Personal Representative’s Message – December 2012

Greetings to all, I hope this message finds you in good spirits.

Ill. Raymond D. Godeke 33°I have it on good authority that we will have a very special guest at our Stated Meeting on December 3rd. While I am not at liberty to disclose his name, he rides in a sleigh drawn by a bunch of reindeer and his initials are Santa Claus! Please join us that evening as we welcome the children from the Language Center and their families to our Valley for an evening of fun, food and fellowship.

Another important event at our Stated Meeting on December 3rd will be the election of Officers to lead our Valley through 2013. Please be in attendance and cast your ballot. There is a breath of fresh air in the Valley of Santa Ana! Come out and be a part of it in December.

We continue to challenge our operating cost. Significant progress has been made thus far. An example is the move to The De-Molay Center at 303 W Lincoln in Anaheim. This saves us about $400 per and almost $5,000 per year! Other areas of focus are, switching as many members as possible to the digital version of our monthly newsletter and revising our telephone system and usage

One way that you can help the Valley is by becoming a member of the Century Club. This group supports the Valley by giving at least $100.00 to the Valley each year to offset our operating costs.

You may already be aware of this, but if not, Most Worshipful and Illustrious William F Stovall, Past Grand Master of Masons in California and Sovereign Grand Inspector General of the Supreme Council in the Orient of California will be retiring on De-cember 31, 2012. He has been a faithful worker in the quarries of Freemasonry for fifty years. In addition, he has served as the Chairman of the Board and President of the California Scottish Rite Foundation since 2006. Please join me in wishing Most Worshipful Bill and his lady Bev, a hearty thank you and best wishes for the future.

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We are in a particularly Holy time of the year. Whether your faith is Christianity, Islam, Judaism or Hindu, we all recognize that Masonry brings together those who might otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance. It is important that we keep in the mind the lesson of tolerance taught to us in the 30th Degree. May your family benefit from the lessons taught us by this Holy Season. Vicki and I are Christians and therefore celebrate the Christian holiday of Christmas. We therefore wish you a Merry Christmas.

May God Bless You and Yours, our Fraternity and the Good Old USA!

Get involved, my Brother, you can make a difference.

Ray Godeke

From the Venerable Master – December 2012

My Brothers,

Bob McNamara, 32⁰ KCCH Venerable Master

Another year is coming to a close and the Santa Ana Valley has continued to make progress in many areas. The first and most important to the Valley is our move to the DeMolay Center is Anaheim. It is an excellent facility and we are renting it at a greatly reduced cost. Next is our decision to combine with the Long Beach Valley for our Reunion Classes. Not only do they have a beautiful facility, but we have been able to use multiple Valleys and present more than the five mandatory degrees.

Our observance of Maundy Thursday, Easter and the Feast of Tishri were done on the proper days rather than keeping them on our Stated Meeting. This was back to traditional Scottish Rite times.

Our membership has dropped by six members at this writing and is the lowest for a long time. Our efforts to interest new Masons in our Valley have paid off and I hope we will be a plus Valley next year.

Our educational program through the Master Craftsman cor-respondence course at Supreme Council has increased and we now have a number of individuals that have completed the Master Craftsman I and II courses.

Our members remain enthusiastic and positive and this has been a tremendous help to me as Venerable Master. Thank you my Brothers! I wish you all a wonderful Holiday Season and hope you stay well.

Sincerely and Fraternally,

Bob McNamara, 32⁰ KCCH

Venerable Master

The Scottish Rite Is the University of Masonry

The Santa Ana Valley is participating in the Master Craftsman I & II correspondence course to further our light in Masonry. Master Craftsman I consists of 6 lessons with each lesson consisting of a se-ries of questions on our degrees plus a short essay. Master Craftsman II consists of 9 lessons with ques-tions on each degree along with an essay for each degree.

