tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90990057157923436002024-03-05T01:56:01.254-05:00The Point Within a CircleMasonic Light for the Quarries of the 54th DistrictAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-16626208768221080662014-10-19T22:40:00.000-04:002014-10-19T22:43:34.504-04:00The Nine Lives of a Masonic Lodge<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The internet
tells me that a guy named Erik Erikson came up with a theory about eight stages
of psychosocial development. Since eight is close to nine, I figured I would
use his well thought out stages as the starting point for a talk about the nine
lives of a Lodge. My legal team advises me that for the record, I should state
that this is more of an homage than any sort of plagiarism. And since I added a
stage, I’m already far more creative than Erik Erikson’s parents were when they
named him. Legal asked me to take that last sentence out. I told them no.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Infancy</b>, </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">or <b>We have a Warrant, now what?</b> Standard Lodge No. 3579 (totally fake
name) is now a constituted to work as a Subordinate Lodge. There is much to be
done, but with hardly a dollar in the bank, they can’t do much more than gurgle,
coo, and put their toes in their mouths. Fortunately they have a lot of siblings
in the District who will help.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Early Childhood,</b> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">or <b>Let’s get growing.</b> Standard is meeting in another Lodge’s building
for now, but they are excited. The officers and members attack every problem in
front of them as soon as it arises. They meet a couple of nights a week to
coordinate fund raisers, pick regalia and supplies, and plan for the future. It
is interesting to note that there is no distinction here between Officer and
Member involvement. A large percentage of each shows up to lend a hand at every
event.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Preschool,</b> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">or <b>Time to make friends.</b> Standard is now meeting four or five nights
each month to confer degrees. They have nearly doubled in size since they were
given their Warrant. Outside of Lodge, the members are eager to talk of their
Masonic involvement, and the joys of creating something all their own;
consequently, their friends enquire about joining. The world is theirs for the
taking.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>School Age,</b> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">or <b>There sure is a lot to learn.</b> At this stage, learning is fun,
though. The Trustees now actually have money to invest, and they are able to
generate some income. They ask their sibling Lodges for advice, and more
importantly, they are willing to listen to it. The Lodge has just a few Past
Masters, and they are still willing to help when called on.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Adolescence, </b></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>or I need my own space.</b> Standard is now thriving. They love their
siblings, but sharing a room is becoming more challenging. They have made some
great investments and the excited and active membership is willing to donate
money, time, and energy to construct their own Lodge building. For most Lodges,
this is the longest life stage. It can last 20 years or it can last 150 years.
As long as the members work in harmony with each other, the Lodge can stay
right here and prosper. If discord begins to develop and is left untreated,
though, the Lodge will enter the next phase.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Young Adulthood,</b> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">or <b>You’re not the boss of me.</b> The Lodge enters this phase when one of
two things happens: either the new officers do not feel that they are being
allowed to govern the way they choose, or the Past Masters feel that they are
being marginalized. It is not difficult to see both sides of this argument, and
many of us have worn both sets of those shoes at some point in our Masonic
career. Once interpersonal problems begin, members will begin to choose sides. If
these problems aren’t addressed, the Lodge will begin to fracture. If
Standard’s up and coming officers survive the Young Adulthood phase, they will,
with some luck, be able to return to the glory days of adolescence. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We have all
fantasized about getting to relive our youth, and if Standard is smart, it can
learn from its early mistakes and begin to live in harmony again. If not,
things will get a lot worse.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Middle Age,</b> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">or <b>Kids these days.</b> If they do not learn from their mistakes, more
and more Past Masters will have to step up to fill chairs and do the work that
they thought they had retired from. They love the Lodge too much to watch it
fall apart so they do what they must to get by. If those who are tasked to
repeat offices or fill chairs do it with a terrible attitude, complaining about
the new members not pulling their weight, the situation will worsen quickly. No
man has ever chosen to be a Mason so he can sit in a room and listen to people
complain, and if that’s what he hears, he won’t do much more than attend
sporadically.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Old Age,</b> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">or <b>Hey you brats, get off of my lawn.</b> Standard is now being run
almost entirely by Past Masters. Outside of the Officers, few people even
attend Lodge. Money may not be an issue, but vigor certainly is – their pulse
is thready at best. A few new Masons join, but they are quickly disillusioned
by the lack of energy and opportunity that awaits them and consequently do not
get involved.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Death, </b></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">or <b>I can’t be sick; I feel fine.</b> Standard failed to heed the warning
signs, and now it has to make the difficult decision to merge. There really is
no reason to expound upon this; we have all seen it and know how sad and ugly
it can be.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Where is
your Lodge? Are you worried? Don’t be. The good news is that, no matter which of
the first eight stages your Lodge finds itself in, the aging process can be
reversed. It may not be easy, but until death, no Lodge is terminal.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It <s>may</s>
will take effort, time and money, but it can be turned around. If your Lodge has
trouble finding officers, identify a few who have run the Lodge well in the
past. They should have energy, a positive attitude and willingness to serve
again. Ask them to serve in succession, maybe even multiple terms if they are
willing, and to develop a long range plan. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Make your
Lodge a place that people want to visit. If it looks the same as it did fifty
years ago, perhaps that’s why the younger members aren’t coming out. Paint,
furniture and wi-fi don’t cost that much, but they send the signal that the
Lodge is looking toward the future and not living in the past. That is the
message that you want new Members to take home.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Finally,
give your Brothers a reason to come. Great programs are essential to Lodge
success. Entertaining programs can sometimes cost money. So spend it. Have a
nice meal, invite the families, and pay a good speaker. Advertise it with a
separate flyer – printed in color (gasp!) – in the monthly notice. Make the
Brethren want to come out.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So is your
Lodge going to be nimble, vibrant and young at heart or is it going to sit in
its rocking chair and complain about how candy bars used to cost a nickel and
were twice as big as they are now? The choice is yours.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-35455867613969250772014-04-06T06:00:00.000-04:002014-04-06T06:00:01.204-04:00Seven Deadly Cynics<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I can be cynical sometimes. My guess is that none of you who knows me personally just gasped at that revelation. In my own defense, my cynicism is born from the fact that it can sometimes make people laugh, and I enjoy making people laugh. Again, no one gasped. The problem is that just as a good attitude can be contagious, so can a bad one.<br /><br />In a Masonic context, cynicism wears many faces, and the damage that it causes can range from something as seemingly harmless as depleting the energy and excitement of the members to the total destruction of the Lodge. There are several different kinds of cynics that you are likely to spot in your Masonic travels. I’m sure there are far more than seven, but I stopped there so I could make use of clever wordplay in the title of this column. (Remember, I like to be funny sometimes.) I will not try to explain what motivates each of these cynics; I will leave that to the psychologists. I will, however, try to offer ways to combat those attitudes<br /><br /><strong>It will never work.</strong> The Brother who comes to the meetings with a litany of reasons why we should keep doing things just like we have is usually the first to remind you of how crowded the Lodge used to be, how busy they were conferring degrees or how much time and money they spent building the Lodge that you’re sitting in. What he forgets is that there used to be quality programs and frequent social events, even church visits in regalia. He also forgets that, at the time, his building, which was state of the art, and quite likely looks exactly - and I mean in a right-down-to-the-bright-orange-60s-modern-furniture-in-the-lobby kind of exactly – like it does now.<br /><br />How do you fix it? Make it work. Have a family movie night complete with popcorn and pizza. Have a ladies' night with entertainment just for them while the meeting is taking place. As for the building, update the fixtures, furniture and carpet. Most of your Lodges can afford to do some or all of that. It’s amazing what a few changes to the building can do to the attitudes of the members.<br /><br /><strong>Men join here just to get a ring.</strong> Also, men join here just so they can join the Shrine. Ask yourself if you’re giving them reasons to come back. What does Shrine do that we do not? While fun is part of their creed, it is not forbidden in ours.<br /><br /><strong>We need to do something new, but we can’t get rid of <u>that.</u></strong> Einstein’s definition of insanity – doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result – applies here. It is disturbing to talk to an incoming Master and hear that he has trouble bringing members out to Lodge, only to see his programs are an exact copy of the last three years. Things that don’t work should go away. We change light bulbs when they burn out. Why don’t we change Lodge programs when they do?<br /><br /><strong>What’s the point? No one comes to Lodge anymore.</strong> Do we give them a reason to? If the only event listed on your Lodge notice is The Exemplification of the Examination of a Visitor, why would they bother? I would venture that, given the choice, many Masons would rather stay at home and watch a Real Housewives of Atlanta marathon than see the proper way to examine a visitor for the twentieth time. Give people a reason to come to Lodge. Don’t let that be the only draw, because quite frankly, it is not a draw. Schedule something afterward that has a broad appeal and invite their families so they don’t have to spend a night away.<br /><br /><strong> I already served as Master. It is time for someone else to step forward.</strong> We owe a great deal to those who have served before us, but as a Past Master, you must remember that the right to have the initials PM after your name comes with the implied responsibility to continue to serve when called upon. If you are tired of filling chairs, help the younger elected officers find a way to replace you. That may mean you need to pick up the phone and call someone. Just do it.<br /><br /><strong>I’d like to step forward, but no one wants to give up their job.</strong> Ironically, I have heard this and the preceding complaint in the same Lodge during the same year. <br /><br />Communicate. There can be a perception among new members, anxious to get involved, that they are unwelcome. If the new member, a chef by profession, can’t cook at the pancake breakfast because Bob has always done that, we are failing to use our assets wisely. Bob may be relieved that he can finally sleep in on a Saturday, and his new role as Mentor may give him renewed energy.<br /><br /><strong>Who cares? We are nothing more than a social club.</strong> Most of you who have read my blog even a few times before know exactly how I feel about this. The fact that you are reading it right now indicates to me that you don’t agree with that either. I believe that the Brother who says that is voicing his frustration that our numbers have dwindled and that today’s Masonry isn’t what he fondly remembers from forty years ago, rather than the conviction that we have nothing to offer today’s man. <br /><br />In all these examples, the underlying theme is fear of change. Glaciers change more quickly than Masons. We need to learn to be more fluid. When flowing water encounters a rock, it doesn’t stop and weep over the obstruction. It finds a way around. When you meet a cynic, you must do the same. Ask for his input. See what he would do. When he tells you, smile and thank him for volunteering to spearhead it.<br /><br />If any of those descriptions reminded you of yourself, pledge to change your attitude. Pledge to change your Lodge. We can reach our full potential when we all work together.<br /><br />If I were truly a cynic, I would conclude by saying, “Thank you for your time, though I doubt you were even paying attention.” I’m not a cynic though. I refuse to believe that our best days are behind us. Each of you is a Mason because you chose to be. You have a gift that Freemasonry can use. Offer it. Offer it and help us prove the cynics wrong. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We both know they are.<br /><br /> </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-14978987853568891582014-04-01T15:09:00.000-04:002014-04-01T15:09:00.096-04:00Five Points on Fellowship<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There is a destiny that makes us brothers;<br />None goes his way alone:<br />All that we send into the lives of others<br />Comes back into our own. ~ Edwin Markham</span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As Masons, we are doubtless familiar with the five points <em>of</em> fellowship, which serve as reminders of the duties we owe to our Brethren. That is not, however, what I want to talk to you about tonight. Instead, I want to highlight five points <em>on</em> fellowship in the hopes of enhancing our interpersonal experiences within the Craft.<br /> <br />First, <strong>fellowship needs common ground</strong>. Luckily, Freemasonry provides that through the shared experience of initiation. We all came to the outer door, humbly sought entry, and our admission to this inner sanctum was the first acknowledgement that we were part of a new family. That first step that you took across the threshold also served as the first step in beginning a new friendship.<br /><br />Next, <strong>fellowship needs honesty</strong> – not a <em>yes-that-dress-makes-you-look-fat</em> kind of brutal honesty – but a commitment to being your true self in front of your Brethren. Look at the man to your right and the man to your left. It is safe to say that either’s life has not been without a struggle. Maybe one has trouble with his job. Maybe the other doesn’t feel he is being the best father or husband. Whatever his demon, you can be sure he is fighting it in much the same way you are fighting yours. When we greet each other on the level, and without pretense of perfection, we begin to build the framework of deep friendship.<br /><br />If honesty is important to good fellowship, then it is essential that we do not judge. More simply, <strong>fellowship needs blinders</strong>. Does that mean that we are to drive the get-away car, acquiesce to every bad behavior, or enable our Brother in those things he struggles with? No. We are charged to correct his errors, support him, and help get him back on the right path. Wearing blinders means not condemning your Brother for his faults, but instead seeking to understand why he made them and assist him in changing his ways.<br /><br /><strong>Fellowship needs an exchange</strong>. It cannot be one-sided. In order to receive honesty, one must be honest. To be heard, one must be willing to listen. A friendship is an intricate puzzle with all the tabs and blanks interlocking. At times, you will need to lean on your Brother, at other times, you will be the sturdy column for him when he needs it most. And it is important not to keep tabs. At times, you may feel that you are giving more than you are getting. If you feel like you are doing all the work, you probably are. That could change at any moment though, and in all likelihood, that Brother will remember your kindness and be there for you.<br /> <br />Lastly, <strong>fellowship needs nourishment</strong>. That can come in many forms. In the literal sense, some of the strongest bonds I have formed within this Fraternity have come in the social time before and after the meetings. The regimented structure of our meetings does not encourage the strengthening of one-on-one ties, but it does serve as an incubator for those feelings of goodwill and belonging that can be strengthened over dessert, coffee, and conversation after we adjourn.<br /><br />In the abstract sense, fellowship is fed by time. All of things I mentioned earlier? They take time. Common ground, honesty, forgiveness, and exchange – none of those comes naturally or instantly. Time is the most essential element to good friendships. Just as a flower opens one petal at a time, so do we slowly learn to trust enough to reveal our true selves to one another.<br /><br />The following has been attributed to both George Eliot and Dinah Craik:<br /><br />“Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.”