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Calendar
December 2018 Dec 03 Executive Committee 7:00 p.m. Dec 10 Holiday Celebration at MMC With the Ladies Social 6:00 p.m. / Dinner 6:30 p.m. / Program 7:30 p.m. Dec 26 Holiday Luncheon (Wednesday) 11:30 a.m. til ?? Casual Twin Trees III Restaurant (Order from the Menu) January 2019 Jan. 07 Executive Committee 7:00 p.m. Jan. 14 Spring Membership Night w/ Ladies & Guests Night Social 6:00 p.m. / Dinner 6:30 p.m. / Program 7:30 p.m. Jan. 19 Knights of St. Andrew Burns Supper 5:00 p.m. @ Coleman’s Restaurant Jan. 28 Knights of St. Andrew Reboot Meeting 7:30 p.m. Refreshments to Follow Consistory Well the time is going fast. It seems that we just started the Masonic year and now we are 4 months into it. December does not hold much for the Consistory as there are many Christmas festivities going on for everyone and they families, so we kept it short. We have the Executive Committee meeting on December 3rd at 7pm. Don’t forget the Christmas Celebration Dinner December 10th . December 26th is the Holiday Luncheon with our ladies at Twin Trees III Restaurant at 11:30 am. Order off the Menu and this is a casual event. Come out and enjoy a great social event with good food and fellowship for all. I have set the picnic committee which will be Ill James Swan, DB Garry Visconti, DB Lawrence Egnaczyk, DB Earl Tuttle, DB James Nelson, SP Kenneth Sterling and SP Caleb Haines along with their wives. We have started the planning process and will meet monthly to ensure that we have a great picnic on July 20, 2019. If you have any ideas that you would like to see for the kids or adults, please let us know. This will be a catered event to ensure that all members have a good time. This is just a start to Family Life Programs as we can expand from this to other family activities I would like to wish that everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Years. I look forward to seeing you all in Lodge next year. D.B. Garry L. Visconti, 32° MSA Commander in Chief Chapter Dear Brethren, Internationally recognized author Rudolph Steiner once stated, “The heights of the spirit can only be climbed by passing through the portals of humility.” Similarly, although less cited than the symbolic pelican of this degree, the eagle in the 18˚ per DeHoyos’s Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor and Guide, “is an emblem of a wise man, because his wings bear him above the clouds, into the purer atmosphere and nearer to the source of Light, and within that Light his eyes are not dazzled.” Steiner elaborates, “You can only acquire right knowledge when you have learnt to esteem it.” In other words, valuing what you learn means putting knowledge into action and arriving to a place of consistency and not complacency or delusion of grandeur (dazzle) in its practice and defense. Indeed, the milestones and degrees achieve in Masonry are only reminders of standards we have set for ourselves as we evolve into the future. Personally, when I contemplate wisdom, I recall hearing lessons of the three Magi as a youth. Later I discovered that these were the same Magi whose earliest depiction shows them wearing Phrygian caps; a symbol of freedom and pursuit of liberty whose ancient use much like the Pileus was not only symbolic of manumission and civic duty, but whose message carried through to America in our use of Colombia as a national symbol of freedom prior to the Statue of Liberty. When conflated, I am reminded to protect our rights to freedom of religion and of those who find a heightened sense of their personal faith in the Rose Croix degrees. To our Knights of the Rose Croix, know that the faith spoken of therein is to teach a faith in ourselves, our fellow man, and G-d who is infinitely merciful and loving. Know that we are to have Hope in the triumph of Masonry, which shall help make all men one family and in the hereafter. And Charity, which relieves the distressed; Charity for the faults and injustices of our Brethren, and those who differ from us in opinion and charity in its highest and noblest sense of affection and love. In conclusion, I hope all of you are seeking positive growth and transformation in your own lives and are healthy in the Holiday season while you gather with friends and family. I look forward to seeing you all at our Holiday Celebration December 10th, 2018 with your ladies for Social at 6:00 p.m., dinner 6:30, and program at 7:30 p.m. Sincerely & Fraternally, Caleb Haines, 32° Most Wise Master Council Greetings Princes, I want to wish a joyous and blessed Holiday season to all our brethren and their families. For those Brothers who can, consider inviting a Brother over to you home if they have no one to spend the celebrations with, sharing your time with a lonely Brother might be the most thoughtful gift you can give. This year, we will be doing the 15th Degree, one which we have not done for a while. Through this month we will be recruiting our cast, and so we can get the parts out early to assist in memorization. We will be holding two rehearsals for this Degree prior to it’s conferral on Saturday, March 23rd . I have been spending some time lately with a couple of my hobbies, drawing and painting and playing music. There are a lot of things which go into art, be it creating music or doing work with a visual medium, but one thing which can bring the level of art to a higher state is the use of contrast. A drawing made of the same tonal values tends to be flat, and somewhat uninteresting, even if it is well rendered. The same with music, if you play every note at the same volume and in the same register, the music can blend into the background. Adding contrast, creating different levels of tone, makes all the tones used stand out more. We do the same things in our degrees. We typically have contrasting characters, characters who show good sides or bad sides to their thoughts and beliefs, and it is the dark contrasting with the light which helps to allow the light to shine all the brighter. We find in most relationships, that there are such contrasts as well. Friendships, marriages, being parents, all have times of strain or difficulties. While we don’t necessarily welcome these strained times, the joy of these can be found in reconciling the differences, and because of those more difficult times, the better days shine through in radiance. So I wish you all the proper contrasts within your lives that the full glory of the brightest days can enlighten your world to its best levels. I also wish that these holiday celebrations are such that they are only of the most brilliant and best type of light. Fraternally, James A. Nelson, 32º Sovereign Prince Lodge Welcome back brethren! As the cold winds of winter quickly approach, I want to first say I hope you all have had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving that you were able to spend with those that matter