My Lodge’s Type of Charity

My Lodge, Pride of Mt. Pisgah #135, Dallas, Texas prefers to do its charitable/community outreach with programs that takes them directly to the people to actually perform a service or provide relief in some manner to those in their own community who they can meet face to face.  In other words we are not big on Institutionalized Charity nor do we desire to turn Freemasonry into a Service Club.  As Masons we are called to help those in need if within the length of our cable tow.  But my Lodge wants a direct connect with those who they aid.

Thus we do Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets which we present directly to the people who are receiving them. Our latest venture is involvement in the Keep Dallas Beautiful program sponsored by the City of Dallas, whereby we enter a section or area of the community and clean up, fix & repair and make attractive areas of the community as well as individual private property.  Last Saturday was our second work day in the community which we have now adopted.  Past Master LaGrone explains the program and what we accomplished in more detail.

“On September 26th along with the Keep Dallas Beautiful program the Pride of Mount Pisgah #135 P.H.A. successfully completed phase one for our adopted community, Cedar Oaks.  When I first brought this idea to the lodge to increase our community service and visibility, we unanimously voted to participate in 4 events throughout the year to help communities identified as needing assistance.  We later voted to adopt Cedar Oaks as our own and in the past have picked up trash and last week painted a retaining wall.”

“The Cedar Oaks community was phase one of the pilot program of Keep Dallas Beautiful (KDB).  As KDB is a city funded program, each year the city of Dallas  moves to a new phase and  adopts new communities while  dropping  the communities from the existing year after providing a year of support.  Speaking with W.M. Williams the decision has been made to continue to support Cedar Oaks as a community providing whatever assistance we can within the length of our cable tow. “

“I wanted to thanks all the brothers that have participated and wished to participate as well as our W.M. for his commitment to the community.”

Memo

To: Fran Phillips, President, KDB, Jim Hobbs, KDB

From:     Joy McBeth, Community Projects Manager, VCNT

CC:       Dan Fitzgerald, Chief Financial Officer, VCNT

Shari Hicks, City of Dallas

Date:     September 28, 2009

Re: Pride in Your Neighborhood Cedar Oaks Beautification Event

Event Date: Saturday, September 26, 2009

Event Time: 8am – 12 noon

Total Attendees:           19

KDB Board Members:    1

(External) Volunteers: 7

City Employees: –

VCNT Staff: 1

Residents: 10

In-kind donations:       Water, Gatorade

Total Expenses: $17.72

Overview:

The residents of Cedar Oaks and volunteers from the Mt. Pisgah Masons group were involved in a neighborhood beautification project this past weekend.  Mr. Taylor, HOA leader, identified a retaining wall at the entrance of the community on Marsalis Ave. that needed re-painting.   Residents and volunteers painted over graffiti as they gave the wall a fresh coat of paint.

Next Steps:

Cedar Oaks has completed its second beautification event and is now ready to begin the home improvement incentive.  We plan to conduct site visits and begin the work this week.

The Seven Blunders of the Masonic World

Seven Blunders of the Masonic World

Ritual without Meaning

Fellowship without Frivolity

Quantity without Quality

Education without Philosophy

Charity without Connection

Frugality without Discretion

Leadership without Competence

Ritual Without Meaning

Too many times, we are more concerned about performing the ritual perfectly without understanding what it means. I know many men that give great lectures, but will confide that they don’t even know what something means. Ritual for the sake of tradition is worthless. Ritual for the sake of enlightenment is valuable. An understanding of the ritual’s meaning is far more important than just memorizing it.

Fellowship without Frivolity

Whenever Masons decide to hold a function for fellowship, a discussion typically ensues about how to make the function have the smallest impact on the lodge’s coffers and the wallets of the members. This results in paper plates, meager meals, and boring events. To spend money wisely in order to make fellowship a grand time is wise for the lodge that wants to be successful.

Quantity without Quality

A lodge with seven great men that believe in the Masonic ideals and actively labor to improve themselves—and therefore the lodge—is far better off than a lodge with one hundred men that show up to lodge just to show up to lodge.

