Calendar
January 2025
Jan 06 Executive Committee Zoom Meeting 7:00 p.m.
Jan 22 “Rite on the Road” Event @TBA 7:00 p.m.
Jan 18 (Saturday) Burns Supper@ Coleman’s Restaurant 5:00 p.m.
Jan. 27 Spring Membership night w/Ladies
Social 6:00 p.m. / Dinner 6:30 p.m. / Program 7:30 p.m.
February 2025
Feb 06 “ZOOM” Meetings: Trustees 6:15 p.m. / Executive Committee 7:00 p.m.
Feb 10 Caregiver’s Event
Social 6:00 p.m. / Dinner 6:30 p.m. / Program 7:30 p.m.
Feb 17 11° Rehearsal 7:00 p.m.
Feb 24 Confer 17° “Knight of East & West” (V) & 18° “Knight of Rose Croix” (L) 7:30 p.m.
Consistory
Sovereign Princes, The weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s always seem to go by in a blur. The hustle and bustle of preparing for the holidays, putting up (and taking down) decorations, planning family get-togethers, holiday meals, and the stream of holiday parties to attend make the time go by at warp speed. Now that those weeks are behind us, I hope you enjoyed your time with your families and that your life is settling back into a normal routine. Scottish Rite activities are also returning to normal from the relaxed schedule we had in place for November and December.
Our first event in January is our annual Burns Supper on Saturday, January 18th . If you haven’t already, get your reservations in to Rick Powell as soon as you can. This is a sellout event which seems to get bigger and better every year. Hear the bag pipes, listen to some Burns poetry, and raise a glass (spirits or NA beverage of your choice) in one of the many toasts of the evening and don’t miss the Ode to the Haggis. There are always a few surprises typically regarding the toast to the Lassies and their response. Ill∴Powell may have some other tricks up his sleeve as well. The event takes place at Coleman’s starting at 5:00 PM. The buffet put on by Coleman’s is second to none, so if you go away hungry it will be your own fault. Note that this is a great event to bring a Scottish Rite prospect to. What better way to introduce a prospective member to the warmth and hospitality of Scottish Rite Masonry? I hope to see you there!
Next up is a Rite on the Road event planned for Wednesday evening January 22nd . The Lodge of Perfection will open that night and if we have any new candidates to start their Scottish Rite Journey we will confer the 4th Degree. If you have a 4 th Degree candidate, please get the petition into the Scottish Rite Office ASAP. The office needs to confirm his Craft Lodge membership and enter him into J365 before we can confer the degree. We will open at 7:00 PM so we can view the degree(s) and have time to socialize after the meeting. There will be refreshments after the meeting.
January 27th is our Spring Kickoff with the Ladies. Social time at 6:00 PM, Dinner at 6:30 PM with a program to follow in the lodge room. Entertainment will take place in the lodge room and the event will wrap up by 9:00 PM. Daylight is still in exceedingly short supply at this time of year, so why not bring a little cheerfulness into your life by treating your lady to a nice meal and some live entertainment. Bonus: no dishes to clean up!
The last item I want to bring to your attention regards The WORD. There has been a SNAFU regarding the database used to maintain the various mailing lists for The WORD. While updating Lodge and Concordant Body mailing lists, certain Scottish Rite members may have had their records deleted from the mailing list inadvertently. Members of Scottish Rite who have not received their copy of The WORD should contact Bro. Brian Courtney at [email protected] or by phone at 315-447-2104. If you have received your copy of The WORD, you don’t need to do anything. If any Scottish Riter knows someone who has not received The WORD, please pass this information along to them. I want to emphasize that this was an inadvertent error by someone updating a database. Anyone who has worked on a computer knows how easy it is to hit “Quit” instead of “Save”, or “Delete” when one too many records has been highlighted. Your assistance in getting our members back on the mailing list is greatly appreciated. It would be extremely time consuming to scour our records of over 300 members looking for the few who are missing from The WORD mailing list.
Fraternally,
Ill. William H. Toth II, 33° MSA
Commander in Chief
Chapter
No News Received…
Joseph W. Flanagan, 32°
Most Wise Master.
