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Dears Brothers and Sisters
Chers Frères et Soeurs
About 3 centuries ago, the firsts masonic Lodges decided to unite themselves in England into a Great United Lodge.
Il y a environ 3 siècles, les premières loges maçonniques décidèrent de s'unir en Angleterre en une Grande Loge Unie.
Nowaday, masons are spreads around the world, as if their "Babel tower" would have crumbled down.
De nos jours, les maçons sont dispersés de par le monde, comme si leur "Tour de Babel" s'était écroulée.
We've got now 9 years to re-unite what is spread. Should we ? Can we ? Will we ? There is no rest for workers..
Nous avons à présent 9 ans pour rassembler ce qui est épars. Devrions-nous le faire ? Pouvons-nous le faire ? Le ferons-nous ? Pas de repos pour les ouvriers...
Colonel Sofi
Long Live The Republic !
Tags: unite
I created this site for our chapter last week, but I feel something is missing. Feel free to explore, leave comments, and offer suggestions. Also, I'd love to visit any sites from other Chapters world-wide. It great reading about contributions and the impact we're all making on society. I always sign guestbooks to show support!
Siempre, Tammy
Those Men Who Wear Those Mason Rings by Michael R. Strampe
Past Master: Lake Lodge #189
F&AM Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The Men Who Help My Dad Each day,
They Wear Those Mason Rings,
A Square and Compass Set in Gold,
The Praise of Which I Sing.
My Dad, He Hurt His Back, You Know,
One Cold and Wintery Day.
He Slipped and Fell Upon the Ice,
The Insurance Would Not Pay.
And Since That Time Those Rings I See
On Hands That Help Us Much,
With Mowing lawns and Hauling Trash,
Each Day My Heart They Touch.
They Even Built a House for Me
Amid Our Backyard Tree,
Where All the Neighbor Kids Would
Play with Laughter Full of Glee.
My Mom She Cried from Happiness
That Time the Masons Came,
To Aid Our Family in Distress
Without a Thought of Gain.
And When I'm Big, Just like My Dad
Of This It Must Be Told,
I Want to Wear a Ring Like His
A Square and Compass Gold.
Long Years Have Pasted Since When
My Dad Was in That Plaster Cast,
And Since I Swore That Solemn Oath
Which Unites Us to the Last.
All Masons and Eastern Stars ,we need to "Keep" the Unity & Love "Stronger!!! God Bless
In all the rich symbolism of Ancient Craft Masonry two symbols, or symbolic themes predominate. One is the search for light, the other is the labor of building. The source of light is the Holy Bible, the grand representation of the builders art is King Solomon's Temple.
Searching persistently and building carefully, the candidate travels slowly toward the East. As he pursues his quest for light and more light and still further light in Masonry, he learns by the way to use the working tools of the stone craftsman, until, at last, he finds himself portraying the Character of the greatest of all legendary builders, the Master Architect of King Solomon's Temple. Searching and Building, Light and the Temple, -- the two dominant Masonic themes are distinct but not separate, complimentary rather than supplementary.
The Temple in the Masonic ritual is almost, but not quite completed; the allegory rises from a physical to a spiritual Temple: "A house, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
But the search and the labor for complete illumination are not completed by the candidate within the Lodge. Light is revealed, and the sacred source of all light is clearly indicated, but regardless of any spiritual symbolism that may be hidden in our Masonic Ceremonies, the unending search, and the labor toward perfection, once begun in the Lodge, must continue with the initiated Mason, not only within the sanctuary of the Masonic Temple, but also among the larger world, and for all the days of his life.
Philosophers tell us that time is a river, and that books are boats. Many volumes start down that stream, only to be wrecked and lost beyond recall in its sands. Only a few, a very few, endure the testing of time and survive to bless the ages that follow.
As Masons, we pay homage to the greatest of all books -- the one enduring book which has travelled down that river from the begining of time, and which is freighted with the richest treasures that any book has ever presented to humanity.
My Brethren here is a Book whose scene is the sky and the dirt and all that lies between. A Book that has in it the arch of the heavens, the curve of the earth, the ebb and flow of the sea, sunrise and sunset, the peaks of mountains and the glint of sunlight on flowing waters, the shadow of forests on the hills, the song of birds and the color of flowers.
But its two great characters are God and the Soul, and the story of their eternal life together is its one, everlasting, romance.
