My Brothers,
During my term as Supreme Chancellor, I have asked
that each Knight, Lodge and Domain join in an Order
wide Membership Drive. The continuing decline in
membership has been the greatest single enemy of our
beloved Order; and it has taken commitment, planning
and a great deal of hard work to win a victory over
this enemy, and we are succeeding.
I believe that all Pythians are continuing to ASK,
as we ourselves are the best salesman for this great
Order. We must continue to practice the “3 Rs of
Membership”: RECRUIT, REINSTATE AND RETAIN.
(Recruit - ask a friend, coworker, or
relative to join. Reinstate - check on
members who have dropped out. Ask them why they left
and what it would take to bring them back into the
lodge. Retain - make sure your lodge
meetings are worthwhile and interesting to all the
members.)
By now, each Grand Domain should have selected a
candidate for recognition as their Domain Membership
Champion (in any manner they decide upon) taking
into consideration the number of new Knights
and reinstatements the member has been responsible
for, new lodges he has helped institute and other
membership work performed during the 2008-2010 term
of the Supreme Lodge. Each Deputy Supreme Chancellor
must report this to the Supreme Lodge on a form
provided, by July 1, 2010. Using the information on
these returned forms, together with the Supreme
Membership Chairman and the Supreme Secretary, and I
as the Supreme Chancellor, we will select the
International Membership
Champion. This member will receive $1000 towards a
trip to the 2010 Supreme Lodge Convention, to be
held in Los Angeles, CA, where he will be officially
recognized.
Congratulations go out to the following Domains and
Lodges in recognition of their reported success with
the institution of new Subordinate Lodges and their
increase in membership through newly created
Knights:
August 30, 2009 (TN) Blue Grass Lodge #276
institutes with 15 Charter Members
January 15, 2010 (NC) Randy Huffman Memorial
Lodge #263 institutes w/13 newly created Knights
February 13, 2010 (IN) Domain sponsored 3-in-1
initiates 7 newly created Knights
February 21, 2010 (OH) Domain sponsored 3-in-1
initiates 11 newly created Knights
March 6, 2010 (SC) Myrtle Lodge #3
welcomes 3 newly created Knights at 3-in-1 Ranks
March 27, 2010 (TX) Domain sponsored 3-in-1
initiates 7 newly created Knights
More information regarding these successes and other
news worthy items can be found in the online version
of the Pythian International; accessed through the
Supreme Lodge Website at
www.pythias.org. Logon today to see all of the
exciting activities happening throughout the Supreme
Domain.
Fraternally,
Dan Cowan, KGS/SC
|
My Brothers,
It has now been eighteen months since having been
elected as the sixty-ninth Supreme Chancellor of the
Knights of Pythias. Since August of 2008, I have had the
privilege of visiting fifteen Grand Domains and have
scheduled to visit another seven before the Supreme
Convention this coming August.
Our Community Service and Volunteerism Program is
progressing nicely and so far thirty-three Grand Domains
and two Subordinate Lodges under the immediate control
of the Supreme Lodge have accepted the challenge and
have reported a total of 165,438 hours
so far, with 89,554 hours being
reported in just the last three months. This tells me
that the word is getting out to the membership, and your
cooperation is greatly appreciated. To date, 353
Brothers have reported a minimum of 100 Volunteer Hours
qualifying them for the Supreme Chancellor’s
Certificate of Honor, in recognition of their
unselfish service rendered through their tireless
efforts of volunteerism to their communities.
Our National Charity, the American Cancer Society
promotes a twenty-four hour event known as Relay For
Life throughout the United States and Canada. Under
separate cover, all Grand Chancellor’s will be urged to
invite representatives from the Relay For Life
programs to your Grand Lodge Conventions. Information on
the 2010 Relay For Life events being held within the
United States is being sent to the ACS Chairmen for
dissemination to the Subordinate Lodges for their
anticipated participation. Relay For Life events
scheduled in Canada have not yet been published by the
CCS. For more iation on how to create or join an
existing Relay For Life team, please visit our website
at www.pythias.org
and follownform the links to the American Cancer
Society/Relay For Life page. Included with this
newsletter is our March publication of the Relay For
Life News.
