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H. Douglas Lemons, 33°
S.G.I.G. in California, Past Lieutenant Grand Commander
2958 Daneland Street, Lakewood, California, 90712–2134
Across the nation, the Scottish Rite, through
dedication
and service, has touched the communities where we live.
 As
we meet in this city of such historic significance to Scottish
Rite Freemasons around the world, specifically on the occasion
of the celebration of 200 magnificent years of glowing history,
I find myself honored to be chosen to report on the state of our
affairs as we face the next two centuries.
This is the third Biennial Session during which
I have addressed this assembly on the state of the order, and
on this occasion I shall place specific emphasis upon those matters
where the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry for
the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States of America reaches
out to the community and, particularly, to individuals in need.
As I speak, in my mind's eye I have a perfectly
focused picture of our magnificent Scottish Rite buildings scattered
across this great country, standing as silent witnesses to the
selfless labors of those who have preceded us. I see clearly the
labor of our members, whose efforts testify to a dedication that
can never be properly rewarded.
I see visions of our wonderful libraries, our well-staged
Degrees, and the many programs dedicated to the well-being of
the citizens who reside in the cities, towns, villages, and hamlets
where our Valleys are located. Not only can I see the handiwork
of our Craft, I can also hear it!
I hear the first sounds of speech, "Mommy,
I love you," coming from the lips of a child who, until his
first visit to one of our clinics, had never spoken a word. How
fitting since our Fraternity is noted for its eloquence!
Down through the ages, our voices have carried the
lessons of our Order—honesty, morality, courage, and love.
In our Masonic Centers, men of substantial stature in the community
transform their talents, education, and training in fields of
commerce, education, medicine, and every honorable profession
to that of thespian or ritualist. It is only fitting that men
possessing such gifts—men with articulate voices of strength,
maturity, and emotion—would reach out to those who have them
not. And reach out we have!
Our Scottish Rite Childhood Language Disorder Clinics,
Centers, and Programs make available to the public, regardless
of race, creed, or national origin, the services of professional
clinicians on a one-to-one basis, a service seldom found at any
cost in any venue. The services may vary from Orient to Orient,
from Valley to Valley, but the message we offer is always the
same: "Bring us your children who have never spoken; bring
us your children who yearn to be heard and understood; bring us
your silent children so that we may unlock for them the world
of communication." Through your generous contributions of
millions of dollars and millions of hours of volunteer labor,
and through the efforts of hand-selected professionals, you have
changed the world for thousands of boys and girls!
And there is more! Our Scottish Rite hospitals are
the finest to be found. They were planned and constructed through
the vision and efforts of Scottish Rite Masons of yesteryear,
cultivated and expanded through the graciousness of our loving
members of this era. And all of this was accomplished without
public fund-raising programs. Congratulations! Programs providing
everything from bicycles to shoes for deserving children across
the nation are landmark examples of countless men doing little
things that make a big difference.
In the Orients of Oklahoma, Virginia, California,
and elsewhere, we sponsor programs to recognize, reward, and assist
public education. Typical of many other Orients, Texas and Montana
have parade floats that take our message to the public. A Flag
Day program in Kentucky draws literally thousands of people each
year. In Tennessee, Habitat for Humanity is grateful for Scottish
Rite assistance. In North Carolina, a community food bank makes
Scottish Rite visible to the public. The Supreme Council's
new ROTC program has been successfully employed in Tennessee,
California, and elsewhere. These are only a few examples of how
we have touched the communities where we live.
In the area of membership, our Supreme Council has
fashioned a Membership Development group, gathered information,
held a membership conference, and made many valuable tools and
programs available to the Valleys. The Sovereign Grand Commander
has graciously agreed to assist financially any Valley that adopts
a formal program to recapture members suspended for nonpayment
of dues.
Illustrious S. Brent Morris, 33° G.C., Director
of Membership Development for the Supreme Council, is available
to assist Orients and Valleys with information gleaned from successful
programs across the Jurisdiction. These opportunities must be
taken advantage of, or all those exemplary efforts are for naught.
We cannot afford to write off blindly the problem of an atrophying
membership while complacently sitting on our hands. The problem
is solvable! We know it is, because we see it being done in a
few of our Valleys.
In Oklahoma a new Masonic Agreement for Masonic
Unity has united the Grand Lodge with both of the Rites and the
Shrine, proving that where there is a vision and a dream, there
is a way. In North Carolina, a Masonic Community Luncheon brings
hundreds of Masons together each month. In Charleston, West Virginia,
the Scottish Rite is hard to ignore when it sponsors an annual
concert by the Mountain State Brass Band or invites the public
to hear the George Washington High School Band, also sponsored
by the Scottish Rite.
Universal support for public schools is pervasive.
And while charter schools have become more and more popular, at
least three of our Orients are watching the status of separation
of church and state, as this strongly held Scottish Rite position
relates to some of those schools and other issues in the various
states.
Scottish Freemasonry must never forget its roots:
membership begins at the Blue Lodge level. We must make every
effort to encourage positive communications with the various Grand
Lodges at the Orient level, and the same between Valleys and Blue
Lodges. Given the Scottish Rite's advantages—the largest
Masonic buildings in the Jurisdiction, our vast educational capabilities,
and our penchant for continuity—it is imperative that we
lend our strengths and expertise to Blue Lodge membership acquisition
efforts.
Building a Fraternity upon principles of honesty,
integrity, and character was not easy, nor is it easy to maintain
that Fraternity in our present society, but the next two centuries
can be the most significant period of time in our Order's
history. No one does what we do as well as we do it. No organization
in the world is as challenged as we are by the historical significance
of our existence.
On this historic occasion, we may sense the presence
of those who have gone before us—the men of our history,
made famous by their publications, the offices they held, the
dreams they dreamed, and the visions they made reality, as well
as the hundreds of thousands who toiled in our kitchens, shook
hands in our hallways, acted upon our stages, and gave their lives
for the future. This crowd of unseen honored guests streams forward
through the pages of our history and encourages us. They challenge
us! We cannot, we must not, and we will not fail!
H. Douglas Lemons, Chairman
Jack E. Nixson
Thomas C. Raum, Jr.
John E. Moyers
Ronald A. Seale
Dwane F. Treat
Committee
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