THE OASIS NEWS MONTHLY NEWSLETTER Issue 3

The

Oasis

News

A JOINT PUBLICATION OF ALLA BABA TEMPLE NO. 53 AND ALLA BABA COURT NO. 75 IN THIS ISSUE

“When he had received the drink, Jesus said,

It is finished. With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

John 19:30 Nobles and Daughters, At Calvary, Jesus declared “It is finished.” This was not a cry of defeat, but one of victory. When Jesus uttered those words, He was declaring the debt owed to His Father was wiped away completely and forever. Not that Jesus wiped away any debt that He owed to the Father; rather, Jesus eliminated the debt owed by mankind—the debt of sin. During this season of Lent and Easter we are reminded that the word “finished’ used here means “to do something perfectly.” Completion, fulfillment, accomplished. What should we learn for our lives from these last words?

1. To Live our Lives with Purpose

Unless Jesus had a purpose or a mission to complete, the words “it is finished” would have no meaning. He wasn’t speaking of his earthly life; rather he is speaking of that which his Father had instructed him to do.

Our lives may not seem so clear and purpose driven as that of Christ, but all of us have certain spiritual gifts and abilities that we should be using to maximize our time here on earth.

2. We Are to Live Lives of Focus

Living a life of focus requires us to focus on our priorities. This requires discipline. It means saying “no” to some choices so that we can say “yes” to opportunities that are even better.

And God wants you and me to have the same feelings about ourselves. No matter how imperfect, no matter how sinful, no matter how many shortcomings we have, Jesus died to accomplish forgiveness for us. Knowing that, God wants us to feel the same way about our lives as our lives are ended: “Well done, good and faithful servant. It is finished. God’s will has been accomplished through your life. You have fought the good fight, you have finished the race, you have kept the faith. Henceforth, shall a crown of glory be laid up for you in heaven.”

Amen.

Joy

Alla Baba Potentate Breakfast Illustrious Potentate Rookard and the Nobles of

Alla Baba Temple had a successful Potentate Breakfast in February.

Page 2

Deputy for the Desert Visitation Deputy Leatrice Sellers will make her annual visit

to Alla Baba Court on Sunday, April 19, 2015. Please plan to attend!

Page 3

Fish and Chicken Fundraiser Alla Baba Court will hold their Annual fundraising

event, with a little Caribbean flair!

Page 5

National Diabetes Initiative Our Committee is working feverishly to produce events that will not only engage the community,

but help us to raise funds for NDI. Page 7

It is Finished!

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Thank you to the Daughters that

accompanied me to Cleveland last

weekend for the Annual Ohio Desert

Conference. Over eighty women from

across the Desert participated in

workshops and a luncheon hosted by the

Deputy for the Desert and Al Lalim

Court of Elyria. A number of Alla Baba Daughters worked on committees at the workshop, and information was given about the new Desert of Ohio Directory of all Daughters in the state! Please contact Deputy Reese if you are interested in purchasing a copy for the cost of $15.00.

CONGRATULATIONS DAUGHTER!!!

Congratulations to Dt. Carmalina Simpson on completing the First Annual Women Veterans 5k Run in under an hour! Way to go!

Calendar of Events

Alla Baba Temple Annual Potentate Breakfast

Ohio Desert Conference – March 28, 2015

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FUTURE PLANNING

March of Dimes March for Babies Alla Baba Court will join dozens of other community organizations as we volunteer for the Central Ohio March of Dimes Annual March for Babies on Sunday, April 26, 2015

Ohio Gala Days, June 5-7, 2015 El Hasa Temple and Court will host the Annual Gala Days in Independence, Ohio at the Doubletree Hotel. The telephone number is (216) 447-1300.

Imperial Session, August 14-21

Have you made your plans for Imperial Session yet? Well what are you waiting for? The Oasis of Cincinnati has planned a week full of activities for our enjoyment and knowledge building.

IDEAS FOR FUTURE EDITIONS?

If you are interested in submitting articles for future editions, please contact Dt. Jackson at:

614-678-6760

Bible Donation to Genesis of Good Samaritan Ministries

February 28, 2015

As part of the Black History Month Celebration Luncheon held by Good Samaritan Ministries, Alla Baba Court donated forty bibles to the church for gifts for their participants. More than thirty senior citizens attended this luncheon, which paired seniors with grade school children to share the significance of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy. We hope to partner again with this church for another worthwhile project in the near future.

Deputy for the Desert Annual Visitation

April 19, 2015

Dt. Leatrice Sellers, a Past Commandress of Al Kaf Court No.

144 and our Deputy for the Desert of Ohio, will make her

Official Visit to Alla Baba Court on Sunday, April 19th

. 2015.

Information about our repast will be forthcoming. Deputy

Sellers plans to arrive at 3:00 p.m. to meet with the fiscal

officers, followed by our usual Court meeting at 4:00 p.m.

Please plan to join us as we welcome Dt. Sellers to our Court

and to our city. Imperial Officers, past and present, are

especially encouraged to attend.

Charlie P. Albury Golden Years Mentoring Department

As part of our focus on Senior Daughters, this department will collect items to be distributed to a nursing home in Cincinnati, Ohio. Items for collection include white crew or v neck tee shirts sizes L, XL, 2XL; white socks or footies sizes 9-13; razors and deodorant for males and females. Please contact our Chairperson, Dt. Laverna Elder, HPC, with questions and donations for this worthy cause.