the most in your lives. For some, that means family, for others that means friends, for others, it means merely giving back to the communities that we so faithfully try to serve in our everyday lives. I would like to say thank you to all those brothers that were able to make it to the Veterans Affairs here in Syracuse to help give back to those veterans that have sacrificed their blood, sweat, and tears to make this country the greatest one on the face of the earth. Whether you were able to make it out in person, or just donate some time and possibly DVDs to the VA, I want to say Thank You from the bottom of my heart. December means we will likely have snow and cold weather. It is also a relatively slow month for the Lodge of Perfection. So slow in fact, we don’t really have very much going on. The Valley of Syracuse is having a Holiday Celebration on December 10 th and a Holiday Luncheon on December 26 th . And that’s pretty much it. I will be unavailable to make any meetings in January and February because of work, but I am leaving the Lodge in the graceful hand of Brother Terry Byard. He has my full support and utmost respect for the job that he has done as my Deputy. The lodge is in great hands. Lastly, I would like to wish you all a very blessed Holiday season, and the happies of New Years! Thank you for the continued support and all the challenges and fellowship that comes along with it! Hope to see you all soon! Fraternally, Ken Sterling, 32° Thrice Potent Master Welcome to My World Notes from the Children’s Dyslexia Center CNY Happy Holidays! Can you believe that it is that time of year already? First item of news is the Walk-a-Thon; it was a great day and a great fund-raiser. We had many families and young people attending and walking. The Rainbow Girls have chosen our Center as their project this year and several of the girls came to walk and raise funds directly. It was fun to see everyone here. We raised a wonderful amount of money through our ads, the walk sponsors, the chicken BBQ and our bake sale. If you missed it this year, we hope you will be able to join us next year. All the children and tutors are off to a great start (despite one round of a nasty flu that has gone around). Having a minimum of 12 children and 6 tutors (and all of the family members who accompany the children) at the Center each day keeps Gineal and I very busy. We have had many calls for information, received several new applications and I have had meetings with all of the parents. Fall is always busy as we settle in but this year seems even busier. I was fortunate to attend the International Dyslexia Conference in Connecticut the end of October. Because it is within driving distance our Board graciously allowed our two supervisors to attend with me. The three of us were able to attend a total of 24 sessions over the three days and we obtained a great deal of information and reinforcement material that we can now share with the other tutors at the Center. I have exciting news about Glenn. You will remember that he came to us as a 4th grader with almost no basic reading skills and minimal knowledge of the alphabet. His tutor told me this week that Glenn is taking ownership of almost 1/3 of the alphabet and can sound out some one syllable words on his own. What a wonderful accomplishment for this extremely bright young man whose brain fights him in all his efforts to put sounds and letters together. I will gladly be bringing you more news of his accomplishments throughout the year. As always, we invite you to visit Monday through Thursday, from 1 to 6PM. We have children from 3-6 every day. Just give us a call. A reminder: The GALA fundraiser which will take place on Saturday, March 9th at Hart’s Hill in Whitesboro. We are eternally grateful for all of your support and continued interest in our program. Linda L. Martin, Director Email- lmartin@cnyclc.org Phone- (315) 736-0574 Mail- Children’s Dyslexia Center- CNY PO Box 638 Oriskany, NY 13424 Lodge Ambassadors Greetings my Brothers, The Central City Bodies A.A.S.R.Valley of Syracuse is extending an offer to present programs to your Blue Lodges for your Brother Bring a Friend events. If we can assist in helping to build your membership please let us know. We have Lodge Ambassadors that are willing to present programs that may be of interest to your members and their Ladies. We also have several programs that non-Scottish Riters are able to attend. You can contact me or the Valley Secretary at 315-452-7976. Fraternally, Lodge Ambassador Initiative Chairman D.B. Lawrence W. Egnaczyk,32`MSA; lwegnaczyk@verizon.net (H) Ph. # 315-637-4143 (C) Ph. # 315-632-1043 MSA Recipients Announced On behalf of the officers and Members of the Valley of Syracuse I am pleased to announce three (3) S.P.R.S. Scottish Rite 32⁰ Masons, members of the Valley of Syracuse were recognized and honored by the Council Of Deliberation A.A.S.R, New York September 29, 2018 when elected to receive the New York State Council of Deliberation Meritorious Service award and the accompanying “Red Hat” at its 2018 Annual Convocation. Distinguished Brothers Carl F. Fahrenkrug, 32⁰ MSA, James A. Nelson, 32⁰ MSA, and William H. Toth, II, 32⁰ MSA received their symbolic Red Hats during the Valley of Syracuse Annual Awards and Recognition Ceremony Monday evening October 22, 2018 at the Masonic Memorial Center in North Syracuse. They will be honored at the 2019 Council of Deliberation September 28, 2019 when they are presented their Meritorious Service Award Jewel and Plaque. Please congratulate these three very deserving Scottish Rite Masons for election to receive this recognition when you next see them. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! The festive Holiday Season is upon us once again. The traditional greetings of “Merry Christmas, Happy New Year!” have given way to the now socially acceptable greeting “Happy Holidays!”. Whatever your preference, the Officers of Central City Bodies, and the staff at the Valley of Syracuse Scottish Rite Office extends their sincere Holiday Greetings to all who take the time to scan and read our Scottish Rite page each issue. To the leaders in the four Bodies of Scottish Rite in the Valley of Syracuse this year thank you for the support and assistance provided to your office staff. To all of our fellow Scottish Riters wherever you may be this Holiday Season; our prayers and thoughts are with you. May your travels all be safe. Please make certain to remember our Valley Members on Active Duty in the Military in your thoughts and prayers. On behalf of D.B. Garry L. Visconti, 32º MSA Commander-In-Chief, Central City Consistory, S.P.R.S. Caleb W. Haines, 32º, Most Wise Master, Central City Chapter Rose Croix, D. B. James A. Nelson, 32º MSA, Sovereign Prince, Central City Council Princes of Jerusalem, S.P.R.S. Kenneth D. Sterling, 32º, Thrice Potent Master, Central City Lodge of Perfection and your office staff; Mrs. Sharon Fox, Mrs. Sharon Swan, and Ill.