Grand Commandery Knights Templar of Virginia

10/14/2026

Past Supreme Worthy President Lady Kim Kussman shares the remarkable story of the Social Order of the Beauceant and warmly invites the ladies to join the fellowship during the 70th Triennial Conclave of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States of America in August 2027 in Burbank, California.

Watch YouTube: https://bit.ly/4k1iUGe

10/13/2026

Support the 248th Grand Annual Communication of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of the Commonwealth of Virginia at the Hilton Richmond Hotel & Spa/Short Pump, 12042 West Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, starting on Friday, November 6, 2026, at 8:30 A.M.

10/12/2026

Sir Knight William F. “Bill” Reinhold was born in New York City on Independence Day in 1951. He was baptized in St. John’s Episcopal Church which, prior to completion of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in 1964, was right across from the Parade Field and Officers’ Quarters of Fort Hamilton. General Robert E. Lee, as a Captain serving as Post Engineer at Fort Hamilton from 1841 to 1846, was a Vestryman of that Church. General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, as a Major while stationed at Fort Hamilton with his regiment from 1848 to 1850, was baptized at that Church on 29 April 1849. Hence the Church is known as the “Church of the Generals” and the classical portraits of them arc on the walls of the Lec and Jackson Parish Hall.

Bill did not have the opportunity to know either of his grandfathers, both Master Masons, because they had died before he was born. Bill’s dad, a senior DeMolay, died about six months before Bill’s tenth birthday. It was in Lee and Jackson Parish Hall on a Sunday morning about five years after his dad’s death, where his mother, a member of the Order of Eastern Star until she died in 2009, prompted him to ask the nearby older boys about something called DeMolay. In 2000 his mother would assist in the investiture ceremony making Bill an active member for life of the DeMolay Legion of Honor. Echoes of this carly masonic, military, and religious background can be seen throughout Bill’s life and is why he feels very much at home in central Virginia.

Continue reading: https://bit.ly/4fIBuNZ

10/11/2026

Temple Old Kirk is a late-medieval church built over the foundations of the Knights Templar Chapel at Balantrodoch. Located in a serene valley by the South Esk river, it stands as a testament to centuries of Scottish history and religious heritage. The history of the site has been thoroughly researched and written by John Kerry, TOKF's Secretary, bringing to light the remarkable stories of this historic site.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3TRJTtq

10/09/2026

On January 16th, 1827, three Sir Knights (James Cushman, Charles Cassell and Mark L. Cheevers), hailing from three different Commanderies, and acting under a lawful warrant (dispensation) from the Grand Encampment Knights Templar of Virginia did on that date conferred the Orders of Knighthood upon the following Royal Arch Masons from Mount Horeb Chapter No. 11:

Charles A. Grice | Robert B. Butt | Mordicai K. Cook | James Jarvis
George Reed | Henry Singleton | John Williston | William Bishop
J. W. Murdaugh | John Linn | John Reed | James B. Foster

All of whom, after useful, honorable, and well-spent lives, entered the asylum, where the Captain of Salvation forever reigns. Those twelve Sir Knights received a Grand Encampment of Virginia dispensation, dated January 16th, 1827, and proceeded to organize “Portsmouth Encampment, No. 5,” after which they elected Sir Knight Charles A. Grice its first Eminent Commander. The Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of Virginia chartered Portsmouth Encampment, No. 5 on January 27, 1827, at Portsmouth, Virginia.

Sir Knight Grice was re-elected annually thereafter until the year 1866, when by reason of this declining years, he declined a further re-election, and made the mantle of office fall upon the shoulders of Eminent Sir Charles R. McAlpine.

We cannot let the occasion pass without mentioning that Sir Knight Charles A. Grice occupied many exalted positions during his years in the Masonic Fraternity:

Raised in Portsmouth Naval Lodge No 100 in 1818, he served Worshipful Master, Portsmouth Naval Lodge 1820-1821, 1835, 1839, 1859-1860, and District Deputy Grand Master, District No. 1 (Portsmouth) 1864-1867.

Exalted in Portsmouth’s Mt. Horeb Chapter No. 11 and served as its High Priest for many years
Most Excellent Grand High Priest of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Virginia in 1841-1843

Continue reading: https://bit.ly/4e9eE18

10/07/2026

The Knights Templar Educational Foundation – Virginia Division will award financial grants for the 2026-27 Academic Year.

This grant was established to assist rising 3rd- or 4th-year students to complete their final year(s) of undergraduate education. The Committee shall consider all applicants without regard to age, race, religion, national origin, gender, or Masonic ties or affiliation. Applicants must be a United States citizen and pursuing a four-year degree from an accredited college or university.

This grant has been made possible through the generosity of the Knights Templar of Virginia since its inception in 1933.

The areas of consideration in awarding this grant are: financial need, academic achievement, work experience, community involvement, and quality of answers to all questions in the application.

Grant recipients will be notified by mail and arrangements made for presentation of the award. A check in the amount of the grant will be forwarded to the school in which the recipient is enrolled after that educational institution has verified his/her enrollment.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4ugerm1
Application: https://bit.ly/4bh4V9t

10/06/2026

2026 Masonic Family Day Parade at the Masonic Home of Virginia.

10/05/2026

Lawrence Barton “Lary” Smith was born Friday, 13 May 1955 at Mountain Home, Arkansas as the only child of John Quinby and Elizabeth Lee Sowell Smith (both deceased). He graduated Mountain Home High School in 1973 and the University of Arkansas (U of A) (Fayetteville) in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology. He further received a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University in 1992 and has multiple credits towards a Master of Science in Education from Strayer University.

Following graduation from the U of A, Larry was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Army (Ordnance Corps) and served in West Germany. SK Smith was released from Active Duty in 1981 and joined the Arkansas Army National Guard. Following advanced officer training, he joined the Active Guard and Reserve Program at the National Guard Bureau in Washington, DC. SK Smith served in several staff positions within the Bureau before being transferred to Redstone Arsenal, Alabama as the Deputy Assistant Commandant of the Ordnance Missile Mu*****ns Center and School. His final assignment was Executive Officer and Senior National Guard Officer for the Combined Arms Support Command’s Training Directorate at Fort Lee, Virginia retiring with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 2000.

Continue reading: https://bit.ly/3UNf9XD

10/04/2026

At its core, the verse teaches that humility is not self‑diminishing — it’s self‑anchoring. It keeps us grounded, teachable, and aware that every achievement rests on foundations we didn’t build alone.

10/03/2026