Grand Monarch to Visit Memphis

Aquinas “Moe” Evans, Grand Monarch, Grottoes of North America, Inc., will be visiting Zaman Grotto ( 7818 East Holmes Rd, Germantown, TN 38125) on Wed Dec 21, 2011, at 8pm, during its monthly Stated Meeting & will install the 2012 officers of Zaman Grotto.

Zaman is the only Grotto in west Tenn & has members from TN, AR & MS.

Please see http://scgrotto.org for info on the Grottoes of North America.

The Zaman Grotto monthly meetings are the 3rd Wed of each month normally with a potluck dinner at 7pm, meeting at 8pm. For more info, call (901) 756-4430) or see http://zamangrotto.org. For December, the potluck before the meeting is being waived; there will be refreshments after the officers are installed, to be provided by the new Prophet Monarch of Zaman Grotto.

J.C. McCarley in Hospital

Our prayers for healing go out to J.C. McCarley, who is in the hospital recovering from getting a pacemaker installed.

He is in Methodist Germantown, Room 319, according to Charlie Moore, PM of Zaman Grotto.

They are expecting to release him in a few days, so Charlie does not see a need for a bunch of visitors — but knowing JC, I bet he would appreciate a call or card.

* * + + + **

Meanwhile, please note that I will have to miss at least part of the Zaman Grotto Stated Meeting on Wednesday, October 18th, due to work. PM Charlie will appoint a temporary Chaplain in my absence, so don’t fret about the prayers being said — it has been taken care of.

May the Lord lift you up and give you peace, now & forever more.

 

RIP Edwin D. “Tip” Rikard

Past Monarch Tip Rikard laid down his working tools and went home to the celestial lodge above on Saturday, October 1, 2011.

He was born on January 27, 1933, and was a very active member of Zaman Grotto for a long time, including serving as Monarch in 1999.

He was survived by his wife Sherri, daughters Donna Bruchesky & Vivian Baldomero, sons Richard & Kenneth Rikard, and seven grandchildren.

Interment was on Tuesday, October 4, 2011, at Forest Hill South Cemetery, Memphis, Tennessee.

PM Rikard will be greatly missed by the Grotto. Our sympathy & prayers go out to his family.

Tip and Sherri at the Monarch's Ball in 2006

RIP, Barbara Izzie

Prophets and Ladies,

I just received the following informatio​n on services for Barb Izzie. As you know Barb was the office manager for The Supreme Council and lost her fight with cancer late Wednesday night and will be missed by all who knew her.

Celebratio​n of Life, Monday August 1, 2011 from 5 -7 pm followed by a short funeral service at 7pm

Hill Funeral Home
220 S. State St.
Westervill​e, Ohio 43081
(614) 882-2121

July Zaman News is now on the Grotto website

The July 2011 issue of ZamanNews is now available as a 2 page pdf file  on the Zaman Grotto website (http://zamangrotto.org/zamannews.html).

Zaman Grotto will be dark during the months of June, July & August (no Stated Meetings for the Grotto, Volunteer Unit or Ladies Auxiliary).

We DO have events scheduled, both at the building and otherwise.  So, please see the newsletter for details.

(Selected portions of the newsletter will be posted here, as well, soon.)

“And Now, May the Blessings of Heaven Rest upon us and all regular Prophets. May every moral and social virtue cement & strengthen us. Amen. “ 

Rest In Peace – Oliver Louis Conner, Jr.

Oliver Louis Conner, Jr.,  passed away on Tuesday, June 7, 2011.

He was a member of

• Zaman Grotto (this body);
• the Order of the Amaranth (Faith Court);
• Penn Chapter, Eureka Council & St. Elmo Commandery (York Rite bodies meeting at the Masonic Temple at 4th & Court);
• a past Master of Normal Lodge (which later merged with Unity Lodge);
• a 32nd Degree Knight Commander of the Court of Honor at the Memphis Valley, Scottish Rite;
• a Past Patron of the Order of the  Eastern Star (Oakville Chapter);
• and active in the Al Chymia Shrine Hospital Staff.

He will be missed. Please remember his wife Betty and their family in your prayers.

