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FROM THE PILLAR OF WISDOM

Spring Greetings Brethren. 

This time of year looks to be very busy for lodge activities.  Following our very successful EA/FC instruction night at the end of February, March was a busy month with a First and Second Degree.  This month (if the vote is successful) we will be initiating a new brother.  Please come on out and support your Fraternity and the newest addition to our Fellowship.

Fraternally,
Kyle Dau, PM, WM

TRAVELLING EA PROGRAM

Calling all Master Masons!  We need your help!  Section §804.860 of the California Masonic Code states:  An Entered Apprentice may sit in the Lodge in which he has received the degree or degrees when open in a degree taken by him, while he conducts himself with due order and propriety.  He may advance after satisfactorily passing a strict examination in a tiled Lodge.  He may visit another Lodge working in a degree taken by him, with the consent of the Master of his Lodge and the consent of the Master of the Lodge visited, if accompanied by a Master Mason who has sat with him in a tiled Lodge and vouches for him.

For our “Travelling EA Program to work, we needed Master Masons to accompany our EAs and FCs to other Lodges and Masonic activities.  For more information on how you can help, please contact the Master or any Officer of the Lodge.

Thank You.

FROM THE PILLAR OF STRENGTH

Brethren and Ladies;

“Good fences make good neighbors” said my favorite poet.  Having resided in a variety of neighborhoods in states the length and breadth of this country, wiser counsel could not have been given.  Yet in our society fence building has become more than a physical barrier separating property lines.

A principal tenant of Freemasonry is Brotherly Love.  This tenant teaches that we are of one womb, and that we are to support all of humanity regardless of national, religious or economic boundaries.  The expansion of intellectual boundaries is fundamental to even an attempt at embracing this ideal.  In watching daily news events our leaders seem incapable of such intellectual exercises.  Compromise between our representatives is lost between ideologically impassable fences.  On the liberal side they have decided they are right, and right plus majority means no compromise is necessary; on the conservative side impasse is supported by boundaries based on moral grounds, and if it is not moral it shall not pass.

As a result our country and our way of life grind methodically to a halt. Our economy is in limbo.  Our government institutions have become immovable bloated bureaucratic blobs of useless ineffectual goo.  Our legal and prison systems have become devoid of logic, morality or reason.

The United States of America would not have come into being without inconceivable compromise on the part of those who created it.  Well knew all who signed their names to the words, “All men are created equal,” that those who believed in the equality of man could not abide the institution of slavery; nor did those whose society depended on that evil institution believe the words literally.  But they signed it, and so “America” exists eleven score and nine years hence.

Robert Frost lived a generation after the results of that first great moral compromise.  That most heinous war of brother against brother for the sake of brothers.  In all of recorded history no war set the moral compass of a nation, or humanity, on as square a path as the outcome of the “civil war” between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America.  Nearly a million brothers were slain as that first great compromise.

Was it worth it?

Only God is qualified to answer that.  Yet I must ask myself if it is so.

The Mason-Dixon Line proved to be a formidable fence indeed.  It made good neighbors for four-score and seven years.  I will submit the fact that without this compromise, the conflict and resultant moral victory, the world would not be as it is now.  Europe and Asia would surely be wrapped in the embrace of tyrants.  North and South America likely subjugated or controlled by feudal dictators beholden to foreign kings. 

Fences serve the purpose of separating property.  They are a line to mark separation of territory.  They, like the Temple of Solomon, and every man, are temporary.  What is within those boundaries is more important than the boundary itself.

Ideas and ideals are subjugated in a similar manner in my opinion.  Fencing off right from wrong in the mind is a necessary task, if also an imperfect art.  Flaws in thought and moral certainly are certain; and so compromise for the sake of preserving the higher, if grayer areas of ideology are mandatory.

Perhaps prosperity and greed have led to fences the creators of this nation could never have foreseen, perhaps not.  We have traveled this road before.  Perhaps the tree must be cut down so that it may sprout again.  Perhaps the tender branch will not cease, and grow to shade both our own yard as well as that of our brothers, on the other side of those “good fences that make good neighbors.”

Sincerely and Fraternally,
Steve Laurvick, SW

FROM THE PILLAR OF BEAUTY

Brethren and Ladies;

Where are all the members?

Each man has his reasons for becoming a Mason.  The three main reasons I hear when I ask the question are; the search for knowledge, the warmth of being part of the oldest fraternity in the world and the philanthropic aspect of our institution and its appendant bodies.  But once we are “made a Mason”, what happens?  Obviously not every Mason wishes to be an officer of the Lodge, but one would think there would be a desire to play a somewhat active role in helping his Lodge grow, thrive and even stand-out among other Lodges.  Yet, sadly, the participation of our members is, in so many ways, missing.  Our Lodge is not alone in this dilemma.  Secretaries of other Lodges have cited the same situation, and although the membership is there, the involvement is not.

