May 2010 Vol. LVII, No. 2

32 Pages·2010·4.29 MB·English

The Pennsylvania
May 2010 • Volume LVII No. 2
Bro. Mark Twain Bro. George Washington Bro. Theodore Roosevelt Bro. William Shakespeare
Invite Great Men To Continue Our Legacy
A One Day
Masonic Journey
Bro. Benjamin Franklin Bro. Gerald Ford Bro. Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin Bro. Larry Christenson
Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania Announces the June 2010
quarterly
communication
The June Quarterly Communication, open to all Master Masons, will be held at the Masonic Village at Elizabethtown on
SATuRDAy, JunE 26, AT 10 A.M.
Lunch will be provided immediately following the meeting. Masonic dress is required.
Automatic Dues Payments
are Convenient & Efficient
In an effort to modernize the dues to pay its obligations on time. Payment can
payment method in line with the 21st Century be made in full or by installments, and can
Masonic Renaissance, R.W. Grand Master significantly reduce, and hopefully eliminate,
Thomas K. Sturgeon has announced a new suspensions for non-payment of dues.
automated withdrawal dues payment program In addition, members may make
which will be implemented through Payliance contributions to their lodge charity and/or
at no cost to lodge members. Masonic Charities, should they wish. They
The new method makes the dues will even be able to use this method to pay
collection process much quicker and easier for lodge events and activities in the same
both for members and lodge secretaries. Each manner.
member of the lodge may have his dues paid Grand Master Sturgeon highly
by simply authorizing automatic withdrawals recommends and encourages all members
from either his savings or checking account. to participate in this new program. To enroll,
By allowing this method of payment, members simply request a form from your lodge secretary,
take care of their obligation and help the lodge fill it out and return it to him.
13th Annual Meeting in the Hills Friday, June 18, 2010
Held Outdoors at Christner’s Grove near Dawson, PA • Casual Dress--No Shorts, Blue Jeans, or Collarless Shirts--Light Jacket recommended.
A 12 oz. new york Strip Steak Dinner will be served at 6 p.m. Tickets are $25 and may be ordered from Bro. Richard E. Bigley
Following dinner, a lodge meeting hosted by James Cochran Lodge at 107 Ashton Drive, Mt. Pleasant, PA 15666. Please send a self-
no. 614, Connellsville, will be held. Last year, Thomas K. Sturgeon, addressed stamped envelope with payment. Checks should be made
R.W. Grand Master, announced that a significant first-ever event payable to: CDS Building Corp. All ticket orders must be received
would take place during this year’s meeting. As the honored guest, by Monday, June 14, 2010. Phone: [phone] or E-mail:
he plans to fulfill that promise! [email protected]
THe PennsylvAnIA FreeMAson® Inside this Issue...
Vol. lVII, May 2010, No. 2
©2010 The R.W. Grand lodge F.&a.M. of Pa
EdItorIaL Board
Chairman
thomas K. Sturgeon, r.W.G.M.
Jay W. Smith, r.W.d.G.M.
robert J. Bateman, r.W.S.G.W.
raymond t. dietz, r.W.J.G.W.
Jeffrey W. Coy, r.W.G.t.
Mark a. Haines, r.W.G.S.
EdItorIaL StaFF
tina L. raybold - Production Coordinator
rich Johnson - Graphic Designer
thomas r. Labagh - Executive Director,
PMyF, Consultant
Masonic Library & Museum of Pa Staff
(Publication No. USPS 426-140) May 2010 Issue of The
Pennsylvania Freemason® Published quarterly by the
Masonic Villages, one Masonic Drive, Elizabethtown, 4 Grand lodge
Pa 17022. articles and photographs to be considered Renaissance Q & a with the Grand Master
for publication should be sent with local Masonic annual Grand Communication
authority to the address above, to the attention of one Day Masonic Journey
the The Pennsylvania Freemason® or e-mailed to
Help for our Heroes
[email protected]. Except by
adopt a Resident
special arrangement, all articles, photographs and
Masonic Temple Tours
artwork become the property of the Grand lodge.
Meet a Modern Day Renaissance Mason
Published by the Masonic Villages, owned and operated
by the Grand lodge of Free and accepted Masons of
Pennsylvania, as a means of soliciting the physical 16 lodge and District
and financial support of the members, their families
Good Deeds, Indeed
and the public in general. Periodical postage paid at
local Happenings
Elizabethtown, Pa and additional mailing offices.