Council
As I've written previously, this is certainly a time of the year for reflection. At the time of this writing however, the focus of my reflection is a little different. In the Spring of 2019 I had begun to make preparations toward my pending retirement in the Spring of 2020. Completely unanticipated was the devastating fire that would strike the Cathedral of Notre Dame around that same time.
Reflecting on the history of this nearly 900 year old icon of religion and architecture, it struck me that a similar edifice existed in our own community and was unfamiliar to many of my students. St. Mary's Church in Auburn is a similarly styled gothic cathedral dating over 150+ years old. Later in the Spring of '19 I began discussions with the church to arrange a performance by the AHS Wind Ensemble under my direction. The church was very excited for the idea.
Five years ago this week we presented a concert from the church dais to a packed house of parents and parishioners from throughout the diocese. The church had done an outstanding job of promoting the concert. By design, our program was neither a traditional "Christmas Concert" (we had given that at the school the week prior) nor was it innately religious in nature. It was, however, composed of classic concert band literature appropriate to the venue. The performance was well received. At the time, I had no idea how memorable this performance would be. It would prove to be one of the final performances of my career as the world would shut down only a few months later.
As I write this, the Cathedral at Notre Dame is being ceremoniously reopened only 5 short years following the fire. As Masons, in the Middle Chamber Lecture we learn that there were 80,000 Fellowcrafts employed in the building of King Solomon's Temple that were under the supervision of our ancient, operative GrandMaster - Hiram Abiff.
French President Macron appointed 5 Star General Jean-Louis Georgelin with the task of oversight of this tremendous restoration with directions for it to be completed in 5 years. 2000 craftsmen, tradesmen and artists were selected world wide for this endeavour. At the forefront of their selection was their knowledge, usage and skill in centuries old building techniques that would have been employed during both original construction during the 1100's, as well as during the restoration of the 1800's when the Spire was added. Original plans from the 1800 restoration still exist and were referenced throughout. The craftsmen/tradesmen included archeologists, stonemasons, metal workers, carpenters, painters specializing in art restoration, and more. All, again, were skilled in medieval techniques. Modern tools and materials were not utilized. The only exception was the addition of sprinklers and fire doors.
Today, December 7th, 2024 is the official reopening of the Cathedral. To return briefly to my original story, the ceremony will include a performance by a very special choir and the cathedrals organist from the time of the fire. The choir is composed completely of all the artisans and craftsmen involved in the restoration as a final demonstration of their unified efforts to bring the Cathedral back to her original lustre.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael A. Miller, 32°
Sovereign Prince
Lodge
Greetings Brothers! Welcome to the year 2025! It is my sincere hope that your Christmas/holiday season went off well, now is the time for New Years resolutions, more wintery weather and further light in Masonry! Lots of exciting stuff coming up in the Scottish Rite this year, particularly on Saturday
January 25th we have the Robert Burns Supper at Coleman’s Irish Pub. I hope you have your reservations for this amazing event!
We also will be celebrating those who hold us up as we navigate through the walk of Freemasonry, and life. It’s the Spring Membership night with the Ladies on January 27th! Social hour begins at 6pm, dinner and a program to follow.
I want to thank those looking over their parts for the live 11th Degree as we get ready for that to be held in March. Though there is a benefit to watching the video degrees, nothing really replaces seeing it done live by our brothers.
Sincerely & Fraternally,
Eric Driscoll, 32°
Thrice Potent Master
Hospitaler
I write this article with a heavy heart. My wife Lynn's mother passed away on November 29th . Please keep Lynn and our family in your prayers. Other Brothers and families in need of prayer are Joel Scarson - Wife, Heather CHEMO Treatments ongoing cancer, Ill David Barnes wife had knee replacement surgery, Duane Crasper is still recovering from his surgery and we need to keep Ill Sandy Samson in our prayers.
We need to keep our Brothers and Sisters in the hurricane areas in our prayers. If you want to make donations, send them to the Hospitaler Fund marking it for the Hurricane relief.
If you want to make a donation to any Brother in need you can do so through the Hospitaler Fund and noting the person for it to go to.
Please keep the Valley informed of anyone in distress so we know. The office staff is great at getting out cards.
I hope everyone has a Happy New Year and a great 2025.
