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General Grand Conference of Grand Courts Heroines of Jericho

History of the Heroines of Jericho--From The Book of the Scarlet Line

The Heroines of Jericho is an androgynous degree conferred in America on Royal Arch Masons, their wives, mothers, widows, sisters and daughters. It is intended to instruct its female receipient in the high and noble principles inculcated in the degrees which will appeal to the better instincts of the human mind and to make known to them the claims which they have upon the protection of their husbands, fathers and companions and to communicate to them an effectual method of proving those claims.

"An instance of friendship extended to the whole family of a benefactress by those whom she had benefited, and of the influence of a solomn contract in averting danger, is referred to in the case of Rahab, the Woman of Jericho, from whom the degree derives its name. When the degree is received by a male he is called a Knight of Jericho, and when by a female she is termed a Heroine. It is a side or honorary degree of Royal Arch Masonry." -Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, revised edition, Page 336."

Grand Lecturer's Address

Given by Carolyn J Hams in May of 1998

Heroines and Knights, it is an honor and a priviledge to be a member of the Heroines of Jericho. We should take our membership seriously. Find out and study al the whys, how comes and what fors, we can, become a dedicated member, don't just pay your dues. A long membership roster means nothing if they're not coming to the meetings.

Give thought to the great heritage that has come to you from our Founders. Help reflect their beauty and their purpose by being steadfast in your fidelity, constant in your humility, loyal to your trust, snswerving in your faith and above all, love one another.

There is a tendency to ignore the fundamental principles. It seems to be toward quantity of membership, rather than quality. If our Order is not to degenerate into a mere secret society with passwords and grips appealing to the desire for exclusiveness latent in man, definite action must be taken. There are many in the position to change this trend. First to educate to the best of our ability, those already in and more important, raise the standards of admittance required of prospective members. They need to raise themselves to our standards, not us lower to theirs.

A lot of people join and after one or two meetings, they don't show up anymore. Most say, "It's not what I thought", or, "There's too much confusion". Heroines and Knights, it's up to you to make your Court what you desire it to be.

The teachings are the most important. This is what makes our Order what it is. There should be some mandatory instruction for everyone. Not only would this help with the meetings, but most likely weed out those not seriously interested.

What every member should do is learn thoroughly the things for which our Order stands, read the laws by which your Court is governed, attend your Court meetings, participate with the Officers and other members. Most of all, work for all, that you may share in the making of a Court of which all its members may be proud.

If you will do these things, you will make your Court better and profit more from your membership. There is no room for lax Officers or lax Members. One other thing we need to do is stop electing people to Offices based on friendship or length of time in the Court.

After having said that, now, let's get down to business. It is true that we here, if we have been in the Heroines a while, have taken the same material, sometimes rephrased it and passed it along year after year. It's also true that this need to be done for those that have never heard it before. all too often we fail to share any knowledge that we have with others. Sometimes, in fact, most times, it is the repetition that helps us to learn. Now I know that my responsibility as Grand Lecturer is to bring material to you to help you grow as Heroines, this I plan to do but firts, I want to say, WE CAN LEARN ALL THE BOOK MATERIAL WE WANT. IT WILL NEVER MEAN A THING IF WE DON'T FIRST LEARN HOW TO CONDUCT OURSELVES AS HEROINES AND KNIGHTS OF JERICHO.

One thing we need to do is dress as Heroines. We all know what the aprons are supposed to look like, but there is some confusion over the Crowns. According to "The Book of the Scarlet Line", they are to be golden with seven points in front ornamented with a spinning wheel and a scarlet band of velvet, three-forths of a inch wide with seven stars thereon. It is also mentioned that your meeting regalia nedd not be as elaborate as your public regalia but the concept is the same. Some of us have a tendency to just do it any way we want and this is not right. Part of belonging to the Order is the uniformity. We must all be the same if we expect to come together on common ground.

Another is to remember there is a Christ implanted deep in the heart of each individual wherein by faith it can be cultivated. Meanwhile, there is none without fault whether great or small. But as the Christ within us increases, the faults within us decrease. We reach perfection as we grow in Grace.

The Order is for the uplifting of humanity. It teaches the virtues of an upright life. Knowing there is some Christ within all, it would be a bit unwise to try to judge what goes on in the heart of another.

MAN LOOKS ON THE OUTER APPEARANCE, WHILE GOD LOOKS ON THE HEART.

Purpose For Palm Sunday Observance

by Carolyn J Hams

Palm Sunday is the day for the Heroines of Jericho and the Holy Royal Arch Masons to come together as one and prove there is hope for all.

The purpose for Palm Sunday Observance is twofold. As Heroines and Knights of Jericho, we are used to dealing with the 2nd Chapter of the Book of Joshua, wherein Rahab hid the two spies under the stalks of flax.

On Palm Sunday we move into the 6th Chapter of Joshua verses 10-16, it reads: And Joshua commanded the people saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout. So the ark of the Lord compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp and lodged in the camp. And Joshua rose up early in the morning and the Priests took up the ark of the Lord. And seven Priests bearing seven trumpets of ram's horns before the ark of the Lord, went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rearward came after the ark of the Lord, the Priests going on, and blowing the trumpets. And the second day the compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the Priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city.

It is also to commemorate the Triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem from the 11th Chapter of the Book of Mark. Along with Christmas and Easter, this is a very important day in the lives of Christians. It lets us know how much love that Jesus had for mankind.

Our Symbol-The Spinning Wheel

Our Heroines - Rahab, Ruth and Mary.

For those of you that are members of the Heroines of Jericho, stop by and join the group


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