Get your Masonic Kicks on Route 6
We appreciate the many submissions we receive
for consideration. We apologize, but due to space
constraints we are not able to publish every submission 24 PA Masonic youth Foundation
we receive. lifeskills Grads Promote Community Partnership
Teamwork leads to Growth
StatEMENt oF oWNErSHIP
Rainbow Gets Girls Ready for life
(act of oct. 23, 1962; Section 4369; Title 39, United
States Code) May. 1, 2010, The Pennsylvania
Freemason®, published quarterly by the Masonic 26 Masonic villages
Villages, Elizabethtown, Pa 17022. Publishers: The
2010 Wish list
Right Worshipful Grand lodge of the Most ancient and
New Services: Hospice Care & Home Care
Honorable Fraternity of Free and accepted Masons of
Paw Prints for Pennsylvania Patriots
Pennsylvania. Editor: Thomas K. Sturgeon. owner:
The Right Worshipful Grand lodge of the Most ancient Where Caring is a Tradition
and Honorable Fraternity of Free and accepted Masons Statewide options
of Pennsylvania. Known bondholders: none. No 20th Century Renaissance leaders Set Path for
advertising handled. Free distribution averages 21st Century Renaissance
134,000 each quarter. I certify that the statements a Century of Service
made by me are correct and complete.
thomas K. Sturgeon, Editor
Mailing address changes
If your address on the back cover of this
magazine is not exactly as you have provided it to
us, please be aware that addresses are modified
through the various mailing process requirements
required by the U.S. Postal Service. If you have subscribe to the online edition!
any questions or would like to inform us of a
change in address, please contact the office
pagrandlodge.org
of Gift Planning at [phone] or giving@
masonicvillagespa.org.
If you would prefer to receive an electronic version of the magazine for your convenience and/
Postmaster: Send address changes to:
or to save the fraternity printing and mailing costs, please make your request by e-mailing
The Pennsylvania Freemason®, c/o Masonic
[email protected]. an electronic version of the magazine is also available
Village, one Masonic Drive, Elizabethtown, Pa
online at www.pagrandlodge.org.
17022-2199.
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Q
&
A
with the Grand Master
From January through March, R.W. Grand We’ll become a name of the past.”
Master Thomas K. Sturgeon and the Grand
Lodge Officers traveled throughout the state
to meet with brethren at the 25 Renaissance “When I joined 45 years ago, there were
Visitations. Grand Master Sturgeon made the 250,000+ Masons in Pennsylvania. There
following comments about the 21st Century are 113,000 today. We can survive today at
Masonic Renaissance changes: 113,000, but if we do nothing, next year we’re
“I made a commitment when I made all going to have 110,000 and the year after that
of the changes that are so controversial among 107,000 … and eventually the fraternity will
all Pennsylvania Freemasons that I would become unsustainable.
stand in front of all of you to explain why “The obligation is ours. Are we content
I did what I did, what I think the problems to ride into the sunset, or are we willing to
are and what my solutions are as I see them. do what’s needed to make Freemasonry come
And I do not shrink from that duty.” alive once again?
“I love this fraternity enough to take all of
the criticism that I’m getting. I love it enough
“The decisions I made are what I truly to stand up here and tell you that I believe
believe are the best for the fraternity. If we we need to change it to make our lodges and
want our fraternity to be around for future the Grand Lodge better and stronger. I’m in
“We can’t afford
generations, we need to do the right things. for the long haul. If you love it too, join with
This fraternity hasn’t changed much at all in me to restore it.
to continue to sit
200 years, yet the world all around us has. “I don’t ask any Freemasons to agree
The right thing today is to make it more with every single element of the 21st Century
back because our contemporary with 2010 than 1810. Masonic Renaissance. People have their own
“We can’t afford to continue to sit back priorities in different places. The overall
membership decline because our membership decline will not solve good, however, is what’s most important. We
itself. For 50 straight years, we lost 2-3 percent need to overcome our different perspectives
will not solve itself.” of our members every year. If we keep up that and focus on our pride in and love for our
trend, people won’t even recognize us 50 years fraternity, and commit to ensuring its future.
from now, or know who the Freemasons were. “We need to do it today!”
4 Pennsylvania Freemason
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The following questions are among those ourselves, “I wonder why he never came Answer: Anyone can still blackball a
asked most of the Grand Master during his back?” We need to bring five or 10 people candidate if he chooses; the only difference
Renaissance Visitations. His answers follow. into the sun. We need 50-60 people on the today is, if the candidate passes the ballot,
sidelines. We need to have an all-star degree the objecting brother must go to his District
Question: Grand Master, how do you respond team putting on the degrees and impress the Deputy Grand Master (DDGM) and explain
to the criticism that you have violated your new candidates by doing it with perfection. why the man is not worthy of membership.
oath and obligation by printing the ritual? Prior to the Renaissance, when a candidate Upon investigating the situation, if the reason
received the three degrees, he was required is found to be a valid Masonic objection, the
Answer: First, it is important to remember to memorize the ritual, oath and obligation, candidate will be rejected by order of the
that the word “ritual” never appears in our working tools and grips. This is one reason DDGM. He is only person who will know
obligation and secondly, there is no mention why change is necessary. Believe it or not, who objected or why. This process ensures
in the “Ahiman Rezon” concerning printing there are a lot of people who will not join that candidates are being rejected only for
of the ritual. the fraternity because they don’t think they valid reasons and not petty personal ones.
