A+ for AASR

Thursday, February 4 in St. John’s Lodge was Scottish Rite night.  I, however, was unable to attend as my Sister-in-Law had passed away earlier in the week and her viewing and Memorial Service was on Thursday night.  Luckily, Bro. Dave Wells, PM, Senior Warden stepped up, filled my shoes and did an admirable job holding court over this unique meeting.  Thanks Dave!

The Commander-in-Chief of Reading Consistory, Ill. Victor M. Frederick, 33°, was the guest speaker for the evening.  Along with an interesting presentation, he brought along more than a few surprises.

What a bunch of characters! Back Row (l to r), Brothers Sam Wandzilak; Vic Frederick; Bill Guiseppe; Kevin Barnhardt. Front Row (l to r), Brothers Russell Baker; Ed Stein; Herb Swisher; Chris Tecklenburg; Alan Moyer; Mike Wolfe.

Can you imagine, Bro. Benjamin Franklin, Bro. General Armisted, or one of the famed four Chaplains from WWII visiting your Lodge?  Such was the case at St. John’s.  A number of Scottish Rite brethren attended the meeting dressed in costume as they would be in certain Scottish Rite degrees.   The Brother playing the part of Benjamin Franklin was the Scottish Rite Active for Pennsylvania, Ill. Russell W. Baker, 33º.  And near the end of the presentation, one flamboyant character from the 31st degree came knocking – it was Florio, as portrayed by our own District Deputy Grand Master, Bro. Edward R. Stein. 

By all accounts the unique Scottish Rite visitation was a hit and scored an A+.  The program was certainly not something seen in your average Blue Lodge meeting, and word has it that at least one Scottish Rite Petition was requested before the evening was out.

I’d like to personally thank all the Scottish Rite brethren who made the time for this meeting and helped make it such a success.  I am sorry I could not be there to share it with you all, but as family comes first, I’m sure you understand.

Perhaps, if this sort of thing helps produce more new Scottish Rite petitioners, it would be a worthwhile program to

AASR visitors pose with acting Worshipful Master David G. Wells, PM and officers of St. John's Lodge. Looks like a good time, doesn't it?

look into for your Blue Lodge?  Our officers and members seemed to have enjoyed it!

Thanks again Brethren!

33rd Dinner & Meeting Plans

Last night my wife and I attended the Valley of Reading, AASR’s 33rd Degree Dinner and Meeting.  This is a yearly event for us.  It’s a wonderful group of people and we always have quite a nice time.  Prime Rib and Scallops were on the menu (they always are), and though it wasn’t particularly cheap, it was good eatin’!

Since I am Worshipful Master of my Blue Lodge and designated our February meeting to be Scottish Rite night, I invited the Commander-in-Chief, Ill. Bro. Victor M Frederick III, 33° to speak in lodge.  Our Stated meeting is coming up this Thursday, February 4 at 7 p.m.  He will talk about Scottish Rite and the 32nd degree Masonic Learning Center for Children, and plans to show us some video from his most recent motorcycle ride cross-country to raise funds for the Learning Centers.  I had made an offer to him for this meeting – do what you like to promote Scottish Rite – bring pamphlets, photos, characters – whatever you want to do. 

Well, he and a number of the Illustrious Brethren from the Valley put their heads together and they have organized a little visitation of their own.  I think I can say that the members and visitors of St John’s Lodge  will see something they’ve NEVER SEEN BEFORE IN BLUE LODGE.  It is highly likely that we will have visitors from colonial times, a well known Mason from the Civil War, a renowned Chaplain from WWII and other such interesting guests.  The Illustrious Brethren and the Commander-in-Chief have taken my offer and run with it.  We should have a Blue Lodge meeting this Thursday night which will be long remembered.

Plus…we will have dinner at 6 before the meeting and wives and family and friends are invited.  I’m bringing my wife and son.  While we have our Lodge meeting, Brenda Wise, the Director of the Reading 32nd Degree Masonic Learning Center will speak to our family & friends about Dyslexia and what the Learning Centers are doing about it. 

I had previously distributed the contact info to reserve a place for dinner.  Leave a comment here if you’d like to join us for dinner but don’t have that info – I’ll make the reservation for you. 

