Building Bridges

On Tuesday, April 20th I made my Official Visit to Plum Creek-Monroeville Lodge No. 799 - my home Lodge.  I was pleased beyond measure to have Brother Vern A. Henery, PDDGM travel with me.  Brother Vern acted as Guide for my Entered Apprentice Mason's Degree, so he was really the first "face" of a Freemason for me.  It was great to have him in the travelling party. 

We presented three Brothers with 50 year Emblems.  What a thrill.

Before retiring to the fellowship hall for an excellent meal, I was pleased to offer the following remarks.

Building Bridges

What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not a goal. - Nietzsche

When you hear the word bridge, what comes to mind? I believe for most people it would be the image of a bridge – Brooklyn, Golden Gate or maybe even a pastoral scene with a small covered bridge spanning a little trout stream. What if I asked what a bridge means? That would be something different entirely.

Dream dictionaries offer several interpretations of bridges. They can symbolize transition from one thing to another, a crossing over or a birth.

Tonight I want to take a close look at bridges and bridge building as those things relate to Freemasonry. We will examine how to build bridges within and without the Craft and ways that Freemasonry itself is a bridge.

In W.A. Dromgoole’s poem The Bridge Builder, a tale is told of an old man travelling alone who comes to a difficult river to cross. He does so, and upon reaching the other side, built a bridge. A traveler on the other side asks him why, since he is old and will never pass through again, he spends his time making a bridge.  Then:

The builder lifted his old gray head.
"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,
"There followeth after me today
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him."

If we are to thrive as a Fraternity, we need to have that kind of vision. Those who came before us did. They set out to establish a legacy – to build a bridge so that generations of men to follow could learn the valuable lessons that the Craft has to offer. They knew that they had something of value and weren’t ashamed that it had a price. They were always mindful that to be responsible meant not only to be able to pay the bills, but to have money left to build a trust fund for the future. Today we are content to rest on our laurels, to live off of the hard work of those who came before.

We must change our thinking Brethren! We need to examine not only what it costs us to run the day to day operations of our Lodge, but what we need to continue to build a bridge (like those who came before did for us) to the next generation of Freemasons. If that means that dues need to increase – and they probably do – then do the right thing. Give the Lodge, its Officers and its members the chance to enjoy Masonry the way our forefathers did. Ensure that your Lodge will be a shining monument to forward thinking and hard work for generations to come. Build the bridge.

Within the Craft we also need to build bridges to those who are thinking of leaving. We MUST contact our delinquent Brethren, ask them why they are giving up membership in the greatest fraternity the world has ever known. If they have fallen on hard times, we need to be charitable. If they have just lost interest, find out why. Maybe we need to look at whether we are providing our members with what they want.

There’s a story about a woman who had stopped going to church for a while. After a few months of sitting home on Sunday, she finally decided to quit. The pastor got her letter and called her. “Why are you leaving our church,” he asked.

“Well, I was getting the feeling that I just didn’t matter to the congregation, so I decided to stay home for a few weeks to see if anyone noticed. No one did, so I guess I was right.”

Sometimes, all we need to do is let the Brethren know they matter. The “Call to the Craft” is an excellent tool to let them hear from you. The Lodges that use it regularly have seen increased attendance. As your May Stated Meeting approaches and it is time to suspend for non payment of dues, you must first have made every effort at a personal contact by telephone and it should be your goal to suspend no one. Let no man feel that our great Craft is better off without him, or he without it. Build a bridge.

So too must we construct bridges to the community. In his 21st Century Renaissance, Grand Master Sturgeon has authorized us for the first time in our history to invite good men to be a part of our Fraternity. He has prepared a brochure answering the questions that most men would have of our organization. What do we do? Who do we help? Where do we come from? What are our ideals? And most importantly, how do I join? It is downright tragic when you consider the number of fine men who have gone to their graves wondering why no one ever asked them to be Masons. There are no doubt men who volunteered in their community, supported their local church, synagogue or temple and walked as uprightly as anyone could who simply couldn’t figure out why they weren’t invited into their local Lodge. The problem is, they never knew that the first step was supposed to be theirs. Not anymore my Brothers. The You’re Invited brochure is now a tool that you can use to start a dialogue with a friend who you deem worthy of our Institution. It is the bridge to a conversation about a man becoming a better father, son, citizen and brother. Use it. Build a bridge.

You see, a problem looming in our not too distant future is that of declining membership. I am preparing a report for each Lodge to show membership statistics over the last five years. I will use Plum Creek Monroeville Lodge for illustrative purposes, but the picture I paint is essentially the same across the board.