It is the most human of books, telling the old forgotten secrets of the heart. its bitter pessimism its death defying hope, its pain, its passion, its sin, its sob of grief and its shout of joy... telling all, without malice, in its Grand Style which can do no wrong, while echoing the sweet-toned pathos of the pity and mercy of God.
No other book is so honest with us, so mercilessly merciful, so austere yet so tender, piercing the heart, yet healing the deep wounds of sin and sorrow.
My Brother, take this great and simple Book, white with age yet new with the dew of each new morn, tested by the sorrowful and victorious experiences of centuries, rich in memories and wet with the tears of multitudes who walked this way before us... Lay it to heart, love it, read it, learn what life is, what it means to be a man; aye, learn that God hath made us for himself, and unquiet are our hearts till they rest in Him. Make it your friend and your teacher and you will know what Sir Walter Scott meant, when, as he lay dying, he asked Lockhart to read to him... "From what book?' asked Lockhart,
"...and Scott replied: There is but one Book!'
A new friend had one of those boxes on their Black Planet page and it asked three questions in regards, what you would prefer in a prospective mate. The questions were Sex or Communication, Body over Brains and Committment over Money... Many of you who know me from Yahoo 360 already know that I tell it like it is and I don't hold back any punches...I don't take sides whether you are a man or a woman. What's right is right and what's wrong is wrong... So I check off the answers and I couldn't help but make a comment to the questions and here is the following: Most of us do not realize that the most important things in this world can not be touched nor possessed. We tend not to prioritize these unique gifts and for that many relationships do not succeed beyond any level whether its a relationship between mates, relatives, plutonic and even between parent and child. You see I made separated parent and child from relatives, all because this relationship is the ultimate and most intimate among all relationships. The Key to all human relationships is communication.. It is the foundation of the relationship...Once communication dies, the relationship will ultimately die. You keep the communication open there lies the life of the relationship. Sex is something of a physical nature. Sex is great amongst a couple.. Sex is okay amongst two individual for gratifying each other physical needs and there is no doubt about that.. But have you ever been in love and found that the sex was greater? It comes to show you that something of a physical nature becomes more intensed by bringing something of a spiritual or an emotional nature into the circle. Let me ask you a question....You have someone in your life...a great mother or father to your children someone who loves you and understands you more so than anyone else in this world. Suddenly they met their fate that left them not able to function sexually. What do you do? Leave them? Compromise your entire family circle in order to look out for your own needs? So now whats most important sex or communication? Body or Brains? I am not going to be so long winded with the latter of the two questions but I will say this..Both do correlate in the same way as the first question, between sex and communication. Body and Brains. First of all I would like to point out that most people who have brains take care of their bodies. Then there are those with great bodies who do not have that much brains and they tend to compensate focusing on there bodies to rather than consuming knowledge. They also have one fault as well, they tend to live in a shallow world where they feel that their undaunting beautiful bodies will last forever. Let me ask you this what is more appealing, having a deep conversation with some form of intellect or chit chat of the same subject with a booming body over and over again...I had one time experienced the latter...It burned my ears off..I couldn't take it anymore. Now that body isn't booming anymore either. The last one is very simple to answer...What would you prefer a prospective mate to bring to the table committment or money? Hmmmmm? Hard question, not to me....I am an independent man. I prefer my prospective mate to be independent financially and emotionally. However what if you came across somebody who was filthy rich and I am talking filthy rich...and powerful...But however they can not be committed. A committment is one goal each relationship should attain. Being committed to one another gives security in that relationship...If there is no committment people tend to go about there business freely, having affairs freely...And thats a dangerous thing as far as a relationship and of course their health...God did not put us on this earth to casually date, he put us on this earth to marry one another.
El Pensar
La más noble herramienta del Masón es su mente, y su valor se mide por el uso que de ella haga. Atento a todas las cosas, el candidato que aspira a la sabiduría trascendente llega a la realidad en deseo sincero, en meditación y en silencio. Que la. Tónica de la Orden y del ritual sea escrita en caracteres fulgurantes: PENSAD EN MI. ¿Cual es el significado de este místico laberinto de símbolos, ritos y rituales? ¡PENSAD! ¿Qué significa la vida con su cruzamiento del humano parentesco, con el fausto infinito de las cualidades que se disfrazan como para un carnaval de tontos? ¡PENSAD! ¿Cuál es el plan que hay tras de todo esto, y quién el planeador? ¿Dónde mora el Grande Arquitecto y cuál es el tablero en que dibuja? ¡PENSAD! ¿Qué es el alma humana, y por qué el interminable anhelo por ignotos objetivos, a lo largo de senderos en que ha de errar sin compañía? ¿Para qué existe la mente, el alma y el espíritu, y también para qué lo que existe? ¡PENSAD! ¿Hay alguna respuesta? Si la hay, ¿dónde encontrar la verdad? Pensad, hermanos de la Orden, pensad profundamente; porque si la verdad existe, es que la tenéis, y si la verdad está al alcance de toda criatura viviente, ¿qué otra meta más digna por la cual luchar?.
