Important Dates
November
11/01 - Possible Degree
11/06 - Officer Practice
11/06 - School Of Instruction
11/08 - Regular Communication
11/11 - 2nd Saturday Coffee
11/13 - Officer Practice
11/13 - School Of Instruction
11/15 - Possible Degree
11/20 - Officer Practice
11/20 - School Of Instruction
11/22 - Possible Degree
11/23 - Thanksgiving Day
11/25 - Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser
11/27 - Officer Practice
11/27 - School Of Instruction
11/29 - Possible Degree
Upcoming Activities
12/02 - Ladies At The Table
Check the website for any date changes and also see Calendar page
Important Dates
November
Upcoming Activities
Check the website for any date changes and also see Calendar page
George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation
Written by George Washington in 1789, this was the first official Presidential Proclamation made in the United States. Shortly
after the Thanksgiving Proclamation was written, it was lost for 130 years. It was probably misplaced when the US Capitol moved
from New York to Washington, D.C. It now resides in the Library of Congress. And it reads:
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His
benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee,
requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by
acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity
peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"
Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the
service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may
George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation
then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country
previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the
course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the
peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness,
and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means
we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased
to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech
Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several
and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a
Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns
and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote
the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto
all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.
-- by Midnight Freemasons Contributor W. B. Gregory Knott
First Harvest In The New World
At the end of the first harvest in the new world, the Pilgrims at Plymouth
First Harvest In The New World
along with Chief Massassoit and a party of 90 friendly Indians joined in a celebratory act that consisted of "three days of prayer and feasting."
The Mayflower passengers that signed the agreement that became known as the "Mayflower Compact" stated they had come to the New
World to escape religious persecution and "for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian faith." They endured a stormy
voyage across the Atlantic Ocean at the worst possible time of the year and later participated in that festival to give thanks to
Almighty God. The Pilgrims were thankful they had survived a stormy voyage, endured a terrible winter, and had been blessed with
a good harvest that provided them with food.
Food was scarce during that terrible winter, their first in the new world. Hezekiah Butterworth, an American author of the last half
of the nineteenth century, passed on information that the daily ration of food was five grains of parched corn. During that winter,
47 members of the original 102 died, and at any one time, only "six or seven were in proper condition to attend the sick and bury
the dead" on Cole's Hill. Yet, in spite of the hardships they endured and the sufferings they experienced, those sturdy Pilgrims
at Plymouth, after inviting the friendly natives to join them, paused to celebrate and to give thanks to God for his providential
care.
Lest we forget, this is the heritage the Pilgrims passed on to us.
A national holiday, celebrated with a festive turkey feast, commemorates it, but the heritage of those sturdy Pilgrims reminds us
that true thanksgiving is more. While surrounded by an abundance of things which are the accouterments of an affluent society, we
must not forget that back of these things there is the providential care of Almighty God, and like the Pilgrims, we are recipients
of that care.
To see life from this perspective is to see that God's mercies, new every morning and fresh every evening, are more than we
can number. So, gratitude rises in the heart, and we are thankful.
-- By W. Howard Coop, KCCH
Scottish Rite Freemasonry SJ
Scottish Rite Freemasonry SJ
