NEW HAMPSHIRE

            SUPPLEMENT

                                                                                    . . . for April 2008 issue . . .

Sir Knight Rodney A. Robinson, Editor

            161 Elwyn Avenue, Portsmouth, New Hampshire 03801-4419

 

THE ROAD AHEAD …

 

            This is the season for seemingly endless discussions about how we will operate our Country for the next four years.  Our TV’s and computer screens are loaded with political issues and how each candidate for President of our Country might endeavor to handle them.  It is also an opportunity to educate our people on a variety of major issues and their consequences, so that when future events unfold we will have an informed citizenry capable of making their feelings known to our leadership through the communication channels (and votes) that are established for that purpose.  Our people hold this vital responsibility for granting their consent to the recommended actions of our leadership (as it says quite clearly in our governing documents).  In order to effectively discharge this responsibility, our people must be well informed, and must possess both the desire and the ability to communicate their feelings effectively.

So it is, also, in our beloved York Rite.  We operate under the leadership of our local Bodies, our State-wide Grand Bodies, and also our General Grand Bodies.  We are not “masters of our own fate”, however, except through our diligent attention to those consequential matters controlled by the Grand and General Grand Bodies under whose influence we are bound.  Here we have a double challenge: first, to identify the specific actions of those senior Bodies that are of consequence to us; and second, to determine what can and should be done to ensure that those actions do not compromise or weaken our own well-being.

Our first reaction to this challenge might suggest that we handle it through the power of our vote.  Although we certainly cannot vote on each and every matter that blows across our lawn, we do have periodic opportunities for influencing the major decisions of our senior leadership.  These opportunities work quite well in our local Grand Bodies and in our State-wide Grand Bodies.  But in our General Grand Bodies these opportunities are fraught with many severe impediments.  We wish to discuss some of these difficulties with our readership, because an informed constituency is better able to treat their amelioration.

Let us begin by looking at the rules for voting at a Stated or Special Conclave of our Grand Encampment (which includes each Triennial) as they apply to us: 

• Nine members entitled to vote in the Grand Encampment, including an Officer authorized to convene the same, shall constitute a quorum, provided that three or more Grand Commanderies are represented. 
• The members entitled to vote in the Grand Encampment are:

o       All Past Grand Commanders of Grand Commanderies;

o       The Grand Commander, the Deputy Grand Commander, the Grand Generalissimo, and the Grand Captain General of each of the Grand Commanderies.  These members may be represented by proxies belonging to the same Body.  A proxy does not by virtue of such appointment become a member of the Grand Encampment.  He shall, before acting, produce acceptable evidence of his written appointment.  Each member present in person or by proxy shall have only one vote.

• The conduct of Conclaves shall be as follows:

o       All questions shall be determined by a majority vote unless otherwise provided.  The presiding Officer shall have no vote save in case of a tie.

o       Any member may appeal from a decision of the presiding Officer.

o       At all Conclaves each voting member shall be entitled to only one vote.

Let us consider the gravity of these requirements.  First, each voter must be physically present at the meeting, which is commonly held at a distant location somewhere in the USA, and usually at an expensive venue.  This entails the time and cost for travel to the specified location, accommodations for the stay, and payment of at least the registration fee in order to vote.  The registration fee is commonly in the range of $150.00.  This is a high price for the voter who came only to vote!  For those unable, or unwilling, to take the time and pay the price of being physically present at the specified location, there is a proxy arrangement available as noted above.  But that proxy is entitled to only one vote.  He cannot represent the voting desires of the other entitled members in his Grand Commandery who are not physically present.  The one-vote rule, coupled with the registration-fee-for-all requirement, constitutes an unacceptable hurdle for many Grand Commandery members, and is the reason why only extremely small numbers of constituent members are voting on issues of consequence to us all.

When coupled with minimal advance notice of the issues to be resolved by vote at each Triennial, such as the detail of exactly how much the per capita would be raised in 2006, and a subsequent vote by such a small number of members that it cannot possibly represent the will of the majority of the constituency, causes considerable concern about where we are headed in Knights Templary.  Indeed, similar situations have been encountered in our General Grand Chapter and General Grand Council, although somewhat less flagrant.  We need to consider our options carefully, and design our plan for amelioration of these issues as soon as possible, lest we fall deeper in the hole.

Our own Grand Lodge is sensitive to these issues, and has acted to ensure a representative vote on matters of concern to all of our local Lodges and their members.  Our local Grand York Rite Bodies have done likewise.  Our general situation and concern has been discussed in formal gatherings of the General Grand Chapter and the General Grand Council, and we are starting to see some activity toward establishing a more constituency-favorable arrangement for handling major issues.  Whether such changes will arrive in time is not known, for we are on the brink of major consequences if we ignore these matters too much longer.   

While we recognize the difficulty of resolving these issues, many of which have been with us for hundreds of years, we also recognize that the difficulty of the job in no way diminishes the need for it.  We will continue our efforts to explain the issues and suggest improvements, as we have endeavored to do here.  Future Supplements will discuss specific alternatives and suggestions for improving matters of import to Knights Templary as they become available.  Together let us face the need wherever it appears and work to improve our operatons to the benefit of us all.                                          RAR