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Ritual, the backbone of
every Elks Lodge.
The Initiation Ritual
explains the very best reasons why the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks of the United States of America exists.
It is hoped that every Officer, indeed every Member, will embrace the
teachings exemplified in the Ritual.
Ritual Training is the
method utilized by our Order as the means to improve the ability of the
Officers to give a natural and dignified rendition of the Initiation
Ceremony to our incoming new members. The impression made on a new member
by a well-performed Initiation can determine how the Lodge is perceived on
the whole. If you care about how the Ritual is done it will be perceived
that you care about your Lodge.
Yearly clinics are held for the Ritual Coaches and Ritual Judges to
improve their ability to teach and/or
judge the Ritual.
All Lodge Ritual Team members should attend the CHEA North State Ritual
Clinic at Woodland Lodge in January. At the clinic any changes to the
Ritualistic Manual that have occurred at the Grand Lodge Session will be
handed out and discussed.
All of this work is done to insure that the Initiation Ritual is performed
in a standardized manner, nationwide. It also works to increase Officer
camaraderie and teamwork, which is very important to the smooth running of
the Lodge.
It is the duty of the District Ritual Training Chairman to hold district
clinics to train word judges and calculators for the District Ritual
Contest. To assist and stand ready to help in any way the District Contest
Chairman during practice and during the contest itself. To keep the
District Ritual Coaches up to date on what the judges are looking for
during each team performance. And to help improve the performance of the
Ritual teams.
Lets all do our part to insure that the Ritual is performed with
enthusiasm and dignity, so as to impress candidates with how we feel about
our Lodge.
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