My dear Fratres,
Lenten blessings on this, the evening of the Third Sunday in Lent. We are just three weeks to the start of Holy Week. And, like last year, the challenge of the pandemic has kept us apart once again.
As you all know, Easter “Sunrise” this year will be online (Times by time zone: 1100 EDT, 1000 CDT/1000 EST (Panama), 0900 MDT, 0800 PDT, 0700 AKDT, 0500 HST, 0000/5 Apr JST (Tokyo), 2300 CST (Taipei), 2300 PHST (Manila) 1800 Romania, 1700 CEST (Vienna/Rome), 1500 GMT/UTC), hosted from USA three locations and led by the Grand Prelate and Assistant Grand Prelates. It will be different, to be sure, but I hope we will have a great celebration of the Resurrection, and that in 2022, we will be back celebrating in person.
I do need your help as members of the Grand Encampment Easter Sunrise Committees for your regions and Department Commanders. The most important thing you can do is to get the word out for folks to join online, and to encourage those jurisdictions where folks can gather in groups large or small to do so and participate in the service as a community of the faithful. Encourage the folks gathering in groups to report total attendance to regp@technostars.com so that we can get a rough idea of the attendance. European, Central/South American, and Asian/Far East Department Commanders: If there are individuals in your Departments who would like to participate in the service as readers, please let me know ASAP. I would certainly love to see this as a Grand Encampment, and not just a Continental USA, service!
The main location will be in Halethorpe (Baltimore County), Maryland, at the Dewey Lowman American Legion Post. The post hosted the American Legion statewide video conference in September and is capable of supporting our service from a tech perspective and has suitable space for physical distancing as well for Sunday worship (my mission parish meets there, in fact). SKs Jeff Craig and Paul Erickson, our Assistant Grand Prelates, will be participating from their chosen locations in Washington and California respectively. We will be supported with music from the Grand Musician of the Grand Commandery of Virginia.
I am also asking the East Coast Committee to assist in the logistics at the main location. I’ll need help with the technical aspects of allowing access to the service, turning on microphones for the remote participants, and even some basic camera work. I’ll ask those who are comfortable in joining in physically-distant indoor activities to let me know if you can help. The Grand Commandery of Maryland, through the Grand Commander, has graciously agreed to provide a color guard for that morning’s pre-worship opening ceremony. Other than those speaking, we will keep everyone on “mute” except in Maryland. That way, when there is a place for the congregation to respond (prayers, hymns for example), we can all do so without dealing with the time delays of the internet making what would be the sound of the angels more like a “joyful noise.”
The bulletin/worship folder will be available not later than Palm Sunday on the Grand Encampment website (hopefully sooner).
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
Courteously and fraternally,
SK Arthur F. Hebbeler III, KGC
Grand Prelate
Grand Encampment of Knights Templar
regp@technostars.com
