Rainbow Girls parents... questions for you.

[mjkacmom]

Oh yes..I remember all of that stuff when I was in this years ago (early 70s I think). There was a secret password (I still remember it), lots of memorization and scripted parts to the meetings, one officer was the outer observer that was outside the entrance in case someone came, we wore long white dresses. It is all coming back now. It was very secretive, but nothing that was bad or wrong ever happened. It was kid of weird and I have no clue today why it had to be such a secret about everything. It was a lot about community service.I still have a pin with all the colors of the rainbow, but I can remember how I earned it.

I forgot the password! But yes, it's all coming back! It really did help with learning with memorization, and public speaking. I think I actually blocked it out for a while, but nothing negative about it. I remember the conventions at Princeton, and then and Wildwood (really preferred Wildwood!).

 

[lvanleer]

evidently in the Masons organization there are at least two groups for girls....there are still Job's Daughters and Rainbow Girls organizations out there with different missions and levels....Eastern Star is the womens' branch once you age out of I believe both girl organizations.

 

[KarenB]

organization is. I did not really enjoy it because it was mostly meetings once a month and IHMO it was like going to church an extra day per month. I think it just depended on the section to which you belonged.

I don't remember ever having "fun". I remember a lot of nervousness memorizing my "part."

 

[mrs_hower726]

One of the questions I would ask is required attire. When I was in Rainbow Girls (many moons ago), we had to wear formal attire quite often. As an officer each year, I had to buy a matching formal dress that was worn when new girls were initiated (each annual President picked the colors she wanted). Additionally, we went to state functions where we had to have matching formals, which of course were not the same as the matching ones we wore for initiations. During my 4 years in Rainbow Girls, my parents had to purchase, or pay to have made, approximately 20 formal dresses.

Wow, I guess it must've been a CA thing since we never had to do that in PA. We just had to make sure we wore an all-white gown.


OP: I was a member for about 2 years, the meetings are once or twice a month and they do have community service projects and fundraisers. In our chapter it was required that the worthy advisor have at least one of each during her term. It all is very secretive but not bad. Your daughter has to be referred by a Mason or Eastern star. There is also a summer convention.

There is a little green book called the rital book. Whichever station your DD holds, there will be memorization involved and it does help the public speaking skills. It does have a lot of religion in it.

I had a much better experience with this compared to Girl Scouts. Not saying Girl Scouts are bad, but I didn't enjoy it.

 

[mamacatnv]

I had friends actively involved when we were in HS - the girls were Rainbows and the boys DeMolay - it is my understanding that Job's daughters required some sort of mason/shriner connection and Rainbows were for the general public to join.

I remember going to lots of functions, dances etc. it was a huge social netwok that had lots of secret rules. Formal attire was a regular occurence althought I know the families I knew were not buying 5 dresses a year.

There was a lot of trading and borrowing going on as I remember and I don't remember things being color specific but this was 25 years ago and my memory is not always my greatest asset

 

[taximomfor4]

I was in this as a girl. I'm all grown up now, with 4 kids of my own, and still have NO IDEA what I was supposed to get out of Rainbow. Once my best friend ( 18 months younger than me) was old enough to join, it was better. We did some fun field trips, etc with our group, but mostly we played hookie from the meetings which were soooooo boring and seemed to make so little sense. We'd be all dressed in our fancy dresses, and the parents would drop us off. We'd go into the bldg, and sneak to an upstairs area. We'd just sit and hang out, and talk.

To me, it seemed like a wholesome, harmless group for girls. No more, no less.

BTW, you had to have a parent who was a mason or eastern star, to join. Or else there was some way to be recommended by 2 rainbow girls (I think), and an interview and vote. It wasn't just for the general public.

 

[taximomfor4]

one officer was the outer observer that was outside the entrance in case someone came, we wore long white dresses. I

Haha, that was my favorite office. Because then I didn't have to be in the boring meeting!!!!!