I sure hope you can be with us for Lodge, or Lodge AND dinner this Thursday, February 4 for what promises to be one of the most unique Blue Lodge meetings you’ve ever been to. 

Thanks Illustrious Brethren and Commander-in-Chief for planning and promoting the Scottish Rite!!!

The Big Visit

Suit Up Boys!

Monday Night, January 25, St. John’s Lodge hosted the Right Worshipful Grand Master, Bro. Thomas K. Sturgeon, PA Grand Lodge luminaries and all the Lodges of the 7th and 60th districts.  This was an open meeting, meaning wives, friends and family were invited.  Whew!  What a meeting.

Lodge officers getting one set of instructions for the meeting from Bro. Buzzard

As Worshipful Master of St. John’s Lodge, I had to get my orders on where to stand, when to move where, when to say what, etc.  Bro Larry Buzzard was the acting Grand Marshal and in charge of organizing and directing the dog & pony show.  He did a fine job.  Remained calm through it all, though running around like a chicken with its head cut off.  There sure are alot of details that need to be addressed in such a production: Officers, Guests, 60 and 50 Year pins & info, photos and on and on.

I think my part changed at least three times within 30 minutes before the meeting started.  First I’m to sit to the right of the Grand Master, then in the top seat and move over to the right when he comes in, on and on….the funny thing is, when the Grand Master got up the stage to my station he called an audible and told me to just sit there.  It was nice – he was about a foot and a half away from me the whole time – he stood for the entire meeting.  All those previous plans and changes were for naught (except, apparantly,to amp up my stress level).

There comes a point in the meeting when each Worshipful Master introduces his Lodge Wardens.  Then, being the host Lodge, I had to introduce ALL of our Lodge Officers.  My official GL instructions said to have their names and titles printed out in case of a brain fart.  Well okay, they didn’t specifically say “brain fart”, but that’s what they meant.    Unfortunately for me, I had my list positioned on a small pedestal next to the chair to my right which I was originally supposed to be sitting in.  Couldn’t see a single name on it!  I was two chairs away from the list and my time was running out.  So as the meeting progressed, I tried to get the Senior Deacon’s attention to get up and hand it to me, but he seemed, well – deaf.  So all the while the Grand Master and Grand Lodge officers presented 60 and 50 year service emblems in front of the stage, and while the other introductions were going on, I basically heard none of it.  I was looking at each of my officers in turn and trying to remember their name and title in proper order…including their middle initial!  It’s a challenge not to have that brain fart when you’re used to calling brothers Bob, Gary, Sam, etc…..you’re not used to: “Brother Robert E. Roadcap, Senior Master of Ceremonies, Brother Gary T. Mullen, Junior Master of Ceremonies, Brother C. Samuel Lauck, Pursuviant”  and so on.  Add in a little pressure from being under the hot stage lights, a good number of members in attendance, plus all your peers (about 18 other Worshipful Masters and their Wardens), the seemingly countless Grand Lodge Officers and other dignitaries all sitting quietly, patiently listening to you while you have to belt out those names so everyone in the auditorium can hear it, then stir in a good helping of last minute changes and no back up plan because that’s on a pedestal two chairs away, then sprinkle on top that the last one on the list, the Chaplain was actually a Past Master just filling in for our regular Chaplain, and his name being this mouthful: ”Brother Harold L. Kahn, Junior, Past Master, Chaplain”…and you’ve got a perfect recipe for a brain fart!  Proud to say I had no brain fart. 

RWGM Sturgeon with St John's Lodge Officers

Due to mentally reviewing all the names over and over, I have no recollection of anything that happened between the Grand Master’s audible and those introductions – it’s a total blank!