<br /><br />I love that sentiment. I also love that Freemasonry gives us the chance to have friends like that. Each of us probably had options on how we would spend this evening. We all chose to be here. When you go downstairs, tell someone why. It doesn’t have to be eloquent. It doesn’t have to be lengthy. Let it be from your heart, and that will be more than sufficient.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-49080061248617169892014-03-02T06:54:00.001-05:002014-03-02T06:54:13.706-05:00Three Myths about Lodge Attendance<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As I have traveled through the District, I have had the opportunity to speak with many Brothers about how the Lodge has evolved over the years. One thing is clear: it is without debate that today’s Masonic Lodge is not the same as one we might have visited thirty, forty, or fifty years ago.<br /><br />The Lodge is different. Society is different. That is okay as long as we remain mentally nimble enough to recognize and adapt to change. Too often we hide behind excuses like “times have changed,” or “all social organizations have declining membership” to justify our unwillingness to see our Fraternity through the eyes of the next generation. In essence, these excuses have become anchors; not anchors that steady us in stormy seas, but ones which keep us from even unfurling our sails and leaving familiar shores. What follows is a list of the most common myths about Lodge attendance.<br /><br /><strong>Today’s man is too busy to come to Lodge.</strong> The myth of the overbooked schedule has been around for ages. In an effort to explain declining attendance, people point to the 1950s and how the wife took care of the house and kids, giving the man an opportunity to go to his social club at night.<br /> <br />While that may be true, it is equally true that men today still spend time together. Cigar clubs, bowling alleys, restaurants, and bars are full of men socializing on nearly any night of the week. Men regularly take time away from their busy family schedules to watch their favorite teams compete. They even participate in sports like golf, tennis, hunting, and fishing without negatively impacting their home lives.<br /><br />What we need to ask ourselves then, is why they aren’t choosing Freemasonry.<br /><br />One reason is that we are viewed as a sort of dinosaur that somehow survived the Ice Age. We only have ourselves to blame for that. We have held on to our customs, refusing to adapt to the change that has taken place around us. I was at a Lodge last June, and the program was . . . anyone? Anyone? You guessed it – Strawberry Night. I will resist the urge to begin a rant about how Strawberry Night is no more of a Lodge program than Freemasons at Gettysburg is a side dish for your roast beef dinner. At this meeting, there were thirteen of us – the Lodge officers, one visitor and me. Sadly, I can almost guarantee you that this year’s program for June will also be Strawberry Night.<br /><br />If we fail to observe what it is that young men want, choosing instead to give them what the men of the 1950s wanted, we are sure to fail.<br /><br />“Fine,” you say, shaking your head. “<strong>No one is going to want to _________.”</strong> No matter how you complete that sentence, as long as it is an activity that is within the bounds of decorum and social responsibility, it is simply untrue. In your Lodge, there is someone who would: go to an art museum, flower show, or concert. There is also someone who would volunteer at the food bank, homeless shelter, or church. There are still others who would attend yoga class, golf, ride a motorcycle, or shoot sporting clays. There is simply no way to know what people will do until you give them a chance to do it.<br /><br />How do you measure the success of a first time event? Not by attendance. Every Lodge has a few intrepid souls who will brave the new adventures without fear or hesitation. Likewise, every Lodge has those who will sit by and see how the first run goes before they commit - rushing blindly into the unknown universe of ballroom dancing is reckless, after all. Quite simply, we should gauge success by the quality of the time shared, the bonds created, and the memories made.<br /><br />The last, and arguably the most damaging myth is that <strong>Freemasonry has nothing to offer today’s young man.</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />Nothing can be farther from the truth. There exists no organization that offers a man what Freemasonry does. We give men a deeply symbolic, moving initiatic experience, an illuminated path to being their best selves, and a chance to meet men they would never have had the occasion to meet anywhere else. Additionally Masonry comes with an extended family that literally spans the globe. Masons are never alone, never without help, and never far from a friend.<br /><br />Don’t believe the myths. Men need us, but they need to know about us. Don’t assume that your young neighbor doesn’t have the time to join a Lodge. Ask him. Let him know that if he gives us his time, we can teach him to be a better husband, father, and son. Don’t be timid about trying new events. People will come, maybe slowly at first, but they will come. Finally, don’t forget that what we offer is valuable. We take ordinary men and make them . . . Freemasons.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-28680792546716029222013-11-23T11:56:00.001-05:002013-11-23T11:56:46.843-05:00Acts of Compassion<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Several years ago, Brother and Dr. Ron Marshall’s developmentally disabled daughter was flying alone from Florida to Pittsburgh. The weather was bad and the plane was experience a good bit of turbulence. She was scared. She saw another passenger wearing a ring like daddy’s, so she approached him and told him her dad and brother had the same ring and that she was afraid. She asked if she could sit with him.<br /><br />Without hesitation, this man switched his seat. He spent the remainder of the flight comforting her, assuring her that the bumps were not going to hurt her, and that they would land safely. After the flight, he accompanied her all the way past security and would not release her to her brother until he had examined him and found him to be a Mason, satisfying himself that she was safe and with the right people. When I asked Brother Marshall if I could share this story with his name attached, he replied, “Absolutely. I am so proud of this Fraternity because of how it took care of her.”<br /><br />Similarly, this spring, Brother Danny Custodio, a Master Mason from San Juan, Puerto Rico contacted the Grand Lodge because his mother had been involved in an automobile accident in downtown Pittsburgh. <br /><br />She called him early that morning, telling him that at 6:30 on her commute into work, her car was struck by a woman who then fled the scene. Danny’s mom was uninjured, so she pursued the woman for several blocks through Pittsburgh crowded rush hour streets (do not try this at home) until the woman finally pulled over. Once the police arrived, the woman was detained for driving under the influence. His mom assured him that she was okay, but Danny was concerned. He wanted to make sure that his mom was not downplaying the severity of the accident or her own condition. What could he do ease the helplessness when more than 1,700 miles and an ocean stood between him and his mom? He needed to know she was okay, but he had no family in Pittsburgh to help him.<br /><br />Oh wait, of course he did. <br /><br />He reached out to the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania who saw to it that someone made contact with her. Brother Bob Geiger and others called and stopped by to make sure she was okay and to see if there was anything she needed. She was overwhelmed by the outpouring of concern. She was touched not only by the deep love her son had for her, but by how, as she said, “someone who doesn’t even know me, or him for that matter, would take the time to make sure I’m okay.” <br /><br />“Your son is our Brother,” she was told, “and this is what we do for each other. I know he would do the same for any of us.”<br /><br />Danny was equally grateful. He was touched, though not at all surprised, that his Brothers answered his call. “[Plum Creek-Monroeville Lodge] will always have a special place in my heart for what you did for my mom and me,” he said. He added that what he referred to as a “wonderful act of compassion” now appears in the minutes of Hiram’s Disciples Lodge No. 104.<br /><br />Tales like that remind me of why I love this Fraternity so much, and why the value of what we have will always far exceed what it costs us to belong. We are Master Masons. We are Brothers helping Brothers. The stories of Brothers Marshall and Custodio should remind us that we – all of us – are lucky enough to be part of a family that truly does not deem it a hardship to serve each other. As sure as I sit here, I know in my heart that those same Brothers who were shown an unexpected kindness would do the same in return when called upon. They understand that being a part of something special requires you to be special yourself.<br /><br />I share these stories so that when someone asks you what’s so extraordinary about the Masons, you have yet another answer.<br /><br />Freemasonry is great because time and again, individual Masons are given the chance to turn lofty ideals into noble action. It happens every day when a neighbor gets a ride to the Doctor’s office or a stranger in a parking lot is helped when her grocery bag rips open and spills its contents to the ground.<br /><br />Never forget that you have the high privilege of being a part of the largest and greatest Brotherhood the world has ever known. The cost of that membership? Simply that, when and if you are fortunate enough to be able to serve one of your Brethren, you will do so willingly and to the best of your ability. <br /><br />Are you willing to pay that price? <br /><br /> Can you afford not to?</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-25187952875143403892013-10-01T11:38:00.000-04:002013-10-05T17:15:13.460-04:00What's in It From Me?<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I began my Masonic journey in 1997.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On that November night, I was told by someone wise, “You get out of Masonry what you put into it.” What he said made sense to me then, and on some level, fifteen years later, it still does. When I hear that said today, after having experienced so many facets of the Craft, it seems both inaccurate and inadequate.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I get the meaning that it is supposed to convey: The more we put into it, the more we can expect to get out of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s simple and it’s logical. If one does not practice his golf swing, his score on the course is not likely to improve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the same way, if a new Mason gets his Degrees and never again darkens the door of the Lodge, he will be ill-equipped to strengthen his character or deepen the fraternal ties with his fellow Masons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Let me explain, though, why I take some exception to it.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I believe that it is inaccurate, in that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">what</i> you put in, (the thing), in no way resembles <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">what</i> you get out. You may spend dozens, even hundreds of hours over the course of several months learning to confer a degree that lasts only an hour. In return you get the supreme honor of helping another on his quest to be the best man he can be. Likewise, when you donate to Masonic charities, you give money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What you get back is the pride in knowing that your contribution to the Masonic Children’s Home or Masonic Youth groups helps pass on the core beliefs of the Craft to the next generation. Likewise, giving to Masonic Villages helps by caring for those who came before you. As a Mason, when you give time, you may receive honor. If you give money, you may receive a sense of pride. So what you get out is not what you put in.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Next, I believe that the saying is inadequate. I firmly believe that Masonry has given me far, far more than I could ever hope to give back. I never believed (and still have a hard time comprehending) that when the blindfold was lifted from my eyes, I would find myself in the presence of an ever-widening family – Brothers who would, with equal exuberance, celebrate my joys or help me in my darkest hours. They – you – would do so without question or hope of gain. Likewise, the few hours spent mentoring a new member is paid back with a lifetime friendship. The bonds which I have forged because of Freemasonry are deep, they are genuine and they are ineffable. Did I get out what I put in? Not even close. Freemasonry has enriched me beyond my expectations.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We live in a culture that puts personal wellbeing ahead of the greater good. Volunteerism is low, and membership in religious groups and fraternal organizations has continued to decline. There are many who believe that they are indeed the “I” in “society” and as its central letter, they should be worshipped and adored. They look at service and ask, “What’s in it for me?” As Freemasons, we must look at service and ask, “What’s in it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">from</i> me?”<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Now is the time when Lodges should begin planning for the ensuing year. Now, therefore, is the time for you to volunteer. It doesn’t matter which Lodge you belong to, your Lodge needs you. No Lodge is so flush with volunteers, be it for the Officer Line, as a Mentor, or even the pancake breakfast committee, that you will be turned away.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Whether you are an Entered Apprentice or a three-time Past Master, consider the call to service. Dedicate yourself to becoming Worshipful Master and your Brethren will be there to help you. Mentor and you will open up the world of Freemasonry and her lessons to men eager to dedicate themselves to something good. Volunteer with the youth and strengthen the foundation upon which the next generation may build.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Will you get out of it what you put into it? Absolutely not.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And isn't that a beautiful thing?</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-13654172803527610162013-04-16T11:49:00.000-04:002013-04-17T23:49:43.073-04:00Spring Gleanings<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Spring shows what
God can do with a drab and dirty world.” ― Virgil Kraft</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There really are a lot of things that I like about the
winter. I love the look of new-fallen snow and the way it clings to barren
branches; the way I’m forced to squint as the sun lights it up and appears to
be coming from everywhere at the same time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I love how all of the familiar sounds are muffled after a snow fall. I
even find a sort of comfort and security in the extra layers of clothing that I
wear. In spite of all the bad publicity it receives, I still can see a lot of
good in the cold dark days of the winter.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Spring is finally here, however. Though a rodent from the 52<sup>nd </sup>Masonic District (Punxsutawney, PA is in the 52<sup>nd</sup> Masonic District
of Pennsylvania) may argue the point, spring officially begins with the Vernal
Equinox – literally equal night – and marks the date when the days begin to
have more light than darkness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Passover,
Easter, and numerous other religious observances occur, not coincidentally,
near the Equinox as it is symbolic of hope, new life, and new beginnings.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even the land takes on a new quality. Trees and plants, which
appeared to be doing nothing for months (though they were actually quite busy),
are beginning to unfold their leaves or poke their heads out from under the
ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything around seems to be
growing, changing, evolving.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What about your Lodge? What about you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Think about it. As the winter came on, the Lodge shed its old
leadership. The new Masters and Wardens had the winter to become accustomed to
their roles. During those dormant months, new ideas had time to form, take
root. Now, with the spring, they can begin the metamorphosis from thought to
action. As each part of the budding plant has a role to play in seeing it reach
its full beauty, so too does each Mason have a duty in helping the Lodge reach
its full potential. What can you as an individual Mason do to help?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For starters, stop waiting to be asked. Let
your Master know you want to lend a hand. It can be something you’re already
skilled at or even something you would be willing to learn for the benefit of
the Lodge.</span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7N53o5-z3VFem9zZ9DBWXVz2nxYAV9DFjQ9sSPHmbD_HMxKjCdnZUEzQVYxKH2fqMwpSt2QxwnnAYMCOIHN9YDf0vx6WeIgz3pKkeSDuV3fOEgN1mtoMxPDL2NedVYEEgS_jRLC20_Ps/s1600/Presence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7N53o5-z3VFem9zZ9DBWXVz2nxYAV9DFjQ9sSPHmbD_HMxKjCdnZUEzQVYxKH2fqMwpSt2QxwnnAYMCOIHN9YDf0vx6WeIgz3pKkeSDuV3fOEgN1mtoMxPDL2NedVYEEgS_jRLC20_Ps/s200/Presence.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next to getting Lodges out of the well worn ruts of old
traditions, the hardest thing for a Master to do is find bodies to see projects
through. I have seen more than one Master who had great ideas and plans that he
couldn’t complete because there were not enough people to help him. Lodges are
a lot smaller than they were thirty years ago. In many cases, they are half the
size, so that problem will get worse before it gets better. So raise your hand.
