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Must read mason or not!!!!

A7V

Registered User
This is nothing new though Brother, it has been going on for a while now, according to a Brother at work who is a Shriner, the talk at the big meeting here in San Antonio is to close up to 6 hospitals.

Can anyone who is a Shriner clarify?
 

owls84

Moderator
Premium Member
It actually says this at the end. I really have known that this is no secret but this is the first I have seen that it is getting national publicity such as this. Hopefully this will help shed some light on the situation and exactly how bad it is. Seems like some become complacient if we don't see it in front of us.
 

fairbanks1363pm

Registered User
this is sad. It makes you realize the seriousness of the economy. I hope we can find a way to keep these hospitals going. Shine is true Masonry at work. My dad talked to a dad whos child had been helped by the shrine. He told him the shriners should run our entire health care system because they could stretch a buck as far as anyone can. I pray this works itself out.
 
G

gortex6

Guest
I don't mean to step on anyones toes or piss in your punch bowl but what do you expect when you hold circuses to stock the liquor cabinet and have Jesters plead guilty in serious crime? Change is a survival mechanism, without it you become extinct.
 

fairbanks1363pm

Registered User
shrine

these things have nothing to do with the way the hospital system is funded. By the way that jester was a mason first
 

Chuckfw

Registered User
I don't mean to step on anyones toes or piss in your punch bowl but what do you expect when you hold circuses to stock the liquor cabinet and have Jesters plead guilty in serious crime? Change is a survival mechanism, without it you become extinct.

I have no idea why you wrote the above, it seems the point you are trying to make is lost. I guess you personally are against someone drinking alcohol and are talking about some crime we don't know about, what does that have to do with the Shrine hospitals?
 

drapetomaniac

Premium Member
Premium Member
I'm not a Shriner, but from the coverage and comments I've read over the past year, the last Shriners convention was supposed to close 2 hospitals and look for more ways of funding and saving.

However the decision needed to be ratified at the last convention and it was decided to not close any hospitals - which likely meant a quicker closing of all hospitals.

That appears to be where we are at now.

One of the options discussed, of course, has been to open up the membership to non-masons.
 

fairbanks1363pm

Registered User
what they voted on was to allow insurance to be used if the patient had insurance. the parents are still not having to come out of pocket any money and helps the hospital system save millions.. from what i have heard everyone is against opening up the shrine to non masons for the fear of loosing membership. what the shrine realy needs is for the economy to come back. when the economy takes a beating like it has the hospitals do as well. i will ask more about the insurance thing. this is what i have heard.
i have been a shriner for 9 years but only active since december. i have met incredible people who give their time and money to help kids that are totaly strangers. what a blessing. I pray that as God blesses masonry he will continue to bless the shrine be able to do good works.
 

cambridgemason

Premium Member
Premium Member
the current Potentate of Alleppo Shrine here in Boston is a member of my Royal Arch Chapter, I asked him about this, for one of the hospitals is in Springfield Ma. He has assured me that all the hospitals will stay OPEN. Even Galvenston that was closed has reopened. Maybe some services may be cut, but the Grand Council and others are working on the problem at this time. Such as some operations may be now done as a outpatient, insteed of over night, etc. They plan not to close any hospitals at this time, but who knows what the future will bring.
 
H

Huw

Guest
Hi Chuck.

In response to Gortex's post about Jesters pleading guilty to serious crime, you guessed that he's ...
talking about some crime we don't know about

I imagine he's talking about a recent disgraceful case in which a Jester pleaded guilty to transporting prostitutes across State lines to provide "entertainment" at a Jester meeting. It's had publicity even on this side of the Atlantic, so I'm surprised you haven't heard about it there.

As you say, this has nothing to do with the general principle of funding the wonderful work of the Shrine hospitals, but it must surely be damaging for the reputation of the whole institution and its fund-raising efforts, even though one assumes that such serious misconduct was an isolated incident.

T & F,

Huw
 

fairbanks1363pm

Registered User
if people go looking we can find bad apples in any group. things happen in masonry. we are human. i know of a lodge in my area now that is having to deal with a masons conduct. if your looking you can get hung up on situations and find the chief good in nothing. ive seen the good these past several months of the shrine. any bad can never out weigh the good of any masonic order or body. i am sure of that.
 
H

Huw

Guest
Oh yes, I entirely agree, Wes. I was merely trying to explain what Gortex probably meant, which Chuck had said he didn't know about.
 
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