Another highlight of my night as WM hosting the RWGM was the fact that I was just getting over a cold/sinus infection and was being flooded with phlegm (which one would not want to loudly expectorate on stage just a foot and a half away from the RWGM while he’s speaking).  I had also brought along a pack of brand new white gloves for the officers to wear so we’d all have nice clean white gloves.  Unfortunately, we wore the gloves right out of the package, and they’re not high quality gloves, so after each something (I think the 50 & 60 year presentations – total blank, remember?) there was applause.  I noticed as I was reviewing all those officer names in my head that every time we’d applaud, the gloves would leave me in a small cloud of white lint.  It floated so peacefully around me and danced in the bright lights of the stage.  I doubt the audience could see it, but I sure could.  Well, a guy’s gotta breathe and so one time when I inhaled, I sucked in part of one of those little lint clouds.  Like magic, it went directly to the back of my throat AND STUCK.  So I not only needed to seriously hock some phlegm, but now I had a serious lint-induced cough building up.  I had no water handy.  Wouldn’t have helped anyway since it would have been with my list on the next pedestal two chairs away.  I tried to contain a huge cough spasm…I began sweating, my eyes started to water.  I felt like I was about to explode in a huge mushroom cloud of phlegm and new white glove lint.  I felt in my pants pocket and there was one lone Ricola cough drop.  I shed a glove, reached under my apron for my pocket, located the lone cough drop unwrapped it and popped it in my mouth and sucked on it like…well, you can insert your own nasty analogy.  But it worked!  No cough, no phlegm bomb, no mushroom cloud of lint.  WHEW!

RWGM's Medallion

It was a memorable evening for me. The RWGM laid out his 21st century Masonic Renaissance plan and the logic behind it.  Made sense to me.   He presented our Lodge with his medallion which commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Masonic Homes.  Plus he gave me a personal gift of the Jerry Garcia Tie he had specially designed. 

An hour and forty five minutes or so and it was all over.  The planning, coordination, practice, stress, panic, and lint were history.  For the RWGM it was on to another future visitation elsewhere, for me it was a teachable moment: Just hang loose, keep lists with you at all times, and wash new gloves before wearing them.  Whew!

Planning a Nice Visit

St John’s Lodge No. 435 will be having a Special Meeting on Monday, January 25.  The reason for the meeting?  A Visit from the Right Worshipful Grand Master.  Yep, he and his posse will be in town to hold an open meeting with the 7th and 60th Masonic Districts.  The meeting will be held in the Scottish Rite Cathedral Auditorium in West Reading at 7:30p.m.

Whew boy, alot of planning goes into one of these meetings.  Who does what, where’s everybody sit, who speaks, who doesn’t, how to set the stage and on and on…

Possible backdrop later removed - to far forward on stage. Gotta be flexible.

Tuesday night was the initial planning meeting with DDGM and Regional Instructors and other Grand Lodge related brethren there to get our signals straight and make plans.

Who, what, when, how....what?!?

Today, the stage was set up, and most all my officers were there to get a better feel of how this is going to go since we are responsible for “hosting” the meeting.  Not too involved for most, but it can be a little intimidating being in a different setting when all the hot lights are on you, so it was good to review everything together.  We’ll do fine…okay, they’ll do fine.  I’m not so sure about me.

The planning got a little confusing at times

Finally, after all that it seems the stage is set, we’re all on the same page and ready to go.  I had to call the 50 year members today who should have been contacted previously and invite them to attend to personally receive their 50 year service emblem of gold from the Grand Master.  Only 5 of them this year so no big deal for me to make the calls today.  When you get to this position and things don’t happen or someone drops the ball, you have to be prepared to pick it up and run with it.  Hope I don’t end up doing alot of picking and running this year.

Anyway, we’re ready.  Bring on the purple and let’s have a good meeting.  The best part?  It’s an open meeting.  That means bring your wife and family or maybe interested friends to see the spectacle…they could get a real good sense of what happens in Freemasonry.  One of our officers is hoping to bring his grandparents, mother and wife.  Isn’t that terrific?  And it will give me great pleasure to introduce him in this meeting and give him that recognition in front of his family.

Scottish Rite Cathedral - site for the Special meeting on January 25.

Maybe we’ll see you there?

Planning

Going into your year as Worshipful Master, you’ve got alot of learning behind you.  You’ve memorized the Ritual; you’ve hopefully familiarized yourself with the Ahiman Rezon and Digest of Decisions, and you’ve learned who’s who in Freemasonry so you can work together and forward your agenda.  Armed with all you’ve learned about Freemasonry and your Lodge, you must then lay the groundwork and plan for your year as Worshipful Master. 

I had planned the programs for the year;  the meals and refreshments are planned; gifts for Visitation and Masonic Birthdays are prepared.  One thing remained: Fundraising and Activity planning.

