The Sun Never Sets on the Grand Encampment!
Ooh….did I hit a nerve or two with last week’s message, especially from Facebook readers. Had several messages, both public and private, from some widows of our Masonic brothers. Gentlemen, we have some work to do on that front, and that’s all I will say about it right now.
I’d like to spend a little time looking at our Subordinate Commanderies and non-US Grand Commanderies. Our first non-US Subordinate Commandery was chartered in 1871, when Honolulu 1 was chartered. Of course, Hawaii is now a Grand Commandery in its own right, so for this message, it doesn’t count. Our oldest non-US Commandery is Panama Canal (formerly Canal Zone) 1, constituted in 1913. We now have a Grand Encampment presence across the Americas, as well as in Africa, Europe, and Asia. With the advent and maturity of the Internet and other technologies, we have the ability to connect with one another from any place on the globe. Travel is generally available to every location (even cheaper, sometimes, to travel to foreign locations like Romania than to domestic ones like Shreveport, Louisiana, or Mobile, Alabama). We should be in better communication with one another than we have been for much of the last 100 years.
My first opportunity to meet Knights from outside the USA was in Buffalo, NY, for the 2015 Triennial Conclave. Among those present were representatives from Romania, Brasil, and El Salvador. Lady Debbie and I had the pleasure of sitting adjacent to the Romanian delegation at the banquet and enjoyed some good cross-table conversations. It had been a tough Triennium for our Romanian Fratres, so they certainly deserved the opportunity to relax a bit, too.
As I became more engaged in the Grand Encampment, my contacts with the non-US portion of the membership increased. One thing I learned is that our relationship with our non-US Commanderies and Grand Commanderies is one of “benign neglect.” We acknowledge they are part of the Grand Encampment, and we assign a Department Commander to cover these areas, but there is little documentation as to duties and expectations for these officers. Depending how one might read the CSD, it isn’t currently possible for non-US members to be elected officers of the Grand Encampment. Our publications are all in English, and we have not, heretofore, included foreign language articles in the Knight Templar magazine or any of our General Orders or notices, such as the Toast to the Grand Master. I suggest to you, my dear readers, that our “benign neglect” has become less “benign” and more “neglectful.” Thus it is detrimental to the growth and stability of these foreign jurisdictions and, by extension, the Grand Encampment. We are past the time when this is acceptable behavior.
What, then, might we do to increase our interaction with the non-US jurisdictions, so that we might grow our Order and its presence globally as the premier Masonic order for Christian Freemasons? Perhaps we take steps to integrate the Subordinate Commanderies in Taipei and Tokyo into the Grand Commandery of the Philippines at least administratively, which would give the Knights in Taipei and Tokyo at least a slightly closer “home” body, with the goal of expanding the presence in both Japan and Taiwan (admitting it may be easier in Japan than in Taiwan in the current geopolitical environment). The commanderies in Taipei and Tokyo also benefit by having a “parent” body (the GC of the Philippines) closer to them geographically than having to reach clear back to Houston, Texas, for help. A Department Commander would still be assigned and tasked to specifically help grow the Templar presence in Japan and Taipei.
Similarly, we should consider bringing the German Subordinate Commanderies into the Grand Commandery of Austria and making that a two-nation jurisdiction like Mass/RI. Or, in this case, it may make sense to allow the German Commanderies to be assumed into the Great Priory of Germany (Großpriorat von Deutschland). I would prefer to see the former. but it is an issue for the deliberation of our German Tempelritter first and foremost.
In the Western Hemisphere, we should also consider how to grow our Order. We have Ritual in place, but do we have the spirit and understanding of what being a Knight Templar and part of the Grand Encampment means? This is not to suggest that Knights of Brasil and Paraguay (for example) should look, act, and speak like Knights from Maryland or North Dakota. Rather, we should work to share the experience and 200 years of tradition within the Grand Encampment with our central and South American Fratres, while seeing how their unique situations can adopt that which is helpful and modify that which might be troublesome. To increase communication and timeliness of information and reporting, perhaps this region deserves to have an Assistant Grand Recorder located within it to be the conduit between the Grand Recorder’s office in Texas and the Grand and subordinate commanderies of the region, as well as a second Department Commander or a Deputy Department Commander living in the region as well to assist in the teaching, supervision, and development of Templary in the South.
Of course, with the new and expanded format of our Knight Templar magazine, the time is ripe for the Knights across the international boundaries of our Order to put pen to paper (or better, fingers to keyboards) and submit material in their native tongue to add to the educational and informative value of our publication.
These are some “low hanging fruit” ideas for how we might help to strengthen our non-US Grand Commanderies and Subordinate Commanderies. We should certainly take every step possible to include those furthest from Salt Lake City by extending the Triennial Conclave via the Web and permit participation electronically in all our activities, including our deliberations and voting, if not for the 69th Triennial Conclave (though there is time to do this) most certainly for the 70th in 2027.
Finally, a warm and fraternal welcome to the several Subordinate Commandery officers who, in their current offices would be entitled a vote in the Triennial Conclave upcoming. I hope you, too, will take time to join your fellow Poor Soldiers of the Cross in Salt Lake City in 2024.