 

[ROIE01581]

Rainbow is the girls youth division of the Masons. It is not religious, but you must believe in a God Creator. Any religion is welcome. The secrets are that you will not tell on anyone is the group.

It follows the masonic rules with rituals. If you remember most of the early colonist where masons. They beleived that all men were equal and as members they were brothers.

I am not sure how you can let your daughter join a group you have not idea about. Most of the girls will have fathers who are Masons and mothers who are in the womens group.

If you are catholic its a lot like the CYO. The kids do things to build self respect and leadership and charity to the community. It was the Mason's who helped the Catholics set up the Knights of Columbus.

 

[tnkr_bell]

Ours was called "Job's Daughters".

I was in that organization and it was tied to the Masons. We did the white outfit with the slippers.

It is somewhat religious and they are doing the works of Job in the bible. And yes we had alot of dances.

OK, I have to ask which Bethel you were in. I was in Job's Daughters too in the St. Louis area, Bethel #44.

I have actually been in Rainbow and Job's Daughters, but mostly Job's. While the meetings are supposed to be secretive, there were always plenty of adults around. It may seem a little strange at first, but then I guess you just kind of get used to it. For me it was a great way to meet other girls my age and it taught a lot of responsibilty, public speaking, and leadership. While we did have to buy formal dresses, I wouldn't say we bought more than one a year and I usually wore them for school dances also.

 

[piglet too]

I too was a Rainbow Girl. Questions I would ask are,

How often are the meetings?
What will she have to wear at the "regular" meetings?
How often are there special meetings and what will she have to wear then?
Any activities that are required outside of the meetings?
Will there be transportation provided to special events?

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

So my DD is joining Rainbow Girls. She already filled out her "Petition" or whatever it was called. She has been attending RG events with a friend since last fall (Halloween party, sleep-over, etc) and it looks like it is time for her "induction" or "initiation" or whatever the proper word is. Adults who are involved with this keep asking me if I have any questions. The problem is.... I don't! Because I have almost NO idea exactly what is involved in this organization! What are the expectations for the girls? Weekly meeting?? Monthly meetings? Community service projects? Fundraisers? Like I said... I don't even have any really intelligent questions to ask!

Could you share with me your experiences with this?? Maybe I could come up with some intelligent questions based on what you have been through. Did your daughter love it? It is REALLY time consuming? What is expected from the parents? Is this group as "wholesome" as I have come to believe?

Thanks in advance......................P

I was a Rainbow Girl when I was younger and then half the assemblies in my state (mine included) split off to make the International Service Organization for Young Women. This was due to some really nasty things done to our state by the Supreme Organization (the worldwide governing body). I doubt the same people are in charge anymore.

Okay, the rundown:

-Most assemblies meet 2x a month. You are supposed to be at every meeting. The assembly will tell you what are considered excused and unexcused absences. For initiation and installation (installation is every 6 months when the officers change) girls must wear formals. The other meetings you can skirts or dresses.

-Every meeting has a ritual. The opening and closing must be memorized. Typically new members will fill in for empty offices if the assembly is not large. The parts are easy and are based on Biblical verses.

-Yes, you will do lots of service. Every Worthy Advisor (president) chooses a service project for her term. Mine was the pediatrics ward where I volunteered. Others have been domestic violence shelters, nursing homes, etc. We also did service beyond our official service projects doing things like making door decs for nursing homes. The Grand Worthy Advisor (the girl who is in charge on the state level) will also have a service project that she will try to get the assemblies involved in. There may be one or two big events a year with this.

-In terms of time consumption: it is what you make of it. Although by the time I was Worthy Advisor of my assembly we had split, all the leaders from Rainbows came to our organization in my state. So ISOYW remained very similar to Rainbows, mostly just different leadership and different words in the ritual (but same meaning). I ended up being a Worthy Advisor of my assembly, and a Grand (state) officer for many years. Some girls just showed up for the meetings and one or two service projects a term. It depends on the assembly and the girl herself.