Fraternally,
Dan Cowan, KGS/SC |
Recently, I was
questioned by some of our Brothers as to
where and how our donations are being utilized by
the American Cancer Society; and how they were rated
by the various media and charity watchdog
organizations. The American Cancer Society was kind
enough to respond as follows:
The American Cancer
Society is happy to address the concerns and
questions that have been raised concerning how the
Society is rated by the media and charity "watchdog"
organizations. In fact, we are SO GLAD YOU ASKED!
Because after 95 years of fighting cancer, the
Society has much to be proud of and we are anxious
to share.
As a supporter of the ACS, the Knights of Pythias
are stakeholders in our mission...which is to
save lives. You know, of course, that the American
Cancer Society is dedicated to saving nearly 11
million lives from cancer by the year 2015. As the
world's foremost voluntary health organization, the
Society is leading the way in the fight against
cancer. As a donor-supported organization, the
Society also takes very seriously the investments
donors make in our mission.
To deliver on its promise to the public, the Society
has adopted the most effective structure for its
purpose: a volunteer national governing board,
backed up by more than three million volunteers on
similar regional boards in communities nationwide.
Even with this structure in place, the Society must
make targeted investments in internal business
systems and supporting infrastructure that, while
critical to mission, are not viewed and taken into
consideration by the various watchdog groups as
program expenses. Some charity rankings focus
only on raw financial data, rather than examining
whether an organization is effectively carrying out
its mission.
When reviewing ratings of charitable organizations,
it is important to take program effectiveness into
account. The American Cancer Society is the only
cancer organization that provides programs and
services in more than 5,100 communities nationwide,
and is the only cancer organization that has trained
cancer information specialists who provide free
cancer information by telephone 24 hours a day,
every day of the year.
For nearly a century, the American Cancer Society’s
lea dership has worked hard to maximize the impact
of every dollar in the context of the fight against
cancer. Efficiency is indeed an area of focus, but
just as important is efficacy. The professional
staff, in collaboration with volunteers – people
like yourself – set aggressive goals and regularly
monitor and report progress. I encourage you to
read the 2007 Strategic Plan Progress Report, which
is available in the governance section of our Web
site,
www.cancer.org, and was recently cited in
The Wall Street Journal as an example of the
Society’s leadership in carefully balancing
financial and program management.
As we work to conquer cancer through research,
education, advocacy, and community service, we
strive to use our resources as wisely as possible.
The Society routinely meets or exceeds the
standards established by various charity watchdog
organizations, and, notably, holds the Better
Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance National
Charity Seal. The seal provides the most widely
recognized, meaningful mechanism by which charities
demonstrate continuing commitment to accountability
and ethical practices. I also welcome you to visit
websites for the Non-Profit Times, Better Business
Bureau Wise Giving Alliance, and the Chronicle of
Philanthropy as you research.
Some notables that I encourage you to share with
your membership:
HISTORY
For 95 years, the Society has focused on fighting
cancer through20Research, Education, Advocacy and
Service. We continue to enjoy saturated levels of
general awareness and unprecedented levels of public
support (volunteer time and financial contributions) .
Also, worth noting is that less than 1% of ACS
revenues come from government. As a result, it costs
more to raise money, but that ensures ACS
independence.
STEWARDSHIP: “We are as tough on ourselves as we
are on the disease we fight”
We hold ourselves accountable for results –
measurable progress against the disease (mission &
income dashboards /scorecards). When we raise
dollars to fund our mission, we are raising more
than funds - we are raising cancer awareness and
education (for early detection). We hold favorable
ratings with many other ranking organizations, like
the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance
(give.org) and The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
COMPLEXITY – Global, nationwide and
community based
Our organization is unique in that we fight cancer
on a global scale. We are a nationwide organization
that fights cancer on many fronts in communities
across the nation (prevention and early detection,
searching for a cure, improving quality of life). We
serve 11 million survivors, plus millions more
family and friends
Research: As to your question regarding
dollars spent on research...this information is
freely shared on our website,
www.cancer.org. Please go to the link below and
you will be able to view, by state, research dollars
that were awarded to grantees for FY 2007-2008. In
total, there were over 320 research grants awarded
to the sum of over $124 million dollars.
|
|
8-17-2009 |
Dear Brothers,
The upcoming weekend of September 11-13, 2009 has been
designated as the second Sabbath of September, in which
the Pythian Day of Divine Worship has been established.
