One of the main beneficent activities of DePayens Commandery No. 11 is our involvement with the Knights Templar Holy Land Pilgrimage. We have a short term and a long term objective in this endeavor.
Our short term objective is to send one Christian minister from our Commandery’s jurisdiction to the Holy Land at our expense each and every year. None of our dues goes toward this effort. In order to raise the $4,000 necessary to do this every year, we have been relying on contributions from our Knights and their friends and have done just fine for the past two years by sponsoring a fund-raising dinner in the spring.
Our long-term objective is to build up a fund so that eventually we can send a second minister each year. We have started that fund by investing any excess contributions as principal and have been relatively successful so far in getting a good start.
There are three ways that our Sir Knights can support this effort. First, you can contribute to the cause. Please donate by sending a check for your contribution to:
DePayens Commandery #11 @ 115 2nd Ave S., Franklin, TN 37064.
Please designate your check to HLP or the Holy Land Pilgrimage fund. Contributions are tax deductible as the fund is a 501(C3) entity.
The second way you can help is to seek out and recommend pastors from our area for us to send. The minister must not have previously traveled to the Holy Land, and should have enough years left in his or her ministry so that the trip will have a significant positive impact on his or her congregation. Full details of the qualifications required of our minister-pilgrims can be found on-line at: Pilgrimage Qualifications
Details of the program can be found on-line at: Program Details
If you find someone whom you think might qualify to be one of our pilgrims, please contact: Sir Knight John Palmer at
John.l.palmer@comcast.net or 615-504-3355
He will handle the rest of the process including all the necessary scheduling and paperwork.
The third way you can contribute to this effort is by volunteering to assist with our annual fund raiser. To volunteer, contact Sir Knight Billy Hyatt at billy@standardcp.com
As Christian Knights, we are under the most solemn vows to protect and support the Christian religion. This support may have as many different facets as there are Sir Knights, but the one positive collaborative activity that we all can participate in is the Holy Land Pilgrimage for Christian Ministers. If you don’t have the money, devote some of your time. If you don’t have the time, send us a check. Whatever your circumstances are, please contribute something to this mission.
In this time of virtual meetings and virtual conferences, remember that there are no virtual Knights Templar, only actual ones. The word “actual” is based on the word “act.” Now is the time for you to act.