Most Pennsylvania brothers do not realize can do it. So they stay away. Is our function
that we are one of the few Grand Lodges that to make good men better, or to teach them Question: Grand Master, what do you have
did not already have a ritual manual; most how to memorize a bunch of words that they against neck ties?
others’, in fact, are word-for-word. will never use again unless they choose to be
We have had open installations of the an officer? Answer: Absolutely nothing! In fact, I have
new District Deputy Grand Masters for years had a number of new Masonic ties designed
now, and much of what has been printed in “Why shouldn’t we in Jerry Garcia-like fashion which I wear quite
the new ritual manual is exactly what we have often and have received many compliments
invite a worthy man
opened to the public in these ceremonies. on. These will be provided to all first-line
Most of the more sacred portions of our ritual petition signers throughout my term as my
to be a member? Do
have been coded in the manual using the first personal “thank you” for being part of my
letter of the word which, in my opinion, has you like this fraternity? Masonic Renaissance team.
preserved the integrity of our ritual. If you’re referring to my change in the
Are you proud of it?
The general concept of the degree ritual dress code not requiring members to wear a
is already fully disclosed on the Internet and necktie to lodge, that is just another small
Then invite your son,
in various publications. Google “Freemasonry step toward making this fraternity more
ritual,” turn on the Discovery or History grandson, nephew, best contemporary.
channel and you’ll find out we don’t have I, personally, will not come to a lodge
friend, neighbor or
any secrets. The secret art and mystery of the meeting without wearing a necktie. However,
fraternity does not lie in oaths and obligations, I also acknowledge that we have many decent
co-worker to enjoy the
but rather in our bonds of brotherly love, our young men in this country today who don’t wear
rich history and our matchless charity. benefits of Freemasonry ties or even own a sport jacket. In May, June
If we truly believe that a brother should and September, some people won’t go to lodge
and help it flourish at
take care of his family, community, place of meetings because without air conditioning,
worship and have good work ethics, then we it’s too hot to wear a suit. That’s a shame.
the same time!”
must be more sensitive to the time constraints I don’t know of a church or club where
placed on our lodge officers in their personal you can’t go in without a necktie today; it
lives and with the lodge. The ritual manual Why don’t we teach them where we seems that they would rather have people enter
will be an aide in becoming more proficient came from, who we are, about the Shriners’ their sanctuaries or dine in their restaurants
in learning our beautiful work. Hospitals for children who are crippled or in less formal attire than to not have them
That being said, out of respect for our burned, the learning centers of the Scottish come at all. The world has changed; we need
tradition, I have mandated a strict usage of Rite, the Knights Templar eye foundation, to change with it by being willing to make
the manual and will penalize any brother or and all the good things we do … so that this fraternity more open and welcoming to
lodge who violates the restrictions. when a man receives his Master Mason all brothers.
degree and he walks out onto the street and So, go ahead and wear a necktie if you
Question: If we want more people to learn someone asks him, “What are the Masons want to wear one; I’m not telling you that
the ritual, then why have district-wide degree all about?” instead of just saying, “I can’t tell you can’t. In fact, you won’t be alone; I’ll be
teams? you because it’s all a secret,” let’s prepare him wearing one, too.
to talk about our greatness! We shouldn’t be
Answer: It’s time we do the degree work better ashamed of what we are. I’m proud of what
than we’ve ever done it before. Oftentimes we’ve accomplished in this world. Aren’t you?
when we bring a person from the preparing
room door and into this beautiful Masonic Question: Aren’t we becoming less selective/
light, there is nobody on the sidelines and lowering our standards by requiring three
we do very mediocre ritual. Then we ask black balls to reject a candidate? More Q & A on following pages
May 2010 5
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*Projected decline based on past trends without implementing the 21st Century Masonic Renaissance
Question: Pennsylvania Freemasonry has been around for more their doors open because they can’t even afford to pay their taxes
than 280 years. Why do we need a Renaissance to change it now? and their utilities. We can’t overlook the fact that we need to pay
the bills and be financially strong. If we can’t afford a building to
Answer: Over the past 50 years, membership has declined and meet in or have enough members to afford to even to buy the collars
with it, so has our income. In those same 50 years, the expenses of and aprons, the fraternity will fade into oblivion.
the Grand Lodge and of the local lodges have risen greatly, and we It’s time we do something to revive this great
still must maintain the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia and ensure fraternity before our membership decline becomes a
the perpetuity of the Masonic Villages and our Masonic Charities. catastrophic situation from which we are unable to recover.
