News

 

Greetings Brethren,
Due to concerns over travel conditions for the city of Portland and the surrounding areas our scheduled events for Tuesday January 17th have been canceled.

Stay safe and warm with your loved ones and we will see you next week at the Portland Valley Scottish Rite

All the best
Larry Roberts 32° KCCH
PR Portland Valley

Overview and Background

VMAP, or the Valley Membership Achievement Program, is a strategic initiative on behalf of the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction, to instruct and inspire Valleys in key activity areas. These key areas are divided up into focuses like, Recruitment, Mentorship, Philanthropy or Degree Conferral Proficiency, and are designed to spark the competitive spirit between Valleys while helping us to focus on meaningful activities.

I believe strongly in this program because I know how hard it can be to maximize focus and time, while prioritizing projects that all need completion. VMAP gives an outline or cookbook for these key areas in good detail. I also like that VMAP calls into question why we do things the way we do, which gives us the opportunity to bolster what we are doing really well and to begin critical thinking for how we might improve, because really problems are just opportunities to grow. The program is always evolving according to Admiral Sizemore’s and Sovereign Grand Commander Ron Seal’s guidance as well as the feedback from regional conferences held throughout the year around the country. As a group we are able to provide feedback on items that didn’t or did work for us, and I have already seen evidence of direct feedback being implemented with “fill-able forms” for next year’s package.

What VMAP Means to Portland

Portland is a very unique and beautiful valley for many reasons, some of the primary ones being our long History as one of the first Scottish Rite Valleys on the West Coast and also the vibrant partnership our first SGIG John C. Ainsworth had with Albert Pike. Today we have some of the most beautiful ritual work around, as well as incredible representation within Blue Lodges, businesses and educational institutions. When all of the pieces fall into place we are truly unstoppable.

So what does VMAP do for Portland? Well, in case you haven’t noticed we are in the midst of significant personnel change, not just with a new PR but also with the passing of many “batons” from other key areas like key ritual parts, light and sound, wardrobe, KSA and Orient responsibilities. Our average age has also grown younger, partly due to the sad passing of our beloved senior Brethren, and partly due to what good-hearted young men are seeking in this modern era. Younger members have less time, they are working and starting families, so the time they do spend with us should be jam-packed with Scottish Rite energy. Because of these facts, it is mission critical to pass the wisdom and know-how from one to another efficiently and effectively. We can’t be shy to share the spotlight, or step into the spotlight as the situation demands. We are all a part of something bigger than ourselves and share the sacred bond, which is rolling up our sleeves and getting something meaningful done. 

Strengths and Weaknesses for 2016

Strengths:

• Degree Conferral
  • We conferral all degrees with regularity and professionalism
• Scottish Rite Education
  • We offer regular talks, presentations and study groups
• Reunion Experience
  • We confer a strong reunion experience, we have a fantastic reputation for our work here
• Member Recruitment
  • We have a lot of excited new members every single Reunion

 

Weaknesses:

• Member Retention/Engagement
  • We need more new members to come regularly and assume responsibility or support role in their areas of interest, or think up new areas for them to take part
  • Are we truly (individually) welcoming in the new members as our Brothers?
• Educating Membership about Philanthropy
  • Does the average member know everything that we have to offer, and how they can get involved if they want to?
• Training Protégés
  • Do you have a protégé for your individual responsibilities?
  • Do you want to be a protégé?

Even though there are still areas for us to work on, that will always be the case because we are always growing and getting better. The Portland Valley is strong, and I have never been more inspired by what we can achieve together. I feel personally honored that I am your VMAP Chairman, and I want to thank the Brothers who have helped this year with the reporting and documentation process: Larry Roberts, Bob Fountain, John Tucker, Wayne Ford, Jason Smith, Nate Neff, Cord Andersen, Brian Witt and Kent Cox.

As Albert Pike once said, “What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”

…Let us all keep his words in mind as we move forwards courageously in 2017 and beyond.

Richard Nowacki 32°, Wise Master of Ainsworth Chapter Rose Croix, Portland Valley VMAP Chairman. 

The three Pillars of the Scottish Rite are Ritual, Education, and Charity. In my opinion, the most important Pillar of the Scottish Rite is ritual. I have been around the world from Thailand to Russia, to Hungary, the Philippines, Japan, Okinawa, to our Northern neighbors in Canada and our Southern neighbors in Mexico. In all of these countries, I have witnessed great ritual to not so great ritual. I have seen bombastic to nonverbal ritual, and can say without a doubt, ritual matters.

Ritual not only defines an organization, it sends a very positive or negative message about the organization performing the ritual. From soldiers marching to monks blessing a temple, you are swayed by their proficiency, dedication, their message, and if you would like to be part of the organization you are watching. This holds true when it comes to the Scottish Rite and our ritual.

Men are looking for an organization like the Scottish Rite to join, because of our beautiful ritual. Our ritual sends a powerful and lasting message. It tells a possible member and our membership what we believe in, our moral makeup, the philosophy of the Scottish Rite, and how hard we work to dedicate our lives to help others and educate our members. There are many benefits / side effects when being involved in the ritual of the Scottish Rite.