In the last five years, this Lodge has initiated, restored or affiliated forty-nine men. In that same period, we have lost to suspension, death or resignation one hundred fifty-four. That is not quite twenty percent of the membership. I don’t think you need me to explain the dangers of that kind of decline.

If you hand a brochure to a friend and he tells you that he is just way too busy to join, the answer is the One Day Masonic Journey. On October 30th we will meet in Soldiers and Sailors Hall and confer the three Craft Masonry degrees by one o’clock, p.m. The One Day Journey is not a shortcut to the Craft. It is a bridge from what we did in the past – because men simply did not have as many demands on their time as they do today – to the 21st Century where we seem to schedule our days, hours and minutes to wring productivity out of each second.

Will some of these men take the Degrees and never be seen again? Yes, and that happens just as often with the traditional conferrals. Will some of them go on to become active members, Officers and even Masters of their respective Lodges? There are several here tonight who bear witness that they will.

Another way to build bridges to nonMasons is through our works. Grand Master Sturgeon has asked us to perform monthly community service projects. The Lodges of the 54th District have answered that challenge. We have volunteered at food banks, answered phones at fundraisers, sponsored teams, picked up litter on highways, read to children at their schools, beautified cemeteries, helped the scouts, the elderly, the veterans and the sick. It is simply astounding what we have been able to do.

When we step into the community to ease the path of others, we are changed as well. The satisfaction of having done something to help should never be your motivation, but it sure is a nice side effect. And when others see our works, they too may be spurred to action. We may become the bridge from self-indulgence to self-sacrifice.

Acts of kindness and selflessness can have a ripple effect. Just as self-interest has deteriorated our communities, so too can altruism rebuild them. It will take patience and time. As water eroded stone slowly – literally one grain at a time – to give us the beauty of the Grand Canyon, we can slowly bring about change in our world by effecting change in ourselves. We can entice good men to do the same by giving them something worthwhile to do and to be. Build those bridges.

Leave this sanctuary of peace tonight, think about good men in your life who are not Masons and invite them to be a part of this esteemed band of men. Support the One Day Journey as a mentor. Volunteer with your Lodges as they build better communities. Be a span – from intolerance to peace, from self-indulgence to self-sacrifice, and from the past to a future made more glorious because Freemasons played their parts.

A Passion for Compassion

Tonight I made my first ever Official Visit to Infinty Lodge No. 546.  The Master and Officers were extremely well prepared and showed every kindness to many of us who were first time visitors. 

I presented 50 Service Emblems to four of the members.  One travelled from South Carolina and another from Detroit to receive their awards.  I asked if it was just a fortunate coincidence that they were in town at this time assuming that perhaps a wedding or family event found them fortuitously in the area.  They both replied that they made this trip specifically to receive the Award in their Lodge surrounded by people they know and love.  That speaks so much for the bonds forged in our great Fraternity.  What a glorious evening.

I had the privilege of offering the following to the assembled Brethren

A Passion for Compassion

. . . May I reach

That purest heaven, -- be to other souls

The cup of strength in some great agony,

Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love,

Beget the smiles that have no cruelty,

Be the sweet presence of a good diffused,

And in diffusion ever more intense!

So shall I join the choir invisible

Whose music is the gladness of the world. – George Eliot

There was once a small girl who lived in on the outskirts of a mountain village with just her mother and a servant. There had been a drought in the land and everyone and everything around was suffering. The girl’s mother was so weak and thirsty that the girl decided on her own to set off into the land and search for some water. She took the little tin dipper from the shelf and walked for hours until she found a tiny spring in the mountains that had just a small amount of water trickling out. The girl patiently held the dipper until she had what she thought was enough water for her sick mother, then she began to make her way back home.

On the way she met up with a little dog. The dog looked so weak to her. He licked her hand and his dry tongue made her take pity. She said to him, “I can only spare a few drops, for my mother is very sick, but you too could benefit from a little water.”

She poured some water into her hand and the dog quickly lapped it up, barked as if to say “Thank you,” and went on his way. The girl looked at the dipper in her hand and realized that the little tin dipper was now made of silver and it was just as full as it had been before.

She continued on her way, hurrying now because it was almost dark. The road was very long and she was so far from home. She was moving so quickly that she began to crave the water herself. “I can’t drink any of this. My mother needs it far more than I do,” she thought.

When she got home, she ran to her mother’s room and held out the silver dipper. Her mother said, “Please give it to our servant. She has been working tirelessly at my side since I have been sick. She needs it far more than I.”