·. James D. Swan, Jr., 33º, Valley of Syracuse Secretary, Happy Holidays! 2019 – 2020 Scholarship Applications Available Applications to apply for 2019 – 2020 Academic Year Supreme Council, AASR Leon M. Abbott Scholarships and New York State Council of Deliberation Scholarship Aid are now available for pick up at the Central City Bodies, A.A.S.R. Valley of Syracuse Scottish Rite Office (315) 452-7976, mailed to you from the Valley Office, or online. Go to the Valley of Syracuse Web site www.syr-aasr.org for the links to obtain the information on line. Application titled “Application for Scottish Rite Scholarship Aid Leon M. Abbott and/or NYS Council of Deliberation” To all applicants: The deadline date to submit your completed applications to the Valley of Syracuse is Monday April 1, 2019. That means in the office by close of business Monday April 1, 2019. Applications received after 4:00 p.m. Monday April 1, 2019 will not be considered. New Applications must be used. There is one combined Application for 2019- 2020. The Combined Application must be used. Graduating High School Seniors may apply again this year. The members of our Youth Groups; Triangle, Rainbow, and DeMolay; are eligible to apply for financial assistance. Students who complete the program at the Children’s Dyslexia Centers in New York State may also apply. Nine applicants from the Valley of Syracuse received financial assistance from this program for the 2018-2019 scholastic year. Congratulations and best wishes to them. Please contact the Valley Office at (315) 452-7976 if you have any questions or require assistance and information. 2019 Member’s Dues Notices You will have received by the date you read this article, or you will receive in the very near future the Annual Member’s Dues notice to pay your 2019 Central City Bodies, A.A.S.R., Valley of Syracuse Member’s Dues. Please contact the Valley office if you have any questions or believe that the invoice you received is incorrect. As a reminder to all, Supreme Council stopped issuing a new Member’s Dues Card annually replacing it with a plastic permanent Member’s Card several years ago. Please remember to keep your permanent card with you. If you have lost or misplaced your permanent Member’s Card, please contact the office to obtain a new one. Contact phone number for the Valley of Syracuse Office: 315-452-7976 E-Mail: Jim Swan: ny017@twcny.rr.com Sharon Fox: adminny@twcny.rr.com Please contact us whenever assistance or information is needed. Knights of St. Andrew Reboot The Knights of St. Andrew are reorganizing and invite all members of the Valley of Syracuse to join in our reboot. Jewels will soon be available for all paid members to wear at Valley functions and will be available to order at our January 28th meeting. New benefits of membership will include early notices for Chapter sponsored events such as the Burns Supper as well as a discounted cost for those events. Regular membership is available to all members in the Valley and Emeritus membership is available to MSAs & 33rds. Come to our meeting on January 28th for more details or email Rick Powell rjpowell @ syr-aasr.org One application to apply for a 2019-2020 LEON M. ABBOTT SCOTTISH RITE SCHOLARSHIP or a 2019-2020 NYS COUNCIL OF DELIBERATION SCHOLARSHIP AID is to be submitted in 2019. The application form entitled “Application for Scottish Rite Scholarship Aid Leon M. Abbott and/or NYS Council of Deliberation” is the only application to be used APPLICATIONS FROM PRIOR YEARS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED All applications submitted through the Valley of Syracuse must be in the Valley of Syracuse office no later than March 28, 2019. Applications received in the office after March 28, 2019 will not receive consideration. Note: These directions MUST be followed without exception. Failure to follow these instructions will result in the rejection of your application. Leon M. Abbott Scholarship In 1922, a college scholarship program was inaugurated with an initial appropriation from Supreme Council funds. In 1932, Leon M. Abbott bequeathed additional funds to establish an Education and Charity Fund. The first Abbott scholarship was awarded in 1951. NYS Council of Deliberation Scholarship The New York State Council of Deliberation Scholarships are open to any NY Scottish Rite Mason, his child or grandchild and any member of the NYS Masonic Youth Groups. Eligibility criteria are listed as follows:
All applications must be received in the Valley of Syracuse office no later than MARCH 28, 2019 to be considered. Please make certain that the correct application is used for the appropriate situation. It is our wish to continue to support students in New York State who are children and grandchildren of Scottish Rite Masons. Remember that all applications and supporting documentation must be submitted and signed by the valley scholarship committee chairman. Incomplete or unsigned forms will be returned to the valley. Supporting documentation must include two (2) copies of the following: a. at least one confidential letter of recommendation; b. the most current college transcript; c. for high school students, grades must be included d. the most current copy of the FAFSA form; e. Students must have a minimum G.P.A. of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale to qualify. Click on the file link below for Current 2019-2020 application: 
Calendar
November 2018 Nov. 05 Trustees 6:15 p.m. / Executive Committee 7:00 p.m. Nov. 12 Veteran’s Recognition Night Social 6:00 p.m. / Dinner 6:30 p.m. / Program 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19 Consistory Confer 27° 7:30 p.m. “Knight of Jerusalem” (Live) Refreshments following meeting Nov. 22 Happy Thanksgiving! December 2018 Dec 03 Executive Committee 7:00 p.m. Dec 10 Holiday Celebration at MMC With the Ladies Social 6:00 p.m. / Dinner 6:30 p.m. / Program 7:30 p.m. Dec 26 Holiday Luncheon (Wednesday) 11:30 a.m. til ?? Casual Twin Trees III Restaurant (Order from the Menu) Consistory As we head into November all the leaves have changed colors and are falling off the trees. As we look to Thanksgiving, we are taught to be thankful for all we have in life. For me, I am thankful to be associated with all the Brothers of Scottish Rite. So, enjoy this month with your families as we only have a couple dates set. The Trustees will meet on November 5th at 6:15 pm & all Body Heads and Trustees need to attend. Executive Committee will meet November 5th at 7:00 pm, all committee members need to attend. November 12th we will have our Veterans Program. Social at 6:00 pm, dinner at 6:30 pm and at 7:30 pm the Ill Sandy Samson will be performing the Ring Around the World. Please come out to support our Veterans. November 19th we will confer the 27th Degree. We will open at 7:30 pm and will have a live cast perform