I am Tamika Jackson, Electa for Zorah Chapter #36 OES PHA in Maryland. I saw the light April 2007. My husband is a Mason, 32nd, Shriner, Knight and newly elected Worshipful Master at his Lodge. He is also the love of my life. We are both passionate about masonry and love our PHAmily. We are dedicated to bettering the organization and love to learn more about it. My husband has many, many years under his belt and I am just in the beginning stages and searching for true, unadulterated enlightenment where ever I can find it. I joined this site for networking and fellowship with my fellow OES sistars and brothers of the craft.
I am a photographer and owner of Portraits by Tamika and co-owner of Polly&Meek, a book writing company created by my sister and I. I am the co-author of a wonderful new children's picture book titled Sisters Are From Heaven. I invite you to visit my website at: www.sistersarefromheaven.com or purchase my book at: http://www.xlibris.com/SistersAreFromHeaven.html. You may also visit my photography blog at www.portraitsbytamika.blogspot.com.
I am a ray of light among many and we shine brightly for all to see!
Greetings, brethren.
I'm Chris Hodapp, the author of Freemasons For Dummies and Solomon's Builders: Freemasons, Founding Fathers and the Secrets of Washington D.C.; co-author of The Templar Code For Dummies and Conspiracy Theories & Secret Societies For Dummies with Alice Von Kannon; co-author and editor of Laudable Pursuit; and the editor of The Journal of The Masonic Society.
I'm a Past Master of Broad Ripple Lodge No. 643 and Lodge Vitruvian No. 767, both in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Don't know how often I'll remember to check in here - the list of internet Freemasonry websites, blogs, forums and mailing lists gets longer and harder to keep up with every day. My regularly updated blog is at http://freemasonsfordummies.blogspot.com
My warmest fraternal greetings to all of you.
I HOLD IN MY HAND A LITTLE SCRAP OF PAPER 2 ½ X 31/2 INCHES IN SIZE IT IS OF NO INTRINSIC WORTH NOT A BOND, NOT A CHECK OR RECEIPT FOR VALUABLES, YET IT IS MY MOST PRICELESS PRSSESSION IT IS MY MEMBERSHIP CARD IN A MASONIC LODGE. IT TELLS ME THAT I HAVE ENTERED INTO A SPIRITUAL KINSHIP WITH MY FELLOW MASONS TO PRACTICE CHARITY IN WORD AND DEED TO FORGIVE AND FORGET THE FAULTS OF MY BROTHREN TO HUSH THE TONGUES OF SCANDAL AND INNUENDO TO CARE FOR THE CRIPPLED, THE HUNGRY AND SICK, AND TO BE FAIR AND JUST TO ALL MANKIND IT TEIIS ME THAT NO MATTER WHERE I MAY TRAVEL IN THE WORLD, I AM WELCOME TO VISIT A PLACE WHERE GOOD FELLOWSHIP PREVAILS AMONG BROTHERS AND FRINDS IT TELLS ME THAT MY LOVED ONES, MY HOME, AND MY HOUSEHOLD ARE UNDER THR PROTECTION OF EVERY MEMBER OF THIS GREAT FRATERNITY, WHOHAVE SWORE TO DEFEND AND PORTECT MINE AS I HAVE SWORN TO DEFEND AND PROTECT THEIRS IT TELLS ME THAT SHOULD I EVER BE OVERTAKEN
BY ADVERSITY OR MISFORTUNE
THROUGHNO FAULT OF MY OWN THE HANDS OF EVERY MASON ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH WILL BE STRETCHED FORTH TO ASSIST ME IN MY NECESSITIES AND FINALLY, IT TELLS ME THAT WHEN MY FINAL EXIT FROM THE STAGE OF LIFE HAS BEEN MADE THERE WILL BE GATHERED AROUND MY LIFELESS BODY FRIENDS AND BROTHERS WHO WILL RECALL TO MIND MY VIRTUES, THOUGH THEY MAY BE FEW AND WILL FORGET MY FAULTS, THOUGH THEY MAY BE MANY IT TELLS ME THAT, AND A GREAT DEAL MORE, THIS LITTLE CARD, AND MAKEES ME PROUD YET HUMBLE, THAT I CAN POSSESS THIS PASSPORT INTO A SOCIETY OF FRIENDS AND BROTHERS THAT ARE NUMBERED IN THE MILLIONS.
