Manassas Happenings During the 2022-2023 Grand Year

Posted in Blog on June 27th, 2023 by Christi Reed

My favorite station I ever had in rainbow was not the worthy advisor station, but faith. That is because it was a stepping stone for my progression in rainbow, and the station holds the responsibility of leading the initiate through the bow and to each of the other line officers. The station made me a more responsible and mature young woman, due to my memorization skills and minor leadership. I still did enjoy being worthy advisor, but nothing can compare to how I felt being elected and entrusted with the powers of faith.  ~ Maribel M.

The murder mystery was Saturday this weekend and lasted about 3 to 4 hours. It was a pirate themed with a few people of royalty. There was lots of activity at some times which was a little chaotic at times, but overall good. About six people, guessed who the murderer was, which was Sam. Pins and cookies were given out as a thank you.  ~ Catalina A.

On February 25th 2023 Manassas Assembly #13 held it’s no talent show.  It was so much fun! “amazing” violin and cello playing, dad jokes, bad lip syncing and more! After everyone was done with their no-talents, we had karaoke! My personal favorite was when one of Prince William DeMolay “sang” Tequila.  Can’t wait for the next fun event, hopefully we can do it again in the future.  In Rainbow Love & Service, –Samantha M.

On March 4th 2023, Manassas Assembly #13 held a BBQ dinner.  This was one of my favorite events so far in our term, it was a great event to bring in prospects and obviously had *amazing* food.  I loved being able to serve everyone and we even brought in a new girl to join our assembly!! I am so excited! In Rainbow Love & Service, –Samantha M.

On Saturday April 22nd, Hampton and Norfolk had their GV.  The girls who attended were myself, Alyssa, and Kassidy.  They even had an initiation which our girls helped with.  Myself as Nature, Kassidy as Patriotism, and Alyssa as Service.  They initiated 4 girls.  The GV went great and their skit at the end was very cute and funny.  Lorkin had a fun time and probably got a little frustrated with the little games they set up for her. In Rainbow Love & Service, –Samantha M.

On Saturday May 27th Manassas Assembly #13 held a kings Dominion trip! it was SO much fun.  absolutely one of my favorite events of the term.  The laughs and memories were worth every second- getting to splash around in puddles, skipping around the park, and making the best out of every situation.  It was amazing to see girls bonding and making new friendships, I can’t wait to do this event over and over again! In Rainbow Love & Service,–Samantha M.

Over the weekend of May 26th – May 29th, I got to go camping with some rainbow friends and family.  This experience was great.  Getting to bond and grow closer with my friends was an amazing experience.  We had so much fun telling stories with each other, joy riding in a golf cart at night, dancing around, and making s’mores.  I can’t wait to do it again in the future! In Rainbow Love & Service,–Samantha M.

Paintball on the 22 of April was very fun. It was at Hogback Mountain Paintball, and was very hot, but very nice. Also, a lot of people were there. We did play with high impact. But it was still fun.  ~Stella A.

The Murder Mystery was on March 11th. The theme was pirates, so everyone was in a pirate themed costume. There was food and drinks. Also, there was a murder and victim amongst us. Overall, it was a fun time. ~Stella A.

The ritual practice was on March 14th.We went over balloting and the floor work of balloting. It taught a lot of girls how to ballot and it was fun. Mom Vanessa Hamrick explained it all to us.  So, that is how the ritual practice went.  ~Stella A.

The Daddy Daughter Dance was on January 24th and there was a potluck with it too. There was lights and drinks and songs and it was just a fun time. A lot of girls danced with their dads. So, that was awesome.  ~Stella A.

On Saturday, March 11th, I went to a murder mystery party at Kena in Manassas. It was pirate themed, with everyone dressing as typical pirates and some dressing as 18th century nobles. There were girls from different Rainbow assemblies in the state, and some of the Rainbow parents and Demolay boys also attended. There was a snack bar and chocolate fountain as accompanied food. There were a few people that figured out the murderer (not me). I also won a raffle basket by auction, which had popcorn and chocolate. I had fun acting as my assigned character and even though I didn’t guess it right, it was still a fun and memorable party.  ~ Maribel M.