the degree. In the October Executive Committee, we decide to bring back the summer family picnics. It will be held on July 20, 2019 noon to 5 pm. This will be held at the Cicero American Legion and will be a catered event so bring out your entire family. There will be games and activities for the kids and the young at heart. This should be a great event, and everyone will have a great time. Stay tune for more information to come out. I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and do not eat too much. D.B. Garry L. Visconti, 32° MSA Commander in Chief Chapter Dear Brethren, As September ends on a high note with the success of the NYS Council of Deliberation 2018 I am reinvigorated for October and look forward to seeing all who can attend the Valley. Why? The COD (a meeting of Scottish Rite Valleys of the entire State of New York) showed the continued positive progress, attitude and relationship of our youth organizations, Grand Lodge and Scottish Rite as emphasized by Grandmaster Sardone. Verily, keeping a positive mental attitude in regards to the future of our noble craft is a key to our future success as echoed by the wisdom of our Grandmaster and leaders who are asking tough questions, finding solutions and working overtime to ensure a bright future. To make this effort work, we need not only the Valley’s help, but also the receptivity of our Blue Lodges. Accordingly, as a new interface between Scottish Rite and blue lodges is being fostered it is encouraged for blue lodges to schedule a visit by a Scottish Rite Ambassador at a time where programming is needed. To do so, please reach out to the Scottish Rite Valley in your district to share the further light and fellowship the Scottish Rite NMJ has to offer. Thankfully, it is now more than ever a truly great time to become a Scottish Rite Mason with the advent of the Hauts Grade Academy éducation, a fresh new member kit, and incentives creating a dynamic and cohesive Scottish Rite experience. In conclusion, as October unfolds, I hope to see you for the 4th degree on the 8th, that we have a successful and profitable walk for the Children’s Dyslexia Center, a successful Awards and Recognition dinner on the 22nd and that our fall season greets you well. Peace be with you. Sincerely & Fraternally, Caleb Haines, 32° Most Wise Master Council Greetings Princes, I hope this communication finds you all well. I recently attended a Boy Scout Order of the Arrow training weekend. The focus on this course was regarding declining numbers of membership, and three key areas which most impact potential growth. One big takeaway from the training session was that changes are needed in what OA Lodges were doing or the decline in membership would continue and eventually the organization would come to an end. Many organizations face this same issue, even this of ours. We do many things right, we stand for making good men better, so membership isn’t declining because of what we teach, how we act, or what we stand for. As you might have noticed, we are making changes to how we do some things. We have the extensive learning course Hauts Grade to give us an opportunity to delve deeper into the Degrees for more meaning and understanding of what we are being given. We have the Ambassador program to bring our message to the Lodges, encourage members who have not been active to come out again and be part of our fellowship and teaching. We have the “Not just a man, A Mason” ad program. Through many initiatives we are changing how we are looking to engage members and gain new members so our Fraternity and Scottish Rite can thrive. We brothers know the value of our Fraternity, we know the value of what we do. We need to share this with others who are not part of our Fraternal order, and bring others to light. The world needs more good men who are willing to work to make our communities better, and Masonic teachings can do just that. One thing we have done in the past in our Valley is to offer a program called December’s Rose, a program open to the public which shows a bit of what Masonry is about. There is another such program which is about Abraham Lincoln. Currently we are not doing either presentation. Both need brothers who will take parts in these dramatic and moving programs. I have wanted to put together the Lincoln program for a while now. I need some help to bring this about, I am looking for a few brothers who would like to take a part in this program. You can contact me or the Scottish Rite office to offer your help by taking a role. Once we have the cast we can offer this program to lodges. This is a small change, an opportunity to reach out in a different way. This being a public program it can even be open to anyone in the community to come see it. I encourage each member of our Fraternity to do their part. Make a change in how we extend ourselves to the community, and how we reach out to gain new brothers into this wonderful organization that makes meaningful changes with ourselves. Let’s find new ways to share the light, so that we can grow and our little corners of the world can be made better. Sincerely and Fraternally, James A. Nelson, 32º Sovereign Prince Lodge No News Received Fraternally, Ken Sterling, 32° Thrice Potent Master Welcome to My World Notes from the Children’s Dyslexia Center CNY We’re Back! When you read this, we will have had our Annual Walk-a-Thon and Chicken BBQ fundraiser at the Center. It is a sure sign that we are back in full force. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to see many of you at the COD dinner where our ‘very own’ Emerson and her father, Dan spoke about their experiences at the Center. (Aren’t our kids just the best?) We were so thrilled to meet our Rainbow Girl representative as they work hard to promote and raise monies for our Dyslexia Center. We were also honored by all the donations presented to our Board Chair to help keep our efforts going. This year we have the highest enrollment ever. 25 children are attending the Center. This is only able to happen because several are home-schooled children and can arrive earlier in the afternoon along with dedicated tutors who come in early as well. We have 15 returning children and 10 first year children. We have 3 Initial Level Trainees, 2 Advanced Level Trainees and 6 other returning certified tutors. One of those is a Trainer and Supervisor Trainee. As you can well imagine, we are, as always, a very busy place. We invite you to visit whenever you can. We are here on school days, Monday through Thursday, from 1 to 6PM. We have children from 4-6 on Monday and Wednesday and from 3-6 on Tuesday and Thursday. Just give us a call. With the Walk-a-Thon behind us we are beginning to plan our GALA fundraiser which will take place on Saturday, March 9th at Hart’s Hill in Whitesboro. If you have attended a GALA before, you know it will be great fun, with great food and great friends. Thank You