Ill. Garry Visconti, 33° MSA
[email protected]
(315) 529-1936
Welcome to My World
Notes from the Children’s Dyslexia Center CNY
It has been said that January is a time for dreamers – the ones that believe anything is possible in the year ahead. We are dreaming big here at the Central New York Children’s Dyslexia Center. Dreams of our students overcoming the struggles they have faced and conquering the challenge of breaking the reading code. There are dreams of more smiling faces coming through the door proudly sharing their report cards and perhaps telling us that they have made the honor roll for the first time. These dreams are becoming reality as our students and tutors continue to work hard at every tutoring session.
We are also dreaming big in anticipation of our annual GALA which will be held this year at Harts Hill Inn in Whitesboro on March 8, 2025. The entertainment this year will be by the Acme Mystery Company. We are dreaming of a significant turn out and continued support of the center through Sponsor-A-Child, Sponsor-A-Tutor and successful basket raffle. The GALA has been the Center’s biggest fundraising event of the year, and we are dreaming big so that we can continue to provide tutoring services for the children of our community.
January reminds us that we have 12 new chapters to fill. We hope that we can fill these chapters together along with you. The nineteen children, ten tutors, my assistant and I thank you for your continued support and wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year.
Marianne Jones, Director
Email: [email protected]
Mail- Children’s Dyslexia Center- CNY
PO Box 638
Oriskany, NY 13424
A GENTLE REMINDER - 2025 ANNUAL DUES
By the time you receive the December WORD you will have received your 2025 Central City Bodies, A.A.S.R. Member’s Annual Dues Notice mailed to you from Supreme Council. There is a nominal dues amount increase for 2025 as result of the four years Annual Member’s Dues increase plan approved in 2023. Please pay your 2025 Member’s Dues prior to January 30, 2025.
NOTE: Your 2025 Member’s Dues notices; sent direct to you from Supreme Council direct you to make your Member’s Dues check payable to Supreme Council addressed to Headquarters in Lexington, MA. If acceptable to you please write your check payable to Central City Bodies, AASR, and mail it Central City Bodies, Masonic Memorial Center, 648 Centerville Place, North Syracuse, NY 13212-2366.
Why this request? Payments made to Supreme Council do not arrive in the Valley until after the first of the months two months after payment. To clarify; you make your payment in October; the Valley receives notice you paid your dues in November and your payment arrives in the Valley in December.
Please contact the Valley office if you have any questions (315) 452-7976 about your invoice.
Degree Cast Invitation
The Central City Bodies are organizing the degrees casts for the planned live degrees and “Feast of the Paschal Lamb” to be presented during the 2024 – 2025 Scottish Rite year.
Degrees and ceremony planned and the date they are scheduled to be presented live are: Monday February 24, 2025 Chapter of Rose Croix confers the 18° “Knight of Rose Croix H.R.D.M.”; Saturday March 22, 2025 Lodge of Perfection confers the 14° Grand Elect Mason”.; Saturday March 22, 2025 Consistory confers the 32° “Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret”; Saturday April 12, 2025 Chapter of Rose Croix presents “Feast of the Paschal Lamb” Memorial service.
We are seeking members to be a part of the degree teams for these degrees and ceremonies. Speaking and non-speaking participants are required for all of these degrees.
What is required: Learn speaking parts of the ritual; Attend one or two rehearsals to make certain the floor work is coordinated.; Attend the degree presentation on the specified date.
Contact the Valley office if you wish to participate. (315) 452-7976.
Blue Envelope Appeal
Thank you to all who have supported the “Blue Envelope” Appeal this year. We continue to make positive progress fulfilling the annual goal for members of the Valley supporting this project. This project provides the funds supporting the Abbott Scholarship program Five (5) scholarship recipients this year are children and grandchildren of the Valley of Syracuse’s current and deceased members. These young people are our future. We thank you for your support of the “Blue Envelope Appeal”.
2025 Abbott Scholarship Applications
Supreme Council Abbott Scholarship and NY Scottish Rite Financial Education Financial Assistance applications are available online. One application for both scholarships will be used again this year. Application submission deadline date is Tuesday April 15, 2025. Application must be submitted to Sponsor’s Valley of membership!
Web site addresses to contact: www.nysccottishritemasons.org or www.syr-aasr.org
Be prepared! Applications received after April 15, 2025 will NOT be considered!