Ritual is a great place to build fellowship, brotherly love, and confidence in one’s speaking skills, stagecraft, lighting, and sound, to name just a few. The bonding that takes place when a cast puts on a successful degree is fabulous. To be a director of a degree and put in your personality / interpretation of the degree into the ritual will open your eyes and others’. Degree work and all of the members who participate show the pride they have in putting on the degree, as well as their pride of the organization. There is a flipside to all of this.

Poor ritual will destroy the Scottish Rite or any other organization. Reading your part sends the message that you aren’t willing to put the time and effort into learning your part. Skipping out during rehearsals not only hurts your performance, but others’. The brothers will suffer, members become lethargic and possible new members won’t join.

I was at another masonic group that I belong to and witnessed the worst ritual I have ever seen. They claim they are an elite group. I looked around at the membership, and they are, but they let their ritual slip so badly, I am thinking about dropping my membership. Their attendance has dropped, and by now you should know why. They are slowly turning into a dinner club. Now, don’t get me wrong, a good meal is important, but I can get a good meal at home. I need a good reason to leave my house and family. That reason is good ritual. Great ritual can and will turn this situation around. If other groups want to die off, just keep performing poor ritual, and they won’t be around much longer. Great ritual is one of the Orient of Oregon’s goals for 2017.

I am very proud in all of the Valleys in the Orient of Oregon and their ritual. We aren’t totally there yet, but we are making improvements every day. There are some Valleys that have not done a degree in a long time, but are now. Some Valleys have started doing all of the degrees, even outside degrees. It isn’t perfect, but they are moving in the right directions. They aren’t sitting around and deteriorating into a failed masonic group. I joined the Scottish Rite to be around like-minded and good men, morally strong, caring and giving men. Men who want to improve and help others in the process; Someone whom I am proud to call bother who has the principles, ethics, and the will to do the hard work to keep this great fraternity called the Scottish Rite alive. To me the Scottish Rite is the greatest fraternity around, and I am very proud of my fellow brothers in the Scottish Rite. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication!

God bless all of you!

Gary Kuney, 33° Active
Grand First Equerry
S.G.I.G. in Oregon

 

 

“He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the North Polar Star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it.”

Confucius

 

Likely the most difficult activity for an individual is determining which path to take in our life—which way is our own personal “True North”. Which way will lead us to an exceptional and rewarding life on this planet?

Deep down, we as humans recognize our mortality and that our time in this body and with these senses is limited—that soon, what we are physically will deteriorate, turn to dust and be scattered in the wind. With this ever present burden of truth we naturally seek the shortest path to the quickest result, and even more so will devise or create instruments and tools that allow us to reach our preconceived destination as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The universe has no preconceived notion of time, no mortality to weigh or balance in its internal struggle of right or wrong, success or failure. We however, must chart a course if we are to reach our destination. In doing so, we must have a point of reference, a point with which to not only starts us on our path but also a reference to determine how far we have traveled and even more importantly how far we may have wandered off our course.

Our minds are constantly at battle with what we believe to be the truth and what actually is the truth. One day we may think we fully understand the meaning of a thing and then the next we find that we were mistaken. Pursuit of Masonic light (knowledge) is a journey, an adventure that will lead us to many fascinating discoveries which aid us in the creation of a map of our future. However, like any traveler it is very important that we do not become so focused on the traveling that we lose sight of the knowledge (destination) that we seek.

The North Star represents the individual as the “point within the circle”. It is an example of the boundary line of our duty to God and to man, beyond which a man should not allow his passions, prejudices or interests to betray him.

The North Star, the brightest star in the Ursa Minor constellation, is that ever-present symbol in the night sky reminding us that there is “universal truth” and it is this truth that we must align ourselves with as we circumscribe our actions to better understand our creator, our role within the universe and our relationship to the divine architect.

I wish you well brothers on your masonic travels and may you always find your true north.

 

Larry Roberts 32° KCCH, Portland Valley Personal Representative. Member of Modesto Lodge 206, Esoterika Lodge 227 and Research Lodge 198.

Greetings Brethren,
On Tuesday December 6th starting at 6:30 pm the Portland Valley Scottish Rite will be having a Social to celebrate the Holidays in December. All Scottish Rite members are invited to come and bring a guest.

There will be horderves but no formal dinner this evening.
The appropriate attire is Holiday festive so feel free to break out your best/worst Christmas/Hanukkah sweater for the evening.

To adequately allow us to provide snacks please RSVP for this event by email at officemanager@portlandsr.com no later than Monday December 5th at 11:00 am.

Tuesday November 29th the Portland Valley will be having the first Valley Club Night.
This event will kick off the formation of the new Clubs at the Rite, if you have a club you want to form or an idea for a group that can enhance the Valley this is a night not to miss.

Ideas for clubs include, but are not limited to;
Blue Lodge Degree Team
Business & Professional Group
Investment Club
Cigar Club
Music Club
Education/Esoteric Club
Entertainment Club
Game Clubs (Card Games/Poker/Pool/Darts)
Golf Club
Hunting/Fishing Clubs
Motorcycle Association
Gun/Skeet/Trap Shooting Club
Skiing Club
Speaker’s Club
Stage Craft Club
Beer tasters Club

There will not be a meal this evening but there will be a Social in the Members Lounge from 5:30 – 6:30. Dress code is casual.