for giving me the opportunity to do what I love and work with wonderful people to help our children! Linda L. Martin, Director Email- lmartin@cnyclc.org Phone- (315) 736-0574 Mail- Children’s Dyslexia Center- CNY PO Box 638 Oriskany, NY 13424 Happy Thanksgiving Family Celebrations are important to all of us. Thanksgiving is a festive time for Families to gather together to give thanks and blessings for the bounty we all enjoy. Many college students are home for their first break from studies. Parents and Grandparents gather around the “Harvest Table” with their families for the traditional Thanksgiving Feast. The Valley Office Staff, on behalf of all Officers and Members of Central City Bodies A.A.S.R., Valley of Syracuse wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. May peace and goodwill be the toast of this special Day. Please take care when you travel to be with your families and have a safe Holiday. Happy Thanksgiving to all, From Sharon Fox Sharon Swan Jim Swan 2019 Burns Supper The Knights of St. Andrew will hold its Annual Burns Supper 5:00 PM on Saturday January 19, 2019 at Coleman's Irish Pub in Syracuse. A Burns Supper is a celebration of the life and poetry of the poet Robert Burns, Freemason, author of many Scots poems and to the Scots, what Shakespeare is to the English. The suppers are normally held on or near the poet's birthday, January 25th. Much fun is had by all. See the Haggis piped in and addressed. See & hear a presentation on the poetry of Burns and music. Cost will be $40 per person. Reservations can be sent to Richard Powell, 4717 Broad Road, Syracuse, NY 13215. Deadline for reservations will be January 1st. Book early!!! The space at Coleman's is very limited and last year’s event sold out. We, unfortunately, had to turn folks away. Email questions to rjpowell@syr-aasr.org Clothes in the Closet Notice Several articles of clothing left in the coat closets in the Masonic Center in North Syracuse over the past several months are taking up space needed for coat and winter boots storage during events and meetings in the building. Any items not claimed prior to December 1, 2018 will be removed and donated to local clothing Drives. Calendar
October 2018 Oct. 01 Executive Committee 7:00 p.m. Oct. 06 Children’s Dyslexia Center Walk-a- Thon (Saturday) OES Home Oriskany Walk-a- Thon 9:00 a.m. Chicken Barbecue 11:30 a.m. ‘til gone Oct 08 L-O-P Confer 14° (L) 7:30 p.m. Refreshments to follow L-O-P Oct 15 Consistory 27° Rehearsal 7:30 p.m. Oct 22 Recognition & Awards Night Social 6:00 p.m. / Dinner 6:30 p.m. / Program 7:30 p.m. Oct 29 Knights of St. Andrew 7:30 p.m. Refreshments to follow KOSA November 2018 Nov. 05 Trustees 6:15 p.m. / Executive Committee 7:00 p.m. Nov. 12 Veteran’s Recognition Night Social 6:00 p.m. / Dinner 6:30 p.m. / Program 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19 Consistory Confer 27° 7:30 p.m. “Knight of Jerusalem” (Live) Refreshments following meeting Nov. 22 Happy Thanksgiving! Consistory As we move into October the season starts to change. The leaves are turning beautiful colors, families are out picking apples, and everyone is preparing for Halloween. Our Lodges have been starting up and getting ready to raise new Brothers. The Supreme Council has started a new program to help the Blue Lodges along with the Scottish Rite. It is called Not Just a Man, A Mason and has a website at notjustaman.org. It has different items that you can have designed for your Lodge and is free of charge. So, look at it and let get Masonry out to the public. Some of the programs coming up in October is the Executive Committee meeting on October 1st at 7pm. All committee members please be there and on time. Any Member who would like to attend to bring up some ideas are always welcome. October 15th at 7:30 pm is a rehearsal for the 27th Degree which we have not done in a few years. There are a few spots that must be filled so let DB Larry Egnaczyk know if you can help. The Degree will be performed in November. October 22nd we will have our Awards and Recognition night. Social is at 6:00pm, dinner at 6:30 pm and program at 7:30 pm. We will be awarding our new DSA and MSA plus all our Longevity awards. Come on out to help support our Brethren. On October 29th is our Knights of St. Andrews meeting at 6:30 pm. If you are a Scottish Rite Member and have not yet joined the Knights of St. Andrews let us know and we can provide you with all the information on it. This is a fun group to be a member in. There will be more information on programs in the future. The Grand Commander is busy with new and different ideas on how to promote our Fraternally. I look forward to seeing you in Lodge. D.B. Garry L. Visconti, 32° MSA Commander in Chief Chapter Greetings. With the upcoming officer training on Monday, September 24th and the Council of Deliberation we have an eventful close to the September month as we transition to October. Furthermore, after training and the 2018 COD, we will have he 27th degree rehearsal, awards night and meeting of the Knights of St. Andrew in October. Itinerary aside, I personally hope you are all in good health and spirits as our Upstate NY Fall season is one of the most beautiful and colorful times of year to experience. So, between your respective duties to family, work, friends, and fraternity remember to take in a breath of that crisp fresh Upstate air and be thankful. Also to any whom may read this who are not in good health or high spirits, who have encountered loss, hardship or need relief, the brothers at the Valley and myself are here for you and pray for you. We hope for you to attend, have faith that you shall, are inspired when you do and are with you in our hearts when unable. Finally, if you are reading this and a Blue Lodge Mason contemplating becoming a Scottish Rite Mason, what “High” degree Masonry is all about or what it means to be a Scottish Rite Mason in the NMJ, contact a Scottish Rite member or the Valley of Syracuse to petition for degrees. Why? The Scottish Rite NMJ is rapidly experiencing a renaissance and it is quickly becoming one of the best times to join with increasing opportunities in Masonic Education and a great new Scottish Rite introductory package put together by the Supreme Council for candidates. Truly, this is more than a hard sell; it is a time when the Scottish Rite NMJ is evolving with both young and seasoned Masons working in great harmony to ensure that Scottish Rite masonry is a fulfilling, educational and complimentary experience to our Blue Lodge degrees. Indeed, our Masonic work is never done, but the further light to be had through the Valley experience and self study is opening new channels for daily self reflection and improvement unprecedented in NMJ history that affords new friendship and growth. Thanks to all for your support and chain of union. Until we meet again, be well. Sincerely & Fraternally, Caleb Haines, 