January 2025
Jan 06 Executive Committee Zoom Meeting 7:00 p.m.
Jan 22 “Rite on the Road” Event @TBA 7:00 p.m.
Jan 18 (Saturday) Burns Supper@ Coleman’s Restaurant 5:00 p.m.
Jan. 27 Spring Membership night w/Ladies
Social 6:00 p.m. / Dinner 6:30 p.m. / Program 7:30 p.m.
February 2025
Feb 06 “ZOOM” Meetings: Trustees 6:15 p.m. / Executive Committee 7:00 p.m.
Feb 10 Caregiver’s Event
Social 6:00 p.m. / Dinner 6:30 p.m. / Program 7:30 p.m.
Feb 17 11° Rehearsal 7:00 p.m.
Feb 24 Confer 17° “Knight of East & West” (V) & 18° “Knight of Rose Croix” (L) 7:30 p.m.
Consistory
Sovereign Princes, The weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s always seem to go by in a blur. The hustle and bustle of preparing for the holidays, putting up (and taking down) decorations, planning family get-togethers, holiday meals, and the stream of holiday parties to attend make the time go by at warp speed. Now that those weeks are behind us, I hope you enjoyed your time with your families and that your life is settling back into a normal routine. Scottish Rite activities are also returning to normal from the relaxed schedule we had in place for November and December.
Our first event in January is our annual Burns Supper on Saturday, January 18th . If you haven’t already, get your reservations in to Rick Powell as soon as you can. This is a sellout event which seems to get bigger and better every year. Hear the bag pipes, listen to some Burns poetry, and raise a glass (spirits or NA beverage of your choice) in one of the many toasts of the evening and don’t miss the Ode to the Haggis. There are always a few surprises typically regarding the toast to the Lassies and their response. Ill∴Powell may have some other tricks up his sleeve as well. The event takes place at Coleman’s starting at 5:00 PM. The buffet put on by Coleman’s is second to none, so if you go away hungry it will be your own fault. Note that this is a great event to bring a Scottish Rite prospect to. What better way to introduce a prospective member to the warmth and hospitality of Scottish Rite Masonry? I hope to see you there!
Next up is a Rite on the Road event planned for Wednesday evening January 22nd . The Lodge of Perfection will open that night and if we have any new candidates to start their Scottish Rite Journey we will confer the 4th Degree. If you have a 4 th Degree candidate, please get the petition into the Scottish Rite Office ASAP. The office needs to confirm his Craft Lodge membership and enter him into J365 before we can confer the degree. We will open at 7:00 PM so we can view the degree(s) and have time to socialize after the meeting. There will be refreshments after the meeting.
January 27th is our Spring Kickoff with the Ladies. Social time at 6:00 PM, Dinner at 6:30 PM with a program to follow in the lodge room. Entertainment will take place in the lodge room and the event will wrap up by 9:00 PM. Daylight is still in exceedingly short supply at this time of year, so why not bring a little cheerfulness into your life by treating your lady to a nice meal and some live entertainment. Bonus: no dishes to clean up!
The last item I want to bring to your attention regards The WORD. There has been a SNAFU regarding the database used to maintain the various mailing lists for The WORD. While updating Lodge and Concordant Body mailing lists, certain Scottish Rite members may have had their records deleted from the mailing list inadvertently. Members of Scottish Rite who have not received their copy of The WORD should contact Bro. Brian Courtney at [email protected] or by phone at 315-447-2104. If you have received your copy of The WORD, you don’t need to do anything. If any Scottish Riter knows someone who has not received The WORD, please pass this information along to them. I want to emphasize that this was an inadvertent error by someone updating a database. Anyone who has worked on a computer knows how easy it is to hit “Quit” instead of “Save”, or “Delete” when one too many records has been highlighted. Your assistance in getting our members back on the mailing list is greatly appreciated. It would be extremely time consuming to scour our records of over 300 members looking for the few who are missing from The WORD mailing list.
Fraternally,
Ill. William H. Toth II, 33° MSA
Commander in Chief
Chapter
No News Received…
Joseph W. Flanagan, 32°
Most Wise Master.