We have a new slate of officers this year, so I chose to wait until after our first Stated Meeting to call them together and form a committee to discuss fundraisers and activities.  The only activity that was already in the works is a Family Bowling Event in the Spring which we have opened to all the Masonic Lodges in the District.

We met Monday night to discuss and brainstorm.  There was a healthy and energized turnout, consisting of current officers and former officers, but with the exception of Senior Warden Dave Wells, PM who had a Chapter meeting this night, I invited no Past Masters.  I figured that way, there would be none of the usual “Back in my year..”  or “Can’t do that, we’ve never done it that way…” stuff that usually goes with Past Master meetings.  I wanted to create a clean slate.   The reason I chose to operate/organize this effort with primarily newer officers and members  is because in the world of Fundraising and Lodge Activities, they can and should be on-going programs, from year to year.  Since I will only be in the East for this one year, it would be essential to have buy-in from the officers, and involve them that they will know for future reference which things worked, which fell flat, and which just need to be tweaked.  They will be the builders in the future.  They all came to the table with great ideas. 

Fundraising/Activity Committee

 In attendance were Bros. Jim Smith, Bob Roadcap, Tom Rhoads, Bryce Hart, Corey Zerbe, Gary Mullen, Sam Lauck and Mike Gring.  I really appreciated all their input. 

Some ideas were huge undertakings and I deemed better brought up to Board of Governors of the 7th Masonic District as District Events such as a Block Party, or Flea Market, join efforts with National night out and so forth. Other ideas were well within our means to orchestrate.  This energized meeting lasted a good two hours, and each member had good input.  For me, it was truly a refreshing experience to finally see such enthusiasm for the Lodge.

The items decided upon to pursue in addition to the bowling event: 

• A Lodge breakfast or Dinner in conjunction with a DVD program, inviting the public and we will create personal DVD’s for each person who wanted to send a message to a family member who may be in the service or away from home over the holidays.  We will attempt to do this around Veterans Day if possible.
• We will investigate local Parades, and attempt to participate in one.  Most of us can walk a parade, and we have a couple members with hot sports cars.  The thought being we’d look more contemporary and gain some public exposure.  If deemed worthy, we’ll consider other such appearances.
• Angel Tree.  We will adopt a cause and create an Angel tree to help children and families in the area who need it for the holidays.
• A Ladies Night/Banquet this time to be held earlier in the year…October/November time frame before the holiday hustle bustle.  Possibly include entertainment.

I hope these things work.  We’ve got alot of legwork to do, and these ideas focus more on activities and public outreach than fundraising.  Plans may change as we gather all our information, so stay tuned for finalized plans. 

For now though, I believe we’re off to a great start.

Show Some Spirit!

Proud of being a Freemason? (okay, so that’s a silly question).  Then why not show it?

Spirit wear is now available from St John’s Lodge No. 435 so you can do just that.  Shirts will be available for Spring with the Square & Compasses and the St John’s Lodge name along with “Free and Accepted Masons” prominently embroidered on it.  Perfect for bowling, picnics, golf outings or just hanging around…show your pride and affiliation with the worlds oldest and largest fraternity and order a shirt or two.  They’re available in white and in blue.

Even if you’re a member of another Lodge…start a collection of Masonic-wear from different lodges.  Get people to notice that you’re a Freemason and then let the conversation begin. See the St John’s Lodge website  for more details and an order form.  They’ll be ready for delivery on April 1,  just in time for Spring/Summer activities.

And so it begins…

My second go-around as Worshipful Master was 21 years in the making, but it has finally arrived.  And it was going to be a breeze.  I had it all in order and planned out.  Last night was my first Stated Meeting for 2010.  The program I had lined up was “New Year – New Media”…with one of our tech-savvy PM’s and current Webmaster presenting a nice powerpoint featuring  Masonic Resources on the internet and social media like our St Johns Lodge website, and our Lodge Facebook Page, among others.  He did a great job as usual, actually hooking us up to the internet and showing things in real time.

Unfortunately, his presentation along with other portions of the meeting were abbreviated due to a visit from the DDGM who was there to address the Renaissance…the recent changes in PA Freemasonry.   