All across the state, there are small lodges that can barely keep
6 Pennsylvania Freemason
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*Projected decline based on past trends without implementing the 21st Century Masonic Renaissance
Question: Won’t the One Day Masonic Journey be a short-term, 2 percent improvement. As for these members’ participation levels,
band-aid approach to the membership decline? there are Worshipful Masters and lodge officers all across the state who
joined during that one day class. So it works. Let’s give the men who
Answer: One of the biggest myths permeating our fraternity is work midnight and afternoon shifts a chance to join the fraternity.
that new brethren who join the fraternity through a one day class This approach is not short-sighted; on the contrary, it works
are less active and less likely to maintain their membership. Here hand-in-hand with allowing selective invitation, enabling us to grow
are the facts: if you look at Pennsylvania Masons within a five-year substantially. By promoting our fraternity, educating and welcoming
span who join the fraternity the traditional way, we lose 16 percent quality men who otherwise were afraid to ask for fear of rejection or
of those brothers for non-payment of dues. In 2004, when we took in the unknown, we are becoming a more friendly fraternity that more
over 5,000 Masons in one year, we lost 14 percent over five years, a men will want to be part of.
May 2010 7
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CPI-Consumer Price Index, a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a sample of consumer goods and services.
Question: Considering the recent economy, how is the Grand Lodge into the Masonic light. Obviously, most of us would much prefer the
positioned financially for the future? second option. By inviting worthy men to become members, we are
honoring them and providing them with an outstanding opportunity
Answer: As you can clearly see in the chart above, for many years to benefit from Freemasonry, and helping the fraternity to flourish at
our lodge dues and initiation fees have not risen sufficiently to consider the same time.
the cost of inflation, causing many of our lodges to merge or disband.
To remedy this situation, we have one of two choices: we raise our
dues substantially, or we do a better job of bringing new members
8 Pennsylvania Freemason
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AAnnnnuuaall GGrraanndd
CCoommmmuunniiccaattiioonn
On Dec. 28, hundreds of Pennsylvania More than 1,500 guests attended the
Freemasons and their guests, as well as installation of R.W. Grand Master Thomas K.
distinguished guests from 17 Grand Jurisdictions Sturgeon on Dec. 28. Celebration, patriotism
and 16 Masonic bodies bade farewell to and energy of change permeated the event,
R.W. Past Grand Master Stephen Gardner culminating with entertainment by Lee
and thanked him for his leadership. Bro. Greenwood.
Richard E. Fletcher, Executive Secretary of In offering congratulations, Bro. Norman
the Masonic Service Association (MSA) and L. Christensen, Deputy for Wisconsin, Supreme
Past Grand Master of Vermont, presented a Council, A.A.S.R., N.M.J., presented Grand
plaque to Bro. Gardner for his support of the Master Sturgeon a Green Bay Packers helmet.
Hospital Visitation Program of MSA. Bro. On behalf of Masonic District 7, District
Gardner also was presented with his Past Deputy Grand Master Edward R. Stein
Grand Master’s Jewel, Apron, Lapel Pin and presented an Eagles shirt with the Grand
a Past Grand Master’s Commission. Master’s title printed on the back.
Pennsylvania Franklin Medal Recipients Presented by
Mark A. Haines, R.W. Grand Secretary .........................................................Stephen Gardner, R.W. Past Grand Master
Stephen Gardner, R.W. Past Grand Master ....................................................Thomas K. Sturgeon, R.W. Grand Master
Larry A. Buzzard, Director of the Ritualistic Work ........................................Thomas K. Sturgeon, R.W. Grand Master
Jeffrey W. Coy, R.W. Grand Treasurer ............................................................Thomas K. Sturgeon, R.W. Grand Master
The Pennsylvania Franklin Medal was created in 1979 to honor distinguished Master Masons for their outstanding service to the Craft in general
and Pennsylvania in particular. It has been awarded sparingly since then, maintaining very high standards for its presentation, and including among
its recipients some of the most renowned Freemasons of our time. It is worn with Masonic regalia on formal occasions.
1,500 guests wave American flags during a patriotic song by Lee Greenwood.
May 2010 9
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OOnnee DDaayy MMaassOOnniicc JJOOuurrnneeyy
INVITE GOOD MEN
TO BECOME MASONS!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Reach out to family members, neighbors, co-workers and friends, and share your Masonic values, experiences,
friendships and benefits. Take advantage of this unique event
– ideal for quality men busy with family, work and volunteer commitments.
THE OnE-DAy MASOnIC JOuRnEy WILL BE HELD
AT 13 COnVEnIEnT LOCATIOnS STATEWIDE.
Approved candidates for membership may receive all three Blue Lodge degrees, and if they desire, progress through
Scottish Rite and Shrine Freemasonry, all in one day. It’s also a great opportunity for current Blue Lodge members to
expand their Masonic experience to include Scottish Rite and Shrine Freemasonry.
10 Pennsylvania Freemason