November 2005 Plumbline, Walden Lodge No. 274
Greetings from the East
My Brothers all:
October has been a very busy month and so it will be until the end of the year!
First of all, let us congratulate Bro. Junior Deacon, Thomas Mowbray and his new bride as they were married on October 1st. It is truly a blessing to find that special person to share your life with and our congratulations and prayers go out to the Mowbray’s as they begin their new life together.
Table Lodge for Hurricane Katrina relief: As you know Hurricane Katrina struck a very heavy blow to Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana on August 29, 2005. Let us all remember September 22, 1989, when Hurricane Hugo came ashore just north of Charleston, South Carolina. Other Grand Jurisdictions gave in excess of $250,000.00 to the Grand Lodge of South Carolina in support of the Craft in South Carolina. RW Brother Bob Kendrick put together a Table Lodge for October 21, at the Greenville Masonic Temple. Of course, by the time you read this, it will already have been a successful event. 100% of the profits from this event will go to the support of the Masons in these hard hit areas, mentioned above. Walden voted to donate $500.00 to help underwrite this event. My apologies for not having this information in the last Plumbline but the details of the Table Lodge were not available as the October Plumbline went to press.
Inspirational Meeting, October 27, 2005: RW Brother Bill Rogers has some exciting plans for the Inspirational Meeting for the 18th Masonic District. This annual event is always a treat to attend.
Walden will also be hosting a blood drive on our next regular communications date, Thursday, November 3rd, from 2:30 pm until 6:30 pm at the Lodge (Greenville Masonic Temple). This blood drive is for the 18th Masonic District so please come out and give if you can. As you know, one does not have to be a Mason to participate in this blood drive. Encourage your friends to come out and support this, literally, life giving opportunity. There has been a great demand on the blood supply needs and we want to do our part.
Awards: November will feature our annual awards night. Come and congratulate the brethren receiving the awards!
Children’s Christmas Party: Walden’s annual Children’s Christmas Party will be held on Sunday, December 4, 2005 from 2:00 pm until 4:00 pm. Worshipful Brother Art Strandemo is chairing this event once again! This is a great time to bring the kids to the lodge. As usual, Santa is scheduled to visit with the children. As in the past and not to be slighted, “adult” children will probably offer their wish list to Santa as well! Bringing children is not a requirement … come out and enjoy some light refreshments and wonderful fellowship during this special time of the year.
We received a petition this past month. Worshipful Brother Mark Cooper and I met with him and his petition was read at the October meeting. Worshipful Brother Kirby Burnett will chair the investigating committee and we will have the results at our November communication. Hopefully we’ll have some degree work soon.
This month we will celebrate Thanksgiving, let us remember that this is the beginning of a most important season. No matter our station in life, there are so many things for us to be thankful. What are the seven things that you are most thankful? List them and share them with some special person. Why seven? Well that’s a story for another day.
As many of you know, I enjoy communicating via e-mail with Brother Masons from all over the USA and beyond. Recently an Indiana Freemason mentioned two books that were recently printed. I bought them both. Believe it or not, one is entitled Freemasons for Dummies by Christopher Hodapp. Imagine my wife’s comments when that book arrived on our door steps via UPS. The book is written in the style of other “Dummy” series books and although I’ve only scanned the book, it appears to be well written and reflects well on the Fraternity, in my humble opinion. In any event, I was intrigued by the section on “Politics, Religion, and Freemasons: They Don’t Mix”. We’ve all heard or read about Masons on both sides of the War of Northern Aggression and how they met and comforted each other, even in wartime situations. Hodapp gives short accounts of many events as well as some of the treacherous heads of state such as Mussolini and Hitler. He further writes that in “politically neutral” Switzerland, during the 1940’s, a third of the population voted in favor of a constitutional amendment to suppress the fraternity. It was interesting to learn that the 1978 Islamic revolution in Iran resulted in the execution of more than 200 Freemasons. According to Hodapp, the Grand Lodge of Iran survives today in exile with their four lodges meeting in the USA.
Hodapp continues by stating that “Freemasonry continues to draw men who are attracted to its principles of brotherly love, charity, tolerance, and morality, in spite of ongoing pressure to destroy it. Clearly, its real power lies in the ability to peaceably bring together men of all beliefs and political persuasions in a world determined to stay in conflict, and for a brief moment, provide a safe haven from its ceaseless turmoil”.
My brothers, situations like the above remind me of the tenants of freemasonry and how fortunate we are to live in a free society. It is so easy to take these freedoms for granted and yet, we must be ever vigilant as to any encroachment on the rights and freedoms that we enjoy today. I feel blessed by the grace of God and so thankful that my journey in Masonry is continuing, with the help of my brothers. It is indeed an honor to serve the fraternity in any way that I can, as so many of you have done and continue to do. If you haven’t been to a lodge meeting in a while, please consider returning on a regular basis. To think that we can all agree on everything isn’t realistic. To work together to make good men better is a goal that we all have. I hope to see each of you at OUR meetings in the future.
Please don’t forget to visit Walden Lodge #274 on the internet. Our website can be found at: http://www.mastermason.com/walden274
“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.” Albert Pike
Fraternally and sincerely,
Mel Sinclair, Worshipful Master
Tidings from the West
Greetings Brothers,
My ten-day two-city trip was successful and I’m happy to be back in South Carolina!
The November business meeting is typically our awards night. I look forward to seeing you there and enjoy the fellowship we share. I will also have a chance to visit with Wade Hampton lodge for their awards night and see the father of a good friend receive his 40-year pin. I just hope that I’ll make it to 40 years old, let alone 40 years of service.
I will keep this article short as our Master has done a wonderful job with his article this month. I look forward to giving you a report on the Table Lodge that we are hosting in next months article.
Brothers, I am honored to serve you this year as your Senior Warden and look forward to the coming months as I know they will pass quickly. I look forward to meeting with you “on the level”.
Sincerely, and fraternally
Chris Grantham
Senior Warden
From the
South:
Had the Junior Warden written an article, it would have appeared here.
Henry H. "Chick" Davis, Junior Warden