, 33 o, MSA Active Member Emeritus Ill. Gerald F. Thorp, 33 o, MSA Active Member Emeritus The Members only Valley meeting will be opened by Mt. Olivet Chapter of Rose Croix. Then our Director of the Work will host a discussion of what is important to conduct a successful Valley Reunion Degree. There will be highlights of the 2015 Fall Reunion practice that Ric will use to show what was good, and where improvement is needed. This should prove to be very informative and entertaining! 32ndDegreeMasons.org All correspondence concerning this Publication should be directed to the Executive Secretary of the Valley of Detroit, Timothey S. Marshbanks, 33 o Mailing Address 907 Monroe St. Dearborn, MI 48124-2309 313.724.1907 Fax 313.724.1996 Toll Free 877.320.6432 Email valleyofdetroit@32nddegreemasons.org Editor Ill. David R. Bedwell, 33 o dbedwell@ameritech.net Permission to reprint original articles in the Valley Voice is granted to all recognized Masonic publications with credit to the author and this publication. Copyright 2015 Board of Trustees of the Scottish Rite Bodies of the Valley of Detroit
November Valley Meeting November 10, 2015 ~ 7:30 p.m. ~Border Security with Brother Brian Behan~ Brian is a Supervisory Border Patrol Agent with the U.S. Border Patrol stationed in Gibraltar, Michigan Brother Brian will discuss current border issues in our area and nationwide. He will also discuss the equipment used in our area and what he needs to have when he goes to work each day. Please contact our Valley office for reservations at 877.320.6432 or ValleyofDetroit@32ndDegreeMasons.org Open to Members, Family and Friends The Valley of Detroit invites you to celebrate St. Andrew s Day with a Scottish Rite Festive Board Saturday, November 21, 2015 Scottish Rite Masonic Center 907 Monroe ~ Dearborn Social Hour 6:00 p.m. ~ Dinner 7:00 p.m. Each participant will receive a commemorative gift. Seating is Limited ~ $50.00 per person Prepaid Reservations required no later than Friday, November 13, 2015 St. Andrew s Day is the feast day of Saint Andrew. It is celebrated on the 30th of November. Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, Greece, Romania, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and Saint Andrew, Barbados.
CALLING ALL OFFICER CANDIDATES It s Autumn and time for us to re-kindle our Masonic associations and activities. It s also time for the Valley of Detroit s Nominating Committee to begin its work leading to the recommendation of candidates for officers in the coordinate bodies and members of the Board of Trustees. There s really no better way to learn the internal workings of the Valley than to serve as an officer or Board member. You ll be associating with some highly talented and dedicated Masons as well as taking part in a most excellent organization. If your schedule permits and you d like to serve, please contact the Executive Secretary, Tim Marshbanks, via email or by phone at 313.724.1907. Soon the Nominating Committee will be conducting interviews. Give it some thought you may find it a truly rewarding experience. William J. Sauget, 33 o, Chairman Nominating Committee Save the Date Arturo de Hoyos speaks at the Valley of Detroit Tuesday, April 12 2016 ~ 7:30 p.m. Scottish Rite Masonic Center Don t miss this rare opportunity offered to Scottish Rite members and their Master Mason guests! Arturo de Hoyos, 33, Grand Archivist of the AASR Southern Jurisdiction, is the author, editor, and translator of more than 25 books and many articles, he s considered America s foremost scholar on the history, rituals, and symbolism of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, and most other Masonic orders, rites, and systems. As seen on the History Channel and NBC s Dateline, CNN s The Situation Room and many other programs. Both Scottish Rite members and Master Masons are invited. Look for registration online soon! You will not want to miss this!
The Brethren and Ladies of the Valley of Detroit are cordially invited to a Valley Holiday Party Tuesday, December 8, 2015 ~ 7:30 p.m. Scottish Rite Masonic Center ~ Dearborn There is no charge for this adults only event. Seating is limited, please make your reservations no later than November 23, 2015. 877.320.6432 or ValleyofDetroit@32ndDegreeMasons.org or via our website www.32nddegreemasons.org Free Parking is now available February Valley Meeting Tuesday, February 9, 2016 ~ 7:30 p.m. The officers are working very hard to set up a Made in Detroit. Valentine Vodka Tasting to celebrate the Feast of St. Valentine. St. Valentine s Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. The day was first associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. Please use this as a save the date. Ladies invited. More details as the event becomes finalized.