Ashburn Assembly held their installation of officers on February 4th. They did not have a Worthy Advisor or Worthy Associate Advisor, so it was interesting to see how they did the ceremony different. The decorations were Under the Sea theme and super cute!  I can’t wait to support Ashburn and see all of the wonderful events that are being planned.  ~Sami D.

The annual grand stated communication was in a hotel in and lasted about an hour. It was an open event which was amazing because I could see the grand masons get installed for the next year! After closing of the installation everyone shuffled to the dining hall for dinner which was served in buffet style. My family and I then went to another restaurant in the hotel and met some of the people we knew how got installed and congratulated them on their great accomplishment. It was super amazing to see how they spent so much time and energy working to make such an amazing production and I can tell it paid off.  ~Catalina A.

Hello, after spending many extraordinary moments with rainbow and sponsoring bodies, I have made new friends I never would have met, bettered myself and others for the greater good society, and enjoyed special times of love and care from others. I want to run for faith to help serve for rainbow and to learn more about building up one another. Taking one brick to build a castle is exactly what I plan on achieving. Not only that but building village of castles with a walkway for others to strive upon. I love each and every moment I get to spend with my rainbow sisters. I hope to open hearts, in large friendship, and trust in each other in our everyday lives. ~Catalina A.

During the Annual Holiday Party at Manasseh Lodge, we played musical chairs and the top two winners revived prizes. We then had a ugly sweater contest which the winner received also got a prize. Dad Bill read the night before Christmas which made many people laugh while he was reading it out loud. Santa have children presents from under the Christmas tree and blew up balloons. We then traveled to the dinning room for dinner and desserts!   ~Catalina A.

After the meeting of December 13th, rainbow held a party where we had a bunch of food sitting out for snacking on during the gift exchange. We had a lot of laughter and stealing of others gifts during the game.  The fuzzy blankets with candy were definitely a big that many people wanted. After the gift exchange a couple of people traded with others for different gifts and we finished off eating the food. It was a very eventful night with lots of fun and I hope to go again next year with my family!  ~Catalina A.

Emily’s first meeting of her term went great as we talked about a lot of wonderful information that needed to be covered for the beginning of her term. Emily revived a gift from a sponsoring body saying how amazing everyone’s ritual was and asking to bring a few people and have them join in on a meeting so they can hear how awesome of a job we do. A reminder from one of the moms was presented to us in regards of during Jean nights our rainbow dress code attire is still in-forced and need to be abide by. The adopt a spot was up for debate on whether we should renew it with the city or choose a different community service option.  ~Catalina A.

At the last meeting of every term Manassas Assembly holds our elections for the coming up term. This was our first time doing elections since Supreme made the changes but I kind of like it better this way because it takes less time and it just gets straight to the point. At the elections meeting there was a motion made and seconded to move Emily to Worthy Advisor, Elina to Worthy Associate Advisor and Kassidy to Charity. Elections were still done for Faith and Treasurer. Catalina got elected to Faith and Sami got elected to Treasurer. We also voted on term awards, assembly beau and assembly dad. The term awards are voted by the girls for the girls so the girls pick who they think best fit. The term awards we have are friendliest girl, best ritualist, …  The assembly beau is a DeMolay or a brother of a girl who goes to a lot of our events, helps us a lot and is supportive. The assembly dad is a dad that is always at our events and meetings, supports us and is always trying to help us. – Emily C

On January 15th, Quantico-Freedom Assembly #6 held their Installation of Officers. Zoey went in as Worthy Advisor. Her theme is love through Rainbow, her motto is “The chance to love and be loved exists no matter where you are ” – Oprah Winfrey, her honor station is love, her colors are pink and red, her symbol is a heart, her flower is a rose and her charity project is GLAAD. The girls from Manassas Assembly that attended were myself and Alyssa.  – Emily C

