By Sister Katie Lasswell

Hello everyone! I have had an amazing year serving Pennsylvania Rainbow as Grand Chaplain. I learned more about our fraternities with every worship service, and I hope that you each learned some new things too.

My messages at Patton Campus have explored the connections that Rainbow has to other Masonic bodies. I started with our brothers and sisters in DeMolay and Job’s Daughters. DeMolay has a station of Patriotism, just like our indigo bow station. Job’s Daughters is founded upon the undying faith of the Biblical character Job – his faith led him through life’s trials just as Faith led all of us through our initiations.

At the Super Hero Training Weekend, I chose to talk about the White Shrine of Jerusalem. This adult organization tells the Christmas story, focusing on the hope that Jesus brings to God’s people. That hope always awaits us, no matter what good or bad things are going on in our life. There will always be Hope to help us carry on.

At the Grand Officer weekend in January, we learned about the Order of Amaranth. The Honored Ladies and Sir Knights of Amaranth have the office of Charity as one of the stations around the altar. Just like our Sister of Charity, this station encourages us to give whatever we can to help others in need.

At the Drill Weekend in March, we discussed the virtue of Service through Shriners International. All of the Masonic organizations focus on serving people, and the members of Shrine truly exemplify this with the work that they do to support the Shriners Hospitals for Children. They serve the patients of these hospitals by giving their time to drive the children and their families, by sharing their talents as clowns to cheer up the kids, and by providing donations so that the children can receive the care they need free of charge.

All Call Weekend is always the biggest Patton weekend of the year, so I decided to talk about the biggest of our orders, Freemasonry. The Masons are a brotherhood, dedicated to each other and to making the world a better place. They are loyal to their brothers, and to their vows, because they have Fidelity, and they understand the importance of keeping your word so that others can depend on you.

For the last Patton weekend of this year, we learned about the Order of the Eastern Star. The five points of the star are like our seven bow stations, with a color representing each important lesson. In Eastern Star, these lessons are told through the stories of distinguished Biblical heroines. The red ray of Electa represents love. Our love must embrace all people, even when others do not make that easy to do.

I am extremely grateful that I had the opportunity to explore these values that we share with our Masonic brothers, sisters, and sponsoring bodies. I still have one more connection to share with everyone, so be sure to come to the Grand Assembly Worship Service!