Tag Archives: youth

What would you do if your child went missing?

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I was lucky enough to attend my first CHiP event last week, conveniently at my hospital, on a day that I happened to work. I think that the CHiP program is important enough, and prevalent enough within Masonry, that I wanted to help spread the word.

What’s this about chips?

CHiP (sometimes called Masonichip) is the Masonic child identification program, designed to help the authorities find missing children. Here’s how it works: you take your child to a CHiP event, and they will make you a packet for your child, including digital still photo, fingerprints, a DNA sample (from a mouth swab), a short video, a scent pad (for scent dogs), and dental imprints. You get to keep all of the information, there is no giant database that all of this information is kept in, in fact, they delete all of the information after they create your kit, so if you lose any part of it, you will need to go to a new event and remake the part that you lost (or make a new kit). Currently more than 1.5 million kits have been completed in the United States (I believe the program is also in Canada). The program is free of charge.

What does this have to do with Masonry?

The CHiP program is 100% Mason owned and operated, in fact, it was created at the 2004 conference of Grand Masters. It is a charitable initiative, and is primarily funded by the jurisdiction’s Grand Lodge. All CHiP events are staffed by volunteers from local lodges (depending on your jurisdiction, one lodge may always volunteer, or there may be a rotation system). It serves as a wonderful opportunity for you to donate your time to give back to the community, and the idea of helping create something tangible (the kit), may give more of a sense of satisfaction than simply donating money.

Of course, no Masonic charity is without it’s bling. CHiP offers scarves and ties. They are covered in rainbow hand prints, to remind us of the impressions that child leave on our lives. They are kind of loud- but that is the idea here, it gets people to ask, “What’s up with that tie?” Apparently, all brothers that are lawyers will wear them to court when the case involves children in any manner (how cool!). You can order them here.

I was lucky enough to attend my first CHiP event last week, conveniently at my hospital, on a day that I happened to work. I think that the CHiP program is important enough, and prevalent enough within Masonry, that I wanted to help spread the word.

I thought the police department did this?

In some states, the local police or fire department runs a different kind of program. Interestingly, the program that the authorities used is actually based on CHiP, not the other way around. The main difference between the public (police, fire, etc) and the private (Masonic) programs is the way in which the information is handled. In the public programs, all of the information is stored in a searchable database, that the authorities have access to at a moment’s notice. In the CHiP program, however, there is no database, all of the information is deleted after it is confirmed correct and placed in your kit, and you are the only one that has access to the information. This is why if you lose any part of the kit, you have to go and make a new one.

I read about Take 25, what’s that about?

The CHiP program started working in collaboration with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 2007 to create a program called Take 25. The idea is simple. Take 25 minutes of your time, to have a conversation with your children (or kids you babysit, friends your kids have over, younger siblings, etc), about safety and abduction prevention. It’s 25 minutes, and not 30, to correspond with National Missing Children’s Day, May 25. Their website has a number of resources available, including conversation starters, safety tips, and general information for you, as well as for your child. It’s a little bit like talking with kids about drugs. You don’t want to think that it will happen, you don’t want to even think about it, but it is more important to talk about it with your kiddos than to ignore the fact that it happens every day. The CHiP program mixes in with the idea of Take25, any child old enough to speak will ask what’s going on, making it a perfect time to talk with them in the event that an abduction or similar would happen. In fact, all CHiP events are also Take25 events, and information for both will be readily available.

Do these programs actually have an impact?

While we can’t be for certain, it’s clear that having programs like CHiP and Take25 are far better than children having no education about the topic, and you having no similar records of them at all. 

Here are some statistics:

  • Approximately 800,000 children younger than 18 were reported missing, since 1999.
    • More than 200,000 children were abducted by family members.
    • More than 58,000 children were abducted by non-family members.
    • An estimated 115 children were the victims of “stereotypical” kidnapping. 
    • The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® has assisted law enforcement in the recovery of more than 193,705 missing children since it was founded in 1984. Their  recovery rate for missing children has grown from 62 percent in 1990 to 97 percent today.
  • The MasoniChip program has generated over 1.5 Million “Completed ID Packs” of children for parents since 2004
    • It has conducted over 15,000 events in America alone
      • My home state has held over 311 events, making packets for 37,577 children
    • They have identified over 4,200 children

How can I get involved?