Better yet, lend it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I challenge the Lodges to reinvent themselves this year. Discard
the things that don’t work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seek to be
more involved in your community. If we seek only to take care of what’s inside
these walls, no one on the outside will care if we survive. Conversely, if we
become a presence in our communities, there will be men in those communities
who seek a presence among us.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Brethren, I ask each of you to do one new thing for your
Lodge this year. You can choose what it is, but it should be something you
haven’t done before. Ask to be on an investigating committee, cook one of the
meals, do the audit, or even – gasp – try something new. If you have an idea,
present it to the Lodge. The best way to do that is start with a sentence like,
“I’d like your permission to organize a . . . ,” rather than, “Worshipful
Master, you should organize a . . .” I don’t think I need to explain why.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Masters and Officers, as spring shows what God can do with a
drab and dirty world, let it also show what you can do with a sleepy and
stagnant Lodge. Stir it up. Shake the snow off of its branches and work to make
it bloom into something that both brightens the community and feeds the souls
of its members at the same time. Most of all, work so that years from now, when
the members look at your picture on the wall of Past Masters, they think, “You
know, that was a great year for our Lodge.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So mote it be.</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: #0400; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: #0400;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-12562533912788958932013-03-17T00:24:00.001-04:002013-03-17T00:24:33.814-04:00Singular v. Plural<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">For want of a nail
the shoe was lost.<br />
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.<br />
For want of a horse the rider was lost.<br />
For want of a rider the battle was lost.<br />
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.<br />
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DplqwISKO8xXwN5j66ju_pvTDfiAEEswGaPcexR6NG6_kes24eePY4EHdqgTRODcIP6nreNiZTkmLfsO0y0AfeyZ1A4AUn-LB-bZgjLkqX1Pb2k9MpzlypQzTnqjoG8Htas1gtcPbMo/s1600/Battle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DplqwISKO8xXwN5j66ju_pvTDfiAEEswGaPcexR6NG6_kes24eePY4EHdqgTRODcIP6nreNiZTkmLfsO0y0AfeyZ1A4AUn-LB-bZgjLkqX1Pb2k9MpzlypQzTnqjoG8Htas1gtcPbMo/s400/Battle.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">That simple
children’s tale has its origin as early as the seventeenth century, but its
message is as timely for today’s adult is it was for yesterday’s child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its message is simple: what may seem like a
little problem, if left unattended, can create dire consequences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I’m certain
that the farrier, on finding nails in short supply, did not envision the loss
of his master’s kingdom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, he
probably thought that the shoe would hold just fine without the requisite
number of nails.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bucket of new nails
was probably way across the village at the smith’s shop, and taking the time to
make that journey would set him back in his work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If he took that time, he wouldn’t get his
work finished until after nightfall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
would probably miss dinner and most certainly, his wife would be furious with
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This
shoe would hold just fine with three nails</i>, he thought.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It is easy
to see how this might apply to your Lodge.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">On the back
of every Lodge notice is a list of the Officers and Committees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the top of that list is the Worshipful
Master.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every other Officer and
Committee member is a nail in the Lodge’s metaphorical shoe, and when one of
those nails fails to perform, the Lodge suffers for it.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Either a
Lodge <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> strong or a Lodge <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">are</i> weak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My decision to use the singular and plural
forms here was intentional.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A Lodge
working in the singular, with unanimity, is a strong Lodge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the members are of the same mind. They
all want what is in the Lodge’s best interest and they all work together to
make it possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, when a Lodge is
functioning plurally, it has broken itself down into a conglomeration of
individuals – each acting in his own interest, building his own power,
manipulating, deliberately defying the Master or circumventing the will of the
Lodge on the mistaken premise that he is the only right-thinking man there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That Lodge is no longer a singular unit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is rudderless, at war with itself, and
hence I would say that such a Lodge <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">are</i>
weak.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I would ask
you to consider whether your Lodge <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is </i>or
your Lodge <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">are.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s probably fairly easy to tell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How is your attendance?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would all members feel that their ideas are
given a fair hearing or do you have one or two people who think that it’s their
Lodge and you’re simply fortunate enough to be sitting in it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do the Officers and members cheerfully do
what is asked of them by the Master or do they make excuses, complain and
deflect responsibility?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A Lodge that
is functioning singularly probably would have good attendance – ten percent or
better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their members could come before
the Lodge with ideas and they would be debated in a friendly way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Debates would be about ways to improve ideas,
not sabotage them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When asked, members
would happily do whatever is in their power to help the Lodge.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Conversely,
Lodges that function plurally would have more empty chairs than full ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Discussions would be dominated by the few
personalities who feel that theirs is the only opinion that should matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Attempts at innovation would be squashed, and
requests for help from the Master would be met with grumbling, complaints and
excuses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People would pay lip service to
work, but the rolling up of sleeves would seldom be seen.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If you feel
your Lodge <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is </i>doing well,
congratulations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you feel your Lodge <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">are not </i>doing well, there is still
hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the first charges we
receive as a Mason is to be obedient to the Master and other Officers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How well are you doing that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How well are the other members of your Lodge?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In our
Opening Charge we are told that “if we are united, our Fraternity must
flourish.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How united are we?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are there people who perpetually dissent or
threaten to take their ball and go home if things aren’t done their way?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ask them why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Perhaps there is a problem outside of the Lodge that is driving
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are taught to remind our
Brothers of their failings and aid their reformation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That has to begin with a conversation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">When you have time to reflect, ask yourself whether you are helping your Lodge to
function singularly or plurally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As
Mason’s we are to strive constantly to smooth the surfaces of our ashlar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That requires us to occasionally stop and
check the progress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In preparing this
talk, I became aware of areas where I could improve both my attitude and my
actions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If that applies to you as well,
I encourage you to do what you can to change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Don’t be the farrier content with a shabbily-shod horse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Demand the best of yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your Lodge, and more importantly, you, will
be better for it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-83979514888959513132013-03-13T14:43:00.001-04:002013-03-13T14:51:51.769-04:00After Us Cometh a Builder<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">When I was a King
and a Mason -- a Master proven and skilled --</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I cleared me
ground for a Palace such as a King should build.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I decreed and dug
down to my levels. Presently, under the silt,</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I came on the
wreck of a Palace such as a King had built.<o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There was no worth
in the fashion -- there was no wit in the plan --</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Hither and
thither, aimless, the ruined footings ran --</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Masonry, brute,
mishandled, but carven on every stone:</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><i>"After me
cometh a Builder. Tell him, I too have known."</i><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Swift to my use in
my trenches, where my well-planned ground-works grew,</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I tumbled his
quoins and his ashlars, and cut and reset them anew.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Lime I milled of
his marbles; burned it, slacked it, and spread;</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Taking and leaving
at pleasure the gifts of the humble dead.<o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Yet I despised not
nor gloried; yet, as we wrenched them apart,</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I read in the
razed foundations the heart of that builder's heart.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As he had risen
and pleaded, so did I understand</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The form of the
dream he had followed in the face of the thing he had planned.<o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>*</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">When I was a King
and a Mason -- in the open noon of my pride,</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">They sent me a
Word from the Darkness. They whispered and called me aside.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">They said --
"The end is forbidden." They said -- "Thy use is fulfilled.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"Thy Palace
shall stand as that other's -- the spoil of a King who shall build."<o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I called my men
from my trenches, my quarries, my wharves, and my sheers.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">All I had wrought
I abandoned to the faith of the faithless years.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Only I cut on the
timber -- only I carved on the stone:</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>"After me
cometh a Builder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tell him, I too have
known!" </em></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em></em></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>~ </em>Brother Rudyard Kipling</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Kipling’s
poem tells the story of king who, while he was preparing a site to build his
palace, comes upon the ruins of one which had stood there in a past age; and
while it was written 111 years ago, its message is still relevant to the Masons
of today.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So often, we
tend to look at our labors in Freemasonry as individual, unique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t view what we do for our Lodges or
for the Craft at large as part of a continuum, but rather as our own little
snapshot in time, an island unto itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As leaders, we are easily led into doing things because “we’ve always
done it that way,” or dissuaded from breaking new ground because “no one came
when we tried that before.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The king in
Kipling’s poem was wise though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
seized upon the opportunity to utilize those things of value left behind, those
stones marked with “After me cometh a builder. . .”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It is
interesting to me that he didn’t build a carbon copy of what was there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He stuck to his plan, but salvaged as many of
the pieces of the old palace that he could, changing and repurposing them to
suit his vision for the future – cutting, resetting and even grinding some to
dust.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Maybe we too
need to do that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our Lodges have gotten
smaller, our attendance more sparse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
we continue down the same path, with the same reasons (excuses may be a better
term) for doing the same old things in the same tired way, we will soon be no
more.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Every Lodge
should hold at least one open house this year – at the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">least,</i> one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you held one last
year that didn’t bring too many people through the door, will you do it the
same way this year?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps, you can call one of the Lodges that
did well to find out what their successes were and try to build on them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">After
me cometh a builder. . .</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Membership
is the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sine qua non </i>of the
Lodge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without members, we have neither
revenue, attendance nor, when you get right down to it, a reason to exist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finding and attracting well-qualified men to
our doors is a challenge that we must face head-on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We cannot save it for the next Master to
attend to. It is our responsibility.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The king
realized that he was not the end, but just a paragraph in the whole story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knew that what he was doing was as
important for the now as it was for the tomorrow. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">After me
cometh a builder. . .</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So what are
we to do once we have attracted these men to our Lodges?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard “These
guys get their degrees then we never see them again,” or “They join the Lodge
so they can get to Shrine or Scottish Rite,” I would have a bad back from
dragging my enormously heavy bag of nickels around.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We have
tools at our fingertips to make these new Masons want to come back to
Lodge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Mentor program, when used
properly, can spark excitement in a new Mason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He can feel that he is part of something meaningful and bigger than
himself as he learns about our system of government, our Grand Lodge and the
great men of our past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The online
Masonic education courses are designed so that new and old Masons alike can
learn about our history, our law and or labors.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Also, the
new Mason can earn the prestigious Master Builders award from the Grand Lodge
by completing a series of tasks and projects both within his Lodge and his
District, but the catch is that he can’t do it alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Mentor program plays a large role in his
eligibility, and if your Lodge isn’t using it, you’re doing those Brothers –
your future – a great disservice. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">After me cometh a builder</i> . . .</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We have
challenges ahead of us for sure, and a lot of work on the trestleboard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our Lodges should continue to work together,
attending and supporting each other’s programs, even holding joint events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can be greater than the sum of our parts
if we are willing to learn from each other, refine or discard the things that
are holding us back and boldly strive to offer new and exciting events for
Masons and their families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">us </b>cometh a builder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tell
him we too have known.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-20393862846232451762012-05-11T21:56:00.002-04:002013-02-15T12:48:50.900-05:00Companions On My Journey<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-small;"><em><span style="font-size: small;">Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing<br />
there is a field. I'll meet you there.<br />
<br />
When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about.<br />
Ideas, language, even the phrase each
other doesn't make any sense.</span> <br />
<br />
-</em> <span style="font-size: small;">Rumi, Tr. Coleman Barks</span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Tonight is the final Official Visit of the 2012
season. When I get to this point in the year, I often begin to reflect on what
I have written and delivered to you thus far, usually in an effort not to
repeat myself. What I have found interesting is that each year some sort of
theme usually presents itself. That has never been my goal, mind you, just a
manifestation of where my soul is, and what, if anything, it compels me to
write about. It is evident to me that this year, my soul has been on a journey
of reflection.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I have tried to use this platform to challenge all of you, as well as myself
to come to a better understanding of who we are, of why we believe the things
we believe and why we do the things we do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My hope has always been that you leave either inspired, challenged, invigorated,
called to action or some combination of those.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Each and every time I sit at my desk and begin what is occasionally
the easy, but oftentimes proves to be the daunting task of writing a talk that seeks to do those
things, I start by reflecting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I try to
sit quietly and listen to that place in my chest which is constantly seeking
light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess if I were completely
honest, I write for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I write to
organize my thoughts, discover who I am, work through my problems, fears and
inadequacies and hope that by doing so, the conclusions I come to will empower
me to change what needs to be changed and to reinforce whatever I find to be acceptable.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Tonight’s blessedly brief talk is my way of saying thank you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you all for being my sounding board and
for helping me to smooth my extremely rough ashlar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you for a season of Official Visits
that have been incredibly enjoyable, uplifting and memorable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have laughed, we have cried.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have shared things that can only be shared
within the walls of a Masonic Lodge. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I have finally come to realize that you, my beloved Brothers, are Light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This peace, the blessed joy of Masonic
fellowship, is what my soul craves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
look around at your faces and realize I would know virtually none of you if not
for this bond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would bet that does not
just apply to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Masonry is the sine
qua non of most of the friendships here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Perhaps some of us would have met by chance through business or family
or some other way, but without the gentle spirit of the Craft pulling at our
common need for understanding, we certainly would not know each other as well or as
deeply as we do right now.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If you feel the same way, I ask you simply to do one thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Use the Masonic silence of the summer to
rededicate yourself to the Craft.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Return
this fall with renewed energy and a commitment to action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bring a man to your open house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bring two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Volunteer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be an ambassador.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Listen to that part of your soul that is
yearning to be part of something great, and nourish it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Thank you all for traveling with me this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am incredibly blessed to be your District
Deputy Grand Master.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have learned and
I have grown both as a man and a Mason and I hope the same can be said for each
of you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I appreciate you having shared your light
with me and listening while I shared mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As my own words for how deeply I feel seem inadequate, I will
close tonight as I opened, with the beautiful words of Rumi. . .<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Those with no energy have gone.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">You that remain, do you know</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">who you are? How many?</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Can you look at a fountain and become
water?</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Can you recognize the great self</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">and so enjoy your individual selves?</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Do you run from joy?</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Perhaps the lion</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">should not flee the fox.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Let your loving and your soul</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">burn up in this candle.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Let a new life come.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The friend is at the door.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">You are the lock his key fits.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">You are a piece of candy,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">the choice words of a poem,</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">the friend and the swallow</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">of silence here at the end.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Thank you for coming on my journey.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-91632502212728036492012-05-10T17:26:00.000-04:002012-05-10T17:26:04.699-04:00A Man for Others<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">On May 8th, I visited Tyrian Lodge No. 644. The evening was absolutely wonderful. Over 150 Masons packed into Plum Creek-Monroeville Lodge to see Brother Byrl J. Johnson, Regional Instructor, receive his Fifty Year Service Emblem. Brother Byrl has labored tirelessly for Freemasonry and is a mentor to so many of us. His love for the Fraternity was the inspiration for my address that evening.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">A Man for Others</span></div>
<br />
<br />
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<span><em><span style="color: grey;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"What
is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this
muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone?
