The Shrine- My personal take on the organization

[cemab4y]

I heartily endorse the organization. I would like to give my personal "take" on the Shrine, and clear up a few misconceptions.

Anyone interested should check out their website at:

Shriners - Welcome.

For a "Cliff's Notes" version of the "basics" of the Shrine, check out:

http://www.shrinershq.org/files/memb...inerPrimer.pdf

I joined the Shrine in 1988, at Kena Shrine Center, Fairfax VA. I have participated in Shrine centers and activity in Madisonville KY, Columbus OH, Roanoke/Lynchburg VA, Kansas City MO, Memphis TN, Burlington NJ, Philadelphia PA, Norfolk VA, etc. I am not an active Shriner at this time, because I am on extended duty in Iraq. When I return to the USA in 2008, I intend to re-join the Shrine , and be very active.

-The Shrine is NOT a "rich man's club". True, there are some Shriners who are affluent, but the organization is open to all Master Masons in good standing. Dues vary from $55 to $90 per year on average, and this works out to less than 25 cents per day. The hospital assessment is $5 per year. The organization is well within reach of almost every Master Mason. A fez can be purchased for about $65.

-The Shrine does NOT take a tremendous amount of time. However, you can spend as much time as you like. If you get involved with a unit, the hours spent on fund-raisers, and performances, and rehearsals will add up. You do NOT have to join a unit right away, or at all, to be a Shriner. You should join the Shrine first, then "shop around" for an activity or unit that interests you. In my case, I did not find a unit that appealed to me, so I started an "amateur radio club" to support the Shrine center with two-way radio communications.

-The Shrine has activities for the member AND HIS LADY. This is very important. NO other masonically-related organization takes such emphasis on including the ladies in the activities. Most socials, dances, dinners,etc. are OPEN to the member and his lady. My wife was always supportive of all of my masonic activities, but never willing to participate. In Columbus OH, we joined a hillbillies club, and dressed in hillbilly hats and bib overalls. We went to "hoe-downs" out in the boondocks, and drank white lightning, and had covered-dish suppers, and danced and had really enjoyable times.

-The Shrine is NOT a masonic organization. There is no masonic ritual work, or continuation of the degrees as is found in the Blue Lodge or the York/Scottish Rites. An individual must be a Master Mason in good standing to join the Shrine, and if you drop out of the Blue Lodge, then you must leave the Shrine as well. However, the Shrine is for most members, a very important and enjoyable part of the Masonic experience.

-The Shrine hospitals are truly the "worlds greatest philanthropy" We support 22 hospitals where all treatment is provided FREE. I have helped transport children to our hospitals, and I have seen up close the terrific work that is accomplished in the hospitals. I once transported a two-year old child, who was born with spina bifida (spinal cord did not close properly). He had to have twelve operations by the time he was two years old. His father pumped gas, and had no medical insurance. I highly encourage all Masons, who are considering the Shrine, to arrange a tour of a Shriners hospital or burn center.

-The Shrine is not without problems. Membership was almost a million men, in 1990, and it has trailed off to less than 500,000 now. The average age is up above 60 and increasing. I supported the dropping of the requirement of being a KT/32d to join the Shrine. Sadly, the change did not do very much to increase the number of members.

Here is an interesting, but sad article on the state of the Shrine in Tacoma, Wash.

Dwindling Shriners find few to wear John Wayne’s hat | TheNewsTribune.com | Tacoma, WA

If anyone has any specific questions about the Shrine, their hospitals, the units/clubs, or anything about the Shrine, I will be delighted to answer them, just PM me, or leave your inquiry here.


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[cemab4y]

If any young person is "put off" or offended by the "Arabian Nights" motif of the Shrine, they are better of leaving the Shrine alone. The Shrine is better off without such people, as well. The symbols are not "antiquated" ; they have only been used since the founding of the Shrine, in the 1870's. Let us examine them:

The Scimitar stands for the membership, the "backbone" of the Shrine.

The Sphinx-face stands for the governing body of the Shrine, the imperial council.