Subordinate Lodges are requested to attend divine
services in a body. Services may be conducted in a
Pythian Hall or other suitable location, or the
membership may attend services of their individual
faiths in their Houses of Worship.
It is at this time that we, the Knights of Pythias, now
come together and put into our Prayers, the names and
memories of those who need us the most. As a Benevolent
organization, let us show our communities through deeds
of caring and concern, by conducting services open to
the public or by attending services together as a lodge.
Remember to include our fellow Brothers and Sisters,
their families and loved ones in your prayers.
We ask the Supreme Ruler of the Universe to Bless us and
Keep us, as we the Pythian Order, work together in the
Spirit of Friendship and Love, to make our world a
better place for all. We ask this in your name. Amen
|
|
6-26-2009 |
It has now been ten months since I was elected to the
office as Supreme Chancellor and I would like to
personally thank our membership for tpoheir suprt and
continued success of two of the most important programs
instituted at the last Supreme Lodge Convention.
The Volunteerism and Community
Service Programhas now reported
56,106 Volunteer hours as
of the end of May, which is almost twice the number of
hours as reported at the end of February this year.
Twenty Eight Domains are
now reporting their Volunteer hours, an increase of
seven Domains. Although some Subordinate Lodges continue
to report their totals collectively, which embraces my
earlier plea that ALL Volunteer hours be reported, many
Volunteer hours are still being performed without being
reported. As of the writing of this message, less than
1% of our total membership has reported their hours.
Currently, 147 Brothers
have or will receive a Supreme Chancellor’s Certificate
of Honor in recognition of having volunteered a minimum
of 100 hours to their communities, which again is double
the number from February. For this important program to
succeed fully, we really need the cooperation of every
Brother to report their Volunteer hours to their Lodge
Secretary, who in turn must report these hours to your
Deputy Supreme Chancellor. Since every Volunteer hour
counts towards our overall goal of
2 Million Volunteer Hours,
please do not wait until you have achieved the 100 hour
goal. Our Chief Deputy Supreme Chancellor Keith
Stooksberry is tracking every reported Volunteer hour
and will notify me when a Brother has earned a Supreme
Chancellor’s Certificate of Honor. Will you be the next
Brother to report your Volunteer hours and receive your
certificate?
The Relay for Life Program,
an event sponsored by both the
American Cancer Society and the
Canadian Cancer Society
has shown great success by the participation of the
following Domains: Texas,
Nevada, Nebraska,
Tennessee, Oregon and
Illinois. With the assistance of the Relay for
Life national staff, we have been publishing a single
page (two-sided) Relay for Life newsletter on a monthly
basis since March 2009. Copies of these newsletters are
available from your Subordinate Lodge Secretary and your
Grand Secretary. We are currently working on making each
newsletter available on the newly created
American Cancer Society webpage
found via the link from the
Supreme Lodge website. Each newsletter contains
articles of concern regarding the various forms and
treatments of Cancer; along with suggestions and success
stories regarding Relay for Life events. Our goal is to
feature every Domain that has participated in a Relay
for Life event and to have their story spread throughout
the United States and Canada.
|
|
5-21-09 |
On Saturday May 16, 2009 the Texas Pythian Home for
Children celebrated their 100th Anniversary in
Weatherford, Texas. In attendance were many local
dignitaries, including the Mayor of Weatherford, who is
also a member of the Knights of Pythias, along with many
other notable townspeople and former residents of the
Home. As Supreme Chancellor, I was honored to be invited
to participate in the ceremonies by giving a speech
about the Order and the Home. Also representing the
Knights of Pythias and the Pythian Sisters were Grand
Chancellor Barry Carter and his officers; Grand Chief
Gladys Loftis and her officers; Past Supreme Chiefs
Hazel West of Texas and Georgia Byrd of Michigan;
Supreme Secretary Steve Glise; Imperial Prince Howard
Woods and Imperial Maharani Angie Woods; including many
Brothers and Sisters from the Domains of Texas, Iowa,
Oklahoma and Missouri.