How else can we put ourselves in harmonious relation with the great verities
and consolations of the infinite and the eternal?” ~ Brother Winston Churchill<o:p></o:p></span></span></em></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Freemasons are seekers – seekers of
wisdom and of truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We seek justice,
peace and equality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We crave
understanding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The principles of
Geometry, which form the architecture of our basic teachings were developed as
a way to understand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To understand
nature, to find order in what seems at first glance to be chaos; and by finding
that order, come to a better understanding of the nature of the Divine. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Craft has always tried to put itself
– as Brother Churchill so eloquently stated – “in harmonious relation with the
great verities and consolations of the infinite and eternal.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the days of Pythagoras, whose teachings
and discoveries form the foundation of much of our work, man has sought to
commune with the Great Architect by gaining understanding of all that He has
created.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Masonic path – the quest to find
one’s best self – is by necessity one that must be traveled alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are two ironies in that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, while it is a solo journey, it cannot
be taken without guides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is the
guide who brings you into and through your Masonic Lodge and then, if you are
lucky, there are other souls – kindred spirits – who open you to a greater
understanding of yourself and of Freemasonry.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The other irony is that, through this
personal formation – this incredibly self-involved act – one finds himself changed
into a Man for Others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I have said before that the world needs
Freemasonry because Freemasons are good, kind people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We look to ease the burdens of others, to
teach, to support and to improve everything that is in our power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are not perfect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We make mistakes – sometimes large ones – but
we endeavor at every turn to learn from them and to help teach others not to
make the same ones.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As I look around this room tonight, I
can honestly say that it is full of my personal mentors, Men for Others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some are role models of leadership and
dignity, of character and right action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Others are teachers who expect and accept nothing but my best.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Others still are spiritual friends whose
hearts and souls emit a light that helps keep me on my path.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each of us has someone like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He may be sitting next to you or he may have
laid aside his working tools.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may be
that man to someone else in this room whether you’re aware of it or not.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I’d like to read a poem entitled “The
Bridge Builder” by Will Allen Dromgoole.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">An old
man, going a lone highway,<br />
Came, at the evening, cold and gray,<br />
To a chasm, vast, and deep, and wide,<br />
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.<br />
<br />
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;<br />
The sullen stream had no fear for him;<br />
But he turned, when safe on the other side,<br />
And built a bridge to span the tide.<br />
<br />
"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim, near,<br />
"You are wasting strength with building here;<br />
Your journey will end with the ending day;<br />
You never again will pass this way;<br />
You've crossed the chasm, deep and wide-<br />
Why build you this bridge at the evening tide?"<br />
<br />
The builder lifted his old gray head:<br />
"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,<br />
"There followeth after me today,<br />
A youth, whose feet must pass this way.<br />
<br />
This chasm, that has been naught to me,<br />
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.<br />
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;<br />
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After we close this meeting, we will be
honoring some within our ranks by presenting Fifty Year Service Emblems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each of them has been a Bridge Builder for
us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without them, and without the ones
who came before them, this Fraternity would not be here for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have labored, in their own manner, to
shore up our foundation and ensure our future success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are Men for Others. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We need emulate these men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to be willing to shoulder whatever
burdens come our way, be it raising money for Masonic Charities, leading our
Lodges, being ambassadors of the Craft and attracting new men or simply as a
laborer who pays his dues and quietly wears the badge of Freemason.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As we leave this sanctuary tonight and
go back into a world that is strikingly at odds with the peace we feel within
these walls, we must each take what we have learned on our personal journeys
and vow to use it in a very public way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Be like your mentors and “make this muddled world a better place for
those who live in it after we’re gone.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In short, be a Man for Others.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-30475153474466962832012-05-06T19:00:00.001-04:002012-05-06T19:01:30.750-04:00Growing Down<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This address was delivered at Infinity Lodge No. 546 on March 14, 2012. Infinity Lodge is in the process of merging Penn Brotherhood Lodge No. 635 into theirs. The new Lodge will be a combination of ten previous Lodges. While this is in many ways a sad commentary on the realities of modern life and the competition for a man's time, Infinity Lodge is one of the most charitable and caring Lodges around. My Vist there, as it always does, energized and uplifted my soul.</span><br />
<br /><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Growing Down</span></strong><span style="color: #666666; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #666666; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I find you there in all
these things<br />
I care for like a brother.<br />
A seed, you nestle in the smallest of them,<br />
and in the huge ones spread yourself hugely.<br />
<br />
Such is the amazing play of the powers:<br />
they give themselves so willingly,<br />
swelling in the roots, thinning as the trunks rise,<br />
and in the high leaves, resurrection.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i><span style="color: #666666; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rilke, The Book of Hours I, 2</span></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK1-QSf9rDL56J-KbH_LC8PD3g7_JgV3uBySC0VkUq2quPZ3Mj673YtuaM1w6pM7gi0w-mR02z54wV9TFlclC6MH33ofW63lRZYtveS9CLXfDa_BWkQEt2_iGMbAiOsYmDJhF6Nphajcs/s1600/tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK1-QSf9rDL56J-KbH_LC8PD3g7_JgV3uBySC0VkUq2quPZ3Mj673YtuaM1w6pM7gi0w-mR02z54wV9TFlclC6MH33ofW63lRZYtveS9CLXfDa_BWkQEt2_iGMbAiOsYmDJhF6Nphajcs/s400/tree.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I chose that
poem as the epigraph for this talk with the intention of using the growth of a
tree as a metaphor for a Masonic Lodge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I read it, reread it, leaned back at my desk and searched the sky for
inspiration, or at least a starting point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Nothing.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I started
searching for new poems and new stories to inspire me.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Nothing.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Then finally
it hit me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tree would really be
quite a good symbol for a Masonic Lodge if. . . <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If it grew backward.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If each
individual Mason was a leaf that stood on its own and the gentle wind of
commonality blew us all together, would not that Mystic Tie of our Brotherhood
begin to connect us twig by twig?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Small
groups of men would join for the common purpose of self-improvement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As those men met others nearby, they might
realize that connecting their branches into a common trunk would give them
strength and stability – support for the work that Masons do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That trunk would put down roots, weaving
itself into the ground of the community in which it wants to grow and to which
it wants to give protection, shade and comfort.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">That’s what
I see happening here. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over the last 100
years or so the branches called Braddock’s Field, Fort Pitt, Homewood, Delta,
Justice, Penn, Fox Chapel, Duquesne, Beta and Swissvale Lodges are now poised
to be one great tree right here in Penn Hills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That tree – this Lodge – brings shelter to the school that it neighbors,
shade and comfort to those in need and support to the Charities of the Grand
Lodge of Pennsylvania.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">To continue
the metaphor, once our tree has established roots, it must feed to grow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That food can come in the form of new
members.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each Lodge this year will be
required to hold an open house. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Opening
our doors to those who know nothing about Freemasonry, what we stand for or the
good works we do, is one simple way to attract men of good character who want
to make themselves better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the
Pennsylvania Masonic Congress held in March, a survey was taken and the number
one reason those men listed for joining a Lodge was that men they admired were
already Masons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to open our
doors so that we may inspire others to join our ranks.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Once they
have entered, we must teach them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
need to begin to see the Master/Apprentice relationship as more than
allegorical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must use the Mentor
Program developed by Grand Lodge to impress upon the newest Brother our
history, our ideals and our mission.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Online
Education program of the Grand Lodge allows all Pennsylvania Masons to take
classes on Masonic Law, History of the Craft and the Mentor program with new
classes to be added soon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each of you
should sign up that you might be better equipped to tell a non Mason friend why
you’re proud to be a Freemason.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Grand
Master’s theme for his term is “Freemasons: Master Builders. Building for our
Future.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has given us many ways to
nourish our trees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Grand Master’s
Award for the Lodges who earnestly attempt to make themselves better, the
Master Builder’s Award for new Masons who complete a list of items designed to
make them active, educated and useful members of the Lodge as well as the other
tools I mention above are all food to help our hungry plant thrive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In return we are asked to do some hard
work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have been asked to donate funds
to the Library and Museum this year and the Masonic Children’s Home next
year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are expected to open our doors
and become beacons in our community where good men gather to do great
things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In short we are tasked with
being good Masons.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I would like
to close with a poem by Rumi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To me, it
illustrates the connectedness that we all must have to those around us and how
that connectedness – like our tree - can lift us all into greatness.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">How does part of the
world leave the world?</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">How can wetness leave
water?</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Don't try to put out
a fire by throwing on</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">more fire. Don't wash
a wound with blood.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">No matter how fast
you run, your shadow</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">more than keeps up.
Sometimes it's in front.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Only full, overhead
sun diminishes your shadow.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But that shadow has
been serving you.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">What hurts you
blesses you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Darkness is your
candle.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Your boundaries are
your quest.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I can explain this,
but it would break the glass cover</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">on your heart, and
there is no fixing that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You must have shadow
and light source both.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Listen, and lay your
head under the tree of awe.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When from that tree,
feathers and wings</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">sprout on your soul,
be quieter than a dove.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Don't
open your mouth for even a <i>cooooo</i>. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">~ Tr. Coleman Barks</span></span></div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-56371436109597567392012-04-19T07:49:00.000-04:002013-03-25T13:36:07.319-04:00Better Than I Deserve<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Every day, I feel blessed to be part of this Fraternity. I feel even more blessed that I have been given the chance to be District Deputy Grand Master for the diverse and incredibly caring group of men that make the 54th District. I confess, however, that sometimes I forget how lucky I am. I delivered the following talk at Plum Creek-Monroeville Lodge, my home Lodge, on Tuesday night. They help me remember sometimes that life truly is:</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Better Than I Deserve</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">One of the duties of the Office of District Deputy Grand
Master is the presentation of 50 Year Service Emblems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I consider it the highest honor to be able to
present those pins and personally thank my Masonic elders for being part of the
continuum of Freemasonry.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It is also a high honor for each of us to listen as those
recipients try to condense 50 years of service to the Craft into a few
sentences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At last month’s Visit to Penn
Brotherhood Lodge, one of the recipients described his membership in the
following way:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“You know,” he started, “when people say to me, ‘How are you
doing today,’ I used to tell them I was fine or great, but now I feel I’m finally old enough now to reply, ‘Better than I
deserve.’”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Better than I deserve.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">That struck a chord with me that night, and as I looked
around the room, I could see that it did the same for many.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So often we become complacent about the
things around us, the people around us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We take for granted that they are there and that we have somehow earned title to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Society speaks of entitlements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The television tells us what we need - or more
accurately - what we just can’t live without.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As soon as that Brother finished speaking, I hurried for my
notebook and wrote down that phrase, “better than I deserve.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next day, I sat at the computer with the
intention of writing my talk for the next night's Official Visit around that idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The words just weren’t there yet, so<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I decided to tuck that away for awhile
somewhere in the back of my mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
resolved to spend a little time trying to figure out what it meant to be better
than I deserved.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">From a scientific standpoint, in order to determine if
something was better than I deserved, I would first have to discover what it is
that I truly did deserve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That prospect
terrified me.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We are imperfect people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We meet as Freemasons to try and perfect ourselves, fully realizing the
futility of such an effort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We come,
nonetheless, and for a time strive to reach a place where we feel worthy of
some of what has been given us.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If I am honest, I could be a better son, Brother, friend,
loved one, teacher, student or any of the other myriad roles I play in my
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could listen more and talk
less.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could love more deeply, be more
understanding, more empathetic. Less judgmental.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think we all could.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Take King David. He was not exactly the perfect man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was a warrior, and a schemer. He murdered his friend so
that he could steal his wife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact,
he probably broke all of the Commandments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In spite of all of that, he was chosen and beloved by God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>David realized that what he had was better
than he deserved, so he chose to honor God by building a Temple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Temple was, of course, built by Solomon,
his son, but it was nevertheless, David’s recognition of God’s abundant grace
that was the impetus for its construction.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; tab-stops: 5.5in;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So what are we as the allegorical
heirs to that grand edifice doing with the gift we have?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are we doing something every day in Masonry
to be deserving of what this Fraternity has to offer?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Young men now get reduced dues and initiation
fees if they are enrolled in school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Have you asked a young man to take advantage of that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have you volunteered in your community as a
Mason?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are you going to help at your
Lodge’s open house?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Have you reached out to a Brother in need? Have you helped someone who needed it without waiting for them to ask? </span>Are you an
ambassador for Freemasonry in all you do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I would suspect that precious few could answer all of those questions
affirmatively.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know I cannot.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; tab-stops: 5.5in;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Each of us is richly blessed, and
whether we are each in a place in our lives to fully appreciate that or not, we need be
thankful for the gifts we have been given.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We must be grateful for those who love us, and love them back as deeply
as our hearts allow - never holding any of it back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must be thankful
for our Brothers and supply their needs to the best of our abilities, and
finally, we must cherish the gift that is Freemasonry by being good
stewards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>J</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">ust as I thank those who came
before me for making this possible for me, I hope to one day stand before a
room full of Masons much younger than me and know that I did my part to keep
this Fraternity vibrant, healthy and alive for those yet to come.</span></span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; tab-stops: 5.5in;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I have no idea if what I have said
tonight has touched any of you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t
know if you’ll leave here feeling inspired to action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have not a clue if any of you feel lucky to
be a Mason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I do know, however, is
that the next time someone asks me how I’m doing, I will respond with the answer. . .