Council
As I've written previously, this is certainly a time of the year for reflection. At the time of this writing however, the focus of my reflection is a little different. In the Spring of 2019 I had begun to make preparations toward my pending retirement in the Spring of 2020. Completely unanticipated was the devastating fire that would strike the Cathedral of Notre Dame around that same time.
Reflecting on the history of this nearly 900 year old icon of religion and architecture, it struck me that a similar edifice existed in our own community and was unfamiliar to many of my students. St. Mary's Church in Auburn is a similarly styled gothic cathedral dating over 150+ years old. Later in the Spring of '19 I began discussions with the church to arrange a performance by the AHS Wind Ensemble under my direction. The church was very excited for the idea.
Five years ago this week we presented a concert from the church dais to a packed house of parents and parishioners from throughout the diocese. The church had done an outstanding job of promoting the concert. By design, our program was neither a traditional "Christmas Concert" (we had given that at the school the week prior) nor was it innately religious in nature. It was, however, composed of classic concert band literature appropriate to the venue. The performance was well received. At the time, I had no idea how memorable this performance would be. It would prove to be one of the final performances of my career as the world would shut down only a few months later.
As I write this, the Cathedral at Notre Dame is being ceremoniously reopened only 5 short years following the fire. As Masons, in the Middle Chamber Lecture we learn that there were 80,000 Fellowcrafts employed in the building of King Solomon's Temple that were under the supervision of our ancient, operative GrandMaster - Hiram Abiff.
French President Macron appointed 5 Star General Jean-Louis Georgelin with the task of oversight of this tremendous restoration with directions for it to be completed in 5 years. 2000 craftsmen, tradesmen and artists were selected world wide for this endeavour. At the forefront of their selection was their knowledge, usage and skill in centuries old building techniques that would have been employed during both original construction during the 1100's, as well as during the restoration of the 1800's when the Spire was added. Original plans from the 1800 restoration still exist and were referenced throughout. The craftsmen/tradesmen included archeologists, stonemasons, metal workers, carpenters, painters specializing in art restoration, and more. All, again, were skilled in medieval techniques. Modern tools and materials were not utilized. The only exception was the addition of sprinklers and fire doors.
Today, December 7th, 2024 is the official reopening of the Cathedral. To return briefly to my original story, the ceremony will include a performance by a very special choir and the cathedrals organist from the time of the fire. The choir is composed completely of all the artisans and craftsmen involved in the restoration as a final demonstration of their unified efforts to bring the Cathedral back to her original lustre.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael A. Miller, 32°
Sovereign Prince
Lodge
Greetings Brothers! Welcome to the year 2025! It is my sincere hope that your Christmas/holiday season went off well, now is the time for New Years resolutions, more wintery weather and further light in Masonry! Lots of exciting stuff coming up in the Scottish Rite this year, particularly on Saturday
January 25th we have the Robert Burns Supper at Coleman’s Irish Pub. I hope you have your reservations for this amazing event!
We also will be celebrating those who hold us up as we navigate through the walk of Freemasonry, and life. It’s the Spring Membership night with the Ladies on January 27th! Social hour begins at 6pm, dinner and a program to follow.
I want to thank those looking over their parts for the live 11th Degree as we get ready for that to be held in March. Though there is a benefit to watching the video degrees, nothing really replaces seeing it done live by our brothers.
Sincerely & Fraternally,
Eric Driscoll, 32°
Thrice Potent Master
Hospitaler
I write this article with a heavy heart. My wife Lynn's mother passed away on November 29th . Please keep Lynn and our family in your prayers. Other Brothers and families in need of prayer are Joel Scarson - Wife, Heather CHEMO Treatments ongoing cancer, Ill David Barnes wife had knee replacement surgery, Duane Crasper is still recovering from his surgery and we need to keep Ill Sandy Samson in our prayers.
We need to keep our Brothers and Sisters in the hurricane areas in our prayers. If you want to make donations, send them to the Hospitaler Fund marking it for the Hurricane relief.
If you want to make a donation to any Brother in need you can do so through the Hospitaler Fund and noting the person for it to go to.
Please keep the Valley informed of anyone in distress so we know. The office staff is great at getting out cards.
I hope everyone has a Happy New Year and a great 2025.
