MEDINA LODGE NO. 58, F. & A. M.  Dispensation Granted  Monday, January 31, 1820 Chartered Tuesday, December 12, 1820

Brethren:

There comes a day in an officer’s term of office that demands so much in one single moment of great excitement and emotion. Thank you, Medina Lodge, for giving me the greatest honor a Lodge can bestow upon any of it members as being your Worshipful Master this last year and the time has come for me to soon return to the ranks. It is with some sadness and some relief that I write this last letter from the East. You will never know how much this last year has meant to me. I was able to fulfill one of my dreams - to be Worshipful Master! What and honor!! I could never have been able to have had such a successful year without everyone’s help, participation, prayers, and words of encouragement.

How can I say thank you all, as I am indebted to so many, the quality and dedication that you have given this past year is nothing less than outstanding. I would like to convey my gratitude to our hard working secretary, W. Bro. Vaughn Cover, for his guidance and wisdom and who always seems to anticipate when help is needed, so readily and timely given, also to our dedicated Treasurer, R.W. Bro. Dennis Lawson and all the Past Masters for their forbearance and encouragement.

As a side note, I know that Holly is glad that my term is coming to an end……. No more Trestleboards (WAHOO!!)

I would like to extend a personal thank you to all who attended meetings, traveled, or helped out in any way. Without everyone’s participation and dedication Medina Lodge would not be what it is today. It is with that dedication that we were able to keep the Traveling Gavel yet another year, great job Brethren!! Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Now, down to business. Please make sure to checkout the coming events in this month's Trestleboard. Please don’t forget that our Annual Meeting is Thursday, November 14, 2002 at 7:30 p.m., where we will be electing our new line of officers. Let’s show our support to the Officers Elect, come out and vote. Then on Saturday, November 16, 2002 at 7:00 p.m. our newly elected Officers will be installed.

Looking forward to another stellar year.

See you in Lodge,

Lloyd

We recently learned of the passing of Brother James K. Kirkpatrick on July 3, 2002; Worshipful Brother Gavin O. Brown on September 15, 2002; Brother Kennard M. Wilson on September 17, 2002, and Brother George N. Cereshko, Jr. on September 20, 2002.

Masonic Services were held October 4 for Worshipful Brother Roland G. Seaburn who passed September 30, 2002, and services were held once again on October 14 for Worshipful Brother Angelo Gorfido who passed October 11, 2002

Our heartfelt sympathy is extended to the families and friends of each of these beloved Freemasons. They will live on....in our memories.

He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a look in the eye. Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity. Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem. You can't tell just by looking.

He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.

He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden blanks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.

She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.

He is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't come back at all.

He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand. The career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.

He is the Quantico drill instructor who never has seen combat but who has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into soldiers, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.

He is the three anonymous heroes in the Tomb of the Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor died unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.

He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.

He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.

So, remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say thank you. That's all most of these veterans need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.

Two little words that mean a lot, "Thank you".

By ‘tenet’ is meant some teaching that is so obviously true that it is accepted and believed without question, for example, thou shalt not steal, not commit adultery, not bear false witness and so on. In terms of logic they are axiomatic, that is to be relied on utterly for use as the basic data from which conclusions are to be derived. Thus they are ‘self evident’ which means that no other evidence can make them more evident or less evident than they already are. The certainty of the tenets lies in their being confirmed by experience and the impact of the tenets on the lives of those who receive them. Tenets are part of the system of morality and not of the allegory that veils it or the symbols that illustrate it. They are a fundamental part of Freemasonry which cannot be altered without destroying the identity of Freemasonry itself. This is confirmed each year at the installation of office-bearers when the principles of Grand Lodge are read out and puts a check on innovation. Love in itself is a concept that has been and continues to be one of the most potent forces within the traditions of humankind. Love has been described as the most powerful force in the universe binding all living things together. Love is a multi-dimensional phenomenon but can be categorized under three headings. Firstly, there is erotic or sensual love. Secondly, there is a divine love bestowed upon the recipient through grace. Thirdly, there is brotherly or friendly love. This is offered in affection to another human being without thought of personal gain. It means that we place on another person the highest possible value as a friend, a companion, an associate, a neighbor.
 
 

There is an old Arab saying which states that ‘man’s love for a woman waxes and wanes like the moon but man’s love for his brothers shines eternal like stars in the heaven’. Brotherly love is an essential element which binds the Brethren to each other, as they have pledged themselves to exercise it and it is one of the greatest duties of a Freemason. On this principle, Masonry unites people of every country, sect and opinion and conciliates true friendship. Brotherly love also manifests itself in the second tenet of relief, which is one of the forms of charity. Masonic relief takes for granted that any man may be in temporary need of a helping hand. It can take many forms, such as alleviating misfortune, soothing calamity, helping to restore peace to a troubled mind, and so on. This is one of the natural and inevitable acts of Brotherhood.
 
 

The third of the principal tenets is truth, which is a vital requirement if Brotherhood is to endure. Truth takes different forms, such as conformity of a concept to a fact or reality and not being false or erroneous. It is also the knowledge of the underlying reality of things. This form of truth is often linked with the concept of goodness and is regarded as eternal, absolute and immutable. To be good and true is the first lesson taught in Freemasonry. On this theme, Masons should endeavor to regulate their conduct in order to eliminate hypocrisy and deceit. In Freemasonry, truth is accepted as the foundation of every virtue.