Number one, best answer, hands down- volunteer your time. The events do not run themselves, and in fact take a good deal of man power to put on, especially the larger events. Volunteer with your lodge buddies, or your SO, volunteering for children is a wonderful opportunity. If you are not able to volunteer your time, funds are most often needed when starting up a CHiP program, as the computers are all dedicated for the program, and therefore can become fairly costly. Ask your Worshipful Master if the program is run by Masons in your state, I believe about 18 jurisdictions run the program at this time. If it is not offered in your state, get together with the right people, and get it started. There are also a number of resources available for starting up a program, found here. Each jurisdiction’s program has their own website, which can usually be found on the corresponding Grand Lodge’s website. There is a place to find local events on the main site, but I am not sure that it is working at this time. 

The MasoniChip program’s website is here.

I sincerely hope no one ever needs the information obtained through CHiP, but I would much rather that you have that information!

Have a great week!

Masonic Youth

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Masonry is truly designed to be a family affair. The men, obviously, have their countless organizations, the women have a few, and, not to leave anyone out, there are those for the youth as well.

There are three youth organizations, with some offshoots of each for the younger kids, all with their own individual structure and opportunities. All three focus on leadership and community service.

Rainbow for Girls

Started in 1922 as a counterpart to DeMolay, Rainbow for Girls, or Rainbow, is open to all girls, aged 11 to 20/21. One of the major differences here is that members do not need to be related to a Master Mason to be able to join. This is very nice, because once a girl ages out of Rainbow, she is eligible for membership in Eastern Star, among other organizations. The age out rule is a little bit different- a girl is a member until she turns 20, unless she marries before the age of 20, and is often given the opportunity to continue membership until the age of 21.

Rainbow groups are reffered to as “assemblies”. There are many officers, as you might expect, the Worthy Advisor (a girl, not an adult), is considered the president of the organization, and plans meetings and activities for the group. There are of course, also state officers, referred to as “Grandofficer title“, usually the Grand Worthy Advisor attends all state conferences, including Grand Lodge. There is also a Supreme, international council. All state/international council officers are chosen by election. The ties to DeMolay can be seen very easily, as the seven core virtues are very similar to DeMolay’s, the difference being that in Rainbow they are taught as colors, and referred to as “bow stations”. The stations are as follows:

  • Love (red) In all its forms
  • Religion (orange) The Importance of religion in all its forms (based on love and forgiveness)
  • Nature (yellow) Its Importance in your daily life
  • Immortality (green) The understanding of death is a part of life
  • Fidelity (blue) Emphasis on being honest and reliable
  • Patriotism (indigo) Encouraging citizenship to your country
  • Service (violet) Service to others which bind all the colors together

As with all Masonic youth organizations, there are adult advisors, a “Mother Advisor”, as well as an advisor board helps guide the girls. For the most part, however, the youth run the organization, the Worthy Advisor doing as she sees fit, with the Mother Advisor helping along the way (as is the case with all Masonic youth organizations). Due to the way that it is set up, there is also opportunity for adults that are interested to be involved.

Rainbow Pledge

Not associated with every chapter of Rainbow, there is often a small group of “Rainbow Pledges”, that are too young to join the organization. Pledges are usually 8-10, and can be involved in every fun activity, outing, and charity work, but usually are not involved in business meetings, or ritual work.

Job’s Daughters

Started in the Big O in 1920, Job’s Daughters is a youth organization for girls 10 to 20. The big difference between Rainbow and Job’s is that in order to become a member of Job’s Daughters (referred to often as Jobies), you must be able to prove a relationship to a Master Mason. Quite often, however, girls that can fulfill this requirement will become members of both organizations. Obviously, due to the relationship requirement, all members are eligible for membership in OES and the like. Job’s has a similar age out rule as Rainbow, the difference being that some jurisdictions may allow girls to continue to be involved up until the age of 25.

