Table Lodge

Last Friday night, Newton Lodge #59 had our first Table Lodge (at least the first that anyone could remember). Our lodge is 153 years old, so I guess it was about time that we got around to it.

We had 23 brothers join together for the evening at the DMACC/Sodexho Conference Center. I asked Bro. John Klaus to serve as our Toastmaster and what an outstanding job that he did (that is why I picked him...because I knew he would do an outstanding job). John explained some of the interesting history behind table lodges and explained the various toasts.

Bro. Jack Butler, Chair of the Committee on Divison & Reference, served as our Orator for the evening. Jack spoke about Masonic heroes and his dad happened to be there and Jack pointed him out as one of his heroes. There were several Masonic heroes there that evening: Bros. Madison Tomfeld, Alvin Rempp, and Francis Needham were certainly three that easily came to mind. Bro. Jay Cole Simser was another.

We toasted on locally produced wines from the Jasper Winery. Our meal was quite delicious.

There were a few snaffus...when I went over to DMACC at 4:00 p.m. (luckily I went over there) the room was set up totally wrong...in rounds instead of in a horseshoe shape and there was no one there to help rearrange the tables, so guess who did some hustling tables around. At 5:00 p.m. our Worshipful Master called and said he was coming as he was ill...okay now what do we do since one of the toasts was going to be to him.

I had wanted to have a table lodge in Newton for quite awhile. I thought it might be something different to appeal to the young guys. I only had two of them there. That was somewhat disappointing to me. I had advertised it in our lodge for the past three months. Do these brothers have hearing loss or have lost their reading abilities. Sometimes folks (including brothers) are a little bit "out there"!

Well, this was something that I had wanted to do. We did it. The next one (whenever that might be, probably after I'm dead) will be up to someone else. I bought my ticket for the one at Arcadia Lodge on July 18th. I'm looking forward to going up and spending a fun evening with the boys from Ames.

A Sad Duty to Do

Yesterday my lodge lost one of our Past Masters. Worshipful Bro. Paul Peck was called to the Grand Lodge Above. Bro. Paul served as the Worshipful Master of Newton Lodge #59 in 1968. He was only about 9 months away from receiving hs 50 year certificate.

The Peck family was one of the pioneer families of Newton. Bro. Paul's dad, C.A. Peck served as W.M. back in 1921, Paul followed him 47 years later in that same office. The secretary's desk in our lodge room belonged to Pauls' dad. It is a beautiful handcarved desk. C.A. used it in his office at the Newton Manufacturing Company (where he served as President). When he died in 1968, his family gave it to the lodge.

Paul was quite a guy, always friendly to everyone. Last September, we hosted the football team at our lodge for a breakfast. Paul's grandson Ed is the head coach. Pauls' family brought him up so he could eat with the football teams, he had a great time that morning being with the guys. I took a picture of him, his son-in-law, and grandson. He was also able to come up last fall for our Past Masters' Night. Even though the infirmities of age had caught up with him in the loss of his hearing and sight, he still enjoyed being in lodge.

Yesterday morning I learned that he was in hospice. I went up to see him after lunch, but unfortunately I was too late. I felt bad that he had passed before I was able to see him for the last time, but I know that he is now back in the hands of the Great Architect of the Universe.

Visiting our sick brethren and burying our departed dead are two duties as a Mason that I have come to take very seriously. We don't stress those duties enough to our new brothers. What we do in the lodge room is very akin to what we do when we are in a classroom...we learn the lessons that are being taught to us. Our real classroom is outside the lodge room...what we do there is the application of the lessons.

I will conduct Masonic rites for Bro. Paul on Wednesday evening. Last night I called all of our Past Masters and informed them of Bro. Pauls' passing.

Farewell my friend until we set together in the Grand Lodge Above.

Lenexa Lodge #135

I'm in Overland Park, Kansas right now taking an CRM class (for you non insurance folks, CRM stands for "Certified Risk Manager"). I have a test in a couple hours and then I can come home. Looks like it will be in the rain. I'm ready to come home. Sitting in class listening about insurance topics for 20 hours does get to be a bit much after awhile.