The Degrees of the Scottish Rite ~ by Richard T. Testasecca, 33 o, MSA, Director of the Work The Degrees of the Scottish Rite are one-act plays often staged with costume, scenery, special effects, and the full rigging of any production. The purpose of the plays is to examine different philosophies, ancient religions, and systems of ethics. Through these degrees, people have tried to answer certain universal questions. The Degrees of the Rite do not tell a person how he should think about these questions. Instead, the portrayals depict what great thinkers and civilizations of the past have thought, and they try to create a situation in which the candidate or Brother can gain insight. Theatre is the oldest known means of teaching, especially of teaching abstract ideas. It was one of the principal means of instruction in the Middle Ages as well as in ancient Greece and Rome. Masonry borrows the techniques of theatre to make its lessons more impressive and to aid the candidate in forming the beginnings of what it is hoped will be a lifelong pattern of study and thought. Most of the Degrees are set in ancient Israel because it is from the legends surrounding King Solomon s Temple that Masonry takes many of its parables and lessons. Ancient Egypt and Medieval Europe also serve as Degree settings. Almost every Master Mason who is afforded an opportunity to petition for the Scottish Rite Degrees naturally raises the question in his mind, Why should I take the Scottish Rite Degrees? It is a fair and quite appropriate question for him to ask as it is of utmost importance that the prospective initiate have a clear and definite understanding of what the Rite stands for and is endeavoring to accomplish. Here are a few reasons: The Scottish Rite Degrees give us a sense of historical values and standards. Today is the child of yesterday, and no one can understand the significance of the important events that are shaking the world unless he sees them from the vantage point of history. Out of the crises of the past, man has discovered principles that are as solid as the mountains, as enduring as the stars. The moral truths that prevailed in Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome are just as valid, just as imperative in the digital 21st century. In his confidence in the reality of these principles, man has built his faith in the permanent value of moral truth. Here is to be found the basis of optimism, of faith in the free institutions, and of confidence in a civilization resting on ethical principles. No man can witness the Degrees of the Scottish Rite and be either a cynic or a pessimist. They renew his faith in God, in man, and in the process of history. The Scottish Rite Degrees put into picturesque, but explicit language, the civic and social ideals implicit in the Blue Lodge Degrees. For centuries, Freemasonry has been a tremendous force for enlightenment, freedom, and social progress in Europe and in the Americas. Why did the Nazi oppressors hate Masonry? Why did they violate the sacred emblems of the Craft? Why did they hunt down with ruthless cruelty our Masonic leaders? Particularly, why did the totalitarians persecute Masons of all Degrees? They knew that tyranny is threatened wherever a Masonic Lodge or Temple exists. Freemasonry is a compelling and conquering spiritual force, and the reasons are revealed in the Scottish Rite Degrees. Scottish Freemasonry is the foe of intolerance, fanaticism, and superstition. It battles every form of racial and sectarian prejudice and bigotry. It is a mighty exponent of freedom in thought, religion, and government. Thus, the Scottish Rite is a rite of instruction. It interprets the symbols and allegories of Masonry in the light of history and philosophy using the words of the supreme prophets of humanity, ceremonies of the great religions of the world, and significant episodes from history to point the moral and adorn the tale. The Scottish Rite makes application of the doctrines of Freemasonry to every realm of human activity. The individual Mason is taught to put into practice in his personal life and thought, the lessons learned in the Blue Lodge, by showing through illustrations from history and human evolution how the Mason may make his influence felt for the principles of free thought, free government, free education, and free religion. The Scottish Rite Mason is the foe of intolerance, bigotry, and ignorance in all their forms. That is what the Scottish Rite Degrees are all about.
The Board of Trustees of the Scottish Rite Bodies of the Valley of Detroit 32 o Masons and Their Families 907 Monroe Street Dearborn, MI 48124-2309 Dated Material - Please Do Not Delay Support Your Club Blue Water Club Bernie Kirchoff 810.364.9702 Voyager Restaurant 525 Riverside Dr. St Clair 3rd Monday, 6:30 P.M. Macomb Club Chris Fildes 313.885.1500 Ram s Horn Restaurant 23815 Jefferson St. Clair Shores Last Saturday- Sept., Nov., Jan, Feb., March, & May- 9:00 A.M. Sajo s Restaurant 36470 Moravian Dr. Clinton Twp. Last Tuesday- April & October- 6:00 P.M. Oakland Club Damon Garascia 248.388.8210 Jimi s Restaurant 714 S. Washington Royal Oak 2nd Monday, 6:15 P.M. Club of the Lakes Les Ferguson 313.414.1792 Pinckney Masonic Center 210 Mann St. in Pinckney 3rd Sunday, 11:00 A.M. Downriver/Monroe Club Douglas S. Simpson 313.274.1546 Leon s Family Dining 8787 Telegraph in Taylor 2nd Saturday, 9:00 A.M. Jackson Club Ken Strobel 517.787.2680 The Groto Club 120 E. Washington Ave. Jackson 517.782.4934 2nd Sunday, 8:30 A.M. S.E.M. Club Royd Buchele 517.270.1340 The Clinton Inn 104 West Michigan Ave. Clinton 1st Thursday, 6:00 P.M. November 2015 7 FALL REUNION 10 Valley Meeting 21 Festive Board December 2015 8 Holiday Party Calendar January 2016 12 Valley Meeting ~ Inside the Actors Studio February 2016 9 Valley Meeting 20 CPL Class March 2016 8 Valley Meeting 19 Membership Social 26 Easter Eve