Education without Philosophy

Many times, we think of Masonic education as being a lesson on the local lodge’s history, a famous Mason, the history of the world wide fraternity, or how to do the ritual properly. But if no philosophy is covered in Masonic education, then little self improvement is accomplished. Discussing Masonic lessons in terms of philosophy, ideas, and a man’s conduct is what truly transforms men into Masons. It is important to discuss topics that are foreign to a lodge’s membership and it is sometimes even necessary to challenge our preconceived ideologies through Masonic education.

Charity without Connection

Big institutional charities often require that fund raisers be conducted and large checks written to the people that actually perform the charity. This type of charity is devoid of self improvement because it has no real connection. If we extend our hands to our needed Brethren and devote our own skills and time to their problems, then we are engaging in true, meaningful charity.

Frugality without Discretion

Frugality is not a tenet of Freemasonry, a cardinal virtue, or a Landmark. It is okay for the lodge to spend its funds on worthwhile activities that will enhance the Masonic experience of its Brethren. Not everything should be done in the cheapest way, a habit to which we have become accustomed.

Leadership without Competence

A man does not deserve to be Master of the lodge solely because he has spent a certain amount of years in the lodge. We elect leaders without any regard for the skills that they possess to function in that capacity. Only competent, qualified men should be elected to preside over the Craft.

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Masons to Host Nation’s Capital Masonic Day of Prayer

PRESS RELEASE ON MASONIC DAY OF PRAYER

Washington, DC (MMD Newswire) September 28, 2009 — Freemasons (or Masons), their families and friends, from the national capital region, the country, and the world will gather in Washington, DC on October 3, 2009 for a service of prayer and thanksgiving. The Nation’s Capital Masonic Day of Prayer will take place at 12:00 noon on Saturday, October 3, 2009, at the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church, located at 3401 Nebraska Avenue, Washington DC. Refreshments will follow the service. The event is being jointly organized and hosted by the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the District of Columbia and the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge Free and Accepted Masons of the District of Columbia, Inc.
The event will take place some two weeks following the publication of Dan Brown’s much heralded new book, “The Lost Symbol”, which has a plot focusing on Freemasonry and Washington, DC.

The Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia is the governing body of Free and Accepted Masons in Washington, DC. Freemasonry has been a major part of community life in the United States for over two hundred and fifty (250) years. Freemasonry is America’s largest and oldest fraternity and is predicated on the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God. Freemasons seek to promote friendship, morality and brotherly love in all their activities. They are bound together by a philosophy of moral standards, mutual understanding, and brotherhood in which all men are on a level and equal.

Contact: Walter Hoenes
Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the District of Columbia
voice: (202) 686-1811
fax: (202) 686-2759
email: grandlodge@dcgrandlodge.org
website: http://www.dcgrandlodge.org

http://www.mmdnewswire.com/day-of-prayer-5830.html

The Grand Lodge of Colorado

The Grand Lodge of Grand Lodge of Colorado is the next stop on the tour of American Grand Lodges.

Grand Lodge of Colorado Masonic membership:
12,645  – 2007
11,421  – 2008
gain/loss  -  -1,224
Data from MSANA

State population: 4,939,456 as of 2008 (estimated)

Mission Statement:
The mission of Freemasonry in Colorado is to teach and perpetuate a fraternal way of life. That promotes brotherhood and self-improvement. Through education, moral standards, charitable giving and community involvement.

About the Grand Lodge:

Late in the year 1858 a number of gold-seekers had gathered at the junction of Cherry Creek and the Platte River, on land which was then a part of the Territory of Kansas, but which now is within the State of Colorado. This settlement was known as Auraria, and by the first of November a number of cabins had been erected there.

On the evening of November 3, 1858, seven Masons, including William M. Slaughter, held an informal meeting in one of those cabins; and throughout the following winter these brethren and others continued to meet from time to time, having in mind the formation of a new Masonic Lodge at Auraria, provided the proper authorization could be obtained from some Grand Lodge… read more.

Some of what I found on my excursion there:
The Grand Lodge of Colorado is a minimalist website with a lot lot of punch.  The site is has everything that one would want in a Grand Lodge site, including events listed on the front page, information of how to contact and find them, and an address (message) from the Grand Master.  It has a very clear look and feel for what Colorado is known for, and lays out all of its informational content right on the front page.

