Venerable Master Don Albrecht, 32° KCCH welcomed fifty Scottish Rite Masons and their guests to the Feast of Tishri on October 20, 2019. Don, Jeffrey Schumacher, 32° and Keith Simonsen, 32° set the stage for the evening by enacting the story of Nathan the Wise, written by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing in 1779. This parable set in Jerusalem during the Third Crusade, describes how the wise Jewish merchant Nathan and the enlightened sultan Saladin bridge the gaps between Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Its major themes are friendship, tolerance, relativism of God, a rejection of miracles and a need for communication.
Brethren gave the nine obligatory toasts of the Feast of Tishri. At the end of the evening, guests were asked to open a sealed envelope on each table and pick an additional toast to propose. These were both humorous and touching, and a new twist to the obligatory toasts.
Our entertainment were singers Greenblatt and Seay of Avoca, Nebraska, who performed a mixture of standards, Yiddish classics, and their original songs during the evening. Husband and wife team Deborah Greenblatt and David Seay are multi-talented, with rich vocal harmonies accompanied on a variety of instruments, including the fiddle, guitar, harmonica, and tinwhistle.
The principal speaker for the evening was Rev. Jimmy Shelbourn of Westminster Presbyterian Church. Jimmy spoke about the significance of the month of Tishri, the Jewish High Holidays, and the celebration of Thanksgiving, as an offering commanded in Deuteromy 26 as well as a secular event, celebrated by the Pilgrims and Native Americans in 1621.
Don Albrecht instituted a new tradition to celebrate the Mystic Bond among Brethren and friends, and everyone joined hands to sing Auld Lang Syne, as a fitting close to a wonderful evening.
The Chair for the evening was Merv Moeller, 32° KCCH, Eminent Commander for the Council of Kadosh and his wife Sharon, and the Master of Ceremonies was Michael Lagueux, 32° KCCH, Master of the Lincoln Consistory.
The Valley of Licoln’s Feast of Tishri is truly a celebration of Brotherhood not to be missed!