TO MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY MAGNA CHARTA DAMES AND BARONS, POTENTIAL MEMBERS AND THOSE WHO SHARE OUR INTEREST IN THE PRINCIPLES OF CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERTY
FROM LEWIS L. NEILSON JR., CHANCELLOR
DATE: OCTOBER 18, 2006
If this is the first Electronic Newsletter which you have received from our Society, please read the paragraph OUR E-MAIL LIST below. The link to the Newsletter on the Website is: http://www.magnacharta.org/enews102006.htm The link to the Website is: http://www.magnacharta.org.
This Electronic Newsletter features the announcement of our Society initiative for reissue of Magna Charta in 2015 at the 800th anniversary of the original, additional information about the Exhibit of Magna Charta in Virginia Beach in 2007 and information about upcoming events. Please mark your calendar for Saturday, April 14, 2007 in Washington, DC.
Our membership is now over 17,000 Dames and Barons
I encourage you to call our office at 215-836-5022 with membership questions. Please speak with Mrs. Rose Mary McKeown, an experienced genealogist.
Topics: New Information ***
*** Short Term Goals - Long Term Vision
*** Reissue of Magna Charta in
2015 - 800th Anniversary
*** Genealogy - The Future
*** Magna Carta Exhibit 2007 - Virginia Beach
Future Events DC Reception and Dinner April 14, 2007 – University Club
*** Educational Tour Program - 2007
Participation in State Divisions
Greetings - Please send new email addresses
Thank you
Potential Members
Contributions
***Enhancement of our E-Mail list
OUR E-MAIL LIST
I enjoyed visiting with the Ohio Division this month in Columbus and I am delighted with the interest and enthusiasm of our members who attended the meeting.
Theme: Short Term Goals - Long Term Vision
We are introducing a page on our Website which identifies the short term goals and long term vision for our Society, consistent with our purposes and supporting our mission. This page will be periodically updated and we invite suggestions. Please look at the "What's New" Page on our Web Site for information.
Reissue of Magna Charta in 2015 - 800th Anniversary
At the April 2006 Washington DC Dinner, I discussed the various reissues of Magna Charta which followed 1215. While none of the reissues were as important as the original each contained important provisions including the 1297 reissue, a copy of which is located at the National Archives in Washington, DC.
As an initiative for our Society, I propose that the Magna Charta be reissued again in 2015, the 800th anniversary of the original, with provisions which could apply the intent of the original to the present.
Our long term vision for this project is that the words can be selected for those provisions which will be embraced by all peoples, endorsed by the United States Congress and United Kingdom Parliament, and ratified by leaders and governments.
Our short term goal is to initiate the project, recognizing that the process of finding those words will develop awareness of the Magna Charta and its provisions. Our Society includes people with different opinions who join together to focus on the Magna Charta and we encourage others who might help with this project to adopt the same approach.
We initially plan for a contest to select the wording (including a narrative explanation of the wording) and invite suggestions or support for this project.
We recognize that this anniversary may be recognized by a number of organizations including those with a political agenda. We recognize that all such efforts increase awareness of Magna Charta. In selecting an appropriate initial project for our Society relating to the anniversary we considered that we have over 17,000 members which probably makes us the largest Magna Charta related organization. While there may be other larger organizations which are interested in individual liberty, the rule of law or other aspects of the Magna Charta, we have a single focus. We feel it is our responsibility to recognize the 800th Anniversary. I might also mention that one of our members, along with her sons, donated to field of Runnymede to the English people.
Genealogy - The Future
I periodically hear discussion of the use of DNA as a possible method for determining eligibility for lineage societies. While this possibility now seems rather remote, technological advances are sometimes surprising. Most of the immigrant ancestors from whom our members descend came to America prior to 1774 with a belief that they were entitled to certain rights originating from the Magna Charta. An important part of the history both of the United States and individual rights is based on the determination of those immigrants and their contemporaries and their descendants to retain those rights. We plan to continue encouraging education concerning those immigrants even if DNA testing becomes the method for determining eligibility.
Magna Carta Exhibit 2007 - Virginia Beach
We have included a page with information about the visit in April 2007 of the 1215 Lincoln Magna Carta to Virginia Beach to commemorate the 400th Anniversary of the landing in Virginia. This will be an outstanding Exhibit at The Contemporary Art Center of Virginia. We will provide additional information, especially the date of the opening event, as the planning continues.
Future Events
We have scheduled our Washington, DC dinner for April 14, 2007 at the University Club. Our speaker will be Michael West, Chancellor of Lincoln Cathedral. We have also scheduled a luncheon in Philadelphia on Friday, April 13, 2007 for Chancellor West and his wife. Please be sure to let us know if you wish an invitation to either event.
