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Issue No. 21 September 22, 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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R:.W:. Joseph R. Leo R:.W:. David L. Blasch V:.W:. John W. Cola V:.W:. Scott A. Klein Lodges of the Athelstane Cornerstone Goshen Hoffman Hudson River Jerusalem Temple Naurashank Port Jervis Stony Point-Wawayanda Wallkill Warwick West Point |
Wow, what an awesome week! Last weekend began with the first session of the Individual Development Course (iDC) and the Brothers across the state are raving about the new format. In fact, the feedback has been so positive that the Grand Master has asked the state iDC team to keep registration open until the second session on October 21st. If you are interested in joining us, please contact R:.W:. David Blasch for more information. Saturday continued with a visit to Hudson River Lodge's Annual Pig Roast. It was an overwhelming afternoon of food, fun, prizes, and karaoke. I saw Brothers from half a dozen Lodges and their families there enjoying themselves. I hope to see that tradition continue! On Sunday, we celebrated Masonic Family Day at Tappan, and there's more on that in the news section below. Suffice to say, it was a blast! Our week continued with In-Lodge Rededication ceremonies at Hoffman and Wallkill Lodges. Both were moving affairs, which led me to write the piece contained later in this issue; I hope you will take the time to read it. The coming week is just as busy, with our first DDGM Visit at Hudson River Lodge on Wednesday, followed by the visiting Connecticut Degree Team at West Point Lodge on Friday and Masonic Family Day at West Point on Saturday. Finally, I hope to see everyone at the District Apron Representations on Sunday October 1st in Walden (details below). Please be sure to RSVP for the Connecticut Degree Team and Apron Representation events. We'd love to see everyone there but we MUST be able to plan for food. That's it for now, have a great week! A NEW YEAR'S GREETING FOR OUR JEWISH BRETHREN
September 18, 2006
Brethren, Friday evening, September 22, 2006 marks the start of the High Holy Days for those of the Jewish faith. Sundown on that Friday is the first night of Rosh Hashanah and the holiday culminates on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, on Monday, October 2nd. It is always appropriate to extend to our Brothers and their families our warmest wishes. It is especially meaningful for the Jewish New Year 5767 as we have seen such turmoil in the world in the months just passed. This period of the Jewish High Holy Days is a time for personal introspection, remembrance, and acts of charity. It is a time for us to reflect on the year just completed and to examine our good deeds and accomplishments as well as our short falls, and acts for which we seek forgiveness. The spirit of the season speaks to us as Freemasons as well, as we look at the year ahead. Our plans are now laid out on our Trestleboard, both personal and fraternal, and we pray that we all have the guidance of the Great Architect of the Universe to proceed with all our doings for the benefit of our own growth and the benefit of mankind. On behalf of the entire Grand Lodge of the State of New York, and our appointed and elected Grand Line, Joyce, Brian and I extend our personal best wishes to all of our Brothers of all faiths, and to those of the Jewish faith and all of those you cherish, we pray for a year of peace (Shalom!), love, good health and fulfillment. L' Shana Tova ! (Happy New Year!) Neal I. Bidnick Some Thoughts on Rededication
I would like to congratulate our Lodges
who have participated in the 225th Anniversary In-Lodge Rededication
Services. Those which I have attended have been moving affairs, an opportunity
to not only recite our obligations but to reflect on them. Some Brothers
have commented that this is the first time they have really done so.
Let’s face it, when we knelt at the altar and took our Degrees,
we were more focused on repeating the words correctly than their meaning.
For those of us who have conferred Degrees, standing at the altar, we
were more focused on the next line even as we provided the former to
the candidates.