-Is it wholesome? I thought so when I joined. Let me detail to you what happened in Missouri:

-In 1998 we were supposed to host the Supreme Assembly (gathering of Rainbow Girls around the world). At that time there was some major scandal on the Supreme Board, I don't even know what it was. Now, the officers on the local and state levels must be girls under 21. The same is not true of Supreme. At least when I was in it they were very old people, some of them men, many of whom had never been in Rainbows. After the shake up, they completely backed out of several contracts and then got mad at us when we could no longer afford to host it. They retialatec by taking our Supreme Deputy (an adult who was our representative to the Supreme Board) out of office. During this time, Grand Officers (who were girls under 21) were receiving nasty e-mails from Supreme about how it was a business organization first and a girls' organization second. This is what caused us to secede from them. From what I understand, those assemblies in our state who did not secede had some very nasty drama since literally all of the adult and girl leaders were in our state were in assemblies that had seceded. It was not pretty.

Of course, this was 10 years ago. The same people are not in power so I cannot tell you how it is now. I do not begrudge Rainbows. It was one of the best things I did. First with Rainbows and then ISOYW I learned great public speaking skills that have been a tremendence help to me in my adult life. I learned about compassion and service. It was and is a wonderful organization. They have very high standards for their girls, but they do wonderful things. Hopefully the political stuff that I encountered when I was in it has settled down.

I think your daughter is making an excellent choice and hope that she will love it as much as I did. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I hadd a friend in High School who was a Rainbow Girl. They were connected to the Masons Organization at one point (that's probably where the "Is RG a Secret Society?" question in the FAQs came from).
I don't know if this is true any more, but when I was in High School, a RG had to have a father who was a member of a Masonic Lodge.

That is Job's Daughters. Job's Daughter's must have Masons in the family. Rainbow's was founded to allow girls who do not have Masons in the family to join. You can either have a member of the Masons, Eastern Star, Or Order of the Amaranth in your family, or be recommended by a girl in the organization.

I was a rainbow girls ages ago - my father's family is very into the Masons (my grandmother and aunts were Eastern Star). We had to wear long white gowns, and besides induction (when the officers are sworn in), it's private (but nothing bad goes on - lots of ritual). You are assigned "stations," and have to memorize your "parts." I guess it sounds kind of weird (and if you saw the rituals, it might seem weird), but I grew up with it.

She will be blindfolded!

I don't recall being blindfolded, but maybe that is bad memory on my part. I only had to have a white dress for initiation and installation because I was a line officer. Our assembly did not require it of all the girls. Most chose formals in the color of their bow office.

Ours was called "Job's Daughters".

I was in that organization and it was tied to the Masons. We did the white outfit with the slippers.

It is somewhat religious and they are doing the works of Job in the bible. And yes we had alot of dances.

Job's Daughters is a completely separate organization from Rainbows.

evidently in the Masons organization there are at least two groups for girls....there are still Job's Daughters and Rainbow Girls organizations out there with different missions and levels....Eastern Star is the womens' branch once you age out of I believe both girl organizations.

There is also the Order of the Amaranth. Think of Eastern Star as Job's Daughters for women: you have to have a Mason in the Family. Masonic affiliation is not required for Order of the Amaranth. I think they do require that you have been a Rainbow Girl, but can't remember for sure.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

That is Job's Daughters. Job's Daughter's must have Masons in the family. Rainbow's was founded to allow girls who do not have Masons in the family to join. You can either have a member of the Masons, Eastern Star, Or Order of the Amaranth in your family, or be recommended by a girl in the organization.

I was in Job's Daughters here in St. Louis. Granted this was back in the late 70's, but I had no Mason's in my family.

I got in because my best friend was in it.

 

[PatsMom]

The assembly I was a member of did not do formals for meetings. You also did not have to buy a white dress - you could opt to wear a robe (kind of like a choir robe) for regular meetings.

The formals weren't a big deal. My mother got mine at thrift shops. Or you got them from girls who were moving on to their majority (turning 21). It was kind of like a revolving closet - who wants my dresses? I passed mine on when I graduated high school and left the area.