Informational Content:
The Grand Lodge of Colorado site is very rich in informational content.  In that mix it has a clear history of Freemasonry in the state, what Freemasonry means both in general and in the state.  And, it offers a wealth of pdf e-books for the membership and visitors to read  on the fraternity and its multitide of meanings.  This feature really impressed me in that it included some texts that are not commonly featured on most sites, including:  An Exposition of the Mysteries or Religious Dogmas and Customs of Egyptians, Pythagoreans and Druids, Illustrations of Masonry, William Preston, George Oliver editor, 1867, Legenda, (Kadosh and Heirodom), Albert Pike, and many others.  If added together, it would represent many thousands of pages of knowledge made available from a Grand Lodge site.

The site does not go for the immediate conversion of interested parties to membership, rather seeking to inform prospective members of what the requirements are and providing information on what membership represents.  All of this can be found under their membership button on the top navigation.

The links section also has a diversity of sites, including The Sanctum Sanctorum, the Guild of Masonic Webmasters, Freemasonsonline.com, International Club for Templar Studies, and Paul M. Bessel’s Masonic Pages.  This seems to be a growing list, and I’m sure as time progresses more will be added.

Other interesting components of the site are Grand Lodge specific, including information on their educational grants, their Honor Lodge award, and the Traveling Gavel, which is an interesting activity for lodges to promote visitation.  The site also has an extensive listing of lodges in the state, which list websites to the lodges.  Unfortunately, not all of the websites worked, some not existing at all.  Of those that did function, the visitor was further greeted by a local lodge site.  I do recommend that if traveling to the Grand Lodge site to stop in and look at the lodge links and virtually visit the various lodges.

Also, hidden on the community pages are press mentions that the Grand lodge has received and programs that it sponsors for community awareness including a Child ID program, a Band Camp Sponsorship, and Teacher of the Year program.  Each of these are very noble pursuits and important in and of themselves.

Look and Feel:
As mentioned, the site is a minimalist construction.  The two column site, with navigation across the top and on the right, really hits the mark for everything that a Grand Lodge site needs to communicate its information.  The events on the front page immediately catch the eye, as does the striking image of the Grand Master with his message below.  Each of the pages convey this symmetry and keep the delicate balance of message consistency.  I did notice several instances (outside of their on-line library) that pdf’s and .docs were employed which can be challenging for some users (especially for those who do not have the know how to open them) and it also breaks the ability to key in specific search seo by binding up the text in the document making its content essentially invisible to the various search engines.

The site visually has a good balance between negative (white) space and its use of logos and images.  It maximizes the use of clean typography for its linkage and transitions, making it easy to use, clear, and articulate in where the visitor is going.  It does lose some of its secondary navigation when you dig deep into its pages, but the visitor can quickly use the top nav to get back to its main pages.

Further, the site employs a visual that is specific and unmistakable to the state and its presence in the snow capped Rockey mountains.  Not included to be overt, the image of the mountains paint an interesting visual for the site as a whole.

Overall:
The Grand Lodge of Colorado site is really a very clean and elegant site.  It is packed with information and content (the pdf library itself a gold mine worth the visit) but in a very easy to use package.  Its up-to-date calendar and listing of lodges is an excellent way to connect members to lodges and those interested to something local.  It is disappointing to see lodges listed with websites only to find no site present, and this is something I hope gets resolved to broaden the reach in the state.  Overall, I can definitely see the site expanding and adding even more information, and I think the layout is fitting to grow with the content.

One suggestion, as with many state Grand Lodge sites, is the addition of an RSS/XML feed so visitors can stay abreast of changes or updates with a subscription.  Or, in lieu of a feed, a newsletter sign up to send information out to those of interest to receive one, as it represent a terrific means to deliver up to date information on what’s going on.

Up Next: The Grand Lodge of Connecticut.

Emile Norman, artist/craftsman, passes at 91

Artist and Craftsman Emile Norman, the creator of the California Grand Lodge Mosaic window and exterior frieze passes at 91, the Los Angeles Times reported today.

Though not readily discernible if Norman was a Mason, his mosaic window is both a testament to the diversity of California and the diversity of California Masonry.

His light may now be eclipsed, but his work will live on in his art.

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