The Texas Pythian Home provides a safe, stable
environment for children to grow physically, socially,
emotionally and spiritually to become responsible,
independent adults.
The Texas Pythian Home, otherwise known as the “Castle
on the Hill” was built with the architecture style of a
castle due to the sponsorship of the Grand Lodge Knights
of Pythias, and our motto of Friendship, Charity and
Benevolence were put into practice when the Home began
on March 1, 1909. The Home is located on approximately
164 acres on the east side of Weatherford, Texas. The
campus includes a softball field, tennis and volleyball
courts, a swimming pool and various barns in addition to
the main building and dormitories. The children live in
the dormitories with a husband and wife team who serve
as the Direct Care Staff. There are six to eight
children in each dorm, depending on age. Residents
attend public schools and local churches. They also
participate in extracurricular activities such as
soccer, football, basketball, band, Scouts, etc. Their
goal is to give the children a childhood with
opportunities and positive experiences. The Home has
many outstanding athletes and academic scholars.
Unfortunate circumstances are often the reason why
children cannot live with their parents. Circumstances
such as death, divorce, chemical dependency,
adjudication, abuse or neglect create an environment
that is not safe for a child. Families may find
themselves homeless and have no idea where the next meal
will come from. There is help for these families from
the Texas Pythian Home, which provides a safe haven for
children until the parent can once again provide for
them. The Home meets the basic needs of each child and
the staff works with the child to develop a plan of
service which consists of short and long term goals in
five areas: family, social, educational, emotional and
physical.
It is a natural tendency of man to want to do something
for someone and the wisdom of those Pythians of decades
ago could have conceived of no greater way to show their
love than by the erection and maintaining of this Home.
It now stands as a monument of those loving Pythians of
Texas and its glory cannot be dimmed by the passing of
time. Boys and girls of immature age, left without the
kindly care and gentle ministrations of a father and
mother, are received and the love they might have had
was replaced with a devoted love of those who administer
the affairs of the Home. Those Pythians who envisioned
this Home and saw its completion, are now gone and they
have left to us the responsibility of carrying on this
benevolent work. Let me urge every Pythian throughout
the Supreme Domain to support this Home for these
children look to us for their future. May they not be
disappointed in us but when they leave the Home may they
sing the praises of Pythianism to everyone, everywhere.
There are several types of sponsorship programs
available for the children of the Home, such as:
Birthday Sponsors… remember a child on their
birthday by sending a gift of approximately $10 in
value.
Birthday Cake Sponsors…
purchase and deliver a half sheet cake for a child’s
birthday, or order one and the Home will pick it up. You
may also elect to donate up to $30 for the Home to order
and purchase the cake.
Gold Star Program…
purchase “back to school” clothing and shoes for a
child. Each child will have a booklet with three outfits
and shoes listed. Items are purchased and returned to
the Home. This helps the children start the school year
off right.
Holidays… Christmas is
exciting at the Home due to the generosity of so many
people. The children make “wish lists” for Santa and
they divide the lists among several organizations and
individuals who so wonderfully bless the children. Truly
these folks understand the meaning of “it’s better to
give than receive”, because they do so abundantly. It is
these types of events that allow the children to receive
items they wouldn’t otherwise have.
If you, your Subordinate Lodge or Grand Lodge would like
to become a Sponsor or Volunteer your efforts to the
Texas Pythian Home for Children, or if you want to
receive further information about the various activities
you can become involved with at the Home, you may
contact them directly at (817) 594-4465 or by email at
tph239@pythianhome.org
|
|
4-1-09 |
|
COMMUNITY SERVICE AND VOLUNTEERISM
|
Benevolence is defined as an act
of kindness or of charitable nature.
Charity is defined as an act or feeling of generosity;
goodwill toward humanity.
Volunteerism is the act of a person voluntarily
undertaking a service of Benevolence or Charity.