Don’t misunderstand, I am glad the DDGM came to talk about it.  Air it all out, and let the brethren ask questions.  That discussion took more than an hour.  (I had been told that a couple other Lodges in the district who had their January meeting before us didn’t get out until after 10:00pm) Nice that these changes are stirring up so much talk and interest among the brethren.  Finally it seems the Fraternity has a pulse!

I don’t like, however, the factions out there trying to cause a rift, and a ruckus about it all.  I find that very unbecoming of a Mason.  One website in particular is gaining quite a bit of notice…but I visited the site, had a hard time wading through it all and came to the conclusion that they’re just too bitter and misguided to bother with.  So I’m not even going to bother mentioning them, much less provide a link.  I’m not saying we all have to be in lock-step with the changes and hop aboard the bandwagon (we’re each going to have our own opinion’s after all), but get the facts straight, understand how the changes will be directed within your district, and then do your best to meet on the level, act on the square, and put aside not only your political and spiritual  views, but also your personal avarice to change so we can continue to meet as brothers.  Don’t go around trying to poison the passion that others have for the fraternity in general.  Read the WM’s column on our website for more on my opinion.

I thought this year would be a breeze.  I know the work, we have a great group of officers…what’s to worry?  I had not anticipated the Renaissance and the consequent fallout.  It took me 21 years to repeat as Worshipful Master…I had TWO DECADES to do this, and I gotta pick THIS year. 

Happy friggin’ New Year, brotherjon!

Behind the scenes of the Fall AASR Reunion

November 13 and 14 were the dates of the Scottish Rite Valley of Reading’s Fall Reunion.  If you are a member and missed it, you missed some of the best degrees conferred in a long time, and I’m not just saying that because I was in two of them (though I was pretty outstanding).  The 4th and 14th degrees were conferred Friday night, and the 31st and 32nd degrees were conferred Saturday morning. It was followed by an Octoberfest-type celebration and lunch which included German dancers from the Reading Liederkranz (not to worry – I wasn’t one of them…I doubt anyone would want to see me in leather shorts).  I was unable to stay for the  Octoberfest because when I was done performing in the 31st degree, I ran out to help my son’s Scout troop with their Scouting For Food campaign (Scouts in Berks County collected more that 53,000 pounds of food over the weekend – good job fellas!).

Anyway, all my time at this particular Reunion was spent backstage.  While there getting in costume, makeup etc., I snapped a few pics.  So if you’ve not participated in a Scottish Rite Reunion, you would be missing alot of the commeraderie that embodies the organization.  Hope these pics give you a sense of the types of things that go into making a Scottish Rite Reunion happen:

It seems Bro. George Washington's uniform has "shrunk" since the last Reunion so he seeks a replacement in the wardrobe department

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ask you, could there be two more appropriate Brethren to have in charge of the wig department?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These Brethren are in charge of hats in the wardrobe department - here they seem to be Men Without Hats...wonder if the can do The Safety Dance? Well, they LOOK busy anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also in wardrobe..this Brother hands out the props. Look behind him, he apparently walks softly and carries ALOT of big sticks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, in makeup, this Brother gets a beard. I wonder if I could get them to put some of that hair on my head?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly, I caught our fashionable Commander-in-Chief taking a break backstage. Note the black cowboy boots with the tux - he may be on the next season of "What not to wear"!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And if you’re not yet a member of the the Freemasons in general or the Scottish Rite, in particular…I definitely encourage you to look into it…you’ll have fun, make friends, and support great charities all at the same time!

Ain’t That Crafty?

As I head into next year to serve the Lodge again as WM, part of the planning naturally includes gifts and gimme’s.  It is tradition that on the night of the Official Visitation, that is, when all the other Lodges in the district visit your Lodge along with the District Deputy, that you welcome them and present your contemporaries with a gift, or small token of your esteem and appreciation for them visiting.  One unique idea was from Bro. William L. Herz of Union Lodge No. 479 who presented an imprinted baseball with his name and Masonic logo on a home-made stand and autographed by all the officers in the lodge – that was a uniques gift!