Job’s Daughters groups are referred to as “bethels”. Again, there are many officer positions available through elections within the bethel, with the “Bethel Queen” acting as president. State officers work a little bit differently in Job’s (so correct me if I got this terribly wrong). There are two state officers that are youth, the Grand Bethel Honoured Queen, and Miss Jurisdiction Job’s Daughter (i.e. Miss Nebraska Job’s Daughter).  The Grand Bethel Honoured Queen is chosen via a drawing, after fulfilling certain requirements, and Miss Jurisdiction (often referred to as Miss Congeniality), is chosen via a pageant. Both of these officers are considered equal co-leaders, and will attend state conferences together. Again, there are also international officers, the Supreme Bethel Honoured Queen, and Miss International Job’s Daughter, respectively.

Virtues taught to Jobies  include a greater reverence for God and the Holy Scriptures (JD is a more Christian based organization than rainbow, but does not require members to be such), , loyalty to one’s country and that country’s flag; and respect for parents, guardians, and elders.

Again, there is a council of adults advising the girls, referred to as the Bethel Guardian Council.

Job’s Daughter to Be/JD2B

Similar to Rainbow Pledges, Jobies to Be get to do all the fun stuff while not attending the business meetings and ritual work. This program is open to 8 and 9 year olds.

Order of the Triangles/Constellation of Junior Stars

There’s not much to be found about either of these groups. I do know that they are for girls ages 10 to 21, and both are only in New York state.

DeMolay

Yes, I am guilty of saving my favorite for last. Started in 1919 in Kansas City, The International Order of DeMolay is open to all boys aged 12 to 21, who profess a belief in a higher power, and strive to be a good person. It is the world’s largest youth fraternity, and the premier youth organization. It serves as a feeder program for masonry, as many of its members go on to become masons. A relationship to a Master Mason is not required.

Local DeMolay groups are called “chapters”. Again, numerous officer positions are available, the “Master Councilor” is elected, and acts as president for all meetings. Often (this also is true for Rainbow, not sure about Job’s), members will start at the bottom and work their way up, similar to the officer line in Blue lodge or an OES chapter. State officers vary from state to state, but will usually at least include a State (or Jurisdictional) Master Councilor, a State Senior Councilor (Vice President), and a State Junior Councilor (Vice, Vice President).  There may be many more state officers in your state or jurisdiction, this is at the discretion of the executive officer (head of state advisory board).

In addition to this, each chapter may have a “Sweetheart”, who serves as a female ambassador to DeMolay, and is usually there to remind the boys how to act in front of girls politely. She is not an officer of the chapter, but will often go on outings with them. She is usually a member of a local Bethel or Assembly, but this is not a requirement. The only requirement is that she is between the ages of 14 and 21.

DeMolay has seven cardinal virtues, you can see the similarities between theirs and Rainbow’s:

  • Filial love (love between a parent and child)
  • Reverence for sacred things
  • Courtesy
  • Comradeship
  • Fidelity
  • Cleanness
  • Patriotism

Each chapter of DeMolay must be sponsored by a local masonic body (our Shrine sponsors the Big O chapter). Again, there is an adult board of advisors to lead the youth (just turned in my application), members of the advisory board are usually referred to as Dad Last Name.

Squires of the Round Table/Order of Knighthood

DeMolay is a little bit different, in that for those that are too young to join DeMolay, there is actually a full on organization for. The Squiresof the Round Table is for DeMolay pledges, ages 10 to 12, their groups are called “Manors”, and they have elected officers, the “Master Squire” acting as president.

Once a DeMolay is 17, he is also eligible for a separate organization within DeMolay, called the Order of Knighthood, for boys 17 to 21. They too, have separate rituals and officers, but act to serve DeMolay. Their groups are called “priories”, and their president is referred to as “Illustrious Knight Commander”. The full name of the order is the Chivalric Knights of the Holy Order of the Fellow Soldiers of Jacques DeMolay.

I highly encourage you to support your local masonic youth in any way that you can, whether it be donating money, time, or being an advisor. If you enjoy masonry and have children, I would encourage them to join any and all of the organizations available to them. All of these programs feed into masonry and its appendant bodies, and we would never hope to have the membership today that we do without their existence.