Monday evening was a really great night. I visited Lenexa Lodge #135 in Lenexa, KS. It was a short drive over from the hotel. It was a very fun and enjoyable evening and I'm glad I went. I had never set in lodge in Kansas before (I have set in lodge in Hawaii, Missouri, and Florida). Lenexa was having a third degree that night, they raised Bro. Rod Pittman. It was fun to see the floor work and the ritual and make notes in my mind on how it compared to Iowa's.

The one thing that really struck me in the obligation was when they got to that part about not violating the chasisty of a Master Masons wife, mother, sister, or daughter...they don't mess around with niceties in Kansas on that one...it is plainly said "illicit sex"!

They had a series of questions and answers (like we do in the first degree). The brother doing the "catching" was a younger brother...only been a Mason for 9 months. He did a good job. The brother who served as Jr. Steward had a been a Master Mason for less than a month.

The third section lecture was conferred using a video tape. One of the brothers sitting next to me said he really liked seeing it on a video tape...he could hear and understand it and it was well presented. I think that is maybe something that Iowa should consider. We don't see those third sections done very often (which is too bad, because they do a lot of explaining of what the new brother has seen). Maybe we should consider having the video option for those lodges which do not have someone to actually do the ritual.

The thing that most impressed me and has always impressed me when I have visited a lodge out of state is how warmly I'm received. The spirit of Masonry really comes alive during that experience. I told the candidate on Monday evening that he and I would probably never see each other again, but to always remember wherever he goes in life, he will run into brothers who will warmly receive him as a brother. I really truly believe that in my heart.

The W.M. of Lenexa Lodge #135 was W. Bro. Angelo Mino. He was a great guy. He is originally from Ecuador and was raised there. I was escorted to the alter after the degree and Bro. Angelo welcomed me to Lenexa Lodge. They gave me a "forget-me-not" pin and related it's story. I had heard the story before so that part was not new, but I was really glad to receive the pin. I do not have one (despite my jewelry box being full of Masonic pins). I will be something that I will wear proudly and remember my visit to Lenexa Lodge.

One brother that met there was Bro. and Illustrious Sir Jim White 33rd. Bro. Jim served as potenatate of the Shrine down here. He was such a great guy and so friendly. He knew Jerry Sellers from Za-Ga-Zig. We really hit it off.

Lenexa Lodge is a really great lodge. They are very active and are brining in lots of new guys (besides already having them). They had a nice display in their dining room of pictures from their various activities. They had received a proclamation from Gov. Kathleeen Subulius (Kansas Governor) for all of their community activities. I could tell there was a lot of Masonic pride in that lodge. It showed...why can't every lodge have that Masonic pride and be proud of themselves???

Anyhow, it was a great evening...check them out at www.lenexalodge135.org. Wish me luck on my exam in a couple hours. I'll be glad to get in done and on the way home!

Lodge Milestones

Yesterday I attended the 150th anniversary celebration of Capitol Lodge #110 in Des Moines. Although I have seen the rededication ceremony many times and have participated in a few, I still always enjoy them. It is really amazing to me that any institution has survived for that number of years.

I think of all of the things that have happened to that individual lodge and all of the events that have occurred in our country's history over that time period. I also think of all of the brothers who have crossed the doorway of the lodge over that time. It is really astoninishing if one only thinks about it. The impact that Freemasonry has made in those lives.

I particularly enjoyed Capitols' celebration. All of the officers were in long tail tuxes. The Past Masters had beautiful gold Past Masters jewels on...it really added so much class to the evening. The Grand Lodge Officers were also in their tuxes and jewels. There has been less formality in our Grand Lodge Officers the past few years (which I guess to a point is okay), but I still like to see them in tuxes on occassion. It is an honor to represent our gentle craft as a Grand Lodge Officer. That pride should show through.

I enjoyed seeing the sterling silver set of working tools that had been donated to Captitol back in 1907. What a treasure. It reminded me our our silver square and compass that we lay on our bible in Newton Lodge #59 each time we open the lodge. It was donated to our lodge in 1887. The history of those items and what they represent, is what Freemasonry is all about. Brotherly love and friendship throughout time immemorial.

What is Masonry Really All About?

Tonight while doing some "surfing" I ran across a very good article on www.freemasoninformation.com. The article was written by Bro. Patrick O'Neill from Greeley, Colorado. The article is titled "Have we got our priorities right"?

