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Issue No. 30 November 24, 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 Archives No.
1 5/5/06 |
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Day and wish you luck in surviving the shopping madness of Black Friday and this holiday weekend. I hope you all get through the lines at Best Buy and Sears in time to make the ORDMA meeting on Monday evening. We will once again meet at West Point Lodge, and it promises to be a fun and productive meeting. On the subject of meetings, I would like to remind everyone about a point that I raise during my Official Visits that struck home this week: The importance of conducting interviews in the petitioners home. In his Message, our Grand Master reiterates the importance of conducting thorough interviews in the home, not over a cup of coffee down at the Lodge. One cannot properly assess the home life and attitudes of an applicant's family, and offer them a proper understanding of Masonry, if we do not take the time to follow our ages old process. This week, our Craft lost a promising young Entered Apprentice because he lives at home and his father, who is not in favor of our Craft, saw mail from our Grand Lodge. A proper investigation, conducted in his home, would have identified this issue up front and saved everyone pain and embarassment. We're all busy but some of us are seeking more corners to cut than we should. The one place where we can never afford to circumvent our process is in the petitioning and degree process. If you don't have time to properly interview a candidate and ensure the integrity of our Craft, then you won't have time to properly mentor and educate the new Brother. This too was evident when one of our Lodges recently learned the high price of neglecting their Entered Apprentices. That's a strong word, but failure to assign a personal mentor to each of our new brothers and leaving them to teach each other their proficiency work, without follow-up from the Lodge, is neglect at best. In truth, it is wronging, cheating, and defrauding those new Brothers of the Light we just promised them. Don't expect half a dozen brothers to learn their Work in a group meeting or two, it requires one on one attention. Entering apprentices into your rolls is a serious responsibility, please don't take it lightly. As mentioned in the Grand Master's Message, mentor tracking is taking place and your District Leaders will be watching closely. So why say this here? Why not wait for the next Masters and Wardens Meeting? Simple, my Brothers, Education is the birthright and responsibility of every Mason. It is a fundamental element of our Craft; some would say the very essence of it. I urge each of you to not only claim the education that you are entitled to but to demand it. Education at every Communication, availability of Grand Lodge educational programs, your Chancellor Robert R Livingston Library and Museum... these are your rights as Freemasons in our great jurisdiction. Share your Light, my brothers, and don't rely on your officers to do it for you. It's a responsibility that we all share. On the Good News Front, we hope to order our District's Child ID system this week. While several Lodges have chosen not to contribute toward its purchase, I am pleased to announce that the John M. Perry Post of the American Legion in Sparkill has stepped in with a generous donation to cover the shortfall and the cost of some of our start-up expenses. We look forward to working with the Legion on some upcoming programs and I'd also like to remind the Brethren about the Veteran's Information Dinner that is detailed in the News section. That's it for this week, enjoy your long weekend!
DISTRICT NEWS
ORDMA Meeting Wallkill Lodge Fundraisers The Lodge is also considering a dinner to assist another student who was severely burned last week. Brothers of the Lodge went to the young man's house last weekend to help clean up some of the fire damage. We commend the Brothers of Wallkill Lodge and hope that other Lodges in the District will consider offering financial support and manpower in their continuing efforts on behalf of these two young men. Hoffman Lodge Hosts Spaghetti Dinner to Benefit the Goshen Science
Olympiad Team On Saturday December 2nd, Hoffman Lodge No. 412 in Middletown will host a Spaghetti Dinner to benefit the Goshen team, with all proceeds going to them. The menu will include Spaghetti with Meat or Marinara Sauce, Garlic & Italian Bread, Tossed Salad, Soda, Lemonade, Coffee and Tea with Ice Cream for dessert. Take-out will be available. For tickets, information or to send a donation, please contact Bro. Bruce Wiegand. Please try to make this worthwhile event! Veteran's Benefits Informational Supper Masters and Wardens Meeting New Membership Campaign Motto Encourage Your Friends to be Your Brother! Please use this motto as a catch phrase or motto (and encourage its use) wherever and whenever appropriate in discussing new members and membership efforts both verbally and in print. Throughout the Empire State, men are responding to the messages we have been communicating as to who we are and what we are and they are interested in becoming Masons! The Grand Master has expressed great pleasure with the efforts of Lodges throughout the jurisdiction so far this year, and the growing Trestleboards are a dramatic indication that we are telling our story, and the public is interested. CCER = M 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 December 11th at Jerusalem Temple Lodge at 8:00 p.m. The work on the trestleboard will be How to Memorize Ritual and Mentor Others. 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! Did You Know?
During a discussion in Part I of the Masonic Development Course, held for the new Entered Apprentices of West Point Lodge, the question was raised about why we refer to the Compasses in the plural when it appears to be one instrument. Wor. Ron Bucholz did some research for us and returned the following: In earlier times the mathematical compass was called a "compasses" using the plural, and each leg was considered a compass. It seems the mathematical term made it into English first, "The mathematical instrument so called from 1387. The mariners' directional tool (so called since early 15c.) took the name, perhaps, because it's round and has a point like the mathematical instrument. The word is in most European languages, with a mathematical sense in Romance, a nautical sense in Gmc., and both in Eng. " [from the Online Etymology Dictionary] So Joe and Jim, here we have a hint as to the age of Masonry. I think we can agree that Masonry uses the term "compasses" in a mathematical sense rather than a nautical sense. If the term was introduced into the English language in 1387, it needs to be determined when the use of the term compasses was replaced with the term compass. If it was hundreds of years before the formation of the Grand Lodge of England in 1717, we can say that our ritual was being authored well before that 1717 date. Remember, a Boy Scout uses a compass, Masons use compasses! HELP WANTED
Master Mason Degree Assistance Needed Copyright 2006 Orange-Rockland District, GLNY F&AM. All rights reserved. |
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