Questioning the Knights Templar of OSMTH

[Alastair]

I am somewhat upset about the operation of this order and in this video I explain why. You can leaarn more about the order and read old copies of the Canadian Templar newsletter at http://www.electriccanadian.com/religion/kt.htm

You can watch my video at:

Alastair

[Alastair]

Re: Questioning the Knights Templar of OSMTH

Seems I am to be hauled over the coals by the Order for the above video...

It's with sadness that I need to bring something Alastair posted on YouTube to you attention.

The posting is long and painful to listen to. It is a personal attack against you and our Vicar General and OSMTH's grand commander and grand master as well as many of the intl leadership.

The video was brought to my attention today by a member of my team on the communications committee but it hasn't circulated to our GC or GM yet.

The message requires a public response and I imagine we would initiate any expulsion tools we have within the Order. I am an empathetic man but I cannot imagine a path in which he stays. Alastair message suggested he might quit, hence the courage/cowardice of this message but I don't think he deserves an honourable exit.

But, we need to have a communications strategy to avoid a crises in this. That is, debunk and address it.

I haven't communicated to anyone internally until we talk and I obtain your direction. You can reach me by phone at 416-231-3768.

Honourable Colonel Stuart W. Ross... (he's a Kentucky Colonel)

And then from our Vicar General...

Stuart: Thank you for bringing this to our attention - I have played it and to say the least I am shocked. Peter is out of town - I have sent messages by email and I am sure he will get back to me. I have also sent a message to Nola to find out if she knows anything about it.

I guess he's a disgruntled member. Hope you are feeling better. Blessings to all in the New Year. Ron Matthewman

And then our Grand Chancellor replied saying...

Greetings . . .

I have just listened to this posting, so this is my initial response. Upon further consideration I may have more to say.

Inasmuch as it was posted last July and it has just come to our attention suggests that it has had virtually no circulation: which, incidentally, says a lot about how much monitoring of U-Tube is done by the Order.

Sir Alastair has been one of the most hard-working and loyal members of the Toronto Priory and the Canadian Priory. He has put in endless hours of volunteer work for years. He has travelled considerable distances to attend functions . . . far more than the average member does.

His personal comments/attacks are his own opinion and unfortunate, and I do wish he had not included them.

But far too much of what he says is echoed by other members who have left the Order or are dissatisfied with it.

Our communications are terrible and far too much of what he says is true.

He gave considerable notice that he would be quitting his role as Editor of the Newsletter, but I have yet to receive even a letter from the new editors about what they want from me in terms of a Grand Chancellor’s letter or a religious piece or whatever. And I have no idea of what their dates for publication may be.

As one who has travelled to a dozen international meetings, I similarly do not know what is going on or how to get information that I frequently want. Alastair once showed me the letter he received in response to his request for material on the site of the meeting and any activities, to promote an international meeting, which just said that only the Grand Prior could make such a request.

I know that those at the pinnacle of the Templars are doing very worthwhile and important things. But we do not communicate what they are doing to our members . . . who are left wondering why they are Templars rather than just being a volunteer at their local service club or sending the monies they expend on their membership to a charity of their own choice.

Sir Alastair’s words were harsh . . . but clearly the result of the frustration that I have heard him voice to members in both Windsor and Toronto. And I am sure have been shared with Sir Peter as well. And they are based on his experience as Editor which gives him greater access to news and people them most other members have.

I would suggest that our initial response should be to go through his statements checking the veracity thereof. For instance, he is correct about Canadian memberships. I assume he is as well with the international.

When we compare the hiding of the Order’s meetings in some countries because of fears of retribution, to the brazen bus bearing the Order’s name and logo in large letters as it roams the streets of Sophia . . . and then consider in which country membership is growing . . . it may make us question the impact of being so fearful.

I would hope that we have the wisdom and grace to acknowledge the truth of much of what he says and work with him to improve the Order. Without him we will have lost a fine worker and a knight whose loyalty to the Order has been tested as much by our lack of initiative as all else he mentions.

Yours in Christ
nnDnn

Nola



I added a comment to my video in which I said...

I note that our Deputy General Secretary of the Order has called for me to be sacked from the order. This is Stuart Ross who in my opinion is a person unfit to be in the order. He is far too interested in his personal promotion than doing good work for others. For example he created a web site for St. James Priory and people were having problems with it. He promised to visit one of our order to show them how to use the site and failed to turn up. When queried he again promised to visit and again failed to turn up.He was then asked to create a web site for the Grand Priory of Canada and after 4 years it is still to be created. This is a person you simply can't trust to do anything unless it is in his own personal interest. This is just another example of how our order is having issues as many people in important positions in the order are doing a poor job of running it.

I might add that several people have been trying to contact him on several matters to do with the order and he's failed to respond. He was also given the domain name for St. James Priory so he could do their web site but he failed to renew the domain so that is now lost. So this is the kind of person that the Order needs to get rid of if it's going to prosper in the future.

Alastair