In earlier posts here on “Voices” or responses to “C & C” articles, I’ve mentioned that I was High Phi during my undergrad years at Idaho (Epsilon-Gamma Zeta). I’ve confessed that our Ritual had a strong, positive impact upon yours truly; I cherish it.

Therefore, it shouldn’t surprise any Brother that I leap at opportunity to witness the Ritual again. Such occurred this past Friday night/Saturday morning, when the Sigma-Beta Zeta — our Brothers at St. Mary’s University — initiated four new Brothers. After a postponed start, the Ritual team did a terrific work!

My home Zeta had a chapter house, so we did the Ritual in it. Likewise the colony at Austin Peay State (Clarksville, Tenn.) in the late ’90s. And I also experienced Ritual presentation at General Assembly in Nahsville’s Opryland Hotel in the early ’80s. But since none of the three Zetas in San Antonio has a chapter house, I wondered what it was like for locals to conduct the Ritual in a non-house setting.

Not to worry! Sigma-Beta did theirs in an old church building of the Spanish-mission architectural style. And what better locale to do our Ritual with its Christian basis than in church! The Brothers from St. Mary’s simply moved the communion table and other furnishings off the platform at the front of the sanctuary, and conducted the Ritual in that resulting adequate space. Again I say, the team did a terrific work!

One special added touch was that the uncle of an associate member, himself an alumnus of Sigma-Beta, attended from Austin.

Due to the later-than-planned start time, we finished in the “wee hours” of the morning, and I had little time to sleep before going to work Saturday. However, such was well worth the sacrifice, just to experience anew our blessed Ritual and the making of four new Brothers in the Bond of L.C.A. And what a wonderful Bond is our Ritual!

Thanks, brothers of Sigma-Beta, for a job well done and a new memory for this alumnus (from another Zeta, even) to cherish!

This entry was posted on Monday, April 30th, 2007 at 3:15 pm and is filed under Alumni Relations, Chapter, Ritualism . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.