32° Most Wise Master Council Greetings Princes, It seems we are on our way to cooler weather and the changing of the leaves from green to the vibrant reds, orange, and yellows. It seems with each new season, the old becomes new again. It is certainly a colorful way to head into colder weather, and drab landscapes. While I can’t say I particularly welcome having to rake leaves, it sure beats shoveling snow. And the colors of the hills makes up for the work involved with clearing the falling leaves from my yard. The chlorophyll starts leaving the leaf which brings about us being able to see these vibrant new colors, as the green reflected from the chlorophyll changes and allows us to see these new reflections of light. In some ways, through our work in Masonry, we can experience a similar transformation, the “old” is stripped away and our better nature is allowed to be seen. What a great fortune it is that we have light from so many sources to help us improve ourselves, refine our better qualities, and gain friendships in fraternal bonds. Some of our Degrees this year are ones we haven’t done for a while. I hope this will entice those of you who haven’t been out for a while to come out for an evening of fellowship and learning. We look forward to seeing you. Sincerely and Fraternally, James A. Nelson, 32º Sovereign Prince Lodge Welcome back brethren! As fall is not fully upon us, I hope it finds you all refreshed and enjoying the crisp air, cool nights, and changing leaves. October quickly welcomes us with the Children’s Dyslexia Center Walk-A-Thon at 9:00 AM on Saturday, 6 October 2018. A mere few days later, we have the conferral of the 4th degree “Master Traveler”. The degree will be conferred by the Lodge of Perfection at 7:30 PM on Monday, October 8 th , 2018. The Lodge will be putting on several degrees and I would love if some of the newly raised Princes were to join in and take part in thedegrees. You get a completely different perspective of the degrees when you take part in one. Every time I take part in, direct, or see a degree, I gain something new from each experience. I look forward to seeing you all in lodge this fall when the new class comes in for the beginning of their Scottish Rite Journey! Thank you for the continued support and all the challenges and fellowship that comes along with it! Hope to see you all soon! Fraternally, Ken Sterling, 32° Thrice Potent Master Welcome to My World Notes from the Children’s Dyslexia Center CNY The Children’s Dyslexia Center CNY has completed its fourteenth year helping dyslexic children develop the skills necessary to deal with their reading challenges. At this past June’s Recognition Ceremony, twenty-two children received certificates for the work they had done with their tutors and scholars over the past year. One young man, Trent received the skills that allowed him this year to attain levels equal to or above his grade level. Quite an accomplishment and we are so proud of him for this achievement. We run several fundraisers to help sustain our program. These include the Teddy Bear Classic Golf Tournament in August, our Annual Walk-a-thon in October, and an annual Gala on the second Saturday in March. We also seek donations through grants and supporters like you. All monies raised are used to meet our budget. Join us on Saturday October 6, 2018 for the Walk-a-thon. It begins following registration at 9:30 am at the Dyslexia Center on the Eastern Star Home Campus in Oriskany, NY. Brochures are available at the Center, via email at reception@cnyclc.org or contacting Craig Cobb at cobb3@verizon.net, or by phone at 315-446-0625. You can also help by sponsoring a walker or by placing an advertisement in our Walk program booklet. What a great way to show your support to a great program! If you wish to participate as a sponsor, we will need your response no later than Wednesday, September 30, 2018. For more information, contact Steve Park at pchad@frontiernet.net As mentioned, all proceeds go directly to the local Center’s operational budget and all donations are tax deductible! Make checks payable to: CDC-CNY103. Consider coming by for our Chicken BBQ which begins at 11:00 AM. Cost is $12 per person. Hope to see you in Oriskany! Linda L. Martin, Director Email- lmartin@cnyclc.org Phone- (315) 736-0574 Mail- Children’s Dyslexia Center- CNY PO Box 638 Oriskany, NY 13424 Valley of Syracuse Obituary Notices In memory of Valley of Syracuse Scottish Rite members whose deaths were reported to the Valley office May 2018 thru August 2018 Frederick W. Wyker, 32⁰ June 25, 2018 Richard A. Clark, 32⁰ July 23, 2018 Randolph D. Bishop, 32⁰ July 23, 2018 Philip deMaintenon, 32⁰ July 24, 2018 The Secretary thanks all who inform the Valley Office when a loved one passes away. We follow the local Syracuse Post Standard newspaper each day to record the deaths of our current and former members. The Secretary is particularly thankful to those who report the passing of our current and former Members now living outside of the immediate surrounding area of Syracuse whose obituary notices are not published in the Syracuse Post Standard newspaper.  “The program’s results have been Amazing – just ask the children or their parents.” Children’s Dyslexia Center Central New York A Scottish Rite Charity 8280 State Route 69 Oriskany, New York 13424 Phone: 315-736-0574 Email: reception@cnyclc.org The Children’s Dyslexia Center of Central New York is celebrating its fourteenth year providing a free after school program for children who have reading and writing difficulties due to dyslexia. Our program helps children by using the Orton-Gillingham method to teach the skills necessary to overcome these difficulties. Your continued help is needed and appreciated! Join us on Saturday October 6, 2018. The Walk begins following registration at 9:30 am at the Dyslexia Center on the Eastern Star Home Campus in Oriskany, NY. Brochures are available at the Center, via email at reception@cnyclc.org or contacting Craig Cobb at cobb3@verizon.net, or by phone at 315-446-0625. Place an advertisement in our Walk program booklet. What a great way to show your support to a great program! If you wish to participate as a sponsor, we will need your response no later than Wednesday, September 30, 2018. Mail to: Stephen Park PO Box 639 Old Forge, NY 13420 Email your Ad to: pchad@frontiernet.net The rates for sponsorship are as follows: Full page - inside front, inside back, or outside back cover $125 Inside full page $100 Half page $60 Quarter page $40 Eighth page $25 Patron List $15 All proceeds go directly to the local Center’s operational budget. All donations are tax deductible! Remember to Make checks payable to: CDC-CNY103. Your support will directly help a local child in need! Chicken BBQ Dinner 11 am OES Home Pavilion $12/ person Advanced sales appreciated Call-315-369-6889 Bottle & Can Drive Download the various documents below.