We also celebrate what are called “Masonic Birthdays” – when we formally recognize the month that a brother came into the Fraternity.  There’s usually a token gift involved with that recognition as well.  In bygone times (i.e. my first time around - 20 years ago) the gifts for “Birthday boys” was a choice of a cigar or a candy bar.  This year – they get a candy bar.  Not the big attraction it was when we first started recognizing birthdays.  Many a Master orders advertising specialties – keychains, ice scrapers, pens etc. to give out. 

As is also tradition, the officers pay for these gifts out of their own pockets, as it is their year and not fair to use up Lodge funds for such niceties (though we did have some WM’s in the past who submitted receipts to the Lodge for the gifts they gave out – WRONG!)

Well, as you probably know, I am currently sans-employment (out of work), so I thought about what gifts I could give on my self-imposed shoestring budget.  So I turned to a hobby of mine for the solution.  You see, I like working with wood – woodcarving, woodburning, wooden crafts, refinishing/repurposing furniture – those sorts of things.  So in my spare time, when not sending resumes, applying for jobs on-line, or reading rejection letters, I grabbed some wood and took to the scroll saw, the carving knife and the wood-burner. 

I started with the Birthday gifts (as I assume I’ll need more of those) – made about 50 of them for starters, each will be personally signed by the JW,SW and WM (me).  They look something like this:

 

 

 

Next I took to making the gifts for Visitation.  I got the inspiration from a Halloween wall-hanging we picked up at a craft show a few years back – kind of a country craft-style Frankenstein.  I basically used the same dimensions and with a little artistic twist, created nine country craft-style Worshipful Masters.  Each one has the Lodge number on the front to represent the Master of each visiting Master’s Lodge number.  Once I had them assembled, I had no place to store them (until next April), so I rigged it so I could hang them all up in the basement.  The basement now looks like this:

 

 

 

I hope the months pass quickly, because these little guys are beginning to freak out my wife just a bit when she goes down to do laundry.  I can’t wait for her reaction to the 4 foot free-standing version I’m making now for the District Deputy.

I also used the woodburner to recreate the District Deputy’s jewel on a piece of wood.  It started as an experiment, but turned out okay, so I’ll probably give him this too:

 

 

 

 

And that’s about it for the gift items…on a shoestring budget, doing something I enjoy so the time flies by, not difficult to make.  But I also made these things “just for so” as we say here in PA Dutch country:

Scroll saw & woodburning

 

 

 

 

 

Woodcarving - "The Old Master"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, that’s what I do for fun – I sure hope the Brethren like ‘em.  My wife said “I hope they appreciate this after the time you put into it!”    I’d be doing something like this to relieve stress and have fun anyway even if it wasn’t for my Lodge Brethren….but, me too dear.

The Steward!

Met last night with our new Steward.   See, our current Steward is hanging up his spatula at the end of the year so he can focus on going to Shrine Legion of Honor with his dad while he still can.  So fo 2010, we’ve got a young guy (he’s about 31 or 2) who’s got alot of restaurant and food service experience.  He’s happy to organize, plan and otherwise manage the food service for the lodge next year.  What a great find!

I told him we’d have about 4 meetings next year where we’d serve dinner beforehand and invite wives etc. (we’ll have a program for them while we’re in our meeting).  The rest of the time, just plan on lite fair for after the meetings – not just pie & ice cream like we’ve been having.  He’s all on board with it.  I look forward to working with Bro Corey in his new role and am sure he’ll do really well!

 We’re currently charging $9 but am told it could go up a buck.  We only get about 10-12 of “the regulars” out for the dinners…they don’t really attract added attendees like they used to (of course way back it was free or by donation, and then $5 and the lodge would pick up the rest-but these days we can’t afford to foot the bill).  I think someone could go to a local restaurant and get about the same quality of meal (maybe better from what I’ve heard about the food lately) for $10…so why rush to get to lodge by 6 for that?  Scottish Rite picks up part of the tab on their dinners, plus they get about 129 out for a meal…so quantity helps.  I’d like to see a good number come out for a meal before meeting, but given the current situation it just doesn’t seem worth the work to do it every month…so in keeping with my plans for next year, we’ll be mixing things up a bit – to add some interest and eliminate the same old, same old.

What are your thoughts on meals before lodge meetings?  How does your lodge handle it?  Does it increase attendance or cater mainly to “the regulars?”  I’d be interested to know.