- AUTHOR UNKNOWN -
Brothers read and then reread this, think on what you read then act on it.
Don't let the back door of the Blue Lodge close on you.
Sometimes in life an event takes place and seemingly without much meaning can turn very significant if it's properly pondered.
I met with our two new E.A.'s the other evening to study for their proficiency, when I arrived they were waiting out front of the Lodge(Temple #23 Jax,Fl.). As was an "urban outdoors" woman. She had made a little camp under one of the trees, not much of a camp but a blanket spread out and resting herself. She asked if it was O.K. that she be there for a little bit as she was tired of walking, had been run off from somewhere up the road etc. etc. And in true homeless fashion proceeded to try to engage further conversation.
Being the compassionate man and Mason that I am, I told her just don't mess anything up or litter and go on about her way when she'd rested up. Masons are taught that we are all equal, to look past the outside and be servicable and considerate to all mankind. I felt I excersized that duty flawlessly had I not have been there that night I wouldn't have known she was either all the while trying to break off the conversation and as you may know isn't very easy to do with the homeless folk. I'm sure you've been in the same predicament where you want to be pleasant but go on about your business.
We finally got away from her and I unlocked the Lodge, secured the alarm and we three entered and closed and locked the door with the finger lock from the inside. A finger lock in case you're wondering is one that you set from the inside with out using a key, and as far as I knew none of our members have a key for opening that particular lock from the out side. We went on into the Lodge-Room, as I didn't wish to sit in the dining area and have the afore mentioned outdoorsman knocking to use the bathroom or any other disturbance. I have a lot to teach these two men and a short amount of time to do it.
We studied for about an hour or so and decided to take a smoke break. I figured it best to go out the back door just in case she was still out front, which I found out later that she was. I unlocked the key lock on the back door, and out we went. I noticed a brick sitting at the foot of the door and tried to hold the door open with it so I could keep an eye and ear out on the Lodge, well the brick was too light to hold the door open so I let it close.
Little did I know the the door-knob lock was set to the lock position, again another lock that I didn't have a key to.
Now all of this may not seem like much of a problem, however the back yard at the Lodge is surrounded by an eight foot chain link fence with one gate securely locked and as you may guess, I didn't have a key to that one either! I personally wouldn't have a problem with climbing that fence, however since the front door was locked with a lock that I didn't have a key to, going around front and unlocking the door was out of the question, and my two E.A.'s in thier age and physical conditions, well I just figured if they tried, we might have had to call the ambulance and nothing screams that the day is ruined like the big red truck showing up! On the East end of the yard are some woods and a creek farther down, so we weren't in panic mode, we can get out, I'm a woodsy kinda guy anyhow. But about this time Mike tells me "OK Waco quit with the little B.S. secret stuff and unlock the door let's go in and run through this one more time" He was serious! I had to keep from laughing as I explained to him the magnitude of the situation! And knowing full well that this wasn't a Masonic secret!!! Even when we do get out of the back yard, the Lodge is still not secured properly and in this day and age that's just not good.
I called our Worshipful Master, yeah "The Big Guy", he came and we discused the happenings. We found a path through the stickers and vines and got out ok, Ted told me he'd find a way to secure the Lodge and not to worry, I went home with my tail between my legs knowing full well the amount of poop I'm going to hear at our next meeting. He later called the Secretary who has a key to every lock known to man, and they secured the Lodge.
So, Where is the significant part of this story? I thought I'd never ask!
All of this could have been avoided if I'd have thought more like a Mason.
I let the door close, even with the rough ashlar there and ready for my will, the "brick" wasn't to keep the door from closing, it was to keep the door from locking.
So many of us come to the front door, go into the Lodge-Room and out the back door and on to other things. However, we are still Masons and are still rough ashlars. If we're not at the Lodge to hold the door open then we'll not be there to keep it from locking.
Each and every one of us came to the front door of our own free will and accord,we knocked and became Masons, in a survey recently done by a fellow Brother 35 Mason were asked "Why did you become a Mason"? 29 answered "To become a Shriner".
