Scottish Rite Fellows and a Blogger

Kurt Hoffmann 32° and Jeremy Davis 32° were named "Fellows" at the Scottish Rite Leadership Conference held in Minneapolis. As such they will be responsible with working with the Scottish Rite Southern Jurisdiction Strategic Plan and will make several trips to Washington D.C.

Mission Statement for the Strategic Plan -
It is the mission of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, SJ, to improve its members and enhance the communities in which they live by teaching and emulating the principles of Brotherly Love, Tolerance, Charity, and Truth while actively embracing high social, moral, and spiritual values including fellowship, compassion, and dedication to God, family and country.

Sovereign Grand Commander Seale 33° says this to them about their duties:

"Our mission is to meet together and evaluate our progress thus far. Perhaps we can suggest changes and course corrections as needed to make our plan a "living document," one that changes and adapts to circumstances in the Southern Jurisdiction as we move into 2008 and beyond. It's an exciting time and I'm delighted that you have agreed to join in this effort. I thank you as do the Fellows who have proceeded you."

He also has a very good message that all of us can be inspired by in his frontspiece - The Flip of a Switch in the new Scottish Rite Journal which arrived today. (You can see the last issue of the Journal here. But the new one is not up yet.)

And speaking of the new Journal, Minister of State, Timothy Bonney 32° got a nice "shout out for his blog Freemasonry Resources on page 28. If you haven't seen his blog it is worth your time and effort.

So thanks to these three Brothers for the work they are doing for our Valley.

They do more than just "Flip a Switch" and be sure and thank them for their efforts when you see them

Reading of the 12th Degree - University of Freemasonry

Tonight the 12th Degree or Master Architect was performed by the Lodge of Perfection of the Des Moines Scottish Rite. The cast included:

Venerable Master - W. Charles Smithson 32°
Senior Warden - Jeremy Davis 32°
Junior Warden - Phil Gauthier 32°
Master of Ceremonies - Kevin Christians 32°
Orator David Dryer 32° KCCH
The Charge was given by Ron Lindhart 33°

The exemplar was Wade Sheeler 32° KCCH

The degree was given as a "Reader's Theater presentation with a well rehearsed cast who read their parts. Following the presentation a discussion was lead by Timothy Bonney 32°, Minister of State.

He discussed some of the themes of the 12th degree:

1. All Masons should seek intellectual and spiritual growth - that is all Masons should pursue wisdom.
2. The best and wisest should be the leaders of any organization or government.
   

He said that the degree looks to the Hebrew Wisdom Literature, particularly the Book of Proverbs.

The Five Orders of Architecture and the different working tools were also discussed (square, compass, rule, protractor, plumb, level, 30, 60 and 90° triangles, Trench cure, Divider and T-square.

The consensus of the group was, that even though the Des Moines Scottish Rite puts on more degrees than most other groups it was a valuable experience to see this degree and to have time to discuss its meanings. A discussion was held and it looks as if the 19th degree will be the next degree for reading at the University of Freemasonry.

W. Charles Smithson and cast are to be commended for taking this project on. It was very worthwhile and the Brothers in attendance seemed to enjoy it tremendously.

The Symbols of the Twelfth Degree - Thanks to Brother Kurt Hoffmann

12th Degree

There will be a Reading of the 12th Degree lead by Brother W. Charles Smithson 32° on June 25. This is the Master Architect Degree.

Brother Tim Bonney 32°, Minister of State will lead the discussion following the degree reading. The reading will take place in the newly air-conditioned Blue Lodge Room beginning at 7:00 PM. (The parking lot will be open at 6:30 PM.) This is an event for Scottish Rite Masons only.

12° - Master Architect This degree teaches faith in morality, virtue and God. "Life is what each man makes of it; the optimist turns a trial into a blessing". The apron of the 12th Degree consists of a white outer shell lined with blue and gold, symbolizing the Craft Degrees, with a protractor, plain scale, sector and compasses. The jewel is a heptagonal medal of gold. The duty is to seek wisdom through knowledge.

Newly Designed Web Site.

Did you know that the Des Moines Consistory has a newly redesigned Web Site. Brother Trevor Owens has put us on-line in a new improved manner. Check it out here. Be sure to bookmark it and there is a link to this Blog from the Web page. You can also click on the picture on the left to be taken there.

Parking Lot Open

The Parking lot on the North will be open tonight at 6:00 PM for those attending the Scottish Rite Party to celebrate the successful fund raising for the air conditioning. No requests for money will be made at this event.

2008 Spring Capital Campaign Celebration

CONGRATULATIONS!!



The Friends of the Des Moines Consistory recently completed our 2008 Spring Capital Campaign. Our goal was to raise $50,000 to install air conditioning in the Tapestry Lounge. Because of the generosity of our Scottish Rite Masons, their friends and families, and our Masonic partners (Capital Lodge #110 and the Des Moines York Rite bodies) we were able to meet this goal. Because our members stretched their giving, we were able to meet the challenges of Jim Windsor and Dick Langdon and add another $20,000 to the project. All in all we were able to raise over $70,000 during our Spring campaign.



Therefore, I would like to invite you to our celebration party. It will be held June 12th at 6:30 pm in the Tapestry Lounge. We will have a gourmet cheese display, wine tasting, and then a specially designed dinner, featuring shrimp cocktail and braised steak. It should be a great evening, I look forward to seeing you there.



Please make your reservation by calling the Scottish Rite office (515-288-8927) or via email to sharshbarger@dmscottishrite.org

Sincerely,



William L. Knoll

Des Moines Scottish Rite Consistory

Des Moines Charitable Golf Outing - May 16, 2008

The Golf Outing was another success and a great time was had by all. If you missed it, you won’t want to miss next years outing. This year we had 58 players which is more than last year and we would like to do better than that for next year. The good time could not have been had if it was not for the help of our volunteers, Darcy Culver and Holly Ellsworth from Iowa State Bank, and Scottish Rite Brethren Dan Hobson, Randy Simmons, Jack Frost, Dennis Holliday, and Jack Spratt.

We added a new wrinkle this year. We had a longest drive and longest putt competition. The longest drive won a putter and the longest putt won a Driver. Like wise we had a closest to the pin competition which was won by Sonny Lande with a distance of 10’ 9”. We sold tickets to raffle off a Nike golf bag which was won by The Knights of Saint Andrews. We also auctioned off a “Heart to Heart” stay at the Holiday Inn on 6th avenue. The high bidder was our own Director of the Work, James A. Spoerl.

The First place team with a score of 63, one better than last year, was Tom Monk, Mike Witt, Denny Knutson and Dan Aalbers sponsored by Artistic Manufacturing Corporation. The Second place team, Steven Jacobsen, Brady Jacobsen, Jason Wheeler and Doug Mentzer and the Third place team of Craig Long, Herb Phillips, Bryce Hildreth, and Don Driscoll were determined by a card off due to tied scores.

The winners at hole #4 “Tee To Green” sponsored by Terrace Hills Golf Course are: Billy Bryant, Clayton Copple, Dominic Filippelli, Denny Knutson, Lee Leonard, Bill Reed, and Bill Schmidt.

Hole Sponsors for this year’s event were: Artistic Manufacturing Corporation, Iowa State Bank, Berthlel Fisher & Company, QCI, Electronic Engineering, Samuel G. Wise, Breiholz Construction Company, Graham Commercial Tire Division, A.J. Allen Mechanical Contractors and Doors, Inc.

by Don Driscoll 33°