15^th Lodge of Instruction Traveling Treasure Chest 

Mission: to promote fraternal visits and interaction among the lodges of the 15^th North and 15^th South Masonic Districts, and the Masonic youth groups in both Districts. 

Rules:

NOTE: There must be at least three members of any Lodge/Chapter/Assembly present to capture the Traveling Treasure Chest at the Lodge of Instruction. 

All assemblies/chapters present may speak briefly about their events automatically, regardless of the number present from their group; but only one speaker per Rainbow assembly or DeMolay chapter, and it is preferred that the speaker be an active member of that assembly or chapter.  

At the beginning of each Lodge of Instruction meeting, right after the opening, the Traveling Treasure Chest will be presented to a Lodge/Chapter/Assembly. The rules for capture would be, in order of precedence: 

1. Lodge/Chapter/Assembly present with the youngest member present. If a Rainbow assembly or DeMolay chapter currently holds the Traveling Treasure Chest and also meets this criterion at a meeting, this would be cancelled out in favor of rule #2, unless no other Rainbow assembly/DeMolay chapter is present.
2. Lodge/Chapter/Assembly that has gone the longest without possessing it – this prevents the same group from having it continuously.
3. Lodge/Chapter/Assembly travelling the farthest (on a ‘lodge to lodge’ basis: location of Lodge of Instruction versus location of Lodge/Chapter/Assembly - and a table of distances between buildings will be available to prevent disputes!)
4. Lodge/Chapter/Assembly with most members present

 

If any Rainbow or DeMolay members arrive in time for dinner, and would like to eat with the Masons present, the Lodge of Instruction will feed them for no charge. 

No Lodge can have the Traveling Treasure Chest on consecutive months. Rainbow or DeMolay can get it two or more months in a row, if they meet the other criteria. 

When a Rainbow assembly or DeMolay chapter captures the Traveling Treasure Chest, it is likely that several Masons will be attending at the next convenient assembly or chapter meeting to recapture the Traveling Treasure Chest before the next Lodge of Instruction; three Masons from three different lodges can attend a Rainbow or DeMolay meeting to do so, which would then qualify as the ‘Lodge of Instruction’ capturing the Traveling Treasure Chest (as opposed to a specific lodge). However, using only advisors who are Masons to capture the Traveling Treasure Chest back will not be allowed. 

When a Rainbow assembly or DeMolay chapter captures the Traveling Treasure Chest, and it is recaptured by a particular lodge, it is permitted for another Lodge/Chapter/Assembly to attend that lodge’s meeting (with prior notification) and capture the Traveling Treasure Chest at that time, so long as this capture falls between Lodges of Instruction. The best suggested means of presenting the Traveling Treasure Chest would be to open a business meeting, and then promptly recess, present the Traveling Treasure Chest, and then allow the Lodge/Chapter/Assembly members to retire. The same rules apply as before if more than one Lodge/Chapter/Assembly is present to capture the Traveling Treasure Chest. 

The Traveling Treasure Chest is to be available at EACH Lodge of Instruction, and is to be presented EVERY month. In those cases where no one travels to retrieve the Traveling Treasure Chest, the holder is requested to return to the next Lodge of Instruction and bring back the Traveling Treasure Chest. A running total will be kept of the number times in a Masonic year that the Traveling Treasure Chest is captured.