Tony Uzzell
Registered User
I have an issue that's just arisen in my Masonic travels.
I lived in the Waco area for about 15 years and joined the Waco Scottish Rite in 2004. I am an Endowed Member of the Waco SRB.
This past summer, my wife and I moved to Texarkana, Texas. The closest Texas Valley to Texarkana is the Valley of Dallas. So, out of curiosity, I contacted my Valley in Waco to find out why I had not received my 2015 Dues Card yet and left a message with the General Secretary, also informing him that I had a general membership question.
Not wanting to wait for a response any longer than I really had to, I called the House of the Temple in Washington, D.C. (it's Christmas Break....I've got time) and asked if it was possible to transfer an Endowed Membership from one Valley to another (thinking about moving my Endowment to the Dallas SRB). They told me that it was allowable to do so, so long as the two Valleys were in the same Orient (State, for those not into the SR lingo). However (there's always a "however"), they suggested I contact the Dallas Bodies as "it might be different in Texas" (I'm a native Texan...this is the story of my life).
So, I called the Dallas Bodies and spoke to a very nice and well-informed lady there who told me that Supreme Council of SR, S.J., does permit moving Endowments, but the SGIG in Texas has decided not to allow this. Apparently, this is a recent development.
Now, here are my questions:
1) Does anybody know the reason for the SGIG in Texas not allowing members to transfer Endowed Memberships (I suppose I could just plural with Dallas and buy an Endowment there....oh, wait....I can't afford another one.....that's why I worked my tail off to scrape together the fee for the one in Waco before it went up to $2500) within the same Orient, even though it's allowed by the Supreme Council?
2) From a philosophical standpoint, how can an Orient official override a decision made by the national/international ruling body? Are the leaders of the Scottish Rite just big fans of nullification doctrine?
TU
I lived in the Waco area for about 15 years and joined the Waco Scottish Rite in 2004. I am an Endowed Member of the Waco SRB.
This past summer, my wife and I moved to Texarkana, Texas. The closest Texas Valley to Texarkana is the Valley of Dallas. So, out of curiosity, I contacted my Valley in Waco to find out why I had not received my 2015 Dues Card yet and left a message with the General Secretary, also informing him that I had a general membership question.
Not wanting to wait for a response any longer than I really had to, I called the House of the Temple in Washington, D.C. (it's Christmas Break....I've got time) and asked if it was possible to transfer an Endowed Membership from one Valley to another (thinking about moving my Endowment to the Dallas SRB). They told me that it was allowable to do so, so long as the two Valleys were in the same Orient (State, for those not into the SR lingo). However (there's always a "however"), they suggested I contact the Dallas Bodies as "it might be different in Texas" (I'm a native Texan...this is the story of my life).
So, I called the Dallas Bodies and spoke to a very nice and well-informed lady there who told me that Supreme Council of SR, S.J., does permit moving Endowments, but the SGIG in Texas has decided not to allow this. Apparently, this is a recent development.
Now, here are my questions:
1) Does anybody know the reason for the SGIG in Texas not allowing members to transfer Endowed Memberships (I suppose I could just plural with Dallas and buy an Endowment there....oh, wait....I can't afford another one.....that's why I worked my tail off to scrape together the fee for the one in Waco before it went up to $2500) within the same Orient, even though it's allowed by the Supreme Council?
2) From a philosophical standpoint, how can an Orient official override a decision made by the national/international ruling body? Are the leaders of the Scottish Rite just big fans of nullification doctrine?
TU