Ill. Garry Visconti, 33° MSA
[email protected]
(315) 529-1936
Welcome to My World
Notes from the Children’s Dyslexia Center CNY
It has been said that January is a time for dreamers – the ones that believe anything is possible in the year ahead. We are dreaming big here at the Central New York Children’s Dyslexia Center. Dreams of our students overcoming the struggles they have faced and conquering the challenge of breaking the reading code. There are dreams of more smiling faces coming through the door proudly sharing their report cards and perhaps telling us that they have made the honor roll for the first time. These dreams are becoming reality as our students and tutors continue to work hard at every tutoring session.
We are also dreaming big in anticipation of our annual GALA which will be held this year at Harts Hill Inn in Whitesboro on March 8, 2025. The entertainment this year will be by the Acme Mystery Company. We are dreaming of a significant turn out and continued support of the center through Sponsor-A-Child, Sponsor-A-Tutor and successful basket raffle. The GALA has been the Center’s biggest fundraising event of the year, and we are dreaming big so that we can continue to provide tutoring services for the children of our community.
January reminds us that we have 12 new chapters to fill. We hope that we can fill these chapters together along with you. The nineteen children, ten tutors, my assistant and I thank you for your continued support and wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year.
Marianne Jones, Director
Email: [email protected]
Mail- Children’s Dyslexia Center- CNY
PO Box 638
Oriskany, NY 13424
A GENTLE REMINDER - 2025 ANNUAL DUES
By the time you receive the December WORD you will have received your 2025 Central City Bodies, A.A.S.R. Member’s Annual Dues Notice mailed to you from Supreme Council. There is a nominal dues amount increase for 2025 as result of the four years Annual Member’s Dues increase plan approved in 2023. Please pay your 2025 Member’s Dues prior to January 30, 2025.
NOTE: Your 2025 Member’s Dues notices; sent direct to you from Supreme Council direct you to make your Member’s Dues check payable to Supreme Council addressed to Headquarters in Lexington, MA. If acceptable to you please write your check payable to Central City Bodies, AASR, and mail it Central City Bodies, Masonic Memorial Center, 648 Centerville Place, North Syracuse, NY 13212-2366.
Why this request? Payments made to Supreme Council do not arrive in the Valley until after the first of the months two months after payment. To clarify; you make your payment in October; the Valley receives notice you paid your dues in November and your payment arrives in the Valley in December.
Please contact the Valley office if you have any questions (315) 452-7976 about your invoice.
Degree Cast Invitation
The Central City Bodies are organizing the degrees casts for the planned live degrees and “Feast of the Paschal Lamb” to be presented during the 2024 – 2025 Scottish Rite year.
Degrees and ceremony planned and the date they are scheduled to be presented live are: Monday February 24, 2025 Chapter of Rose Croix confers the 18° “Knight of Rose Croix H.R.D.M.”; Saturday March 22, 2025 Lodge of Perfection confers the 14° Grand Elect Mason”.; Saturday March 22, 2025 Consistory confers the 32° “Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret”; Saturday April 12, 2025 Chapter of Rose Croix presents “Feast of the Paschal Lamb” Memorial service.
We are seeking members to be a part of the degree teams for these degrees and ceremonies. Speaking and non-speaking participants are required for all of these degrees.
What is required: Learn speaking parts of the ritual; Attend one or two rehearsals to make certain the floor work is coordinated.; Attend the degree presentation on the specified date.
Contact the Valley office if you wish to participate. (315) 452-7976.
Blue Envelope Appeal
Thank you to all who have supported the “Blue Envelope” Appeal this year. We continue to make positive progress fulfilling the annual goal for members of the Valley supporting this project. This project provides the funds supporting the Abbott Scholarship program Five (5) scholarship recipients this year are children and grandchildren of the Valley of Syracuse’s current and deceased members. These young people are our future. We thank you for your support of the “Blue Envelope Appeal”.
2025 Abbott Scholarship Applications
Supreme Council Abbott Scholarship and NY Scottish Rite Financial Education Financial Assistance applications are available online. One application for both scholarships will be used again this year. Application submission deadline date is Tuesday April 15, 2025. Application must be submitted to Sponsor’s Valley of membership!
Web site addresses to contact: www.nysccottishritemasons.org or www.syr-aasr.org
Be prepared! Applications received after April 15, 2025 will NOT be considered!