i can't say enough positive things about the tremendous works of those affiliated with shriner's hospitals-my dd just had surgery at one last month
i'm surprised that rainbow girls are able to ask friends to become members, my understanding of the masonic orders (from a former neighbor who was apparantly of some high level) was that the organizations strictly prohibit soliciting members-that membership application can only be attained when a person of their own free choice requests consideration for membership at which time the member they request it from can then provide information and appplication (and if i remember right you have to be reccommended by a member in good standing to even be considered for membership).
i recall as a young teen i was told that i could'nt even be considered for membership because i was catholic (this would have been in the 70's), something to do with the issue of the confessional practices conflicting with the vows of secrecy in masonic groups
-and my neighbor who is active to this day cannot be a member of the lutherun church missouri synod because of it's prohibition of masonic membership among church members.
just as an interesting (in my mind) aside-i read an interesting book by a former member of the mormon church which detailed some of the 'secret ceremonies' that take place within the mormom temples-including the sealing of a marriage-and she states that some of them are directly taken from old masonic practices that joseph smith learned during his membership.

i'm surprised that rainbow girls are able to ask friends to become members, my understanding of the masonic orders (from a former neighbor who was apparantly of some high level) was that the organizations strictly prohibit soliciting members-that membership application can only be attained when a person of their own free choice requests consideration for membership at which time the member they request it from can then provide information and appplication (and if i remember right you have to be reccommended by a member in good standing to even be considered for membership).
i recall as a young teen i was told that i could'nt even be considered for membership because i was catholic (this would have been in the 70's), something to do with the issue of the confessional practices conflicting with the vows of secrecy in masonic groups

just as an interesting (in my mind) aside-i read an interesting book by a former member of the mormon church which detailed some of the 'secret ceremonies' that take place within the mormom temples-including the sealing of a marriage-and she states that some of them are directly taken from old masonic practices that joseph smith learned during his membership.