Better than I deserve.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-27103695741096428172012-04-10T22:55:00.000-04:002012-04-10T22:55:37.746-04:00Run the Whole Race<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This talk was delivered tonight at my Official Visit to Valley Lodge No. 613. Whether you are a Mason or not, there are important lessons that can be taken away. Giving up at the end, or deciding to settle for the waiting room of mediocrity because busting down the door of excellence seems daunting, ulitmately leads to regret. Feel free to comment.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">Run the Whole Race</span></div>
<br />
<em><span style="color: grey; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></em><br />
<em><span style="color: grey; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><blockquote class="tr_bq">
It is not the critic who
counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the
doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is
actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who
strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is
not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do
the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends
himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high
achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring
greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who
know neither victory nor defeat. ~ Theodore Roosevelt</blockquote>
</span></em><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We have all
heard the inspiring story about the young football player who, when his team
was down by 3, with no time left on the clock, miraculously broke free from the
line of scrimmage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had no one between
him and the goal line and no chance of being caught.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The young man looked over his shoulder, saw
that victory was his and took a knee at the one yard line losing the game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">What about
the heartwarming story of the runner who ran 26 miles, 284 yards of the
marathon and gave up with three feet left to the finish line, or the winner of
the Indy 499.9?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Who
remembers those stories?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s
right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one wants to remember quitters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one erects statues to the near-finishers
of races.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The people who earn glory,
who get to bask in the glow of a life well-lived, are the ones who finish the
tasks laid out before them, the ones they set out to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Most of us
are familiar with Brother Theodore Roosevelt’s quote.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In his <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Man
in the Arena</i> speech, he tells the listener that it is okay to try and fail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He suggests that mistakes are not only
acceptable, but expected, “because there is not effort without error and
shortcomings.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nowhere does he ever
suggest that it is okay to give up. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So to be
clear, I’m not saying that losing a game or failing to finish a race is
shameful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am simply here to ask you:
Are you, as a Mason, making your best effort both for yourself and your
Lodge?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What have you, personally, done
to bring a new man to the Craft?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
have you done to see that none go away dissatisfied?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tonight this Lodge was prepared to suspended 38
of your Brothers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does that make you
happy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you all feel that you have
done your best?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or do you think that
perhaps you could have done better as a Lodge and as a Brother.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Here is what
I found out today:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brother W. (names omitted for privacy)
and his two sons are having a hard time right now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the boys suffered a back injury and is
uninsured.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now a 38 year member of
the Lodge thought he had to choose between putting food on the table and paying for dues
cards for himself and his sons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is a
proud man and proud to be a Freemason, so much so that he asked his sons to join.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do I know?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I called him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I didn’t get through the first time, so I called him again because he
matters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The best part of that is,
through our conversation - and because someone offered him the hand of friendship, he now knows he matters.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Brother
F. is in medical isolation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
has, in his words, “kicked cancer’s butt” twice and is currently undergoing
blood transfusions for multiple myeloma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>His doctors don’t allow him to answer the phone, but he snuck a call
back to me to ask not to be suspended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With
a voice trembling to fight back tears, he told me that he would never want to
give up his membership in his Lodge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>With all that was going on to his body, he was worried that remitting
his dues for another year would be hard on the Lodge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He needs our prayers, Brethren, but we were
willing to turn our backs on him, satisfied that one or two phone calls was the
best effort we could make.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I know I
usually stand before you and give you words of encouragement, and I ask you to
take tonight’s talk as just that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please
do not walk away from here thinking you were chastised, but rather that you
were challenged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you squirmed in your
seat, resolve to be better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you broke
out in a sweat, vow to change your behavior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Masonry is, at its core, a journey of self-improvement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The simple truth about Lodge sustainability is
that our numbers matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More than that,
however, Brotherhood should matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
should never be happy with letting a Brother walk out the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The loss of any one of us diminishes the
whole. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This Lodge was ready to
potentially turn away not only $3,800 in revenue, but men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brothers who are tied to us by Oaths we took
to help, aid and assist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are we doing
that regularly?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Are you, the
Members, more especially those of you who are wearing the badges of leadership,
doing every single thing you can to make your Lodge grow?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you simply what is expected, or do you do
what is needed?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you were Brother
F. or Brother W. or one of the many others whose story is not completely
known, how would you want your Fraternity to respond?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be that kind of Brother.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We can do
better.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Ask yourself
tonight, would you rather find a way to be faintly satisfied in the dim, gray
gloaming of a life half-lived or bask in the glorious meridian sun of triumph,
content in the knowledge that you had given your all, run the race, done the
deed and earn your place with others of whom it may be said done their all at
all times?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The choice,
my Brothers, is yours.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-76760272724894942172012-02-18T15:41:00.000-05:002012-02-18T15:42:44.875-05:00Managing the Trestleboard: Work Is Worship<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">On February 16th, I made my Official Visit to Forbes Trail Lodge No. 783. We had about seventy Members brave the chilling rain to be part of an evening of fellowship. The Worshipful Master was unable to be there. Consequently, the junior Officers had to advance Stations and perform a little harder. I was proud of them all for doing so well under the stresses of an Official Visit. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My remarks for the evening follow.</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">Managing the Trestleboard: Work Is Worship</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: x-small;">Nothing will work unless you do.<br />~Maya Angelou</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Every two years, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania installs a new Grand Master who brings to the Craft his vision of how we should best direct our labors that our Fraternity may both shore up its foundation as well as beautify and grow its edifice. All too often, we concentrate on one or the other of those things, but an impressive structure cannot stand without a strong foundation. And, let’s face it, a foundation alone is nothing to look at.<br /><br />When standing in a metropolitan city, one often forgets, as he gazes upward at the marvelous skyscrapers, that underneath of those skyscrapers is a support structure that is buried deep in the earth to support them. No matter how grand the plan, if it is not built on a secure foundation – one anchored deep into the bedrock – it will not stand the test of time.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This year, Grand Master Jay W. Smith has put plans upon our Trestleboard that, if properly carried out, will both strengthen the foundation of our Fraternity as well as add to the grand edifice that Freemasonry rightly is to the world.<br /><br />To strengthen our structure at the Lodge level, he has continued the Grand Master’s Award for the Lodges. Points are awarded to Lodges for increase in membership, increase in meeting attendance, use of the Call to the Craft and Mentor programs, attendance at other Lodges, charitable giving, Officer participation in the Warden and Secretary Seminars and a variety of other criteria. What does each of these have in common? They seek to make each Lodge stronger by fostering fellowship, communication and work among the Brethren. Will it be easy to receive the award? No. But what kind of award would it be if it was given out cheaply and not purchased with a little hard work?<br /><br />I will be meeting with the Worshipful Masters this weekend and detailing the program. I expect each Lodge to either achieve the award, or fail while striving valiantly. There is no shame in not receiving the award. There is, however, shame in not even trying.<br /><br />This year, each Lodge will be required to hold an open house. It may be held alone or in conjunction with other Lodges in the District. I will be asking the Worshipful Masters to provide the dates to me and we will coordinate a print ad for the District to publicize the event. This is an excellent opportunity to show the outside world what Freemasonry is about. We have so much to offer to men, both young and old, who are yearning to be part of something greater than themselves. We need to open our doors and show them the good works we do for the community as well as what we can teach them about being their best selves.<br /><br />We will again be holding a One Day Class. This year it will be on September 29, 2012 at the Greater Pittsburgh Masonic Center. The format will be the same as in the previous years. Those men that come to the open houses can either join in the traditional way or through the One Day Class as their schedules and consciences dictate.<br /><br />To help metaphorically ornament the edifice of Freemasonry, the Grand Master has begun a Masonic Online Education Program. Courses are currently offered on Masonic History, Masonic Law and the Mentor Program with many more to be made available shortly. These classes are user-friendly and are designed to educate Masons – both new and old – on the workings and history of the Craft.<br /><br />For men joining now, there is a Master Builder’s award. New Masons must fulfill a series of required tasks including attending a Stated and Extra meeting of their Lodge as well as a youth event and an Official Visit, serving as a greeter, assisting in fundraising and completion of the Mentor program. It is critical then, that the Mentor Program be used within the Lodge. If a Lodge does not participate, you will deprive the new Masons of the opportunity of receiving the award.<br /><br />There is a full Trestleboard before you Brethren. The Grand Master has traced the plans he believes will help us build for the future.<br /><br />Be ever mindful that the largest skyscrapers need enormous foundations to soar to their impressive heights. Do not forget that what you see rising above you is anchored by solid concrete hundreds of feet deep. Both are necessary, both are important, and each of you is part of the magnificent structure we call Freemasonry.<br /><br />It is said that all work is worship. Whether you find your labor in the brute work of digging and strengthening the foundation or in the fine and meticulous detail work of the great façade, know that it is vital to the overall success of our endeavor and do it well. Offer your best, and encourage your Brethren to do the same. Help us build for the future of Freemasonry.<br /><br /> </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-32482933892680751502012-02-10T01:42:00.000-05:002012-02-14T17:07:22.522-05:00Pillars of Cloud and Fire: The First GPS<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My first Official Visit of 2012 was held at Bethel Lodge No. 789 last night. I had the great honor of presenting Fifty Year Service Emblems to three members of the Lodge. One of them journeyed from Columbus, Ohio to receive the award. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I have missed the fellowship that these Visits afford me. Though there is work involved, my soul is refreshed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My address to the Brethren follows. Feel free to respond with your thoughts.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">Pillars of Cloud and Fire: The First GPS</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue. - Buddha</span></blockquote>
<br />The Book of Exodus in the Bible tells the story of the Israelites’ escape from Egyptian captivity. The Lord promised that he would guide the Israelites to the Promised Land by appearing as a pillar of cloud by day and as a pillar of fire by night. The Israelites did not have a map, they did not know their final destination and they did not know the route that lay before them, but with Pharaoh’s army at their back, they set off on their journey with the trust that they would be delivered. The Pillars were, in essence, the first GPS.<br /><br />There are many challenges that face our Fraternity. Some are challenges from within, and others are challenges from without. How we meet these challenges will, in no small way, affect our future both at the Lodge level as well as the Fraternity as a whole. Would it not be wonderful, then, if we had a GPS to guide our Lodges and our Fraternity to prosperity, higher meeting attendance, increased membership or some other destination or goal that we would like to reach?<br /><br />The beauty of a GPS is that it makes it possible to set off on a journey of several hundred miles to an unfamiliar destination without even looking at a map or planning a route. The machine does all the work. Ironically, the terror of a GPS is that it makes it possible to set off on a journey of several hundred miles to an unfamiliar destination without even looking at a map or planning a route. As I have traveled to various Lodges around the state or through areas that are wholly unfamiliar, I have thought about how utterly lost I would be if my GPS decided to utter its last direction at that moment; I have no doubt that the Israelites felt much the same way.<br /><br />Our new Grand Master, Jay W. Smith, has implemented programs that will help the Lodges reach some of their goals. He has made it easier for men who have been suspended to return to the Fraternity by streamlining the process and forgiving the dues that were in arrears. He has made it more affordable for young men to join by reducing the initiation fees and dues for men ages 18-23 who are enrolled in college. He has continued the Grand Master’s Award for Lodges who meet a series of goals with regard to attendance, growth, community service, mentoring and several other factors. This award will serve as a GPS of sorts to help the leaders of the Lodges guide the Lodges to a state of vibrancy, prosperity and relevance.<br /><br />To help the individual Mason, the Grand Master has started the Master Builder certification for new Masons. The cornerstone of the program is the new online Masonic Internet Education Program. Currently courses are available for Masonic Law, History and the Mentor Program. They are self guided and have quizzes to mark your progress. I would encourage everyone here to avail himself of this great tool to become a more educated Freemason.<br /><br />There’s a funny quirk in my GPS system, and I’m sure that many of you have experienced it too. Sometimes it takes me on one route to my chosen destination and a completely different route home. As I choose to take the route that I’m more familiar with, Jill (that’s what I call her) will get irritated with me and try to get me to see things her way. At every opportunity, she will try to have me make my way back to her chosen path or even to make a u-turn – only when it’s safe of course, because she really does care about me.<br /><br />Lodges can be a lot like that too. There are a myriad of ideas about how to best run a Lodge and there is usually no shortage of less-than-bashful people to tell the Master and Wardens that they have deviated from the chosen route. If you are the leader, you have to be confident that the plan you have chosen will work. If you are one of the less-than-bashful people who think you know a better way, you have to be more willing to suggest than to command.<br /><br />If we are to succeed as an organization, it is important that the Brethren unite with their Worshipful Masters, the Masters with the District and the District with the Grand Lodge. It is through unity that we can accomplish great things.<br /><br /> Whether you are called to be a leader or called to be a laborer, what you do for Freemasonry is important. You may not be a great Ritualist or aspire to the East, but you may be an ambassador.<br /><br /> As I was organizing my thoughts for this talk, it occurred to me that Freemasonry itself is sort of a GPS – we can even call it a Guiding Principal System. The tenets of Freemasonry, when coupled with the tenets of an individual’s Faith, can help guide a man to be the best he can be as a father or son, a citizen, leader, and – forgive the pun – a pillar in his community. The man you are, and the virtue you show in your everyday life, may inspire someone to knock at the West Gate of our Temple. Your participation, therefore – in whatever form it takes – is essential to the success of the Craft. There is another Buddhist saying that a drop of water is a small thing, but it will not dry away if united as a lake.<br /><br />In today’s world, we do not have a pillar of cloud or a pillar of fire to guide us. What we do have as Freemasons is our individual faith and the working tools of the Craft to act as our GPS – our Guiding Principal System – to help make ourselves, our communities, and our Lodges the best we can be. I challenge each of you to begin that journey tonight.</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-31401314325106308352012-02-02T15:00:00.000-05:002012-02-02T15:00:02.125-05:00A Brief Meditation<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This address was delivered on May 23, 2011 at Lodge Ad Lucem No. 812, our Traditional Observance Lodge. I chose this format as a way to encourage discussion afterward at the Agape Feast.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><u>Disclaimer: I in no way hold myself to be a literary expert. I am not a Rumiologist, but rather a Rumiphile. The views expressed here are my own and based solely on the emotions and thoughts evoked by my reading of the poem. If you read the poem and have other insights, please feel free to share them in the comments section below.</u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As I have been preparing these papers for publication on The Point Within a Circle, I realize that I quite often (nearly constantly) quote Rumi. I am of two minds on this. Part of me feels that I need to broaden my stable of quotable poets, as there are so many great ones from which to choose. The other part - obviously the one that is winning - feels that there is such a gold mine of elegant and simple metaphors and life lessons within his words that I should mine it until the lode is gone. Every reading and re-reading (and there have been countles re-readings) opens something new to me. When I finish reading, I am always left with a fresh question, and occasionally, if I'm lucky, the shadow of an answer...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><div style="text-align: center;">
<br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">In the Arc of Your Mallet <br /><br />Don't go anywhere without me.<br />Let nothing happen in the sky apart from me,<br />or on the ground, in this world or that world,<br />without my being in its happening.<br /><br />Vision, see nothing I don't see.<br />Language, say nothing.<br />The way the night knows itself with the moon,<br />be that with me. Be the rose<br />nearest to the thorn that I am.<br /><br />I want to feel myself in you when you taste food,<br />in the arc of your mallet when you work,<br />when you visit friends, when you go<br />up on the roof by yourself at night.<br /><br />There is nothing worse than to walk out along the street<br />without you. I don't know where I'm going.<br />You are the road and the knower of roads,<br />more than maps, more than love.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">That poem by
the Persian poet Rumi, while written hundreds of years prior to what we think
of as the beginning of Craft Masonry, captures what I believe is the essence of
what we as Freemasons are constantly seeking: a reconnection with the Divine.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">While an
individual’s reasons for seeking our Fraternity and the Light it can offer is
as variable as the weather, the message that he will receive and the lessons he
will learn – assuming that he applies himself – are changeless.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">When
stripped of all its trappings, the essential message of Freemasonry is the