From January 7th – July 1st Manassas Assembly will be collecting books that will be donated to the Maryland Book Bank. The Maryland Book Bank takes donated books and distributes them all over the East coast to hospitals, homeless shelters, schools, libraries and more. The girls will also be collecting pledges per book collected by July 1st as well as flat donations. All the money will be donated to the charity, The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. There is a table with a flair and box to put books in located in the dining hall. All books must be in good condition.  – Emily C

On February 25th Manassas Assembly will be hosting a No Talent Show starting at 6pm. No one is good at everything so pick something you’re bad at and put on an act! There will be an entrance fee of $5 and an act fee of $5 per act. There is also a $10 fee to leave early. I encourage everyone to be in at least one act. All the money will go to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. – Emily C

On Friday, January 6th the Masons at Manasseh Lodge 182 held their monthly stated meeting. The girls at Manassas Assembly cooked, served and cleaned up dinner before the meeting. While the Masons were in their meeting we got started with the decorating for the installation that was taking place the next day. A lot of girls and adults stayed to help decorate and set everything up and it was a great time.  – Emily C

This term Manassas Assembly will be selling t-shirts. They are $20 and the profits will go towards our charity the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF). The shirts are light blue, long sleeve and crew material. On the front left corner there are 2 arrows that cross and form an X and around it have IORG. On the back there is a picture of cowgirl boots and a cowgirl hat and around that are the words “Saddle up with Manassas Assembly #13”.  – Emily C

On Saturday, January 7th Manassas Assembly had our Installation practice. We practiced walking in, uncrowning ceremony, installation ceremony, ribbon ceremony, introductions, retiring march and we walked through the order of everything so the girls were all comfortable with what was coming next.  – Emily C

   On Saturday, January 7th Manassas Assembly held our installation of officers. I (Emily) went in as Worthy Advisor. The theme is Country, the motto is “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway” – John Wayne, the mascot is a goat, the honor stations are Faith, Hope and Love, the symbols are cowgirl boots, cowgirl hats and old trucks, the colors are rustic blue, barn red, sunny yellow and piggy pink. The charity is the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) and the service project is New Life Christian Church.   – Emily C

   On Saturday, January 28th Richmond Assembly held their Installation of Officers. Taylor went in as Worthy Advisor. Her theme is You are exactly what Rainbow needs, Encanto!, her motto is “the miracle is not some magic, the miracle is you” – Abuelo from Encanto, her mascot is Capybara, her symbols are candles, butterflies and stars. Her colors are yellow, pink and blue, her flower is the Bougainvillea, her honor stations are Fidelity and Chaplin, her song is ”What else can I do” – Encanto, and her scripture is “She is fearfully and wonderfully made” – Psalm 139:14. Her charity is the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI). Her fundraisers are a spaghetti dinner, parents night out, car wash and egg my yard. Her service projects are Stuffie drive for pediatric patients, Purses of Empowerment, and Appreciation Cards for Masons. Her fun events are roller skating, picnic day, painting night and a shopping trip.   – Emily C

On Sunday, January 29th Hampton Assembly held their Installation of Officers. Lois went in as Worthy Advisor. Her theme is Veggie Tales, her mascot is Larry the Cucumber, her colors are cucumber green, tomato red, and carrot orange. Her flower is Orange Day Lillies. Her charity is THRIVE Peninsula which is a charity that provides food, financial services and shoes to families in need.   – Emily C

On January 28th, Manassas Assembly attended an Amaranth installation of officers. The girls that went were me, Eliza, and Kassidy. The first event was the uncrowning of the previous Royal Matron, Mom Ange. The meeting was then opened as an open installation, and all the officers lined up to receive their new stations. The installed Royal Matron was Mom Deborah, and the Royal Patron was Dad Clancy, who unfortunately was not able to attend. The coronation ceremony went very well and after we had refreshments. The dining hall had a Marti Gras theme, with shrimp gumbo and king cake. I did not get the baby out of the cake, but it was delicious nonetheless. I hope to go to many other Masonic body events in the future.  ~Maribel M.