We are also planning for an additional educational program in Philadelphia this Fall. We will plan to send an Electronic Newsletter with details and a notification by regular mail to our local members.
Tour Program - 2007 –
We are in the process of planning for an Educational Tour in 2007.
The purpose of our educational tours is to visit locations of cultural and historical significance primarily relating to the Magna Charta. We are undertaking to reduce the cost while maintaining quality.
Participation in State Divisions and New Divisions
I am pleased that we have furnished up to date listing of members to most of the State Division Regents or local Regents. If you are a member and wish to participate at the State or local level, please let us know.
Several of our members have expressed interest in forming new Divisions. Thank you for your interest and we look forward to assisting with this effort.
Greetings
On behalf of the Officers and Council of the Society, I bring greetings with this Newsletter. We continue to develop awareness of Magna Charta and its message. We ask each of you to participate with us in continuing the long tradition of friendship and fellowship which has continued over many years. We need to increase the number of members and friends on our email listing. Please ask your relatives or friends to send us their E-mail address. Please also send us the E-mail addresses of friends who are interested either in lineage societies or in memorializing Magna Charta. For the future, please propose new members for our Society. Please also attend your local meetings and include your children and grandchildren. We have a very special organization and I hope that you will help us to maintain its traditions.
Thank You
We continue to be pleased with the response from our members to update addresses and provide new addresses for those who have been lost. . Many members have appointed successors who were eligible to do so. Updated address lists will be sent to the State Divisions. I am, however, saddened to learn when our members are deceased. I and the Society are grateful for the time, dedicated effort and financial contributions that many of those members have given to our Society. As I update the deceased role with members who I have worked with and known during the past seventeen years, I am reminded that we need to express appreciation on an ongoing basis to all of those who are helping to make our Society a wonderful organization. Thank You!
Potential Members
If you are not a member of our Society and are eligible I hope that you will join. If you are not eligible but share our interest in history and genealogy we encourage you to remain on our Email list. We also welcome your participation in our ongoing genealogical research projects and our Tours. We welcome and encourage new members and remind those submitting lineage information to include copies of referenced material.
As mentioned in prior E-Newsletters, membership continues to be of vital importance to our Society. If you wish to speed up or facilitate the membership process, please include with the Proposal Form a well documented lineage (including copies of the documentation) to either a known ancestor or to one of the qualifying Barons. If you have sent lineage information without the copies you may also speed up the process by sending copies of the documentation. Lineage Forms are provided on the Website.
Contributions
We rely on member contributions for our Society operations and we plan to build our endowment in connection with the 100th Anniversary of the founding our Society in 1909. We hope you will consider year end contributions, including contributions of appreciated securities. Our Society is a public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Enhancement of our E-Mail list
Our email list is a separate list from the roster of the Society. Initially we used Outlook for the list and we did not indicate who was a member or which state they lived in. If you are a member of our Society, please send an email message to Chancellor@magnacharta.org and write MEMBER in the Subject field followed by a space and then the abbreviation for your state.
OUR E-MAIL LIST
We continue to significantly increase our e-mail list. To those of you who are new to our list we welcome you to receive our Electronic Newsletter and hope that you will find our Society and our mission to be interesting. Since a primary mission of our Society is to develop awareness of Magna Charta we wish to expand the circulation of our Electronic Newsletter by increasing our e-mail address list particularly including those who are members of lineage societies and/or who might share our interest in the principles of Constitutional Liberty. I would like to thank those who have shared their email lists since our last Electronic Newsletter.
We encourage you to check our Website regularly for new developments and information. The link to the Newsletter on the Website is: http://www.magnacharta.org/enews102006.htm The link to the Website is: http://www.magnacharta.org.
Our E-mail list is made up of those who have sent us e-mail, of members and friends of the Society who have responded to our Newsletter request for E-mail addresses and others who we believe might be interested in our Society or mission. If you would prefer not to receive future Electronic Newsletters, however, please let us know. If you have friends who you believe might be interested in our Society, please forward this e-mail. If you have received this as a forwarded e-mail, please visit our Website at for more information about our Society. You may also contact our Society Office at 215-836-5022.
Do not hesitate to contact me with questions or suggestions. Chancellor@magnacharta.org
Sincerely,
Lewis L. "Ted" Neilson, Jr.
Chancellor
National Society Magna Charta Dames and Barons
Email:
Chancellor@magnacharta.org
Website:
www.magnacharta.org
Telephone: 215-836-5022
Fax: 215-836-5056
Mailing Address: PO Box 4222, Phila., PA 19144
Office Hours: Monday - Wednesday - Friday 9:30am - 3:00 pm
IF YOU REPLY TO AN EMAIL PLEASE INCLUDE THE ORIGINAL EMAIL - THANK YOU