“There is no death. Only a change of worlds.” ~ Chief Seattle
I don’t know much about Shriners. Mom’s uncle, Randy, was a Shriner. He fancied his fez a great deal, but I don’t recall his being especially chatty about what they do. There were a couple of men that my mother worked with in Social Services that were Shriners. They also didn’t talk much about what they do. Shriners participate in parades, and raise a lot of money for their children’s hospitals, that much I’m sure of. The Shriners’ Oleika Temple is within walking distance of my house. I happened by there this morning after visiting the Farmer’s Market. I began to wonder about them. Everything about the building, the fez; even their machete, crescent moon, and star symbol has a middle eastern flare. I digitized some rare books concerning Kentucky’s Shriners, and I remember references to Arabian beginnings. So, I came home and did some reading.
The Oleika Shriners’ creed begins: “Shriners believe in God and that He created man to serve His purposes, among which is service to others in His name.” I cast a wider net and found they’re really Freemasons. The Ancient Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Shriners for short, was established in 1870 by some well-to-do New York Masons as “…a fraternity based on fun, fellowship and the Masonic principles of brotherly love, relief and truth.” They claim no connection to the Arab world or Islam, and they are not a religion or religious order at all. In fact, to lessen confusion about their religious association, they’ve started using term like arena and auditorium in place of temple and shrine. Mind you, the word Temple still appears on Oleika’s building.
I’m a little disappointed to learn the Shriners aren’t a religious organization because they do good works as prescribed by Christ. But there’s plenty of speculation about Masonic affiliation both with God and Satan; even a hybrid the two, any and all of which conspiracy theorists love to fantasize. Yet, Freemasons are also not a religious order, but a fraternity based on morality and good works. So, in that context, there is some sacredness in what they do because their actions are informed by something more sacred than themselves: service to others. I’d be interested to know what others think about Shriners and Freemasons.
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