search for perfection and a connection with the Divine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each
and every working tool, every ornament or jewel within the Lodge and even the
allegory of the Master Mason’s degree speak in some way to the loss of or hunt
for perfection.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In tonight’s
brief meditation, I want to read the stanzas of the poem and allow you to apply
them to your profession as a Freemason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Tonight I will ask questions rather than supply answers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tonight, you will work upon your own
Trestleboards.</span></span><span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Don't go anywhere without me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Let nothing happen in the sky apart from me,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">or on the ground, in this world or that world,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">without my being in its happening.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">To whom is
the poet speaking?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is he asking
for?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What would you be willing to do to
have that kind of connection with your God?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Vision, see nothing I don't see.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Language, say nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The way the night knows itself with the moon,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">be that with me. Be the rose<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">nearest to the thorn that I am.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Is there a
reason that the poet chose vision and language as the first two symbols?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is there a Masonic connection between vision
and language?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can it be said that a
cathedral or great edifice is itself a prayer to Deity?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is the connection between how the night
knows itself with the moon and how a man can better know himself by
Freemasonry?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I want to feel myself in you when you taste
food,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">in the arc of your mallet when you work,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">when you visit friends, when you go<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">up on the roof by yourself at night.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In this
stanza, God is given very human qualities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He eats, works, socializes and relaxes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Perhaps we need to ask ourselves if we feel that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He</i> is present with us when <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">we</i>
do those things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are we bringing our
best selves to our Agapes?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our labors
within the quarries of the Craft?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
about our relationships with our Brothers?</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As men who
are seeking Light – more accurately, knowledge – is there anything worse than
not knowing or understanding your God?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Can we be sure of anything without the help of “the road and the knower
of roads?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Those
questions are not necessarily meant to be answered out loud.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do not have the answers and I most
assuredly do not have your answers, but take a little time to reflect on those
lines.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Perhaps a
poem that is over 800 years old can help you be a better man and Freemason
today.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-54320211767948659162012-02-01T17:17:00.001-05:002012-02-01T17:17:47.125-05:00Going the Extra Mile - or 26.2<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This address was given on May 10, 2011 at my Official Visit to Valley Lodge No. 613. Rather than edit the text and tense, I chose to leave the address as it was delivered that evening.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Going the Extra Mile - or 26.2</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Ability is what you
are capable of doing. <br />
Motivation determines what you do. <br />
Attitude determines how well you do it. <br />
--Lou Holtz</span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Four days,
10 hours and 30 minutes from now, I will be standing with 15,000 other people
at the start line of the Pittsburgh Marathon waiting anxiously for the gun to
sound, signaling the beginning of my journey through the streets and
neighborhoods of Pittsburgh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Measured
purely in distance, it is 26 miles and 385 yards of running.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Measured in preparation, it is 500 miles
through snow, rain, wind, heat and whatever else nature cares to throw my way
on any given day, it is sheets of Moleskin to ease blisters, 40 hours of last
minute physical therapy for a knee that hates me a little bit for what I’m
asking it to do, it is the mental preparation necessary to suffer and push
through the last miles when every fiber of your body is begging you to quit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know that many of you have heard me talk ad
nauseum about this and you may all be thankful when I move on to a new
subject.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marathon running is not
necessarily for everyone, but there are lessons we can all learn from what it
takes to train and complete one.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I noticed
something interesting as I was training for this race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I took my first fifteen mile run, the
last mile was difficult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I took my
eighteen mile run, mile fifteen was easy, but again the last mile was
difficult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Same with my twenty mile run
– eighteen was not difficult, but the last mile was miserable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, I cannot say that in the seven days
between each of those runs, I got in markedly better shape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So why is it that the last mile of the run,
regardless of the length, is such a struggle?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why is going the extra mile – or in this case, the last mile – so
daunting?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">T. Alan
Armstrong said, “Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but
in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it,” and whether
we are talking about running a marathon, running a Lodge or making yourself
into the best man and Mason you can be, that is true.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Each of you
sitting here has inherited a great treasure – that of the name Freemason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each of you then, is required to do something
to be worthy of that name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not everyone
is called to be a Lodge Officer, or a Ritualist, and it is not necessary for
each of us to play every role in the Lodge for it to be successful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your role may be Ambassador.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may attend regularly, or even not-so-regularly,
but you wear your lapel pin with pride and you act like a Mason wherever you go
so that the world knows we are good because YOU are good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A commitment to practicing the tenets of
Freemasonry makes them a natural part of you. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You must always go the extra mile to live and
act in a way that preserves our reputation as a fraternity of fine and
upstanding men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If your calling within
the Craft is to be an Officer, you must prepare for it by learning your work,
choosing men to support you, scheduling exciting programs and giving the men
who you lead a reason to want to come to Lodge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The extra mile you must run is committing the time necessary to lay the
groundwork for a year as Worshipful Master.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Just like the physical conditioning a runner must have, preparing in
advance helps make success achievable.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If you feel
called to be a Ritualist – and let us make no mistake – this Lodge, and most
Lodges could use more Ritualists – you must not look at it as a daunting and
unreachable task, but one that can be prepared for properly over time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may seem as daunting to you as the task
that is before me on Sunday, but with hard work, determination and practice,
nearly every one of you that wants to learn to confer our degrees certainly
can.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So what is
the reward for going the extra mile?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What can proper planning and execution do for seemingly impossible
tasks?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Right
Worshipful Grand Master, Thomas K. Sturgeon, came into office having seen fifty
consecutive years of decline in membership.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He recognized the critical importance of reversing that trend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He stood at a starting line nearly 18 months
ago and had an imposing task ahead of him, but when the gun sounded, he fixed
his mind on a goal and did not stop fighting until it had been reached.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last year our membership grew. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was it a massive expansion?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But compared to the usual loss of approximately 3,000, a net gain of 450
was phenomenal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It did not happen on its
own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the result of years and
months and hours of preparation and of all of us going the extra mile to see
his vision achieved.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This year we
will again be holding a One Day Journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you have a son or grandson, father or grandfather, nephew, uncle,
neighbor or coworker that you believe would be a good Mason, ask him to join.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tell him you think enough of him to have
invited him to be a part of the greatest Fraternity in the history of the
world.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I know you
have all been asked to do a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You
were asked by the Grand Master last year to raise funds for the Masonic
Villages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have asked you to raise at
least $2,000 for the Masonic Youth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am
happy to report that my Marathon for Masonic Youth is on its way to raising at
least that much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As of this afternoon, I
have had $1798.79 contributed by individuals, Masons and non Masons who
recognize the important mission of the Pennsylvania Masonic Youth Foundation as
well as the good work of Pitcairn Rainbow Assembly and Lincoln Chapter, Order
of DeMolay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My work is not finished, I
feel like I can exceed the original goal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I would love to be able to say to myself as I run that every mile I run
will earn $100 for the Youth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That means
we need to work a little harder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can
help me by donating tonight – I accept both cash and checks – or you can visit
the <a href="http://padistrict54.org/">District Web</a> Page </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">and connect to the secure Paypal
site and donate that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ask you all
to be benevolent as we are taught here in the Craft.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Help me go the extra mile – or extra 26
miles, 385 yards to build and grow our youth groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If our finish line as Masons is making a
better world for all, then the youth is where we must start. <span style="background-color: white; color: red;">Editor's Note: The goal set that evening was, to say the least, exceeded. As I lined up at the start line, I knew that each mile I ran would bring over $267 to our Masonic Youth! I am, to this very minute, humbled by the outpouring of generosity by my friends and Brothers. Thank you all.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It has been
said that every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up and it knows it must
outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up, it knows that it must run
faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or a
gazelle, just that when the sun comes up you'd better be running.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Your
personal goal may be to run a marathon, run a Lodge or improve yourself and the
world in which you live.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever race
you find yourself in, run it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP07Y6PZw_1-oKKyfuF8S42RW32zjszrOsHFpFBWh_qhVwW0Dmh4t7m2LR-Nu8yczfBz7sSNQhXK9a5XMgKdzfCM9TGAPFk-4b2sPRoPCxKpmzFYGPrzsdpQFaBVtmXv7IfO2lP960sM8/s1600/Marathon+For+Masonic+Youth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP07Y6PZw_1-oKKyfuF8S42RW32zjszrOsHFpFBWh_qhVwW0Dmh4t7m2LR-Nu8yczfBz7sSNQhXK9a5XMgKdzfCM9TGAPFk-4b2sPRoPCxKpmzFYGPrzsdpQFaBVtmXv7IfO2lP960sM8/s320/Marathon+For+Masonic+Youth.jpg" width="293" /></span></a></div>
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</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-70374973855899588892012-01-31T23:07:00.002-05:002012-02-01T16:15:46.627-05:00Staying In Your Infinity<br />
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<span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Before death takes away what you are given,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">give away what is there to give.</span><span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">No dead person grieves for his death. He
mourns only what</span></div>
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<span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">he didn't do. Why did I wait? Why did I not .
. . ? Why did I</span></div>
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<span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">neglect to . . . ?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I cannot think of better advice to send. I
hope you like it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">May you stay in your infinity.</span><span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #31337b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Peace.
~ Rumi</span><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">That is an excerpt from one of a very small number of
letters written by the Sufi poet Rumi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As
I reflected upon those words recently – what they should mean to me and how I
need to order my life so that I might stay in my own infinity – my mind would
wander through the things in my past that I did not handle as well as I should
have, people I should have been more kind to, words that I should not have left
unsaid, and some that perhaps I should have; things I have done and not done
that have changed my life and the lives of others.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Often we act as though the things we do and say are
self-contained – that they exist in a vacuum and are a part of only our own
world, not the bigger world around us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We forget that the things we do and do not do affect others just as much
or more than ourselves.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">“Is P.J. having a mid-life crisis,” you ask.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And what does this have to do with
Freemasonry?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And quite a
lot actually.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, as I meditated on
those beautiful words of Rumi, I came to realize that the one thing that all of
my questions had in common was that they were tied to charity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was I generous enough with my money, my forgiveness,
my kindness or my love?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Faith, Hope and Charity are the three basic Moral
lessons of the Craft, and Charity, my Brothers, is the most important tenet of
this great Fraternity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In some
jurisdictions, it is said in the first degree that </span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">"Faith may be lost in sight; Hope ends in
fruition; but Charity extends beyond the grave, through the boundless realms of
eternity."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">So central should these
ideals be to a Mason’s heart, that in 1820 the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania
commissioned William Rush to make sculptures of those three virtues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are on display at the Grand Lodge in
Philadelphia to this day and are absolutely exquisite pieces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">As I have traveled last year and asked you to donate to my Marathon for Masonic Youth, many
of you came forward with cheerful hearts and given generous pledges to
support the Pennsylvania Masonic Youth Foundation and the Youth Groups within
the District.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every single time I
receive a notification from the website, or one of you comes to me with your
donation, I feel a profound sense of pride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pride, not in what I am able to do for the youth through this run, but
pride in my association with men of such fine character that they will gladly
give of what they have to help others. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">At my Official Visit to Infinity Lodge, they
gave away over $17,000 to charity and they were nowhere near done for the year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
you were there with me that night, you might not even remember the amount, but
I am certain that you would remember the spirit in which it was given.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A Brother would rise and mention a need that
he believed the Lodge could fulfill, then a vote was taken and the Lodge would
unanimously assent to filling that need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That kind of unhesitating generosity stands in stark contrast to how
some Lodges view charity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have heard
charity requests called shakedowns; I have been in Lodges that have debated for
fifteen minutes or more about whether or not a food pantry really needs a
donation from a Masonic Lodge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have
also witnessed people voting no – out loud – to donating $50.00 to the Katrina
relief efforts a few years ago.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">I am here to tell you tonight that we must change how
we look at Charity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Am I suggesting that
each and every hand that knocks at our door should go away filled?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Am I asking that any Lodge empty its bank account to fulfill our charitable
mission?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I am saying is that if we do not do
what we can for others, when we are able, we are not being true to our ideals,
and at some future date, we may mourn what we did not do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">It has often been said that the true secret of Freemasonry
is not in a word, or a grip or a sign, but in that ineffable bond that is
formed when men of different faiths, creeds, occupations and stations in life
kneel at her Altar and obligate themselves to be the best men they can be.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">It has been my greatest privilege to meet some of the
finest men I have ever known here within Masonry's sacred walls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of you I never would have crossed paths
with had it not been for Freemasonry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Most of us don’t share the same occupation, or hobbies or even socialize
with the same groups outside of here, but we share a deep belief that we can do
better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can come here, find our
better selves and help change the world we live in when we leave this place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">I look out on you tonight and see men for whom I am
truly thankful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your charity to me may
have been a charity of patience as I learned my Masonic work, or of forgiveness
for words not-so-well-chosen; you may have been generous with your praise or
your thanks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">You may even just be a kindred spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Someone with whom I connect on a level that
is too deep to explain; someone I know would gladly give anything to help me
and I would be eager to help in the same way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">We can all think of people we know this well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to give thanks for their generosity
to us and be ever willing to give in the same way back to them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Remember that when our end approaches, as Rumi says, we
will not grieve for our death, but the things we didn’t do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be generous with your treasure, liberal with
your praise, abundant with your kindness and most of all, be unselfish with
your love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do not approach your end
wishing you could have done more, do it now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“I cannot think of better advice to send.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope you like it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May you stay in your infinity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Peace…” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-30978873016752601702011-11-08T21:32:00.004-05:002011-11-08T22:56:38.973-05:00There Is a Season<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Greetings once again Brethren. I have been absent from the blog lately and for that I apologize. Over the next few weeks, I will post those addresses I gave at this year's visitations with little change. I ask you, therefore, to forgive such references as may be slightly out of date. A good example may be found in the opening sentence below.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This address was given at Infinity Lodge No. 546 on April 13th</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">There Is a Season</span></span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Harshness gone. All at once caring spreads over<br />
