Ill. Ralph C. Shelton II, 33°
Your Valley continues to develop and thrive, and we look forward to exciting events, education and engagement this year. Orange County Valley has fast become the meeting place for all Orange County Masons – as well as a support space for the Craft Lodges of the county. This past month, I was pleased to stop by the gathering of the Knights of Saint Andrew where I enjoy the fellowship of our KSA members, who I’m sure will become some of our best informed members. First Knight Matt Schrader is leading them well, and especially ensuring that they all enroll in the Ivory Key course of the Master Craftsman Program. I encourage all Valley members to consider enrolling in this program, This short course provides great background i the Scottish Rite, and covers the following:
- Scottish Rite History in Brief
- The Structure of the Scottish Rite
- Lodge of Perfection & Chapter Rose Croix Degree
- Council of Kadosh & Consistory Degrees
I took the course and found it informative, and hope that you will, too. You can find the course at The Ivory Key and, of course, Master Craftsman is found at www.MasterCraftsmanCollege.org/
This month, we also highlight our efforts to engage brothers who have been unable to attend meetings for various reasons. For those who cannot drive at night, we are establishing a Lyft account, so that you can be picked up and returned home after our Valley meetings, without cost to you. And for those who cannot be away from home for other reasons, such as the necessity of caring for a family member, we will soon begin streaming the non-tiled portion of our meetings. We have moved committee reports, events updates and programs out to the dining room, and these important parts of our meetings will be available for remote participation. For both of these initiatives, please reach out to our General Secretary for more information.
Remember that we have an upcoming Reunion in early May, and it’s a great tmie to talk to the members of your craft lodge about participating, so get the word out. And if your lodge has something they’d lik eto include in our calendar, please let our communication director Shawn Bell know – he can be reached at editor@ocscottishrite.org. As always, I look forward to seeing you at the next meeting.
