Brotherhood at it's Finest

"Brotherhood is the very price and condition of man's survival."

Carlos P. Romulo

DeMolay International is recognizing today's date, November 17th as Brotherhood Day. What does brotherhood mean to you?

The term brotherhood refers to a bond that cannot be easily broken. It means having a friendship that will last the length of time. In DeMolay, brotherhood is one of the sole purposes of the organization. We build friendships with people we otherwise may never have gotten to know. We as DeMolay's are expected to work together, have each others back, and support each other. 

To me, brotherhood is a group of people that will always be by your side. Because of DeMolay, I have close friends who I consider my brothers all over the world. I've had brothers from my home chapter who have helped me solve several problems as a team. I've had friends from across the state, including Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Erie. I've even had the privilege of meeting friends from all over the world. I've worked with DeMolay members from New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, Texas, Tennessee, Utah and Canada. Brotherhood and DeMolay go hand in hand. 

Take advantage of that bond. A lot of the members that attend KeyMan University had the chance to meet DeMolay members from jurisdictions other that Pennsylvania. Get to know them and stay in touch. You may find a bond worth keeping. Continue the brotherhood that has made DeMolay great for nearly 100 years. 

Until next time - "Dad" Joe Pullin

Happy Brotherhood Day

#IAMDEMOLAY

    

The 5 Steps of Being a Mentor

PA DeMolay promotes the Bro-Tie mentoring program, a program that allows members to coach our newest brothers through the ranks of DeMolay. They are asked to help guide them and teach them to make their DeMolay experience more enjoyable. When both parties achieve success, a half of their bow-tie is exchanged, giving both participants a black and red bow-tie. With this, we should be asking ourselves "What does it take to be a good mentor."

As the program promotes, a mentor is a friend that helps guide a less experienced individual, but there are specific qualities that are important to make this process happen. Here are the five steps of being a mentor, as documented by the Oregon Youth Challenge Program:

Build trust - In order to be a mentor, the mentee must be able to trust the person leading him. Show them that you won't let them down.

Listen - Part of being a leader is listening to others. Listen to the mentee in order to find the best way to lead him.

Encourage - Motivation is an important part of success. As a mentor, encourage your mentee into learning what they need to in order to achieve their goals. 

Be Reliable - We already talked about building trust, but being reliable is about maintaining that trust. Be dependable, and the mentee will continue to follow your example. 

Have Fun - This should be the easiest part of being a mentor. Although you do want to make sure all other steps are followed, make sure both you and your mentee are having as much fun along the way. 

Every successful DeMolay has a story of someone that helped them along the way. In my case, I have a few different people who have mentored me and guided me to where I am now. Be that role model for someone else. Take advantage of the Bro-Tie program and help a new member learn more about DeMolay.

Until next time - "Dad" Joe Pullin 

#IAMDEMOLAY

The following is the link for the website that I found some of this important information.

http://www.oycp.com/MentorTraining/3/m3.html

Remember, Remember, the 8th of November

Today marks an important day for the Order of DeMolay, as it is the day that our Founder, Frank S. Land, passed away. "Dad" Land created this great youth organization in 1919, and we are still going strong to this day, nearly celebrating 100 years of existence. His vision for a young men's youth organization has turned into a program that has helped young men grow into better leaders all over the world. 

In DeMolay, November 8th is also known as "Frank S. Land Memorial Day," an obligatory day designed for us to pay tribute to "Dad" Land for giving us this incredible group to be proud of. Chapters are asked to celebrate in two ways: hold a program in memory of "Dad" Land, and donate money to a local or Masonic charity in memory of "Dad" Land. 

As a Chevalier, this date also is the day that we promised "To hold communion with a fellow Chevalier, or Court of Chevaliers, wherever I may be, and should this be impossible, I will break bread with an active DeMolay or a young man in his teens." Chevaliers all over the world will get together to pay tribute to "Dad" Land. Some Chevalier Courts choose to observe this on a day closest to November 8th. My Chevalier Court celebrated at Fogo de Chao in Philadelphia on November 5th.

