PENDLETON — The Order of the Eastern Star returned to Pendleton on Monday, June 19, to celebrate its Grand Chapter gathering, bringing members from across Oregon and the county to the Pendleton Convention Center for the yearly gathering.

Pendleton Convention Center Manager Pat Bread said “very near and dear” to the convention center.

“They are the oldest customer we have since we opened the doors in 1992,” he said.

The event brings more than 300 people from across the Eastern Star organization to socialize, celebrate and plan future philanthropy projects for the Oregon Chapter, Past Worthy Matron Leslie Van Etten said.

“Eastern Star is a concordant branch of Masonry,” Van Etten said. “Masons can join and the wives, widows, daughters, and sisters of Masons are eligible to join. We are focused on improving our communities across the nation. In the Oregon Chapter, we have a retirement facility, an outreach program, and several scholarships.”

Once a year, Eastern Star chapters across the country gather in each of their states to set agendas, hold elections, and give out scholarships and checks in sessions that are often closed to public attendance.

“This is where we come together and go over our legislation, checking our constitution and bylaws,” Van Etten said. “This year, we have our Most Worthy Grand Matron visiting, she is the international head of our organization. One of our donations this year, like most years, is to the Oregon Health & Science University, we donated $30,000 for cancer research.”

Cancer research funding is important to Eastern Star, Van Etten said, and is one of the several philanthropic avenues for the organization alongside national initiatives to fund service dogs for veterans, and academic scholarships for exemplary students.

“This gathering is really special, we have 22 people attending from other states, which helps us get to know each other and discuss things we face,” Van Etten said. “We attend each other’s functions, develop friendships, and try to contribute. It’s fun, a lot of fun.”

The Oregon chapter of Eastern Star, like all Grand Chapters, is free to set its own agendas and goals year in and year out at Grand Chapter gatherings like the one in Pendleton, Van Etten said, but goals set by the Most Worthy Matron and Patron, at a national and international level, have to be followed by all chapters.

“Previously we raised money for first responders, and now we’re raising money for service animals across all of our chapters,” Van Etten said. “When we have our next major national gathering in 2024, they’ll select a new goal chapters nationwide will be working to fundraise.”

The Order of the Eastern Star will be at the Pendleton Convention Center throughout the week of June 19.