DeMolay Merit Bars

Merit Bars primarily are awards that recognize DeMolay’s for achievement in some phase of the Chapter activity.  Religion and scholastics are the 2 exceptions.

Merit Bars are awarded to individual members on the recommendation of the Awards Advisor.  The Advisory Council makes the final decision about whether an individual has met the requirements for each year.

Each Merit Bar is produced in five colors.  Each color designates the number of times a DeMolay has received a bar in that category.  The color designations are:
 

  1st award ~ White

  2nd award ~ Red

  3rd award ~ Blue

  4th award ~ Purple

  5th award ~ Gold

Each time a DeMolay achieves the next award in a category, he turns in his present bar and receives the next higher award (the next color).  As a result, at no time would he display more than 18 bars.

Here are the basic requirements for earning each of the Merit Bars:
 

Athletic ~ For participating in a Chapters athletic program a full year, with a minimum of six game competition in one or more sports.

Attendance ~ For perfect attendance at regular meetings for one year in a members Chapter or, if away from home, for the same number of meetings at another Chapter.  Make-up meetings counted toward the Attendance Bar may not be used to fulfill the requirements for the Visitation Bar.

Civic Service ~ For 10 hours of service on behalf of the Chapter, without financial remuneration to the individual or the Chapter, in three different civic service projects.

Conclave ~ For attending three state, jurisdiction or provincial conclaves as a participant or visitor.

Fine Art ~ For membership in a DeMolay musical group, with a minimum of six performances, or for participating in a minimum of two Chapter theatrical performances.

 Fund-Raising ~ For working on at least three different fund-raising projects for the Chapter, for a total of 20 hours, without direct financial remuneration to himself.

Installing ~ For participating in six Chapter installation ceremonies as a member of the installing team.

Journalism ~ For serving as a Chapter newspaper staff member for one year, during which a minimum of six issues were published and forwarded to the Service and Leadership Center.

Correspondence Course ~ for successful completion of each lesson of the five part Leadership Correspondence Course.  This bar is automatically sent to the individual member on completion of the course.

Masonic Attendance ~ For bringing 10 different Master Masons in good standing to a DeMolay Chapter meeting.  The awarded member must list each Mason and have the list confirmed by both the Master Counselor and the Chapter Advisor.  In order for the visits to count toward the award, which is limited to one bar per year, the visiting Masons may not be an Advisor of any Chapter.

Masonic Service ~ For participating in three different Chapter Masonic service projects, for a minimum of 10 hours without payment to either the individual or Chapter.

 Membership ~ For being the first-line signer on three membership applications of individuals who subsequently are initiated in the Chapter.

Merit ~ For contributing 20 hours of service to DeMolay in an area not covered by another bar without payment to the individual or the Chapter.

Religion ~ For not missing a regular weekly religious service for one full year.

Scholastic ~ For maintaining a “B” grade average (or equivalent) for one full year of school.

Visitation ~ For six visitations at regular Chapter meetings of Chapters other than ones own, or for a total traveled distance of 150 miles one way.

Ritual ~ For sustained and UNUSUALLY HIGH QUALITY WORK in the performance of DeMolay Ritual parts with a minimum of 125 points earned according to the ISC point scale.  Points usually are based on the number of lines in a part.  Points are awarded each time that part is given (see chart).  Contact the Oregon Executive Officer for more information on jurisdictional guidelines.  Because memorization may not assure impressive delivery, the applicant may be denied the bar because of poor delivery.  This action would need to be approved by the Awards and/or Ritual Advisor.  The following outline is the ISC scale for earning points.  REMEMBER: these are only point scales for achieving Ritual merit bars.

Initiatory Degree                               Points

Master Councilor                                  40
Marshal                                                25
Senior Councilor                                   20
Senior Deacon                                      20
Junior Councilor                                   20
Chaplain                                               10
Preceptors                                             15
Senior Steward                                       5
Junior Steward                                       5

DeMolay Degree                               Points

Master Councilor                                   35
Jacques DeMolay                                  50
Master Inquisitor                                   45
Junior Inquisitor                                   25
Orator                                                   25
Senior Inquisitor                                    10
Guy of Auvergne                                     5
Senior Guard                                          5
Marshal                                                  5
Lord Constable                                       5

Representative DeMolay Ceremony

Chancellor                                               50
Herald                                                       5

Majority Service

Master Councilor                                   25
Senior Councilor                                   10
Junior Councilor                                    20
Chaplain                                                 5

Flower Talk                                         40
Ceremony of Light                              30