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: NOVEMBER 16, 2001
We extend our deepest sympathy to all those who have been affected by the horrifying acts of terrorism on September 11, 2001.
Hopefully terrorists will soon understand that people throughout the world will not accept a reality of fear and tyranny. The human desire for freedom motivated the Barons to subject King John to the Rule of Law and Americans to articulate the principles of Constitutional Liberty in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. That same desire for freedom can resist tyranny. Unfortunately, tyrants do emerge to challenge freedom and even the understanding that their efforts will be ultimately futile does not prevent them from trying. Our Society encourages freedom through education and communication. We welcome support and participation for this effort..
To encourage the exchange of ideas concerning Magna Charta as well as personal observations concerning the privileges of liberty we enjoy, we have included a page for Reflections beginning with those on September 11, 2001 and have started the page with an article from Winston S. Churchill based on his observations as he was in New York City that day. We invite responsible and inspiring reflections, by e-mail, for attachment to the page. Please refer to the page for additional information.
We have increased our e-mail listing significantly since last April. 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 are members of lineage societies and/or who might share our interest in the principles of Constitutional Liberty.
We particularly encourage you to link to our April Newsletter to read the outstanding talk given by Arabella Churchill when she spoke to our Society in April. Please also refer to OUR E-MAIL LIST at the end of this Newsletter.
We encourage you to check our WebSite regularly for new developments and information. Please visit our WebSite News Page and Table of Contents. Please E-mail us using the Feedback Page. The link to the Newsletter on the WebSite is: http://www.magnacharta.org/enews112001.htm
Washington DC, April, 2002
In the past, our April Luncheon has traditionally been scheduled for the Monday of DAR Week. This year, since DAR Week has been moved to July, we will schedule our dinner or luncheon for the weekend of April 13 - 14, 2002. We now have the option of holding either a dinner on Saturday, April 13, 2002 or a luncheon on Sunday, April 14, 2002. We would appreciate preferences from those who are planning to attend; either Saturday dinner or Sunday lunch. The annual meeting of the Colonial Dames 17th Century should be complete by Saturday afternoon and we particularly encourage all members and guests of the Colonial Dames to attend our dinner or luncheon. We also welcome people who are not members of our Society. We remind our members and friends that April is a particularly beautiful time to visit Washington, DC. We welcome suggestions for a speaker this year and future years. If you would like to receive an invitation please let us know.
Historic England Educational Tour, May, 2002
The Golden Jubilee Year of Queen Elizabeth will provide some exceptional English activities. One of the themes of the Year is celebration throughout England to encourage participation. One of the events currently planned is the Royal Windsor Horseshow which is held within the Windsor Park and we are planning the Horseshow as a special part of our Tour next year. Although there is a special weekend scheduled for June 1 - 4, 2002 in London, at this point it emphasizes events which are available to a large number of people.
In addition, for our May 2002 Tour we will visit historic and culturally significant places in the vicinity of Windsor as well as London. Among the features of this Tour is a guided tour of the College of Arms. The preliminary program is included within the Travel Page. We encourage interest and participation. Please contact our office to request the full itinerary including the terms and conditions. If we learn of activities during the June weekend which might be interesting and available we may add an additional segment as well as a segment for the Ascot/Garter weekend. If you might be interested in these additional segments please let us know. Please also let us know if you have suggestions for our Tours.
State Divisions, Local Chapters or Colonies
This year I have had the pleasure of visiting Tennessee, Texas and South Carolina. All of our members are encouraged to participate in a State Division or a Chapter or Colony. We are pleased to announce the reorganization of the California Division with Mrs. Cronk as the Regent. The Northern and Southern Chapters will continue their activities and will be enhanced by a meeting which will generally coincide with the meetings of other lineage societies. We express our appreciation to Mrs. Cronk and look forward to additional Chapters in California.
We are pleased to announce that Mrs. Terry C. Morgan, Regent of Kentucky, is a Herald of the National Society.
New Lost Members
We have added a new page for our 219 lost members this year. Please also refer to the 2001 Lost Member Page. Earlier this year we sent complete lists of members within their state to the Division Regents. We understand these lists are being used by a number of Divisions to contact members of the Society who have not been participating in Division activities. If you are a member of the Society and have not been participating please contact our Office (215-836-5022) to learn the name of your Regent.
Our initial listing of lost members at 12/31/97 included 5,593 members. Since that date, approximately 700 of those members have either been located or identified as deceased.
June Educational Tour, 2001
Our Tour this past June was again outstanding. Highlights of the Tour included a visit to Minterne House with luncheon hosted by Lord and Lady Digby, luncheon within Windsor Castle before the service of the Knights of the Garter, and a visit to Runnymede with Mr. Tim Williams, Honorary Secretary of the Magna Carta Trust. We visited Corfe Castle, Sherbourne Castle and the Chapter House at Salisbury where one of the four copies of the Magna Charta is on display. On the way to Salisbury we paid a special visit to Old Sarum and learned of its 5,000 years of history. Please refer to our Travel Page for more information about the Tour.
Information from Magna Charta Triennial Celebration - June, 2001
We are pleased to present the Program for the Commemoration of the 786th Anniversary of the Sealing of Magna Carta at Runnymede Saturday 16 June 2001. We appreciate the kindness of Mr. Tim Williams, Hon. Secretary in allowing the inclusion of the text on our WebSite. This information is presented through the courtesy of the Runnymede Borough Council and the Magna Carta Trust.
We are including the Order of Service which was held at the Egham Church on 16 June 2001 as inclement weather prevented the planned activities at the field of Runnymede. We are also including the text of the Main Address given by Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, Master of the Rolls and Chairman of the Magna Carta Trust and the Magna Carta Anniversary Sermon given by The Right Reverend John Gladwin, Lord Bishop of Guildford.
In his address, Lord Phillips reminded his audience of the significance of Magna Carta, its impact on this country [England], America and many other democracies, he stressed that it provided a common heritage of freedom and liberty for all. He outlined the development of the Human Rights Convention for Europe and its echoes of Magna Carta. He added that despite the Convention being largely drafted by United Kingdom Lawyers, it was only last year that the Human Rights Act came into force in England and Wales. The Act therefore perpetuates the fundamental principles of human rights, first enshrined in Magna Carta, nearly 800 years ago, and even echoes the text of Magna Carta itself, which provided (at Clauses 39 and 40):
"No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land."
"To no-one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice."
In his Sermon The Right Reverend John Gladwin included a prophetic observation:
..."that there are those in both mosques and churches who, in violation of the fundamental values and truths that undergird their sacred texts, twist the faith to serve their own political ends. The tempting solution to this problem -- particularly for us in Western Europe at the end of the last 100 years -- is to put religion in one corner and politics in another and pretend that they can have nothing to do with each other. Another solution -- but no less disastrous as we have seen in the Taliban in Afghanistan -- is to think that if you have enough religion you can do without politics"...
Introductory Page - -
http://www.magnacharta.org/MCTrust01.1.htm
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Order of Service which was held at the Egham Church on
16 June 2001 - -
Main Address given by Lord Phillips - -
Magna Carta Anniversary Sermon - -
OUR E-MAIL LIST
Our E-mail list is made up of 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 between the hours of 9:30am and 3:00pm.
Best wishes.
I hope that each of you are well. Do not hesitate to contact me with questions or suggestions. Chancellor@magnacharta.org