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Scottish Rite Endowment

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
 

Morris

Premium Member
Perhaps you could contact your brothers in Waco and get a card from them. I'm sure you spend half the year back there anyways. /wink

I purposely didn't purchase endowment because of this reason. Once I read the stipulations it didn't hold as much value for me. It feels more suited for retired/retirement age individuals.

Sorry to read about troubles. I hope in the end it will work out for you.
 
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dfreybur

Premium Member
You can just visit forever.

Generally child organizations can be more restrictive than there parent organization. That's why they can disallow transfer when it's allowed elsewhere, but they could not allow transfers that are not allowed elsewhere.

In Texas the GLofTX just this December voted against transferring endowed memberships at the blue lodge level. That's probably why the decision made within Texas.
 

Tony Uzzell

Registered User
I think it's $250 or $500 to receive the Degrees (it was only $150 back in 2004, but....). Dues are $125 a year (again, that's an "I think" because it went up recently; it was $100 for years). A Scottish Rite Endowment is $2500 (I got mine right before it went up to that).

I know I can visit forever. The lady in Dallas told me that and even told me that I can participate in local "Clubs" around the Texarkana area (apparently, there no longer is one in Bowie County) without being concerned with not being a member of the parent body as an officer/member/etc. That's the reason I would really like to have a local membership (or at least one in Dallas like the other guys in Txk have): to be a part of the parent body from which things stem. Of course, if we could ever get a Valley in northeast Texas (I vote for Texarkana, personally, but I'm easy to get along with....no matter what my wife says), I would join there.

Oh, well on those last couple of points. Just spitballin' on a Tuesday morning when school's out.

TU
 

Benjamin Baxter

Moderator
Premium Member
That's kinda pricey to get started. I'll bet they are having a harder time attracting new members. That doesn't mean I won't join someday, just probably not by the next reunion. How many people do you have to sign up for your own endowment? I assume you get something for the more people you draw into the fold otherwise why would you need to get credit for it on someone's application....
 

Tony Uzzell

Registered User
I know it used to be that if you signed up ("First Line Signer") on 10, you got an Endowment. And, if you already had your Endowment, you could give away your "Awarded Endowment" to someone else. Since the amount went up (more than doubled), I don't know if that changed or stayed the same.

I do know that some SR Valleys offer what amounts to payment plans for both initiation fees and endowments (like the Endowment Plan for Blue Lodges in Texas, where you pay a certain amount every month for one or two years and at the end you are an Endowed Member).

The Scottish Rite is a very interesting set of degrees and lessons in morality. The problem is that they lost a huge amount of "recruits" when the Shrine changed their rules and allowed Masons to petition without being a 32nd Degree SR Mason (in fairness, the York Rite lost a bunch, too, since they also don't require a Mason to be a Knight Templar any longer either). Both the York and Scottish Rites benefited from having guys who joined just so they could be Shriners.

TU
 
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