On January 7th, Manassas assembly held its installation of officers. The new Worthy Advisor installed was Emily, and her theme is country. Her mascot is a goat, and her charity is Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. The carrying pieces she had for the officers were flowers in a vase. Her installing officers had light blue dresses, and the Grand Worthy Advisor, Lorkin, and some members form other assemblies came to join. After the installation, we had a country themed dinner with fried chicken and Mac and cheese, and a hoedown dance where rainbow girls and DeMolay boys danced to country music while wearing country clothes. It was a lovely event and I was grateful to help set the installation up the night before.  ~Maribel M.

Manassas Installation held their Installation of Officers on Saturday, January 7. Emily went in as Worthy Advisor. This term we are raising money to support her charity the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation in memory of her Grandmother, a former Rainbow girl who passed away from this disease. After the Installation there was a country dinner and hoedown. I am excited for what she has planned for the next six months!  ~ Sami

Manassas assembly held their annual Christmas party on December 13th . Prince William DeMolay and prospects were welcome. Ella from Ashburn assembly along with her mom Erin joined us as well! As always, we had our white elephant gift exchange and had a blast stealing gifts from each other!  ~ Sami

This term Manassas assembly is collecting books from January 7th through July 1st . The books will be donated to the Maryland Book Bank. The Maryland Book Bank distributes them to hospitals, schools, libraries, shelters, and all over the East Coast of the U.S. If you have any books you don’t read anymore and would like to donate, please bring them to the State Rainbow event or reach out to manassasassembly@gmail.com.  ~ Sami

When Manassas assembly holds an initiation to welcome a new girl, we assign them a big sister! The committee which consists of Past Worthy Advisors decides who it will be. After they run it by the Mother Advisor it is announced at the next meeting. The big sister is to answer any questions their little sister may have, encourage them to come to events and to be someone they can talk to.  ~ Sami

Manassas assembly is selling shirts throughout our term. The shirts are $20 each and come in the colors of blue and pink and are long sleeve. On the front it has two arrows with IORG on the inside. On the back of the shirt, it has a pair of boots and the saying saddle up with Manassas #13 going around the boots. The money will be going towards our charity, Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. ~ Sami

I know each and every one of you have at least something you are not talented at! I want to encourage all of you to sign up to do an act on February 25 th at Manasseh Lodge. It is only $5 to show off your bad talent and $5 to enter the door. If you can’t stand the talent don’t worry you can leave early, it will only cost you $10! All money raised will go towards our charity, the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.  ~ Sami

On Saturday July 2, 2022 Manassas Assembly had a pledge car wash. This was our big fundraiser for the January- July term. All the money we raised went to ACTS. Throughout the whole term girls got pledges and donations for the amount of cars we wash. The day of the event some of the girls got there at 8:30am to set up and put up signs and the rest showed up closer to 9am the the car wash would start. We washed cars from 9am – 3pm and washed a total of 77 cars. We also received donations throughout the whole day. The car wash was very successful. But we also had a lot of fun too.  – Emily C

On July 9th at 2pm, Manassas Assembly #13 held our installation of officers. Maribel was installed as Worthy Advisor. Her theme is Pokémon, her mascot is Evee, her colors are red and yellow and her charity is Masonic Medical Research Institute. I am so excited for all of her wonderful events she has planned and get to be by her side while she does an amazing job as Worthy Advisor.  – Emily C

On July 9th at 12pm Manassas Assembly had an installation practice. We went through the entire installation ceremony in the order it’s supposed to go. It was a great opportunity for the newer girls to learn.  – Emily C

On Sunday July 17th Quantico Assembly had their Installation of Officers. M’Batu went in as Worthy Advisor. Her theme is bookstore in the woods, her colors are green, brown and off white, and her mascot is a frog. It was a beautiful ceremony, all the girls did a wonderful job.  – Emily C