Six months ago, as Supreme Chancellor, I challenged our
membership to achieve the modest goal of donating
2
MILLION HOURS of Benevolent and Charitable service
through Volunteering their time to their local
communities. Since that time, many Lodges are now
reporting their successes of their volunteer efforts
within local communities throughout the United States
and Canada. As of the end of February, 21 Domains have
reported their Volunteer hours, totaling
28,
388 hours.
The Pythian Sisters have also had 5 Jurisdictions report
a total of 7,860hours. Many Subordinate Lodges are
reporting their totals collectively, which embraces my
earlier plea that ALL Volunteer hours be reported, even
if they are reported anonymously. Currently, over 70
Brothers have or will receive a Supreme Chancellor’s
Certificate of Honor in recognition of having
volunteered a minimum of 100 hours to their communities.
Will you be the next Brother to receive a certificate?
April 19 through 25, 2009 is being recognized as
National Volunteer Week. What better time than now for
our members to start planning ways to volunteer their
services to the various community outreaches available,
such as these:
Elementary Schools; many children are still struggling
with their basic reading skills up to the ages of eight
and nine years old. Many local programs exist that
accept seniors (retired or not) and all adults willing
to donate one hour or more a week of their time to read
with a student.
Senior Centers; many centers are in need of volunteers
that will read to, play cards and board games with, or
just talk with the seniors. Just one hour a week can
brighten their (and even your) day.
Little Leagues and Community Centers; now that Spring is
here, both of these organizations are in dire need of
volunteers. What better way do you get to watch exciting
sports action and help shape the youth of your community
at the same time? Remember, ‘we’re doing this for the
kids’.
Homeless shelters and Women’s and Children’s shelters;
during these trying economic times, extra volunteers are
always welcome to help feed our nation’s homeless, and
those women and children that are in need. Remember, our
first charity after the American Civil War was to take
care of our Widows and Orphans, and those with no place
to call home.
Starting May 1st, all Brothers that are eligible to
receive the Supreme Chancellor’s Certificate of Honor
for having volunteered a minimum of 100 hours to their
communities will be listed alphabetically by name on the
Supreme Lodge’s Website. Remember, qualifying volunteer
hours will be accepted when performed between June 1,
2008 and May 31, 2010.
|
|
2-23-09 |
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I wish to THANK YOU all once again for those that were
able to attend the reception held in my honor, Saturday
February 21, 2009. Being able to share such a wonderful
evening with you was truly a gift that I will treasure
forever.
I wish to report that the Committee for this reception,
expertly chaired by DSC Jerry Footlick and supported by
the Officers and Members of the Golden Domain of
California, undertook the monumental task of soliciting
donations for our national charity, the American Cancer
Society. A modest goal was set to raise $5000, by
offering participation of having one’s name(s) placed
upon a special plaque that was presented to me Saturday
evening.
Thanks to YOUR generous support, on behalf of the
Supreme Lodge Knights of Pythias and the Grand Lodge
Knights of Pythias of California, I was honored to have
presented Mr. Joseph Hill, officially representing the
American Cancer Society, a ceremonial check in the full
amount of the achieved goal of $5000, plus an additional
$140 donated just hours earlier that day.
I look forward to seeing everyone again as I begin my
official visitations to the Grand Conventions throughout
the Supreme Domain.
May our successes in our participation with the American
Cancer Society continue to grow “Supporting the Fight
Against Cancer”
|
|
2-1-09 |
My Brothers,
As we approach the 145th Anniversary of the Founding of
our Order, I would like to share with you some history
surrounding the Rathbone Bible, our most sacred and
cherished relic of the Pythian Order.
The Bible originally belonged to our Founder, Justus
Henry Rathbone, which he received as a gift from his
mother on his fifth birthday in 1844. It is an English
version of the Polyglot Bible printed by the Desilver
Company of Philadelphia. It is this Bible on which the
original members of the Order were obligated on Monday,
February 15, 1864 at a residence located in Washington,
DC. Four days later, on February 19, 1864 Justus
Rathbone and the original members instituted Washington
Lodge #1, where on this site today stands the FBI
building and a special plaque commemorating the exact
location of our first Lodge.
In 1876, when Justus Rathbone addressed the Supreme
Convention, he presented the Bible to Supreme Chancellor
S. S. Davis and the Supreme Lodge Knights of Pythias of
the World.