The Weekend I Ran Away and Joined The Circus

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The Shrine Circus that is. This past weekend (starting Thursday), was the Shrine Circus here in the Big O, and I volunteered to help out with DeMolay. earning myself a first-hand look at the behind the scenes of the Shrine Circus

History of the Shine Circus

It’s terribly hard to find a lot of information on the general history of the Shrine Circus for one major reason- there is no “Shrine Circus. Each Shrine Circus is hosted and staffed by the local Shrine, and takes on its name. So, the Tangier Shrine Circus here, is not the same as the Arab Shrine Circus in Kansas. The local Shrine Temple (or Temples), contracts a circus company to preform (most) all of the acts and additional acts are preformed by the local Shrine, who  also provide the clowns. Not every Shrine has a circus, but those that do will contract a circus individually. Due to this, you will be able to find more history on your local Shrine Circus on your Shrine’s website than you will on the overall Shrine Circus’ website.

There is some general known history, however. The very first Shrine Circus was in Detroit,  Michigan, in 1906. It started quite small, but quickly began to grow in pace with the Shriners International at the time. By 1920, there were circuses across the country, with more being added every year. Traditionally, the circus begins in Flint, Michigan, just outside of Detroit, in January, and goes through until the week of Thanksgiving.

The inflatable clown Razzle.

Fundraising

It is no secret that the Shrine Circus is a major fundraiser for the Shrine, and many believe for the Shriner’s Hospital. This is not necessarily the case however. There are two types of Shrine fundraisers- charitable and fraternal. With charitable fundraisers, 100% of all proceeds- that is, after all expenses for the fundraiser are paid, go to charity. For fraternal fundraisers, the proceeds go back into the Shrine that put on the fundraiser, and said Shrine will allocate the money as they see fit. This is not to say that local Shrines do not contribute to charities like the Shiner’s Hospitals, it is just that the money raised at these types of fundraisers also go to other things. I cannot speak for every Shrine Circus but the local Shrine Circus is a fraternal fundraiser. If someone is interested in making a contribution to a Shriner’s International related charity, like the hospital, I recommend that they do it directly, rather than rely on going to the circus (but seriously, go to the circus!)

A very well behaved elephant.

My first circus experience
We arrived about an hour and a half before the first show on Thursday night. I knew nothing of the Shrine Circus except my previous experience as a circus goer in another state, and that we were to help the DeMolays with “the inflatable clowns”. After some issues getting into the room and finding the suits, I found myself helping a young man into a giant inflatable clown, then leading him into the lobby to greet the children coming into the circus, making sure they didn’t run anyone over, or get run over.

The inflatable Shriner, and T being goofy in Razzle.

Once the circus was underway, and the suits were removed, we were all able to watch the circus from the floor. All of the acts were fairly standard circus fare- motorcycles, clown acts, a dog and pony show. During intermission we took the boys back onto the floor to wave hello to the crowd. Rinse, repeat, 7 times.

A co-worker of mine came to the 1pm show on Sunday. She had asked me how long we had been there, I told her since about 1130, and would be there until at least 830 or so that evening, and we had been doing shows since Thursday. She asked me if we were getting paid for it. My reply was simple,”Of course not, its just what we do.” That is what seemed to really be the vibe between all of the circus workers, and there were a lot- people selling programs, doing security, being clowns, selling concessions, selling tokens for rides, staffing the Oasis- all related to the Shrine, in one way or another. Everyone giving up their weekend, their time, to bring a smile to someone else’s face.

To be terribly honest, just being at the circus for long hours is exhausting. There’s hundreds of people everywhere, lots of kids screaming, bright lights and loud noises, and lots of hard work. The clowns have it the hardest, in my opinion, as they must be “on” most of the time. There is downtime of course, at my circus in between shows (I was so glad I had brought my DS), most could be found at the Oasis- a hidden area downstairs that acts as a (real) food cart, a bar, and a place to sit down for a moment. Everyone there is truly there for the same two reasons, however- to bring laughter to the children, and to raise money and awareness for the Shrine. There is a sense of togetherness there, knowing that everyone is working hard for the same goal. This, I think, is really the heart of the Shrine Circus this is the feeling that the older generation wants to instill in the younger, and one of the reasons why I think it is so important for the youth, like DeMolay and Rainbow to be involved.

The Shrine Circus is a ton of fun, an excellent excuse to be goofy, and an incredibly worthwhile event to be involved in. If you are interested in helping out at your local circus (they always need help!), or would just like to know when and where your Shrine Circus is, contact your local Shrine.