Calendar
September Sept 17 Valley Fall Kick off Program: “Bring a Brother Night at MMC Social 6:00 p.m./ Dinner 6:30 p.m. Candidates needed for October 08 Sept 24 Officers Training Meeting 7:30 p.m. Refreshments to follow All Bodies Sept. 28 & 29 Council of Deliberation Annual Convocation (Friday & Saturday) DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton, East Syracuse Friday Evening Banquet Saturday Morning & Afternoon Meetings MSA Banquet & Awards Evening Sept 30 L-O-P Rehearsal 4° (Sunday) 6:00 p.m. October Oct. 01 Executive Committee 7:00 p.m. Oct. 06 Children’s Dyslexia Center Walk-a- Thon (Saturday) OES Home Oriskany Walk-a- Thon 9:00 a.m. Chicken Barbecue 11:30 a.m. ‘til gone Oct 08 L-O-P Confer 14° (L) 7:30 p.m. Refreshments to follow L-O-P Oct 15 Consistory 27⁰ Rehearsal 7:30 p.m. Oct 22 Recognition & Awards Night Social 6:00 p.m. / Dinner 6:30 p.m. / Program 7:30 p.m. Oct 29 Knights of St. Andrew 7:30 p.m. Refreshments to follow KOSA Consistory We here we are getting ready to start our new Scottish Rite year. What a hot summer we have had with very little rain. I am looking forward to this next year for our Valley. The first thing is the 2018 – 2019 Class sponsor will be Ill⸫ G. Michael Morris 33° Active Member of Supreme Council and the Valley Active. I am honored to have him as our class sponsor this year. All first line signers will receive a ticket for the Reunion Dinner for every new member they bring in for this class. Maximum of 2 ticket. So, let’s see what we can do to have a large Class. On August 27th at 6:15pm will be the Valley Trustee meeting followed by the Executive Committee Meeting at 7:00pm. We need to have all the members of these committees to attend and be on time please. September 17th, we have our annual Kickoff and Brother bring a friend dinner. This will be a free Steak dinner for all Non-Scottish Rite Brothers and Non-Masons to come and see what we have to offer them. Get out and get some new Brothers to join the Scottish Rite and enjoy in with the fellowship. Dress is Business Casual (i.e. Slacks and collared golf shirt) September 24th at 7:30pm we will have our annual Officers training, this will be a Suit and Tie meeting as we will need to open to Install Officers that could not make the Installation. All Officers need to attend this meeting and any Brother who would like to attend are invited. We have a lot planned over the next year which includes the 27th Degree which has not been scheduled for about 14 years. Come on out and join in with the fun if it is just sitting on the sidelines or taking part in a Degree. I look forward to seeing you all in Lodge. D.B. Garry L. Visconti, 32° MSA Commander in Chief Chapter Dear Brethren, Greetings and I hope you all have had a safe and fun summer. I look forward to serving during the 2018-2019 term as Most Wise Master and am honored to be elected. Why? The Chapter of Rose Croix contains much of the integral values and beauty of our A.A.S.R. degree work and our traditional Feast of the Paschal Lamb is a solemn and beautiful way to convene and remember those brothers whom we have passed on anew. In conclusion, as fall arrives and we prepare for winter we certainly have a great series of programs to look forward to at the Valley of Syracuse and I look forward to seeing those who can be in attendance. I hope that your harvests are bountiful and please take note that the first event that will be hosted by the Chapter is our Annual Holiday celebration on December 10, 2017 with the ladies. Sincerely & Fraternally, Caleb Haines, 32° Most Wise Master Council Greetings Princes, I hope all of you had an enjoyable summer, and that this communication finds you all well. During the warmer weather, I enjoy doing some shade tree mechanical work on my cars. I find it fun to take apart various parts of my cars, check them if there are problems, replacing the worn out parts, or just do some deep cleaning and rust removal. Some parts get extra care, including a coat of paint. In some ways, I view our time when the Lodge and Valley go dark, to do some similar work on myself. During the year there are so many meetings and committed times, that it’s not likely that I sit down to go over my actions and stances with the care they should be addressed with. Summer gives me just that chance, to deconstruct things, clean up those areas in life which need some attending to, scraping off the rust on some neglected hobbies or chores around the house, and giving it some extra care with providing some protections so I don’t’ completely backslide through the coming year. I am looking forward to getting to see everyone after our hiatus, renewing our friendships and fraternal bonds, as well as getting caught up on the various activities and changes you’ve had. So, with fall fast approaching, I hope you get in the last bits of activities you reserve for the warmer weather, and hope that you are also planning on coming out to our Scottish Rite events and degrees. Sincerely and Fraternally, James A. Nelson, 32º Sovereign Prince Lodge Welcome back brethren! I hope everyone has had a wonderful and safe summer season so far! As my second year as Thrice Potent Master is just beginning, I would like to begin filling the casts for the degrees that we will be putting on this year for the Valley of Syracuse. My officers, Brother Terry Byard (Deputy Master), Brother Carl F. Fahrenkrug Jr. (Senior Warden), and Brother John Pierce (Junior Warden), will be reaching out to the members of the valley and asking for volunteers to take various parts of the degrees. Please, if you can do so, I would love to be able to have all the parts filled quickly and conduct more than just one rehearsal for each degree. If you haven’t ever had a part, please volunteer to take one. There are plenty of non-speaking parts and speaking parts. The speaking parts can range anywhere from 1 line to 90 lines. So there is plenty of content that you can choose from that will match your comfort level. And when you are an actual cast member in a degree, you get a totally different perspective and outlook on the degree. I look forward to seeing you all in lodge this fall when the new class comes in for the beginning of their