On Saturday July 23rd at 12pm Richmond Assembly #10 had their Installation of Officers. Multiple people were running late because of traffic so the installation started a little later around 12:20pm. Noelle got installed as Worthy Advisor. Her theme is you belong amongst the wildflowers. Her mascot is a bumblebee. Her symbols are flowers, sun and butterflies and her colors are all the colors of the rainbow. I only got information on a few of her events and what she plans on doing during her term but I already know it’s going to be a great one! I’m super excited to go to as many of her events as I can and I’m super proud of Noelle!  – Emily C

On Saturday July 23rd, Mom Erika, my mom, Sam, Zoe and myself all went to Richmond Assembly #10 Installation of Officers. However, the trip there did not go as planned… We knew Sam had to be their half an hour early because she was an installing officer, so we left 3 hours before she had to be there because the drive is usually 2 hours normally for us and we had an extra hour for inconveniences that may happen. We needed that time for those inconveniences. We started off our road-trip at 8:30am, we left the house and were on our way to Richmond in good moods. That only lasted for about an hour. The first hour was nice and smooth and we were all telling stories and laughing and just having a good time. But then we hit the horrible traffic on every road and multiple accidents all around us. we got stuck in many different spots we couldn’t get out of or go around and we were stressing as the ETA kept getting further and further away. Quickly our 2 hour trip turned into a 4 hour mess. We did end up making it to the Installation about 30 minutes late… but we made it never the less.  – Emily C

I got a ride from Mom Vanessa from Richmond Installation to Conclave along with Kassidy and Zoe and let’s just say it was a trip. We left the Installation and drove to an outlet mall in Williamsburg Va. But on the way there we were telling stories and laughing and Mom Vanessa and Zoe were both helping me with rainbow stuff and it was just a great time. When we got to the outlet mall we went to a couple stores and we had a fashion show in almost every single one of those stores. Needless to say there was lots of laughing and having a great time. We also stopped at this kettle corn stand and bought some kettle corn for the ride home. They had all these very interesting flavors like dill pickle which was surprisingly very very good. After that we left and went to this Italian restaurant, i forgot the name of it but it was so good. The portions were so big we all split a chicken alfredo and a chicken parmesan. After we were all full we drove for another 30 minutes or so to the hotel Conclave was being held. I always love getting rides from other adults or carpooling with others because you will always have a great time and make so many memories. Everyone should definitely come on a road trip with the rainbow girls at least once in their life!   – Emily C

On Saturday July 23rd DeMolay had their Conclave dance. It’s just like the dance at Grand Assembly but for DeMolay instead of Rainbow. There were a mixture of DeMolay, Rainbow and Jobies there. It was a great opportunity to see all of my friends from all around the state and we all had a lot of fun.  – Emily C

Why you, your daughter, granddaughter, niece or friend should become a rainbow girl:
The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls is an absolutely amazing organization. Through Rainbow girls get to learn leadership skills, organization, responsibility, service, charity, life skills and much more. They also get to make life lasting friendships. Rainbow has helped me improve my public speaking and my confidence which has helped me come out of my shell and be more social with people. You will always have a friend at Rainbow. The girls there will always make you fell included and make sure you are having a great time at any event.  – Emily C

July 26th was the first meeting of Manassas Assembly’s new term. I am the new Worthy Associate Advisor so my job is to fill in when the Worthy Advisor is not there or needs assistance. The current Worthy Advisor left the day before to go on a 3 weeks trip to Greece so I had to protem as Worthy Advisor. I’m not gonna lie I was so nervous but also super excited. Before the meeting started I had so many people come up to me and talking to me and I was so overwhelmed I almost passed out but thankfully I didn’t. It was super relieving to have my mom and Sami up in the east with me to help me get through it. The meeting went super well, way better then I had expected and by the end of it I was comfortable. I am so thankful for all the support I got from the adults and the girls in my assembly.  – Emily C

On Saturday August 6th at 1pm Ashburn Assembly #11 held their Installation of Officers. Samantha got installed as Worthy Advisor for her 4th time. The theme for the new term is Disney. The motto is “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible” – Walt Disney. The honor stations are Nature, Hope and Charity and the colors are all the colors of the rainbow. I am so excited to see all of what Ashburn does with their term!  – Emily C