With the greatest respect for each Mason who joins the organization because of his love of, practice of, and belief in its tenets, I still personally feel that is important to also “be a part of it”.  This year, one focus of our Grand Master Kenneth Nagel is to “reconnect and re-engage all the brethren with the Blue Lodge”.  Also along the same lines, our Master Kyle Dau, has called for Tuesday night as a time to be considered “Lodge Night”.  He too would like to see more of the members to not only consider the Stated meeting night, but every Tuesday night as a time to come to Lodge.  As he says, please come in, we will find something for you to do.  Those who have attended practice, from Entered Apprentices to long-time Master Masons, have learned something new and have seen how much fun the Lodge can be.  Of course, having many members in Lodge on “Degree Nights” are important not only to the initiate, but also to any visitors that may be present to show him the kind of support that we as Masons are there to offer, and that we are proud and happy to welcome the new member or to see an existing member advance in the degrees.

If just half of our members would embrace the “Lodge Night” philosophy, our Lodge room would be full each Tuesday night.  Of course, there are priorities.  Family comes first, trying to earn a living in this economy, and many other considerations, but if you can find a way to add a Tuesday night to your list of priorities it will be fully appreciated, not only by the Lodge, but I really think you will also benefit.  I always tell others truthfully, that even if I had a bad day or week, just a couple of hours in the Lodge and I have a renewed sense of direction and a better attitude.

Thanks for listening and I hope we’ll see you in Lodge soon.

Sincerely and Fraternally,
Dennis Stahr, JW


LADIES CORNER

 Thank you Judy for the “Luck of the Irish” table decorations for our March Stated Meeting Dinner.

Mark your calendars for July 9 – 11, our annual trip to Mt. Laguna Shrine Camp.  I’ll have a sign up sheet at our April Stated Meeting Dinner.

Enjoy your Easter and say a prayer for our troops who are keeping us safe.  If you see one of our troops, say thank you and give him or her a big hug. 

See you in April,
Marty
 

 WANTED 

The ladies of S. W. Hackett Lodge #574 are producing a cookbook of fun, quick and easy meals and time saving tips; and hope that you will share your favorites that fit today’s “on-the-go” lifestyle.  To avoid any of those nasty copyright problems, be sure these are your own creations.

Please bring your contributions for the cookbook with you when you attend the April and May Stated Meeting dinners.  If your schedule does not permit your attendance at dinner, please email to me at masonic574@irfutures.com, or fax to 858-484-3484 (no cover page needed).  Please make sure they are legible, and include your name and how we may reach you if we have questions.

We look forward to your help making this project a success, so we can all prepare those quick and easy meals, and help our favorite Masons get to Lodge on time. 

Thank you,
Ingrid

SHRINE CAMPING TRIP

S. W. Hackett Lodge annual camping weekend at Shrine Camp in the Laguna Mountains will be July 9th thru 11th.  To date four cabins have been reserved and two remain available   Dorm rooms 1 & 2 (single queen beds) and 3 & 4 (three double bunk beds) remain available.

Cabins rent for $55 per night and dorm rooms rent for $25 per night.

RV spaces at $15 per night (water & power only) are available, and tent spaces at $7 per night are available.

Shrine Camp folks have requested all reservation information by early April.  If you haven’t yet made reservations contact Clint Black, PM, immediately.  Clint may be reached at 858-538-3051 or mohic47@gmail.com.



MASONIC LORE

Ruel C. Gridley, to pay an election bet, carried a sack of flour a mile and a half.  He then auctioned it off to raise money for the Civil War equivalent of the Red Cross.  The idea caught on and Gridley carried the sack of flour all over Nevada and California, raising $275,000 for war relief.  Gridley belonged to seven lodges in succession in the towns in which he lived.

FROM THE SECRETARY’S DESK

PLEASE If you are not on the permanent dinner reservation list, call at least two days prior to a Stated Meeting.  We are always delighted to see you at Stated Meeting and dinner, but it can be difficult accommodating everyone who shows up without notice.  Cost of dinner is $12.00 each.  Brethren on the permanent list should call if they are unable to attend dinner.  Please remember also to keep us advised of address and telephone number changes.

A special note regarding dinner reservations is needed.  The lodge maintains a dinner reservation list in order to provide the caterer information on the number of attendees expected each month.  Several of those listed are not coming to dinner and are costing your lodge $12.00 for each dinner requested and not served.  Please take the time to ascertain if you are on the dinner list and cannot attend dinner so we may take that into consideration when ordering meals.  Equally difficult are those of us who come to dinner without informing the Secretary at least five days prior to the Stated Meeting so adequate notice can be provided to the caterer.

Fraternally, John S. Gamache, PM,  Secretary

APRIL STATED MEETING DINNER MENU

Carrot Salad
Honeybaked Ham
BBQ Chicken
Scalloped Potatoes
Asparagus Tips
Assorted Rolls
Assorted Hot & Cold Beverages
Pineapple Upside Down Cake

APRIL BIRTHDAYS 

      4   Anthony Samaye

5   Antonio Balat
        Fred Lipscomb

7   Kegan Thomson

      12   Bruce Abel
                Devin Breise

      17  Brian Waterman

      18  William Mathis, PM

      25  Robert  Hickok

               

ECHOES FROM THE PAST 

56 Years
Milton Humphrey  MM  4-22-54 

54 Years
Willard Meyer  MM  4-17-56 

52 Years
Claude Woods  MM  4-29-58 

37 Years
Donald Harding  MM  4-24-73 

32 Years
Donald Dibler  MM  4-18-78 

31 Years
Samuel Jones  MM  4/12/79