My Fellow Fraters,

I am humbled and honored to serve as your Grand Commander for this coming Templar year. 

I am looking forward to building upon the great works of my predecessor, Sir Knight Mark Granville Mattern, Past Grand Commander as we continue to rebuild our ranks through Knighting’s, Retention and Reinstatement.

My theme this Templar year is “Our Basic Tenets”.  Let our actions reflect on the Oath we took at the foot of the Altar to Feed the Hungry, Clothe the Naked & Bind Up the Wounds of the Afflicted.  Let this not limit who and what we can assist in this fashion.  The post-Pandemic era (as expected) is resulting in a significant number of pet surrenders and the result has shelters and rescues overwhelmed and under-fortified.  These innocent animals only wanted to be loved and to give love unconditionally; now they are castaways and forgotten about.  Please remember your local, private “no-kill” animal shelters, rescues and sanctuaries by conducting a pet/animal food drive, collecting towels, bedsheets, blankets, cat litter, dog & cat toys and cleaning supplies.

Sir Knights, we are at (if not already past) a crucial crossroads in Templary.  Our ranks have been ravaged by Deaths, Demits and Suspensions.  The world is looking for an Organization, a Symbol of all that is Good and Right, a Light in the Darkness of today’s society.  Our spiritual beliefs can be passed on to everyone by our acts of Kindness and Charity.  We as Knights Templar MUST demonstrate that we are above the fray in our everyday actions of Tolerance and Brotherly Love.  Let everyone SEE the Good Works we as Knights Templar do within our own towns and villages.  Let us not hide within the walls of our Asylums, but rather be out in public, demonstrating what the modern-day Templars represent.  Who knows; our actions and conduct may entice a good, upright man to become a Mason.  More especially, a Mason may want to become a Knight Templar.

I enjoin it upon all the Sir Knights of the Grand Commandery of Pennsylvania; “Let Us Light Up the Darkness, and Fulfill Our Basic Tenets for All to See”!

Courteously,

Sir Knight Harry Jude Smith, Right Eminent Grand Commander

Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of Pennsylvania