So thank you "Dad" Land, for giving us a group of friends that we can rely on, a Masonic family that is always there for us, and an extended family that cares about us the same way that our real families do. We salute you on this very special 8th of November.

Until next time - "Dad" Joe Pullin 

I AM DEMOLAY!

November is finally here, which means that it's DeMolay Rush Month. DeMolay International has dedicated the entire month of November to promoting this great organization and attempting to bring in new members to DeMolay. This is a way to be proud of the organization that has turned us into the people we are today.

So what are some things that you can do to promote DeMolay in Pennsylvania? The first thing is to wear a DeMolay shirt to school or work. DeMolay International is making every Tuesday a day in which you wear a DeMolay shirt, but why limit it to just Tuesday. Social media posts are another way that can help promote DeMolay. Post a picture of you wearing your DeMolay shirt and post it to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other form of social media (maybe even Myspace.) When posting, please remember to use the #IAMDEMOLAY. This is an attempt to make DeMolay a trending topic all over the world throughout November. 

So what are your waiting for? Get out there and promote the greatest youth organization around. Start posting and start bringing in new members. Pennsylvania is currently in second place with 73 new members. Lets make our way to first place. We can do it!

Until next time - "Dad" Joe Pullin

#IAMDEMOLAY

Let’s Talk Respect, or Initiatory Promises Translated

Why do we wear a coat and tie to our business meetings? We don’t dress so formally for fun night, or for rehearsals. Yes, it’s true, that dressing up seems to change us, and make us feel better about ourselves, and it makes us look good to outsiders, but I think we wear a coat and tie to our business meetings as a matter of respect toward DeMolay and the Ritual we perform.

Every one of you made promises when you were obligated into DeMolay, and you repeat them every time a new member is obligated. Do you remember any of them? I would be willing to bet that unless you have studied the obligation, you don’t remember any of the promises (you may have some vague recollection of the concepts…). I think there is a reason for this. It turns out that the Initiatory Degree Obligation, and the promises it contains were written a long time ago using words that are no longer in fashion. Let me give you an example. Here is a line from the Initiatory Degree Obligation: I promise that I will live a clean and moral life, keeping my body free from dissipation and my mind free from the uncleanness that defiles and debauches youth. Huh? Well, that is the way they wrote things back then. 

So, let me translate the Initiatory Degree Obligation promises for you, into words that you may understand a little better:

You promised to try to be a good son and to do everything you can to let your parents know you love them, as much as they love you.

You promised to be a good person, and not get involved in stealing, using drugs or alcohol, or being a part of any gangs.

You promised that you would support God and your church and that you would treat others the same way you would like them to treat you.

You promised that if you had to fight for your country that you would do so gladly, and that the flag of our country is just as important and because of all of this, you wont break any laws.

You promised that if you ever found someone plotting against our country, you would let the police know about it, and that you believe your school and your schooling is very important to you.

You promised that you think that Jacques DeMolay (who kept his promises and paid for that by dying) is a good example of how to live, and that you would do the same for something you truly believed in.

You promised to treat all DeMolay’s as brothers, and that you will always be nice to them, help them whenever you can, and not speak badly about them to others.

And finally, you promised that you will NEVER treat any woman badly, or call them names, or let someone else hurt a woman if you could stop them from doing it.

And do you remember who you promised this all to? You promised it to God!

Every one of these promises deals with respect. Respect for your family, respect for your country, respect for God, respect for the promises you make, respect for your school, respect for your DeMolay brothers, respect for others in general, and respect (especially) for women. 

So you can really sum up what it means to be a DeMolay in one word: Respect! Please remember that a DeMolay has essentially promised to ALWAYS be respectful, and let me give you a hint, if you can’t remember all the promises you made, it doesn’t matter as long as you always remember to be just one thing; respectful. 

 How respectful have you been today?

This blog post was created by Allentown Chapter Advisor, "Dad" Rich Shevalier. Thank you "Dad" Shevalier for your contribution to the PA DeMolay blog. A very important lesson that all should remember.