The two claws of the inverted crescent stand for the fraternity and philanthropy. Neither of the claws are identified, because one could not exist without the other.

The Star is for the thousands of Children who are helped in our hospitals every year. The Star stands front and center in the symbolism, because it is the focus and reason for our existence.

If any young person finds these symbols offensive, or "antiquated", they should not have anything to do with the Shrine. The Shrine can deal with it.

The Shrine is NOT a masonic organization, but an organization composed of men who are masons. This sounds like legal nit-picking, but it is actually very important. When Billy Florence and Walter Fleming set up the Shrine in 1870, they wanted to organize a club, which would stress fun and frivolity; which by its very definition is far removed from the serious and ancient teachings of Freemasonry.

In order to petition (apply) for the Shrine, a man must first be a Craft Mason. With this small pool of potential recruits, and the advanced age of Masons in the USA, the average age of new Shriners, is also creeping upwards.

Except for the fact that Shriners must be masons first, there is no "integration" with respect to the Scottish Rite, nor of Craft Masonry (nor of ANY other appendant and concordant body). And that is exactly how the Shrine was designed to operate. The Shrine, is an independent stand-alone organization, and has no subordination to ANY lodge, Grand Lodge, the Scottish Rite, nor of any other appendant body anywhere.

This ensures a full measure of independence for the Shrine. Our philanthropy (Hospitals for children) operate outside of the purview or oversight of any Masonic body. This is necessary, or else the lodges/Grand Lodges would take over the whole organization.

Most Grand Lodges in the USA, forbid alcoholic beverages within their subordinate lodges. The Shrine permits the moderate use of alcoholic beverages. The grand Lodges forbid gambling, even penny-ante poker games in their lodges. The Shrine has no such restrictions, and the Nobles often enjoy this pastime. The grand Lodges have tight restrictions on fund-raising, raffles, etc. The Shrine is not encumbered by these regulations, and thence can have Circuses, grapefruit sales, etc. Most masonic events are 'stag', while the Shrine has a multitude of events, dances, parties, etc. for the Noble AND his lady. No other Masonic group has more co-ed activities than the Shrine.

I cherish the Shrine. Certainly, the organization has problems. We are dealing with the problems. Even though the Shrine is far removed from the serious teachings of Craft Masonry; for many people, the Shrine is their most enjoyable part of the masonic experience. This sounds contradictory, but it really is not.

Like two flying buttresses which support a ceiling, the two opposing experiences of serious self-discovery and self-improvement of Craft masonry, and the relaxation and frivolity of the Shrine experience, work together to support a man's life and spirit. Masonry has its meetings and instructions in private, and the Shrine is an open, public organization, which has parades, and circuses, and all types of public activities.

These are the "yin and yang" of the Masonic experience. All men have a need for fun and frivolity. If the frivolity can support a marvelous philanthropy, like the Shrine hospitals, then so much the better. The Shrine touches a definite spark, in the spirit of its membership. It reaches to the "boy in the man", the need to celebrate the good things in life, the desire to be public with your joy, the fraternal bond that extends from good fellowship, dining, and the moderate use of alcoholic beverages.

The Arabian Nights theme of the Shrine, seems archaic, I agree. But this is our splendid tradition, the "anchor" of the whole organization. It hearkens to a simpler time, when men and boys found an escape, from ordinary life, to a world of shieks, and harem girls, and flying carpets, and genies, and the marvelous mysticism of the Thousand and One Nights, and
the tales of Scheherazade. This experience is not unlike today's youth fascination with the "Harry Potter" books.

There will always be a fascination, in the mind of men and boys, with mysticism and magic, and flying , whether it be on a flying carpet across the Arabian desert, or flying on a broom at the Hogwart's school. Whether Wizards or Wiziers, the same note of fascination is touched.

So, let us move on, away from a petty hang-up on symbolism, and forward to a new understanding of the joys of fellowship and fraternity. The Shrine will always be the Shrine, its renaissance is in our hands.

SO MOTE IT BE!! ES SALEIMU ALEIKUM!!