The servant drank from the cup and handed back to the little girl. She looked at the cup in her hands and it was now a dipper of gold and still every bit as full as it was before.

Presently, there was a knock at the door. A stranger appeared before them and said, “I saw a little girl on the road earlier who generously shared her water with a sick dog and was hoping she could spare some for me.”

The mother knew the importance of helping others in need, so she told her daughter to give the dipper to the stranger, who took the cup and turned it upside down, spilling the contents onto the ground.

“From where this water seeps into the ground shall come forth a huge and generous spring that will slake your thirst and feed your land forever,” he said as he handed back the dipper, now encrusted with the most beautiful diamonds.

The family was so in awe of what had happened that they scarcely noticed that the stranger had left without another word. When they turned to thank him for his generosity he was gone, but they thought they could see a trail of diamonds flying into the night sky. Even to this day, they are there in the form of the Big Dipper to remind us of the importance of being compassionate.

What do you think of when you hear someone called compassionate? Is a millionaire compassionate when he donates one hundred dollars to a charity? In some ways, he may be. Is the same donation from a single parent working two jobs and raising children alone far more compassionate? True compassion, you see, cannot be measured simply in dollars. The little girl was willing to share all of what she had with others, not just a little. Giving a little when you have a lot is not nearly as compassionate as sharing a lot when you have a little.

Our Grand Master has asked us to share like that little girl. Through many aspects of the 21st Century Renaissance, he is asking us to give deeply of our time, our talents and our treasure to help make our communities better for everyone; to build springs that will shower our land with abundance forever.

I have talked before about acts of kindness. I encourage you to remember that others judge Masonry by the actions of the Masons. A little empathy for others – helping a stranded motorist, shoveling a driveway or, perhaps more timely in view of today’s balmy weather, cutting someone’s grass – marks you as a good man and your Fraternity as a groomer of good men.

Giving of your talents can include such community projects as renovating a playground or picnic pavilion, or helping prepare someone’s income tax. If you have a way to ease the suffering of another, is it not your duty to do so?

Giving of your time is important too. When you adopt a resident at the Masonic Villages, you will not only be brightening their lives, but I know you will enrich your own. Remember that I said last night that you are never too old to learn. Our residents have unique and interesting stories and spending time with them can be so rewarding.

Our Grand Master has asked us to give of our treasure as well. He wants us to donate fifty cents per member to the youth and hold fundraisers to donate $2,000 to the Masonic Villages. Is that a lot? I don’t know. Was it a lot to ask a thirsty little girl to share all of what she had with others? For some Lodges, each of those amounts may mean hard work, but when you set out to do grand and noble things, you quickly realize that hard work is essential to success. What can possibly be nobler than ensuring the success of our youth by building strong foundations in faith, education and charitable giving? How could we not choose to work hard to maintain our Masonic Villages for those who have gone before us?

We need to give to our charities and our communities so that wells of abundance spring up all around us. If there’s a need, we must provide. If we get tired, that means we are doing our jobs as Masons and men. Men who aren’t Masons should be envious of what we do. When they ask how you find the time to do what you do, hand them a brochure and invite them to find out for themselves.

I charge you tonight to go home, think about what you can do to make a well spring forth in your community. Long to become a source of what is good and right. Share your time, talents and treasure; share the light that is this great Fraternity with good and worthy neighbors, co-workers and family members. Be passionate about being compassionate.

Simply, “be to other souls
The cup of strength in some great agony,
Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love,
Beget the smiles that have no cruelty,
Be the sweet presence of a good diffused,
And in diffusion ever more intense!”


You needn’t wait to join the choir invisible to do it. Make it be so today!

The Character of a Renaissance Man

On Thursday night, a small but mighty group gathered for my first Official Visit of 2010.  The Visitations have not begun as smoothly as I could have hoped.  We had to cancel the first due to the weather, and the parking conditions at Forbes Trail were less than ideal due to the piles of snow everywhere.  Still the forty seven men that attended had an excellent time of fun and fellowship.  My address to the Brethren follows. . .

"Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught.” - JC Watts

Brethren, perhaps nothing has defined Masons more throughout our storied history than the character of its individuals. We often tout the fabled cherry tree incident of Brother Washington, the trip to the moon by Buzz Aldrin and Audie Murphy’s “refusal to give an inch of ground” to advancing Germans in World War II.

These are but a few examples of Masonry’s heroes. We have many more whose exploits outside of the Lodge have earned them fame, fortune and admiration. There are many more within our ranks – all of them if we truly do our jobs as mentors – who are men of character.

