The History of the Amran Temple
In 2016, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of Amran Temple, or to be politically correct, Amran Shrine Center. But how did Amran come into being and what is our history. The idea was born in 1968 when a group of nobles from both Oasis and Sudan met in a Cary Masonic Lodge to discuss the idea of forming a New Temple. From this effort and numerous subsequent meetings a resolution was adopted to pursue the formation of a new Temple. But the proposed new Temple needed to have a name so this group set about to find a name for this proposed new Temple. The criteria was that the name should be short, look good on a Fez and be easy to pronounce. After much research, consultation and thought two top choices were selected: "AMRAN" and "RIZEK" with Amran being the clear choice by those nobles involved. Amran, by the way, is the name of a small Seaport town on the Red Sea in Yeman.
Now we all know that the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray and such was the case of this initial forray into the establishment of a new Temple. By late 1969, it became obvious that there was strong opposition to this effort. Dissention was rampant among the Nobility even to the extent that friendships and brotherly love were being threatened. As such a decision was made to halt this effort until a more favorable time.
Time marches on... and in 1973 there was again an effort to establish a new Temple. A committee was oranized... I am sure there were some good Methodist nobles in that group because the "Committee to form Amran Temple" came into being. This committee threw themselves into this renewed effort with great zeal realizing that this committee would need much help, cooperation and hard work from a great many Nobles if this effort was to be successful. It all began to come together and by mid 1974, this committee and other interested Nobles were meeting each Wednesday at the Ramada Inn at Crabtree Valley in Raleigh.
Read list of Committee Members
Attendance at these meetings continued to grow with Nobles from areas North, South, East and West of Raleigh. Momentum behind this effort swelled with all the activity required to generate and file an application to the Imperial Council to establish and operate the proposed Amran Temple in North Carolina. This become a reality on March 27, 1975 with the official application accompanied with the signatures of 1122 Nobles being filed with the Imperial Council in Chicago, Illinois. On March 31, 1975, the committee met at the Ramada Inn in Durham, NC with the Divans of Oasis and Sudan togehter with other interested parties from these Temples. The purpose of this meeting was to secure the concurrence of the leaders of both Temples that they would not officially offer opposition to the Amran petition. Both Potentates agreed to support the application at the Imperial session.
At the 1975 Impreial council session in Toronto, Canada, the Amran Petition was presented on the Imperial floor as an official item of business receiving a favorable report from all committees. As such, Ill. Sir W. R. "BILL" Redding, Potentate of Sudan Temple moved that the petition be granted and Ill. Sir Walter A. "Stickey" Burch seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. Amran Temple in Raleigh, N. C. was official. One year later on July 8, 1976, at the Imperial session, the Imperial Council granted Amran Temple its permanent charter to become 178th Temple in the Imperial Shrine of North America. And the rest they say is History... and a grand and glorious history it is!
List of things
- Temple Building,
- Participation SASA,
- Shrine Clubs,
- Units,
- Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas,
- The Shrine Circus,
- Transportation Fund,
- Etc.
These past 40 years, for the most part, have been good for Amran. To state that everything has gone smoothly and always according to plan would be presenting a falsehood, but the leadership and the Nobility of Amran has stepped up to meet and conquer each and every challenge. Though small in numbers when compared to our sister Temples in the Carolinas; Amran has made its mark among the Temples in the Carolinas and the Southeast. Amran is involved and well represented in the every aspect of this great fraternity. Amran has made great strides and accomplished much in our short history; yet, the greatest accomplishment has been our strong and enduring support of Shriners Hospital For Children.
Our Nobility and their Ladies work tirelessly to promote, fund and support these Temples of mercy and this is an effort and purpose that every Noble and Lady can be justly proud... so happy 40th birthday and may we have 40 more!