The following have completed Master Craftsman I: Frank J. Newcomb, Irv F. Womack II, Blair Birtcher, Gary C. Silverman, David P. Price, Robert S. Hummel, Peter J. Edgar, Peter H. Jantz, Steve M. Bass, Douglas A. Lishka, Walter H. Moore, Jr., James Segerstrom, Charles A. Grossman, Daniel R. Willerton, Robert W. McNamara, John R. Rider, Mark Phillips, Phillippe Jean Marie Antoine, Charles E. Reeves and Michael G. Selix. The following are enrolled in Master Craftsman I and are near completion: George W. Morton, Samuel E. Brandes, Thomas C. Olsen, James F. McCallion, James A. Cervantes, Da-vid J. Kussman, Ralph C. Shelton II, Dennis I. Newman, Ronald V. Maxwell, Norman B. Leeper, James M. graham, Jason B. Taylor and Jon-Paul Anthony Stone.

The following have completed Master Craftsman II: Robert W. McNamara, Mark C. Phillips, Phil-lippe Jean Marie Antoine and Charles E. Reeves. John R. Rider is enrolled in Master Craftsman II and is nearing completion.

Keep up the good work on seeking new light my Brothers,

Charles E. Reeves, 32⁰ and Bob McNamara, 32⁰ KCCH
Master Craftsman, Co-Chairman

Santa Ana Scottish Rite – Making a Difference in the Community! Helping Children Communicate!

We had some very rewarding and successful projects this Fall.

“Back to School – Project Backpack” brought smiles to the 57 children (and their parents) who re-ceived brand new backpacks stuffed with school supplies. Many parents and children expressed their thanks with pictures, notes and cards. Some of our children were amazed that this was truly “mine to keep?”
Many thanks to Frankie Rosario and his team who managed this daunting shopping and stuffing task and it’s personal delivery!

Halloween – brought many princesses, fairies, pirates, and ghosts to our Center. The happy faces of our children and their parents dressed in their costumes brought many smiles, candy and photo ops – espe-cially with our well-dressed staff. Trick or Treat and Happy Halloween are not easy to say – but some parents heard it for the first time!

Center supporters and Board members organized and held a fun and successful golf tournament. For golfers and friends, there is good fun and good cheer after the tournament. The bountiful buffet dinner was delicious. The raffle was great fun. The donated prizes were a reflection of the long hours put in by volunteers canvassing our communities and businesses. If you were not able to participate this time, put it on your calendar for next year. And… our anonymous donor made it possible to continue our mission. Thank you! Thank you!

Our family Holiday Dinner and Santa visit (with bake sale and raffle) will be a night of wonderment and awe for our children and their families. Several families have made new friends as they wait for their children. We encourage our children to “use their words” of polite social language as they meet each other.

Move to DeMolay Center of Anaheim

Brothers and Friends,

The Santa Ana Valley of the Scottish Rite is Moving its meeting location. As of October 1st, 2012 the Santa Ana Valley is meeting in the DeMolay Center of Anaheim. The Stated Meetings take place in the west lodge room on the second floor. There is an elevator located in the lobby for those who would like to use it. The address to the DeMolay Center is 303 W. Lincoln Ave. Anaheim, CA 92805. There is a map located on the back of this Newsletter for your convenience.

 


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Barry the Pig – Update

GREETINGS MY BROTHERS!! Thanks to YOU, Our Barry the Pig fundraising program has raised countless hundreds of dollars for the benefit of the children in need of speech and language therapy. In addition to assisting our worthy cause, EACH full pig exchanged entitles you to an opportunity to take home a gourmet gift basket filled with fine wines, cheeses and snacks. The basket will be going home with one of you generous brothers at our January Stated Meeting. So, look in those pants pockets and under the sofa cushions and get those pigs full of change. Your generous gifts will be individually counted and are tax deductible per CSRF 501c3. YOU, my Brothers ARE making a difference in the lives of the children we help.

Dave Price, Pig Czar