This bible in now sealed in a glass case, opened to the
121st Psalm. Also contained in this case is the Rathbone
Founders Medal, which is the only one in existence. This
historic Bible is available through the Supreme Lodge to
Lodges that are obligating classes of 25 or more new
Knights. All Knights present are given the opportunity
to reaffirm their Pythian obligation on this special
Bible.
On January 22, 2009, Beverly Hills Lodge #393 (CA) and
Pasadena Lodge #38 (CA) re-obligated 16 Brother Knights
on the Rathbone Bible. On January 23, 2009, Forest Oak
Lodge #123 (MD), Franklin Lodge #2 (DC) and Hermione
Lodge #12 (DC) initiated 5 new Knights and re-obligated
12 Brother Knights on the Rathbone Bible.
The Grand Lodge of Indiana will be using the Rathbone
Bible for its Founder’s Day Celebration - Three Rank Day
on February 14,
|
|
1-1-2009 |
My Brothers,
As the
New Year begins, we as an Order are showing great
progress in the rejuvenation of our membership. Many
Domains are reporting gains in new members and are
showing greater participation with many of the Supreme
Lodge Programs. If you or someone you know has signed up
at least 3 new members since August 2008, please
communicate this information to your Deputy Supreme
Chancellor so that a specially minted
Membership Coin
can be sent in acknowledgement.
Community Service and Volunteerism
has shown significant increases now that we are
reporting our Volunteer Hours being performed; and those
members contributing a minimum of 100 Volunteer Hours
will be recognized with a Supreme Chancellor’s
Certificate. Many Lodges and individual Brothers have
expressed their sentiments that “Thanks aren’t really
necessary as we’ll continue to Volunteer our services
throughout our communities without the necessity of
receiving a certificate”. Whereas I truly appreciate the
humility expressed by these Brothers, I appeal to them
and ask that ALL Volunteer Hours be reported, in order
to enable us as an Order, to inform the World that the
Knights of Pythias are active in their communities and
are diligently working towards attaining the goal of
2 Million
Volunteer Hours by May 31, 2010. Any member or Lodge
that wishes to report their Volunteer Hours anonymously
may do so. The next scheduled reporting period will be
due to all Deputy Supreme Chancellors by February 1,
2009. Please remember to include all hours donated
beginning June 1, 2008.
The Boy Scout
Connection Program is a great way to promote our
order but we are not fully using it properly. We have
been missing out on a golden opportunity to introduce
ourselves and our Order to the families and friends of
these Eagle Scouts and the Boy Scout Troop in which they
belong. The Supreme Secretary is currently receiving
numerous requests from around the country for Eagle
Scout certificates and patches that are available
through the Supreme Lodge
Boy Scout
Connection Program. Many of these requests that are
received come directly from the parents of the Scouts or
their Scoutmasters. Many of these Scouts live in areas
in which an active Knights of Pythias Lodge is located.
Whenever a request for an Eagle Scout certificate and
patch are received, we would like to send these to one
of our Subordinate Lodges, in order for our members to
make a personal presentation to the Eagle Scout. This
presentation allows us to introduce our Order, our
Principles of Friendship, Charity and Benevolence, and
can give the Knights of Pythias the name recognition we
so proudly deserve. Our goal is to have a representative
from every Knights of Pythias Lodge make a personal
presentation of the Eagle Scout certificate and patch.
Several Domains are reporting their involvement with the
Support Our Troops Program by sending out “care packages” to our
Service Men and Women serving our Country in Foreign
Lands. I wish to personally thank the Domains of New
York and California for sending out packages to one of
my daughter Jenny’s college friends that is now serving
in Afghanistan. My Nephew, who is currently stationed in
New York, is due for deployment to Afghanistan around
the end of January 2009 and I hope he will be added to
the list of names currently receiving packages from
these Domains. Emails of support and small packages
filled with the necessities not always available to them
such as soaps, toiletries, snacks, etc. are truly
welcomed. Those receiving these packages are most
appreciative and in turn will help distribute the
packages to their units to share. If you know of a
family member, friend or neighbor that is currently
serving in our Armed Forces, simply obtain their APO
Address and share it with your
Support Our
Troops committee in your Subordinate or Grand Lodge;
or share it with another Grand Lodge like New York and
California. These Service Men and Women can never get
too much of our LOVE and SUPPORT.