In the article, Bro. O'Neil gives this quote from Charles Clyde Hunt:

"Freemasonry is an organized society of men symbolically applying the principles of operative masonry and architecture to the science and art of character building."

I think this is one of the best quotes that I have ever seen as to what Masonry is really all about. We often forget what Masonry is really supposed to be all about...it is to make ourselves better as human beings and how we relate to our brothers and society in general.

We get so busy studying our ritual books, working on good deeds for our communities, and keeping our buildings up that we often forget to practice what Freemasonry is all about. I have tried to be more conscious of this the past few months, reaching out to my fellow brothers and their families in times of need. I feel that is really something that a lot of brothers of this gentle craft don't practice as earnest as we should.

I encourage each of you who read this to go out and read Bro. O'Neill's article. What he says in his article is really what our brothers who are coming into our fraternity are in search of today.

A Busy Saturday

Yesterday was a busy day. I started it off by going to the York Rite Festival hosted by the Des Moines York Rite Bodies. There were 18 candidates in attendance. I was only able to stay for the Chapter degrees in the morning, but everything well very well.

It is always great to see some of our Past Grand Masters working in the Past Master degree. We enjoy having them and I think they enjoy doing it. At lunch time, I shared the table with Greg Anderson and a brother (Jeremiah) from Bedford. He is a younger Mason and really had some very interesting comments to listen to. He is serving as W.M. of his lodge this year. He was telling about the guys down there playing pool and "foozball" (spelling???) after their meetings. He said a couple ladies that lived close by stopped in one night to see why there were lights on late in the evening and lots of laughter and comaderie...said they hadn't heard that much noise from the Masonic Temple building in Bedford for years! That is great...guys having fun and fellowship with one another.

In the afternoon I came back to Newton and went to the 60th Annivesary celbration for Bro. Paul Myers and his wife Arlene. That is quite an accompishment...60 years together. Just think what all you see in those 60 years together.

Back to Des Moines in the evening for the annual meeting of Iowa Research Lodge #2. At the conlusion of the business meeting, I was "installed" as Worshipful Master (if that is what you call walking from the west to the east). It would be nice to have a real installation and have a full corps of officers, maybe some day.

Our presenter for the evening was Bro. Jack Buta from Phoenix. He gave an interesting presenation on Sir Robert Moray (which I have to admit I really didn't know much about). Moray was the founder of the Royal Society in England in the mid 1600s. Bro. Jack was a real live wire type of guy...fun with lots of energy.

IRL used to be really well respected around the country. At one time there membership was up over 1000. We have some work to do, but hopefully we can have some good programs and give our members some good Masonic education.

This is a busy week upcoming. I have to drive up to Sioux Falls on Tuesday to do an agents school and then on up to Millbank/Watertown for a presenation on Tuesday night. I will come back home on Thursday. I should have some time to stop in Sioux City, will check in with George and Jeff at the Sioux City Consistory.

Scottish Rite Leadership Conference

This past weekend I was privileged to attend the Scottish Rite Leadership Conference in Minneapolis. It was a great weekend of idea sharing and fellowship.

I would say the thing that most impressed me was how the Scottish Rite is "remodling" itself to reach out to the brothers of our Rite. Emphasis is being placed on listening to our new brothers, reaching out to our current membership and those who may have left the Rite, and education.

I have come to the conclusion that we Masons have not done a very good job of mentoring, rather it be our new brothers or those who have been members of our fraternity for a period of time. Mentoring is a process not just for the new guys, it is a process for "all the guys"...it never ends. Freemasonry is all about a brotherhood and being there for each other. That is what we are all about, we need to get back to that.

I am really impressed with the Master Craftsman program that the Scottish Rite has come out with. It is an education program that brothers can take to learn more about Freemasonry and the Scottish Rite. There is a course of readings and multiple choice quizes (5 or 6 in total). At the conclusion of the process you will definately be more knowledgeable about the fraternity, plus you get a nice certificate recognizing your efforts. A lot of discussion was held on using this as a part of training for our individual valley leaders.

It was a great weekend. I always come away from these meetings with a lot of enthusisam and ideas. We have to use the ideas that come from meetings such as this to continue to "chip" away at some of the shortcomings and get our fraternity back to what he is all about...brothers caring about brothers!