the naked gray of the meadows.<br />
Tiny rivulets sing in different voices.<br />
A softness, as if from everywhere,<br />
<br />
is touching the earth.<br />
Paths appear across the land and beckon.<br />
Surprised once again you sense<br />
its coming in the empty tree. – Rilke</span></blockquote><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Though the air certainly doesn’t feel like it, the calendar tells us that it is spring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of you know that I’m a runner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m usually out five or six days a week, regardless of the weather, training for the marathon.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">I’ve been a running and cycling enthusiast for almost ten years now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Conservatively, I have logged more than 7,000 miles on foot and probably the same distance on the bike, the vast portion of both being outdoors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me, one of the unexpected benefits of exercise has been to be in tune with the cycles of nature.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">There is something about every season of the year that I love.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">The summer brings warmth and a total greening of the world around me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything seems to be alive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the fall, I love the gold and red glow given off by the trees as the first light of morning hits the tops of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The smell of the fallen leaves and the damp fall air make every run seem special.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the winter, I love making the first set of tracks as I wind my through the woods; the skeletal trees standing in dark contrast to the yet-to-be trodden snow.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Spring, more than any season, is always special to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the days begin to get longer, the crocuses and iris start to poke their heads out of the ground and awaken.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The birds return and the once silent trails are noisy early in the morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The earth and almost everything on it seems to be poised for rebirth.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">As I ran this week and marveled at all that was being born again around me, my thoughts turned toward our Fraternity and the rebirth it is experiencing.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">When we think about spring, we seem to think that everything happens on its own – that the plants just go to sleep in the fall and wake up again in April.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that’s not quite true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plants spend the summer storing much-needed nutrients to help them survive the winter and re-emerge when the climate is more inviting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Animals, in the same way, either spend the summer gathering what they need to survive the harsher months, or leave the area and use great amounts of energy to return with spring.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">We as Masons must recognize that every year for us must bring with it a renewed focus, an expending of our energies and a time to plan for our future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a tendency to think of what we do in and for our Lodge as linear; we learn a Degree, get certified and then confer it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After that we move on to the next.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or we move through the chairs of the Lodge, learning the work of each station.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We continue to advance until we reach the East.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After that we relax and watch others do it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There always seems to be a beginning, a middle and an end.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">If we viewed our Masonic duties as cyclical, how much better off would our Fraternity be?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if every summer meant we spent the time learning our work for the next station we are to hold or reading a Masonic book?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every fall could be a time to shed one bad habit or improve one thing about ourselves as men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We could spend each winter volunteering in our communities and helping those in need at a very hard time of the year.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Spring then could be our time for rebirth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We could talk to the people we know and love about how special Freemasonry is to us - and I know that if you are here tonight, Freemasonry is special to you.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">I would be willing to wager that each and every one of you knows at least one great man who is not a Mason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He may be a neighbor, a co-worker, an acquaintance from your house of worship or even a relative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He may or may not even know you are a Mason, but that doesn’t matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What does matter is that you know he would be a good Mason and it is your duty – to yourself, to your Lodge and to your friend – to let him know how much more full his life could be by joining this great band of men.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">My maternal grandfather was one of the best men I ever knew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He worked most of his life as a brakeman for the Union Railroad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was simple man with a gentle soul and lived his life with a quiet dignity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My understanding is that he attended Lodge – even if it was a little sporadically.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no recollection of him every wearing a Masonic ring or seeing anything Masonic in his house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">It wasn't until he went into the hospital in 1997, where he eventually died, that I found out he was a Mason.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">The Friend to Friend video arrived in his mail. I asked my mom what it was. She said "I don't know, but Pap's a Mason. Ask him." I asked him if I could watch it and he said yes. I never had the chance to watch it while he was alive since I was spending so much time with him. But after I saw his Masonic funeral and was so touched by its words, I relayed that story to the Worshipful Master. He told me to watch the video and to contact him if I was interested in what it had to say. The rest is history obviously, but I can't help thinking that if he could have asked me to join back then, he would have. I am thankful that he is chiefly responsible for me being a Mason, but I would be lying if I did not say I have some regret that we missed out on years of sitting in Lodge together and growing closer as brothers, not just as grandfather and grandson.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I have brought petitions with me for this year’s One Day Journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will be held at the Greater Pittsburgh Masonic Center on November 5<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>th</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the meeting is over, come ask me for one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Give it to someone who you KNOW will be a good Mason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you would rather, he can also advance the traditional way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How he comes to be a Mason is not important.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is important is that you will help a good man become a great one through his participation here.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Brethren, as I close, I implore you to let this time of year reawaken your spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let the Masonic Renaissance be a rekindling for you of the fire that burns deep within your heart and the heart of every Freemason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Commit yourselves unequivocally to the ideals of our Fraternity and remember that your commitment does not end with the setting of the sun or the change of the season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It must continue always, being born anew every year so that you are forever worthy of the title Freemason!</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-58272567718502599232011-04-14T09:51:00.000-04:002011-04-14T09:51:03.640-04:00Honor and Recognition<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"></span></b></span><div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">On March 8th, I made my Official Visit to Penn Brotherhood Lodge No. 635. The Worshipful Master, Brother Art Lindsay, and all the officers were in fine form. We awarded four 50 Year Service Pins and it was great to hear those men speak about what Freemasonry has done for their lives. My address is below.</span></span></div><div align="left" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">Honor and Recognition</span></span></div><div align="left" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;">"MEN WANTED: FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOUR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS."</span></b><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;">- SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON</span></b><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">What you just read was an advertisement that was supposedly run in a London newspaper by Brother Sir Ernest Shackleton.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may just be a legend, as there is no extant copy of the ad, but as the legend goes, according to Shackleton, “It seemed all the men of Great Britain were determined to accompany me, the response was so overwhelming.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Why do you suppose that an advertisement that details such certain agony would engender such a response from the readers?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is it about honor and recognition that motivates men to take such risks?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are there lessons that we as Freemasons can take from that and apply to our Lodges and our lives?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As a culture today, we have by and large embraced the easy life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are few people who would read Shackleton’s advertisement and be motivated to apply for the job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, there is no mention of health benefits, vacation, sick time or a 401k.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why on earth would we be interested?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That mentality has also seeped into our Lodges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why should I pay higher dues?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What benefit do I get out of holding a fundraiser for the Masonic Villages?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How will working on a community service project help me?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I cannot stand before you and tell you that doing any of those things will be of direct benefit to you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may reap the ancillary benefits of improving your community or supporting Masonic Charities at some point in your life, but I would be lying if I told you that there would be an immediate and recognizable benefit to you personally for doing it.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I will tell you, however, that the satisfaction you will have from working hard to ease the path for others will be great.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Last year when I addressed this Lodge, I told the story of a king who placed a large boulder in the road to see who would move it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the able-bodied men walked by it, thinking themselves above the task.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A small boy finally moved it fearing that someone would be injured by it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Under it, he found a bag of gold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I told this story in hopes of inspiring you to action – to making you understand that clearing the path for others makes our passage easier as well. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Were some of the Lodges inspired to action?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was yours?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll allow you to decide that for yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If your answer is no, then it is incumbent upon you to make it happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do not look at the man to your left or to your right and assume that it is he who should lead the charge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you elected officers are not doing it, volunteer to do it for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I am speaking now of all the programs of the Renaissance – Open Houses, Community Service, Membership Growth, Suspensions and everything else that we have been striving to change in the last fourteen months.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I spoke to you recently about the importance of not resting on our laurels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mentioned that I expected the Lodges in this District to continue raising funds for Masonic Charities because doing that is the right thing to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am challenging Penn-Brotherhood Lodge and all the Lodges of the 54th District to hold fundraisers this year both for the <a href="http://www.pmyf.org/">Pennsylvania Masonic Youth Foundation</a> - at least $2,000 to this most deserving charity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I expect you to band together and do what it takes to make the contributions that you should to the youth groups that we all support.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why should you do this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why should the members of this Lodge come together, give up one or more Saturdays to raise funds for the kids or the elderly?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because you are Freemasons and if you are true to your calling, you know that being charitable is the right thing to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Saying we are charitable and being charitable are two very different things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being a Freemason, and yet sitting on your hands and or wallets when called to action are to me irreconcilable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When a need exists within our Fraternity or without, we must unhesitatingly jum p up and be the first to try and meet it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must put aside concerns for our own lost time, or expended energy and do what we know is right.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I am calling on our leaders – those of you who hold, or aspire to hold, elected offices in your Lodges to do what you are called to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lead your Lodges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Find causes that you believe in, rally support, make the plans and take the steps necessary to make your events successful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Rallying support may mean more than putting an announcement in your Lodge bulletin that you want help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may mean picking up the phone and personally contacting your members to solicit their help. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The wages will be small for each of you who participates, but you will not have to deal with bitter cold, months of complete darkness or constant danger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The honor and recognition will be the self-satisfaction of a job well done.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I mentioned at my first Visitation that I will not ask you to do something that I am not willing to do as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will not stand here and pay lip service to the idea of working hard for our charities without doing it myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am running the Pittsburgh Marathon on May 15<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>th</sup> and am hoping to raise $2,000 through pledges of support from friends, family and my Brothers (my ever so generous Brothers) to donate to the DeMolay and Rainbow groups in the 54<sup>th</sup> District as well as to the Pennsylvania Masonic Youth Foundation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a link on the <a href="http://padistrict54.org/">District Website</a></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> where you can make secure online donations through PayPal using a credit card, debit card or your PayPal account.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I encourage you – nay, I beg you – to give any amount that you feel comfortable donating, knowing that it both supports the youth of our area and forces me to suffer through 26 agonizing miles of running through the streets of Pittsburgh for the cause.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Brethren, I know it seems at times that Freemasonry may ask a lot of you, but to be worthy of the reward you must answer the call.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You must view your membership in the greatest Fraternity in the world as the “honor and recognition” that Shackleton spoke of and therefore be willing to endure – metaphorically speaking – small wages, months in complete darkness and constant danger.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I ask you, members of Penn Brotherhood Lodge as well as all of you here to become engaged in the future of your Lodge and of your Fraternity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will be better men for it. </span></span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-92074975451453551852011-03-13T21:43:00.003-04:002011-03-14T14:36:57.987-04:00Do Me a Favor<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">On March 3rd, I attended Pollock Lodge No. 502 for my second Official Visit of the year. I was delighted that almost ninety Masons showed up for the evening. The Worshipful Master, Brother Jim Tomson, and all of the Officers and members made me and every visitor feel at home.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">We gave 50 year emblems to two of their members and heard them talk about how special the bonds were that they developed through their membership in this great fraternity.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I gave the following address at the end of the evening:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Do Me a Favor</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The deed is everything, the glory nothing. – Johanne Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust</span> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If you’ve been to more than one or two of my visitations, there is a better than average chance that you have heard me tell a story about Maestro Robert Page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bob was the long-time Conductor and Music Director of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, an organization I sang with for many years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To my knowledge, Bob is not a Mason, but he embodies, both in spirit and in action, many of the virtues that Masons endeavor to practice.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">O</span>ne snowy night years ago, we were at the final rehearsal for a very challenging piece of music. We knew that there was still work to be done if it was to be perfect and all of us, including Bob, were feeling the pressure. At a break in the rehearsal, a young man, new to the group looked outside and saw that there was quite a bit of snow on the ground. He called his roommates and asked if the buses were still running.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“No. It looks like service was suspended because of the snow,” was the reply he got. This young man who knew no one in the group particularly well, summoned the courage to approach Bob and timidly ask, “Maestro, I hate to be a bother but I need a favor. Is there any way I can get a ride home with you after rehearsal?”</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“Absolutely,” he replied. “Don’t think a thing of it.”</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">That, in and of itself, is not so remarkable. What happened next was. As we returned from our break, mentally steeling ourselves for another exhausting hour of intense rehearsal, Bob put down his baton, pulled up a stool and began to teach a life lesson.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“I was just asked to do someone a favor and I wanted to talk a little about what that means. A student asked me to give him a ride home tonight. He lives less than one block off of my route home. Now is that a favor? Is it really doing someone a favor to drop them at a house that I was driving by anyhow?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“To me, doing a favor for someone,” he continued, “should imply a hardship or inconvenience on the bestower. We are too quick to classify what should just be acts of decency as favors. A favor would have been driving him to the opposite side of Pittsburgh. A favor is changing a stranger’s tire while you are wearing a tuxedo or mowing an elderly neighbor’s lawn.”</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So in his own way, Bob did me a favor that night. He gave up several precious minutes of much-needed rehearsal to teach a lesson that will stick with me forever: That we should consider the needs of others over our own needs, and that we should do things for people, not because it makes us feel good, but because it is the right thing to do.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Do I live up to that standard all or even most of the time? No. There are some of you who do, but most of us know we could improve. We sometimes focus on the glory, not the deed, or we assume someone else will pick up the slack since we’re too busy to help this time.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As Masons we are taught to be charitable. Certainly charity has to do with being generous with our monetary gifts, but we need to be charitable with our time and our talents as well.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Pollock Lodge is an example of generosity by any of those definitions. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">They have held fundraisers, not just for the Masonic Homes at Elizabethtown, but also for members of their community who are in need. They have made their Lodge a presence in the community.