In our Obligations, we discuss our duty to God, our neighbors, and ourselves. In our Third Degree Charge, we are reminded that it is our duty to make the most and best of ourselves, to identify true manhood and exemplify it. This shouldn’t come easy for us, it’s a lifetime’s work, but our Obligations lay the foundation and offer us the blueprints. The Masonic Compact codifies it for us, specifically reminding us that, because we are Freemasons, we believe in freedom of religion and religious tolerance, the importance of education, our traditions and the importance of our ritual, charity and personal community service, patriotism, friendship, family, fidelity to each other, the importance of personal integrity, and the sanctity of one’s word. My Brothers, this is what Freemasonry is about, we're not in politics or the real estate business. While a physical location is required to meet, a building is not a Lodge; there is not a word in our obligations about roofs, boilers, or replacing screen doors. There is not a word about seeking rank or title or the privilege of position, in fact our Charge reminds us not to measure our worth by money or titles but by the texture of our character. At this time of rededication, I ask that you leave your buildings to Trustee meetings and consider basing your trestleboards on the true work of Masonry set out in our ritual as succinctly defined in our Masonic Compact. For 225 years in New York, and centuries before that around the world, Freemasonry has provided Leaders in every profession and circumstance. In the Individual Development Course, we discuss the four traits of a Leader: Cultivating Trust, Setting Priorities, Self-Discipline, and Casting Your Vision. We also teach that each of these is based on establishing your personal core values. If setting priorities is based on determining what is most important to us, that importance must be based on not only material and practical values but also those which led us to Freemasonry. Self Discipline is based on maintaining our priorities and showing that we can conduct ourselves ethically and morally. Understanding our own core values will enable us to formulate a vision to share with our families, friends, coworkers, Lodges, and communities. With these values established in our hearts and practices, we will cultivate trust in those who surround us, enabling us to Lead and become the new George Washingtons and Benjamin Franklins. This is how Masonry makes good men better, and better men build a better world. I hope that the warmth that you felt or will feel at your Rededications will carry over into your Masonry and your lives in the months and years to come. Consider which of our values are most important to you and how you can implement them in setting your daily priorities. Consider which you do not find relevant to yourself and ask yourself why; can you honestly say that any of the values we have outlined is not important? If YOU’RE Not sure, get a dictionary and look it up, then speak with your Brothers about it. A veterans group visiting our Grand Lodge recently asked permission to reprint the Masonic Compact substituting the words ‘Because I am a Freemason’ with ‘Because I am an American’. We are not alone in recognizing the principles and tenets that not only made men great but have built a great nation. We are each privileged to have those plans imprinted on our hearts and I urge each of you to achieve your own personal greatness through the lessons of our Craft. District Apron Re-Presentations
Brethren, Family, and Friends of Freemasonry,
You are cordially invited to the Public Apron Re-Presentations and Ceremonies honoring the Grand Lodge officers of the Orange-Rockland District R:.W:. Joseph R. Leo, District Deputy Grand
Master Date: October 1, 2006 We hope that you will join our Grand Master, members of the Grand Line, and the Brethren of our District on this special day. Payment in advance is requested so that we can plan the luncheon, but you can RSVP by phone until September 27th. The important thing is having you there! RSVP by September 27 to: Sponsored by Wallkill, Hudson River, Jerusalem Temple,
Goshen, and Athelstane Lodges. DISTRICT NEWS
ORDMA Meeting Masonic Family Day at Tappan I would like to thank those from the District who came out to help, particularly the Brothers from ORDMA and Athelstane Lodge who manned the grills and the Brothers of Naurashank who helped with parking and traffic. For those who couldn't make it, you missed a great day, and I hope you will come out to support this important historical site at future events. West Point Lodge to Host Connecticut Degree Team St. John's Day Investiture Available Online Child ID System Fundraiser Masters and Wardens Meeting Orange-Rockland Child ID Training Brotherhood Fund Meeting 2006 DDGM Visits DATES TO REMEMBER
SCHOOL OF INSTRUCTION
The Orange-Rockland School of Masonic Instruction will convene on the second Monday of each month, at locations around the District. Instruction will rotate on a monthly basis between Ritual, Grand Lodge educational programs, and seminars on topics like Leadership and Communication. Our next School will be held on Monday October 9th at Jerusalem Temple Lodge at 8:00 p.m. The work on the trestleboard will be the Entered Apprentice Degree. A brief Masters and Wardens meeting will precede the School at 7:00 p.m. If you have any questions, please contact the DDGM. We'll see you there! HELP WANTED
Master Mason Degree Assistance Needed *Note
Date Change* Masonic Family Days at West Point Copyright 2006 Orange-Rockland District, GLNY F&AM. All rights reserved. |
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