We did service projects and other (more fun) group activities. All in all, it was a positive experience for me and I am still in touch with several girls I was in Rainbow with. My niece is presently Worthy Advisor of her assembly in CT and my sister is the Mother Advisor. They both have had positive experiences as well.

 

[MelessaG]

I was a Rainbow Girl all through high school and a state officer in college. I never had to buy a white dress (that varies from state to state, I am in OK) and I became an expert at finding formals on clearance racks. I was a shy kid until I joined Rainbow, then I really excelled. When I was initiated, it was secret and because my parents weren't connected to the Masonic lodge, they couldn't come. By the time my younger sister joined, they could. (It's still a secret ceremony, but parents can be there-at least in Oklahoma.) Meetings were twice a month, there were weekend dances, we did a lot of service projects, most of our fundraising came through working concessions at OU football games and we made plenty of $$ doing that so we rarely had to pay out of pocket for the annual convention. (I do remember some bake sales and fundraiser dances, though.)

All in all, I loved being a part of it. I met three of my closest friends there and more than 20 years later we are still that close (granted, our "fun" times now are spent on cruises rather than Rainbow conventions). Yes, some of the ceremonial things seem a little silly and outdated (and did back in the '80's too), but they were the best years of my life.

 

[bookgirl]

I was in Job's Daughters, until I found out that I could not invite one of my friends. She was black. I was told they have thier own organizations. Kinda rubbed me the wrong way, plus they were always talking Christian values, but I saw very little action.


I quit not to long after that. It is very secretive, as is the Masons. It has ritualistic stuff, mostly harmless, based on christianity. Seems to be it was mostly just a group of good ole boys (masons) and groups for thier boys (Demolay) girls (Job's) and wives (Eastern Stars).


I'd make sure that the racist thing was the exception not the rule, but other than that, I'd see if she enjoys it before I invested much money into it.

 

[PatsMom]

I was in Job's Daughters, until I found out that I could not invite one of my friends. She was black. I was told they have thier own organizations. Kinda rubbed me the wrong way, plus they were always talking Christian values, but I saw very little action.


I quit not to long after that. It is very secretive, as is the Masons. It has ritualistic stuff, mostly harmless, based on christianity. Seems to be it was mostly just a group of good ole boys (masons) and groups for thier boys (Demolay) girls (Job's) and wives (Eastern Stars).


I'd make sure that the racist thing was the exception not the rule, but other than that, I'd see if she enjoys it before I invested much money into it.

I don't know about Job's Daughters, but my niece's Rainbow Girl Assembly definitely has black members. We didn't have any black members in my assembly but that was over 30 years ago and I suspect it had as much to do with the fact that my small NH town didn't have many (if any) black families living there as it might have to do with racism. I can't recall any racist opnions being voiced at my assembly.

 

[joyjoy]

I wasn't in Rainbow, but I had lots of friends and family members in it. My grandparents were deeply involved in Masons and OES. My grandmother was Worthy Matron of Texas for several years and my granddad was Past Master Mason. I lived in Scottish Rite Dormitory at the University of Texas that required a Masonic afilliation and that place was crawling with Rainbow Girls and all their dresses. They all seemed to love it. I don't think your daughter should get involved in an organization that doesn't mean anything to your family, but thats jmho.

 

[Darcy03231]

I was in Rainbow. As I recall the meetings were twice month and we wore long white dresses. When new officers were installed (I think it was twice a year) then we wore colored formal dresses. I remember a lot of dresses getting passed around.

We did a lot of community service projects. I also remember going to a big state meeting every year.

 

[Master Mason]

There is also the Order of the Amaranth. Think of Eastern Star as Job's Daughters for women: you have to have a Mason in the Family. Masonic affiliation is not required for Order of the Amaranth. I think they do require that you have been a Rainbow Girl, but can't remember for sure.

They have also changed the rules and now allow Majority Members of Rainbow to join the OES without the usual Masonic Connection.