Over the years, we may have become a little complacent. We may have found it easier to rest our our laurels – content to live off of the hard work of those who came before us. Our character as a whole never suffered, but our achievements may have.

The 21st Century Renaissance is asking us to once again put that character into action and restore the Masons to our just place as the greatest fraternity the world has ever known. Our Grand Master is asking us to do some things that, frankly, we are no longer used to doing.

Effective immediately, each Lodge is to do monthly service projects to benefit the community – that’s the community, not the Lodge. These projects can be quite literally anything. If bleachers need to be built or a playground repaired, we can answer that call. If a community center needs volunteers or a neighbor needs help with his home, we will be there to help. No longer will people drive by Lodge buildings and wonder what Masons do. They’ll know. They’ll know because they have seen us lend a hand at disasters and they have stood side by side with us as we helped make our neighborhoods and communities beautiful by planting trees or cleaning up parks.

Our obligations shouldn’t end there. We are charged as well to begin doing weekly acts of kindness. It can be as simple as holding the door for someone with a stroller or a walker, or buying breakfast or a cup of coffee for someone you don’t know. It doesn’t have to have a price tag, it can cost nothing, but have untold benefits. When you’re thanked, tell the recipient that thanks is not necessary, we’re Masons and it’s our duty to help. Remember that if every Pennsylvania Mason adheres to the practice, we will have committed over 10 million acts of kindness by the end of 2011. I can’t help but think that the world would be a better place for it.

Remember that we aren’t doing this for ourselves. I recently had an opportunity to try this out at the grocery store. I had the unfortunate luck of truly needing groceries the day before the blizzard – I wasn’t just there for milk, bread and toilet paper. I took my ticket at the deli, number 76, looked at the LED sign that told me they were now serving number 67 and sighed. I waited patiently as they slowly waited on those ahead of me. “75, 75, 75?” shouted the woman behind the counter.  No answer. When she called my number, I gave her the first item in my order.

While my turkey was being sliced, a little woman, barely five feet tall and well into her eighties, turned to me and stated angrily, “What number are they on? I can’t see the sign.” I told her they were on 76. Actually I told her twice because she didn’t hear me the first time. The then objected that she had 75 and they skipped her.

“They definitely called it.  You must have just been busy,” I told her. She started to look agitated, so I put my arm on her shoulder and assured her I would take care of it. When the deli worker handed me the turkey I told her that I wasn’t done but that this lovely young lady had been skipped, to please take care of her and then come back to me. Then I waited for her to say thank you. I rehearsed the line in my head. No need to thank me, I’m a Mason, and it’s my duty to help others. No need to thank me, I’m a Mason, and it’s my duty to help others.  I knew how satisfying it would be to say that in a crowded deli so that dozens of people would witness just how good we are.

The thanks never came! She got her American cheese and chipped ham and walked away – vanished right down the canned vegetable aisle never to be seen again.

Truth be told, I was a little angry that I wasn’t thanked (or even acknowledged), partly because it would have been the courteous thing to do, but partly because I lost the opportunity to say “thanks is not necessary, I’m a Mason and it’s my duty to help.” So maybe character is not only doing the right thing when nobody is looking, but it is also doing the right thing when nobody is caring.

The last thing I want to talk about tonight is the Lodge fundraisers to benefit the Masonic Villages. The Grand Master has challenged each Lodge to hold fundraising events to benefit the Masonic Villages. Notice that I did not say that the Grand Master has challenged each Lodge to donate money to the Masonic Villages. There are many Lodges that are capable of simply writing a check for $2,000 or more and putting the matter to bed, but the idea of combining it with community events serves many other purposes. It gives far more of our Brethren an opportunity to get involved or in some cases reinvolved in the work of the Lodge. It also increases the Lodge’s presence in the community at large. Lastly, it benefits our very own beloved charity, the Masonic Villages. Currently we care for over 2,500 people on the campuses around Pennsylvania. It is a mission of love that we should all want to help with. The Grand Master has asked that we accomplish this prior to the December Quarterly Communication, but because the 54th District is not only not an average District, but the best Masonic District in the best Masonic jurisdiction in the world, I am asking that we complete this task by the June Quarterly Communication.

Will it be easy? Not necessarily. Will it require more effort than we currently put into Masonry? Probably. But will it be rewarding for both those who participate and those who benefit. Undoubtedly.

Brethren, our character calls us as Freemasons to be more than passive spectators on the sidelines of our communities. It calls us to do the right things right now. It calls us to lead and to lead bravely. Join with me in making the 21st Century Masonic Renaissance a success thereby keeping Freemasonry alive to share with our children and grandchildren.

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