Is the shrine a great and noble organization? Oh you bet!! The help they give to the burned and cripple children at absolutely no cost! They visit childeren in local hospitals in full cartoon or clown costumes and entertain the kids, they are some of the most selfless thinking men I know. always willing to give. Yes they are awesome, I can't really come up with words to describe properly the honor they deserve.
The problem is that when a Mason goes on to other things, other appendages for instance, his time gets so thinly spread with other activities and that of family of coarse that he hasn't the time for the Blue Lodge. And in a lot of cases once they pass the Blue Lodge, they don't look back other than staying current in paying dues.
Paying dues and carrying a card isn't what makes a man a Mason. It's showing to the Blue Lodge from time to time to sit in a chair if needed, to give opinions on topics while at labor, to show the new guys coming in that he or they are joining an organization of a lot of men not just 8 or 9 looking for a cheap Monday night dinner.
It's the fellowship, the clasping of hands, the friendly smiles and gleam in another Masons eyes when he sees you, it's the little jokes or ribbing that we all give and get, from brothers young and old. It's the shared companionship that makes a Lodge of Masons, not the building, not the bumperstickers you can put on your car not the card in your wallet, but the Brotherhood.
Fellowship not neccesarily membership is "KEY" to a succesful Lodge, as "Without fellowship there might not be membership in the future"
Remember your Blue Lodge and we Brothers who yearn for your FELLOWSHIP.....
Waco Renshaw
Junior Deacon
Temple Lodge #23 F.& A.M.
Jacksonville,Florida
On May 30, 2008 there was a great loss in Illinois Masonry. Worsipful Brother Scott E. Gallion District Deputy Grand Master of the 2nd Eastern District of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the state of Illinois passed to the Grand Lodge above. The visitation was wed. June 4 and the services was held thursday afternoon. He was my uncle and that made it even harder for me to handle.
my journey started march 4th, 1970 in fargo,nd. i was adopted my the folks i refer to as mom and dad. my dad was in the air force and stationed in grand forks. we moved to south dakota where my family was from and stayed there until i finished 6th grade. we then moved to jackson,wy. my parents split up and i ended up finishing high school in colorado springs,co. i joined the navy from there in 1988 and spent the first 9 months in san diego and finished the rest of it in philly at the shipyard. i had a daughter while i was in the service. she is now 18 already and out of high school, my how the time flys. i spent several years as an electrician after the navy and then got into law enforcement starting at a county jail, i am now a deputy sheriff back in the county my family started out in. i have been a master mason almost 4 years, i am a noble in the shrine and have gone through the york and scottish rites and am a member of the scottish rite research society.
To my beloved brethren in the light of the divine and most holy of holies.
It has been many years since I was initiated into freemasonry it has taken me all these years to try and understand that which should have been taught to me years ago, unfortunately no one tried to take me aside and help me understand what freemasonry was all about, This I had to do for myself, and what I found has helped me understand, and what it is all about the universe the reasons why and what part do I play in this circle of life. And what of the future.
Freemasonry is dying, and that remains true as long as those people that run it continue to use it as a gentlemen's dinning club, they change rituals where and when they see fit and it suits them, and they have no idea of its origins, let alone its purpose.
The craft deserves to live on, but it has always belonged to men who have dared to achieve, who have sought out a better way forward believing in God's purpose and in science.
The way forward for mankind is and must surly be to continue to seek out and embrace the hidden mysteries of nature and science.
What is Freemasonry?
And why should it be trusted?
My findings are that Freemasonry was an engine of achievement that drove the world from darkness to light; freemasonry was once the achieving society where its members were the great and good, who ran the church, the country, industry, and the armed forces and academia. They were the entrepreneurs and the intelligentsia who made the industrial revelation and who pioneered social and scientific advancement.
In Freemasonry, the heavens are a tapestry upon which complex patterns of celestial meanings were constantly being woven, and how they affect everybody. And how we could draw out their meaning and the power the heavens has over human life.
God and nature are one, every leaf, every green shoot as a word of God.
If there was, any blasphemy or heresy it was what man was doing to the planet earth from which all bounty flows.
Let us dare to achieve so that the craft can go on and be strong as it once was, let the world be in the light of God, and let us understand his blessings.
We should be looking for ways or projects that freemason brothers will be involved in, which will be for the benefit of all concerned including the Craft and society, so that when the cycle of light is here we will all be in its warmth for years to come.
Your brethren
Bassem Sam Halaseh