Scottish Rite Journey! Thank you for the continued support and all the challenges and fellowship that comes along with it! Hope to see you all soon! Fraternally, Ken Sterling, 32° Thrice Potent Master Welcome to My World Notes from the Children’s Dyslexia Center CNY It’s Time for Another Year! It is time to welcome back our tutors and children as we begin our 15th year. As always, thank you for your support as we continue to aid children and families throughout Central New York as well as training and certifying more Tutors to help more children in Central New York. Academic year 2018-19 will see the return of at least 12 children and the welcoming of 8-9 new children to the program. These numbers always seem to fluctuate as the start of the new year approaches. I was very sorry not to be able to take part in the Annual Golf Tourney this year (always a great time on my home turf) but my thanks to all who participated and donated to make this fundraiser such a wonderful success. With the start of another year we are also preparing for the annual Walk-a-Thon. This year we are back in October, which also happens to be Dyslexia Month. We would like to see many of you at the walk but if you are able to support someone who is walking with us on Saturday, October 6 th we will appreciate that as well. If you need more information, feel free to contact us at the Center. Please Remember, We Are Thankful for You! Without You We Could Not Be! Linda L. Martin, Director Email- lmartin@cnyclc.org Phone- (315) 736-0574 Mail- Children’s Dyslexia Center- CNY PO Box 638 Oriskany, NY 13424 Lodge Ambassadors Greetings my Brothers, I have been assigned the task of carrying out a 2018 directive from the Sovereign Grand Commander, Ill. David A. Glattly, 33º. This is the relaunch of the Lodge Ambassadors Program. I am looking for dedicated Scottish Rite members to serve as Ambassadors for their perspective Lodges. This requires you to commit to regular attendance at your assigned Lodges. If you belong to more than one Lodge, you may serve them also. I am currently contacting the members of the Valley of Syracuse to try to assign Lodge Ambassadors. If you have a desire to take part in this program you may contact me via e-mail or phone. Our goal is to make Scottish Rite available to our Lodges to present programs that will help promote our Masonic beliefs and possibly develop interest in The Scottish Rite Fraternally, Lodge Ambassador Initiative Chairman D.B. Lawrence W. Egnaczyk, 32º MSA lwegnaczyk@verizon.net (H) Ph. # 315-637- 4143 (C) Ph. # 315-632- 1043 Steak Bake & The Year Ahead Central City Bodies, A.A.S.R., Valley of Syracuse’s Fall 2018 Scottish Rite year commences with a Steak Bake September 17, 2018 at the Masonic Center. Central City Bodies invites all Scottish Rite Masons to join us this Fall and Winter for our regularly scheduled meetings and events. The Commander- In-Chief, Most Wise Master, Sovereign Prince, and Thrice Potent Master have planned an excellent schedule of meetings for the 2018-2019 year. Many members seem to say “I do not like to attend boring meetings where the same thing happens at every meeting”. Your Valley Officers have a variety of interesting meetings planned for this year so that the same thing does not happen at every meeting. Supreme Council has rewritten several of the Scottish Rite Degrees providing the opportunity to expand your Masonic knowledge. There are new lessons to be learned and new ritual to be witnessed. Read the WORD every month, check your mail for special meeting and events notices, and plan to attend. Your Valley is very active with many brothers attending every meeting with their wives joining them for our social events. Come out and join your fellow members of the Masonic Family and enjoy the fellowship. I know that every organization is constantly mentioning the need for new members. Scottish Rite Masons and Central City Bodies, A.A.S.R. Valley of Syracuse are no different. Statistically the Valley of Syracuse membership has decreased over the past seven years from 691 members in June 2011 to our current membership of 544 members in June 2018. Fellow members, we lost an average of 28.6 members per year due to death. A large reason for that loss is due to the advancing ages of our membership. The Valleys of Syracuse and Utica together, in a joint effort started in 2005, sponsor the Children’s Learning Center, Central New York on the New York Order of the Eastern Star Campus in Oriskany, NY for children with Dyslexia. You are invited to come to the learning Center to learn more about dyslexia and the negative impact that it has on a child. The Annual Walk-A-Thon and Chicken Barbecue fundraiser to support the Learning Center is October 6, 2018 at the Center. Join us and help us help our children. Information for this event has been sent to every member and questions regarding the day’s activities can be answered by contacting the Learning Center (315) 736-0574 or (315) 736-0576 or the valley office (315) 452-7976. Eight Children and Grandchildren of member of the Valley of Syracuse were among the fifty-two individuals who received financial assistance to continue their college studies for the 2018-2019 academic year from the Supreme Council Abbott Scholarships and New York Scottish Rite Charities Educational Assistance funds. Remember, we have many Family events with our ladies. A special notice for each of these events is sent from the Valley office to our members. Bring your lady out for a social evening. Contact the office (315) 452-7976 if you have any questions regarding our events and programs. A gentle reminder! The most important task of a Scottish Rite Valley is to create new Scottish Rite Masons; to provide Masonic education and fellowship to our members and to make our members better men and Masons. Join us for a steak dinner, September 17, 2018 when we kick off our Fall 2018 Scottish Rite year in the Valley of Syracuse. Cost for this special evening is $10.00 per Valley member. Invite a Master Mason who is not a Scottish Rite member to attend this event as a guest of the Valley. You received a special notice for this event in your recent mail. |
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