On Sunday August 14th Hampton Assembly #2 held their Installation of Officers. Elise went in as Worthy Advisor. Her theme is Gnome Sweet Gnome. Her mascot is Gnomes. Her colors are green, yellow and blue. Her flowers are yellow tulips. Her charity is The National Down Syndrome Society. Elise’s goal was to raise $1,000 towards her charity this term. But she met that before the installation was even over. Now her new goal is $2,000. They are doing a lot of runs/walks this term. I’m so excited to join them!  – Emily C

On Saturday, August 20th VA Rainbow had our first grand event! We went to The Magic Putting Place in Manassas. It cost $20 per player and some people, assembly’s and other Masonic groups sponsored either holes (easy, medium, hard) or structures. Everyone got to play for about 2 hours and then we gathered and announcements were made, prizes were given and pictures were taken. Oh I almost forgot… this term we are doing a travel challenge so at every event a challenge will be given. For mini golf the challenge was to wear at least 1 item of the grand march for this year. Overall it was a lot of fun and I hope there will be other events like this in the future!  – Emily C

On Saturday, August 20th Manassas Assembly Rainbow and Prince William DeMolay hosted and game night at Manasseh Lodge. There were board games, video games and virtual reality games. Dad Joe rented a VR trailer and we got to play some awesome games. There was also pizza and crumble cookies. It was really nice to have a joint event with DeMolay because we don’t do them that often and it’s a great way to get to meet new people and see some people we don’t get to see as often. The night was really fun and I hope to do it again!  – Emily C

On Saturday, August 28th at 2pm Norfolk Assembly # 15 held their Installation of Officers. Sarah went in as Worthy Advisor. The Ceremony was beautiful. Her theme is the Sandlot. Her motto is confront your fears. Her symbols are baseballs, baseball bats and gloves. Her colors are royal blue, sky blue and orange. Her mascot is a flying squirrel. Her service project is Pennies for PAWS and her charity project is the ZIMS foundation.  – Emily C

Grand Assembly Registration

Posted in Blog on March 17th, 2023 by Christi Reed

Good evening everyone!
The time has come for registering for Grand Assembly!  Attached please find the registration form (a google form is forthcoming).  I have also included the TENTATIVE schedule – there may be changes to the practice schedule.  (A firm schedule will be sent out by Nancy Bushrod closer to Grand Assembly time.)  One form should be filled out per person.  Please ensure that you have registrations to me ASAP, no later than May 1, 2023.  This is a HARD deadline that we must adhere to with the hotel.  

A couple of things to remember when submitting your registrations:

1.  Each person should have a registration form.

2.  Payments should be sent with the registration form.  Assemblies should send an assembly check when registering.

3.  Assemblies can be charged if any additional fees are placed on a group’s hotel room.

4.  Per the hotel contract, there shall be NO MORE than 4 people to a room.  

If you submit your registration through the Google Form, I will send a report of what was submitted.

Please do not hesitate to let me know what questions you have!  I cannot wait to get those registrations!

In Rainbow Love and Service,

Christi Reed

Coordinator of Grand Assembly Registration

Shopping

Posted in Blog on February 27th, 2023 by Christi Reed

On our Rainbow trips, whenever we have a break we like to go shopping. On our shopping trips we go to Ross, Five Below, and others! It is always so fun and we have a great time.  If you haven’t been there yet, I recommend the Goodwill outlet in Hampton.  They sell items by the pound!

In Rainbow Love,

Ella – Ashburn Assembly

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Breakfast

Posted in Blog on February 27th, 2023 by Christi Reed

At Ashburn-Sterling Lodge, we had a breakfast. We served many, many people. We served pancakes, eggs, and many more breakfast options. At the breakfast we also had a bake sale. I made cupcakes. Our Worshipful Master has invited all the lodge members to make it our Lodge Family breakfast and not just a Rainbow one.  His support on that has been helpful to encourage more people to come.

In Rainbow Love,

Ella – Ashburn Assembly

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