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Obit as published (errors left as they were):

Oliver Louis Conner, Jr., 64, of Memphis, went to be with the Lord on June 7, 2011. He was the son of Oliver Louis, Sr. and Frances Conner and was born on January 14, 1947. He was a graduate of Southside High School and had been an Architect for about 30 years. Louis was very active in the Masonic Organizations serving as past Master of the Unity Lodge #95, the 32nd Degree KCCH Scottish Rite, and was also a member of the Al Chymia Shrine where he was on the hospital staff. He enjoyed driving the hospital van carrying the children to the Shriners Hospital. He was Past Patron of the Order of the Eastern Star – Oakville Chapter #265 and the Order of the Faith Court #15.

He leaves his wife of 15 years, Betty Laird Conner; two daughters, Lisa Hellman (Chris) and Nancy Sparks (Greg, Sr.); two granddaughters, Shannon Sparks and Gabriella-Elizabeth Hellman; four grandsons, Timothy Hellman, Joseph Hellman, Greg Sparks, Jr. and James Sparks. He also leaves his mother, Frances Conner and three sisters, Becky Roberson, Janet Conner and Holly Conner.

The family will receive friends from 5-8 p.m. Friday, June 10, and funeral services will be 10 a.m. Saturday, June 11, both at Family Funeral Care in Memphis. Interment will follow in Memphis Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens – Germantown Road. Memorials may directed to the Al Chymia Shrine Hospital Transportation.

Family Funeral Care 901-761-8000 www.familyfuneralmemphis.com

Published in The Commercial Appeal on June 9, 2011

General Marshall’s Prayer

General George C. Marshall was called upon to speak at an ecumenical sunrise service on Easter morning of 1945 as WWII was coming to a close. This is the prayer he gave.

In Service of God and Country

Almighty God: May those who have given their lives in the service of this nation rest in Thy care.

May those who are wounded in body find spiritual comfort under Thy guidance in the knowledge that through their services a great cause has been served.

May those who offer their lives in support of that cause, by land and sea and air, find strength in Thy divine guidance.

May those of us who serve this nation in its great purpose to secure freedom for all peoples be sustained by Thy blessings.

Give us strength, O Lord, that we may be pure in heart and in purpose to the end that there may be peace on earth and good will among men.

May we be mindful this Easter morning “still stands Thine ancient sacrifice, an humble and contrite heart.” Amen

As Chaplain of Zaman Grotto, I used a slightly-modified version of this (to honor Memorial Day) as the opening prayer at our May meeting.  Here it is reproduced in full, exactly as seen in The Crossings Treasury of American Prayers, by James P. Moore, Jr.

Stated Meetings are TONIGHT

The May 2011 Stated Meetings of Zaman Grotto are TONIGHT, Wednesday 5-18-11, starting with potluck dinner at 7pm, followed by the Grotto Stated Meeting and the Ladies Auxiliary Stated Meeting (in separate rooms) at 8pm.

Please join us for dinner & the meetings.

Zaman Grotto is now on Facebook.

Zaman Grotto now has its own Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Zaman-Grotto/218440528184576?sk=wall. 

As soon as we get enough Fans, we will get a user name and have a shorter URL to get to the page.

So, if you are on facebook, please go to our page and Like us so we can get a user name.

Oh, yeah, also check out that page for updates on what is happening at Zaman Grotto.

The Ultimate Triumph of Thy Plan

With all the upheavals going on these days, it helps to recall that earlier days had their problems as well. The following prayer is from Peter Marshall, who was serving as Chaplain to the U.S. Senate in 1948. He gave the following prayer on the morning after the Communists took over Hungary.

O, God, our Heavenly Father, restore our faith in the ultimate triumph of Thy plan for the world Thou has made. In spite of present difficulties, our disappointments, and our fears. Reassure us that Thou are still in control. When we become frustrated and give up, remind us that Thou are still holding things together, waiting and working and watching. When we make mistakes, help us to remember that Thou does not give up on us.

This prayer also struck a Masonic chord with me, as it is similar in certain sentiments to a prayer in the 32nd Degree of the Scottish Rite.