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">They volunteer their skills and talents to improve the building, making it into a place they want to spend their time.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">They consistently travel to my Official Visits in an effort to win the Travelling Trowel. They come to the School of Instruction and rehearse weekly at their own Lodge.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Could each and every one of them find some other way to use their time, talents and treasure? Of course. What makes them and several of our Lodges different is that they did not. They choose to come here and labor for what they see as something very worthwhile. They do their Lodges a favor by sacrificing time at home or socializing with friends to be here several nights a month.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And the Lodge in turn does a favor to the community. It gives back by helping the distressed, cleaning up parks and playgrounds, volunteering at soup kitchens and hospitals. It also gives back in another and maybe unexpected way. It often brings in men who were searching for purpose and a way to be a part of something greater than themselves. It teaches them that service to others, self-improvement and continually striving for what is right are what it means to be a good man. After learning these lessons, those men return to their homes and towns, better fathers, better sons, better husbands and leaders.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Brethren, Pollock Lodge is just one example of doing the right thing by going above and beyond. Many of our Lodges and members do great things, but some are tethered to the ground by fear. Thoreau said “In the long run, men hit only what they aim at.” Perhaps we need to adjust our sights then. Perhaps we need to aim not at limping the Lodge along for another year, but at making it flourish.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Think about what your ideal Lodge would be. Would you want it to be a place where men are anxious to spend their time? Would your ideal Lodge give to others without hesitation when the need exists? Would a nonMason look at your membership and long to be in company with you?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If the answer to any of those questions is no, ask yourself what you are aiming at. Set goals within your Lodge to improve in those areas that are holding you back. Make more men into Masons this year than your Lodge ever has. Double what you give to charity. In short, aim at something new.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It might not be easy, but the reward will be great. Do yourself a favor. Not the easy kind, but the hard one. Give a little more time or talent or treasure to Freemasonry. Commit to working harder for your Lodge and the men you call your Brothers.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As Phillips Brooks said, “Do not pray for easy lives; pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for power equal to your tasks.”</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Continue to work with your Lodge, with me and with the Grand Master to keep Freemasonry headed in the right direction. I know you will find the power equal to the task. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Do yourself a favor and try.</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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</script></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-315567173672705232011-02-18T07:52:00.000-05:002011-02-18T07:52:18.410-05:00Helping Sisyphus<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Last night was my first Official Visit of 2011. Forbes Trail Lodge and Worshipful Master Pete Randazzo hosted approximately 60 members from the District and I again had the honor of presenting a Fifty Year Service Emblem to one of their own. Before retiring for a fabulous meal, I was pleased to offer the following remarks:</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">Helping Sisyphus</span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In ancient Greece, it was customary to award the winners of Olympic events with a crown fashioned from laurel branches. In modern-day Boston, the winner of the marathon receives the same award and the term laureate, as in Poet Laureate has its origin in the word laurel and signifies that the poet has received a special honor for his or her work.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In the most recent <a href="http://www.pagrandlodge.org/freemason/0211/index.html">Freemason Magazine</a>, you may have read that for the first time in fifty years, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania has seen an increase in membership - in fact we have increased by 449 members since the end of 2009. That they have seen an increase can also be said of a few of the Lodges represented here tonight, not all of them unfortunately, but some. As membership growth was arguably the cornerstone of Grand Master Sturgeon’s 21st Century Masonic Renaissance, it might then be fitting and proper for us to award him a crown of laurels and maybe even give them to ourselves for helping in the effort. After all, it took the hard work of many to see such a feat accomplished.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The tendency after making a great effort can sometimes be to take a break. It is human nature after all to occasionally rest from our labors. Let’s take a look however at those mentioned earlier and see if that is what they would do. Would an Olympian finish the competition and be satisfied to fade into oblivion? Would he see all the hard work and energy spent to reach the pinnacle of success be immediately undone – satisfied to return to his home and ordinary life? Probably not. Would the marathon runner hang up her shoes, never to run again? No. She would probably go out the next day for a recovery run and continue to keep herself in peak physical condition – able to compete again. Would the poet, a person uniquely qualified to craft the written word in such a way as to invoke images, colors and emotions in the minds of all who read his words stop writing and stop dreaming after one poem? No. He would continue to hone his art and make the world a more beautiful place through his words.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The origin of the term “resting on one’s laurels” comes from the idea that people rely on their past achievements rather than constantly moving forward toward a new goal or a new horizon.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I am here to tell you tonight, Brethren, that we as Freemasons are NOT going to rest on our laurels. We are not going to sit back and bask in the glory of a year of growth, pat each other on the back and say “Great job! Let’s go grab a beer.” We are going to use the momentum we have gained to continue to move our Lodges forward, continue to grow and continue to do good works in our communities and for our charities. We shall not be content to sit back, rest on our laurels and say at some future date that we were part of that ONE year when Freemasonry grew.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Grand Master has authorized us to hold regional One Day Journeys. We will be holding ours in conjunction with the 47th and 55th Districts at the Greater Pittsburgh Masonic Center on October 15th of this year. More details will follow, but preliminarily, it will follow a similar format to last year’s event. I expect every Lodge to grow this year - every Lodge. We will set goals for growth and plans to achieve it. If we ask each of our new Brothers from last year’s Journey to recommend at least one friend, we would be nearly there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">To increase our visibility in our communities, we will continue to do service projects, helping to make our towns and neighborhoods places that we can be proud of. To help the public understand just who we are, every Lodge will hold at least one open house and invite the community into the Lodge to see how it works. Breakfasts, sponsorships of community events and booths at local festivals also help to make people aware of who we are and what we do and I encourage your Lodges to consider them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Every Lodge will again hold fundraisers to benefit Masonic and other charities. I expect every Lodge to make at least a $2,000 contribution to Masonic Youth Groups, not because the Grand Master has asked – he has not. Not because I asked either, but because it is the right thing to do. Charity is one of the basic tenets of our Craft and if we do not continually strive to be charitable – especially to those institutions ancillary to our own – then we are not being faithful to our calling as Freemasons. Not every Lodge met the $2,000 request last year. Some did not really even try which is enormously disappointing. This year we all will. I know we will because I am even going to get in on the game. I am training to run the Pittsburgh Marathon in May and I will be seeking pledges for the Pennsylvania Masonic Youth Foundation. There will soon be a link set up on the <a href="http://padistrict54.org/">District Website</a> where pledges can be made by credit card through Paypal. My goal is to raise at least $2,000 as well. I cannot even imagine the embarrassment a Lodge will feel if the District Deputy, using only his feet, his training and four hours of intense suffering, is able to raise more money than its 200 plus members.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Am I asking a lot of you? Maybe. But to those to whom much has been given, much is expected. You have been given the singular honor of being a Freemason. You are following in the footsteps of some of the greatest men ever to walk this earth – poets, writers, men of letters, men who have freed nations from tyranny and countless others who have risked or given their lives that others may be free. So I will ask that question a different way: Is asking you to sacrifice a few hours of your personal time to ease the path for our youth, to better your community and to grow this great Fraternity for another year too much? I hope your personal answer is no.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Sisyphus was a great king of Greek mythology. For overstepping his bounds and angering Zeus, he was condemned to spend eternity pushing a heavy boulder up a hill. Just before he would reach the top with it, however, it would slip away and roll again to the bottom and he would be forced to start all over again. Thus a Sisyphean task is one that is pointless or interminable.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Making Freemasonry better is certainly not pointless, but it most assuredly is interminable. Last year’s growth is just that -last year’s. It is history, relegated to the pages of our own mythology. The boulder is back at the bottom of the hill and must be pushed up again. Instead of watching one man do it himself, let us band together and help Sisyphus. Whether you interpret that as helping your Lodge and Grand Lodge grow and prosper, working to see your Lodge become relevant or making your community a better place to live is up to you. But if we each stand up, put our shoulder to the stone and help our own Sisyphus, we will most assuredly lighten the load for others and make ourselves again worthy of the name Freemason, not resting on our laurels while there is work yet to be done.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I want you to join me - not because I ask, but because you know it is the right thing to do – join me in continuing the hard work required to make this Fraternity greater so that we can look back in years to come and say not that we were part of that <em>one</em> year when we grew, but that we were there at the beginning of its Renaissance, the time that Freemasonry reawakened and began the long-term rise to the greatness it deserves.</span><br />
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<!-- AddThis Button END -->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-79277815465720173112010-11-24T18:07:00.000-05:002010-11-24T18:07:46.387-05:00Love, Loss and Thanksgiving<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I just found out a few days ago that the wife of a dear friend and Brother passed away after what her obituary called a one-week battle with leukemia.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The funeral service was November 24th, the day before Thanksgiving. Now, for as long as I have known my friend, I never had the opportunity to meet his wife, with the possible exception of a quick hello at his house one afternoon a few years back. I thought, mistakenly, that this would be an easy funeral to attend (if any funerals are easy) since I really shared nothing with her. No memories, no experiences no connection to her other than her husband. As I entered the church lobby, I saw my friend. He said he was doing well, that today would be a celebration. He knew there would be some tears, but he wore a genuine smile and the sparkle that is typically in his eye was there as well. Easy, I thought.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">When I entered the sanctuary, I saw her picture being projected onto the walls in the front of the church. She wore her hair in a blond bob, combed perfectly, looking directly at the camera with a squinty smile that made me think she knew a secret that she wasn't quite ready to tell. She looked warm and caring and I instantly wished that I had known her. I was overcome with sadness - as much as I have ever experienced at a funeral. Why? We were a full degree of separation from each other. What was it that made me mourn so deeply? I tried to figure it out as I listened to the opening remarks from the pastor, the guitar and vocals of "God of This City" and a touching video tribute. I saw her as a child, at family reunions, graduations, at her wedding to my friend who evidently had a lot more hair and a big seventies moustache long before we knew each other, the birth of her children and her later years (if you can call 52 "later years"). I figure there may have been sixty pictures, each one on average 1/60th of a second exposure, so her life was distilled to a total of one second of time captured in those images. It was left to me to imagine the time between those frozen instants, the time that makes a life. The time we laugh, struggle, give thanks, question, cry and love. I realized at that moment why I was so sad. In between her beginning and her end, spanning the years of her story, this woman I didn't know - the one keeping that really great secret-loved my friend - helped to make him who he is. She loved someone I love, so I loved her and her death leaves a void of sorts for me.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So on this Thanksgiving I am grateful for those who have touched my life without my even knowing it. I am thankful for the people that love me and for those I love. I'd like to think most of you know who you are, but if I were honest with myself, I know I could be better about showing you.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And I shall be.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Pax vobiscum</i> Kelly, <i>et cum spirito tuo.</i></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099005715792343600.post-34942164768363990282010-05-12T20:56:00.000-04:002010-05-12T20:56:44.175-04:00Pride of Ownership<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Last night Tyrian Lodge No. 644 played host to my ninth Official Visit of the year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We had a great deal of work on the Trestleboard. We presented two Fifty Year Embles and a Sixty Year wreath. I had the opportunity to present a Century Club pin and certificate to Brother Byrl Johnson. Brother Byrl has conferred 153 degrees in his own Lodge and countless others in Lodges all over the area.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We also awarded the final Travelling Trowel award to Pollock Lodge No. 502 and the Boaz and Jachin Ritual Excellence Award to Bethel Lodge No. 789. Congratulations to the Brethren and the Lodges for each of their honors.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I was pleased to offer the following address when called upon for remarks:</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Pride of Ownership</strong></span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></font><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">One ship sails east, another west,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">By the self-same winds that blow.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It isn't the gales, it's the set of the sails,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">That determines the way we go.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">-Ella Wheeler Wilcox</span></div></blockquote><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">For several months now, I have come before you to talk about the Grand Master’s 21st Century Masonic Renaissance. You all know about the great tools he has given us to help slow the membership decline in our Fraternity. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">You all know that we can now ask men of good character to join; that we have a brochure entitled <em>You’re Invited</em> to answer any questions they may have. I have told you all about the One Day Journey to be held on October 30th where a man can become a Mason in just one day. He will need training and guidance after, but he can take all of his Degrees and be a full-fledged Mason by the early afternoon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">You know about the “Call to the Craft” program that makes phone calls to your members fast and easy. We have shared our Acts of Kindness, and talked about the monthly service projects and fundraisers, all designed to boost our image in the community and the individual Mason’s pride in his membership.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In ancient Athens, the young men of the city had to take the following oath upon reaching their majority:</span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We will never bring disgrace on this our City by an act of dishonesty or cowardice.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We will fight for the ideals and Sacred Things of the City both alone and with many.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We will revere and obey the City's laws, and will do our best to incite a like reverence and respect in those above us who are prone to annul them or set them at naught.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We will strive increasingly to quicken the public's sense of civic duty.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Thus, in all these ways we will transmit this City, not only not less, but greater and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us.</span></li>
</ul><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Wouldn’t it be great if we could take that kind of delight in our Fraternity? How much more grand would we be if every Mason felt that kind of pride of ownership. That’s what we are, owners – or perhaps stewards would be more accurate – of the Craft. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">What does it mean to transmit [the Lodge], <em>not only not less</em>, but greater and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us? It means work. It means labor and toil and sweat and tears and sacrifice. There are Lodges in this District that have not read a single petition this year. Those same Lodges will suspend members and undoubtedly lose a few through death. Conversely, there are Lodges which have read more than ten petitions for Initiation and may suspend few or no Masons because they have done the work necessary. They have used the Call to the Craft for dues reminders and have made personal calls to delinquent Brothers reminding them of the value of being a Freemason. <em>It isn’t the gales, but the set of the sails that determines the way we go.</em></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Many of you know I’m a fairly avid runner. I don’t generally run very far – only about three to four miles at a time – but I do run frequently. Recently, a friend suggested that we run the half marathon in Pittsburgh together. I said yes thinking it would never happen. Well, on May 2nd, I woke up at 4:30 in the morning, drove down to the city with Gail (my cheering section) and joined 16,000 other people at the common start of the marathon and half marathon. Prior to that time, the longest run I had ever taken was ten miles. I’m now set to increase that by thirty percent all at once. During the race, there were stretches of straightaway where you could see thousands of people ahead of you and thousands behind you all working toward the same goal. It made me wonder what our Fraternity would be like if we did that.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Gail asked me why I wanted to do it. I guess the answer is that I wanted to see what I was capable of, and the only way to find out was to try.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">At the end of the race, there are people there to place a finisher’s medal around your neck. Those of you who have heard me decry participant trophies may sense some irony here, but I assure you this is something different. You see, excluding the elite athletes who are racing each other, the half marathon and marathon are challenges to yourself. They are races against the inner voices that tell you that you cannot overcome adversity or pain; that quitting would be easier. When I crossed the finish line, I did not care about who was in front of me because I wasn’t racing against them. I beat the part of me that said you can’t do it and that was my victory. I now have pride of ownership in that medal because it was purchased by my sweat and hard work.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We need to bring that kind of drive to our Lodge. We need to set our goals high and then work to attain them. Soon, what was difficult and cumbersome becomes habit and custom. You won’t mind doing the hard work, because it will become part of what you do. The victory will be the perpetuity of the Lodge; it will be in leaving it <em>not only not less</em>, but greater than when it was in your care. Every single Lodge in our District should grow in 2010. There is no reason for that not to happen. The Grand Lodge has given you the tools, now you need to pick them up and use them. Be mindful of the men in your life who would make good Masons. Tell them about the good things we do and invite them to be a part of it. Freemasonry is yours Brethren, be proud of that.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In 1914 Brother Sir Ernest Shackleton’s was preparing for an expedition to the South Pole. There is a legend that states he placed a newspaper ad recruiting men for his ship The Endurance. The ad read:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">MEN WANTED FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The story is told that he received thousands of applicants for the trip.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Our journey is not hazardous, there is no bitter cold, constant danger or complete darkness and our safety is not in doubt. Our journey on the Renaissance will require effort. It will take some time and sacrifice on the parts of all of us. Our reward will be honor and pride. Honor, in that we did the right thing for Freemasonry even though it was difficult. Pride, in knowing that our labor is responsible for the successful future of the Craft we all love so deeply.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Set your sails and join me Brethren!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735791249290866897noreply@blogger.com1