Have you visited our Supreme website lately? At
www.pythias.org you
will find some exciting new links have been added, such
as the American
Cancer Society Bookstore, in which discounts are
available on reference books dealing with various
subjects on education and prevention of cancers; the
American Cancer Society homepage; and the
Relay for Life support page for those Subordinate and Grand Lodges
that wish to participate in these fun and exciting
events to help raise funds and awareness while “ Supporting
the Fight Against Cancer”. We have also added a
Member’s Area
that includes a
Member’s Benefits link which highlights discounts
made available to only members of the Knights of Pythias
and their families and friends for car rentals, hotel
stays and a special offer for your child or grandchild
to star in their own action adventure DVD. While you’re
visiting our Supreme website, take a tour of our newly
revised Pythian
International and see what’s happening in some of
the other Lodges throughout the Supreme Domain. To
submit an article to the PI, simply email our Editor Bob
Epstein at
CHABOB2000@aol.com.
In order for our organization to grow, we must
look at things in a new mindset and be willing to try
new methods and ideas. We must use every means of
communications to spread the word about our
organization. We must try new approaches and methods and
keep up with the times.
Brothers, please spread the information about our
Membership Coin
Program, the Boy
Scout Connection Program,
Community Service
and Volunteerism Program, the
Support Our Troops
Program, and all of the other Programs of the Supreme
Chancellor, which can be found on our Supreme Website at
www.pythias.org,
through your Lodge and Grand Lodge websites,
newsletters, mailings, your circle of Brothers and other
means of communications. The more people that are made
aware of what the Knights of Pythias is all about, the
better the chances we have to increase our membership.
As we
near our 145th Anniversary of the Founding of
our Order on February 19, 2009, let us all do our part
to insure our future as an Order, based upon the
principles of Friendship, Charity and Benevolence, for
another 145 years to come. May
the year 2009 bring us good health, happiness and
prosperity to all within our Pythian Family.
If Fraternal Love
held all men bound, how beautiful this World would be!
|
|
11-20-2008 |
Dear Brothers,
Since our Supreme Convention, this great country of ours
has elected a new President, a President who promises to
bring change to many of the current policies and bring
hope to the people. Although some of us may not have
voted for him, we as Americans must stand by our new
Commander and Chief, and only anticipate a brighter
future. One of the toughest obstacles he will face is
the Economic crisis our country is in. Recently, our
Economy has reached some of the lowest levels since the
Great depression of 1929. While the Economy continues to
"crash", many families are being forced to move due to
home foreclosures, loss of jobs, and the inability to
pay living costs. Homeless rates have increased a great
deal over the last year while jobless claims rates have
surged to over 516,000 as reported recently by media
sources. Today, many individuals continue to struggle to
make an adequate living and to provide meals to their
families. These individuals may be our neighbors and
friends, including some of our members and their
families.
We as Knights of Pythias have pledged ourselves to
uphold one of the greatest Cardinal virtues of this
Order, CHARITY. With this in mind, I am appealing to
EVERY Subordinate Lodge within the Supreme Domain,
during the months of November and December, to gather
donations of canned food items, clothing and toys and
transport them to their local Shelters, Salvation Army,
Soup Kitchens, etc., in the name of the Knights of
Pythias and on behalf of their Subordinate Lodge. In the
midst of performing this Charitable and Benevolent act,
be sure to have a Newspaper photographer or reporter
informed and on hand to show your local community how
the Knights of Pythias, although small in numbers, can
make a great impact on Society.
In this time of great trouble and need, this is our time
to act and to exemplify those great virtues of
Friendship, Charity and Benevolence, by which we stand
so proud. Please brethren, take advantage of this
opportunity to help your fellow Americans.
If your Lodge is able to have a media source on hand,
please insure that a copy of the article is sent to the
Pythian International Magazine for its online
publication.
God bless each of you, God bless your families, God
bless this Country, and God bless the Knights of
Pythias!
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