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Nobles and daughters I bring you greetings once again from the office of the Illustrious Potentate of Alla Baba Temple. We have had a very busy month with Gala Days planning session in Cleveland, the Sinai Potentates Ball, Mecca’s Ball, Al Lalim breakfast and preparing for the Alla Baba Temple breakfast. As you can see from the pictures of the breakfast it was very successful and a great time was had by all. Again the daughters were there in force supporting this event. We are continuing to look for ways to work together to make our Oasis the best in the domain. I want to give a special thanks to Noble Kenneth Smith, Noble Gene Smith, Noble Thomas Stevens, and HPP Darrin Lurry for their extraordinary efforts in making the breakfast a huge success. We are heading to Detroit for the breakfast in April and look forward to all who can travel with us. The Midwest Shrine Coalition meeting was held in Omaha Neb. And I will have a report on the outcome of that in the next issue. Take care.

Happy Birthday to Me! Thank you to all of the Daughters, and our Advisor, that came out to share my birthday with me. It was a big surprise to see cake and tea sandwiches as part of a celebration in my honor. It completely unexpected and very appreciated. Your thoughtfulness is never ending!

From the Office of the Illustrious Potentate

From the Office of the Illustrious Commandress

The Illustrious Potentate presenting the class gift to Noble Carlos Friday at

Mecca Temples Ball March 14, 2015. (left)

The 2015 Class of Illustrious Potentates from the Midwest. (right)

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Menu Each dinner includes:

Entrée (select one)

Fried Fish

Fried Chicken

Jerk Chicken

Choice of two side dishes:

Baked Beans

Green Beans

Potato Salad

Cole Slaw

Red Beans & Rice

Cabbage

Wheat or White Bread and choice of canned soda

Ala Cart: Fish Sandwich on White or Wheat Bread

COST: $10.00 Dinner

$7:00 Fish Sandwich Fried Fish & Chicken & Jerk Chicken Dinners with 2 sides w/ Drink

Join us for

Alla Baba Court #75 ANNUAL

FISH & CHICKEN FUNDRAISER

&

BAKE SALE

Saturday, April 25, 2015

11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

988 E. Long Street

For tickets email :

Heather Jordan - hmearley1@yahoo.com or

Cynthia Ali - Cynthia.ali84@gmail.com

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March 27 Midwest Shrine Coalition; Omaha, Nebraska

March 28 Daughters Desert Conference; Cleveland, Ohio

Inaugural Women Veterans 5k Run

Samaritan Lodge March Madness Wings and Things Dinner Sale

Ohio Grand Girls Assembly-Hattie B. Alexander Day

April 4

Grace Chapter Annual Prayer Breakfast

April 11 Marraci Temple Potentate Breakfast Detroit, Michigan

Amaranth Grand Chapter OES Workshop

April 12 Rollin F. Kelley Sr. HOJ Palm Sunday Service El Hasa Court Egyptian Tea, Cleveland, Ohio

April 18 Amaranth Grand Chapter District #5 Meeting, Dayton, Ohio Utopia Chapter, OES Annual Banquet

April 16-19 Imperial Potentate Testimonial, Norfolk, Virginia

Amer Court Mardi Gras Dayton, Ohio April 24-30 York Rite Week Doubletree Hotel, Worthington

April 25 Alla Baba Court Annual Fish and Chicken Fundraiser

April 26 March of Dimes March for Babies

The NAACP Needs You!

Voter Registration

Drive

Calendar of Events

Have you renewed your membership to the NAACP? The Nations oldest Civil Rights

Organization needs you to make a commitment and join in the struggle against

injustice.

Alla Baba Court will host a Voters Registration Drive in conjunction with our Annual Fish and Chicken Dinner Sale on April 25, 2015. Make

sure you are registered before the May 5 election for our next Mayor of Columbus.

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In honor of National Kidney Month, make these three actions part of your regular routine, right along with

brushing your teeth. A few small lifestyle changes can make a big impact on your kidney health.

1. Increase physical activity This can be accomplished simply by walking more and taking the stairs, especially at a brisk pace to make it more aerobic. Recent studies have found that people who sit for too long and do not engage in regular physical activity are more likely to develop kidney disease.

2. Try to treat minor pain symptoms without medication Common pain medications such as ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs) can be damaging to the kidneys if used on a regular basis. Try topical approaches to pain relief such as heating pads and ice.

3. Read food and medication labels High sodium intake can lead to increases in blood pressure, so be aware of the sodium content in your food, especially in packaged foods such as chips, processed cheese, luncheon meats, frozen meals and canned foods. Depending on what your healthcare provider recommends, your intake of sodium should most likely be between 1500 to 2000 milligrams (mg) per day.

Alla Baba Court has several exciting projects coming up to help bring awareness to diabetes as well as to raise funds for our mandatory donation to the AEAONMS Diabetes Initiative. Recently, several members of the Court met with the Central Ohio Diabetes Association to inquire how we can help their organization. The Committee is planning on doing a food demonstration with healthy ways to prepare our favorite meals, several dinner sales to help raise funds for our Court donation, and finally participating in the Annual Diabetes Dash in December.

Another aspect of the Committees work includes Diabetes Awareness, since the disease disproportionately affects African Americans. Good diabetes management helps to reduce our risks, however many people are not aware that they have diabetes until they develop one of the complications. Please be sure to take the assessment on the next page to measure your risks and to seek assistance if necessary.

National Diabetes Initiative American Diabetes Alert Day – March 24, 2015

March 2015 is National Kidney Month!

Members of Alla Baba Court meet with Charles Farmer, Public Relations Director of the Central Ohio Diabetes Association, to see how we can help serve their organization and bring awareness to the community about diabetes.

NDI Committee Chairperson Dt. Deniesha Newby, PC

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THE OASIS NEWS MONTHLY NEWSLETTER Issue 3