Trestleboard - November 2003

News From the East

Well my Brethren,

This is my last Trestleboard. In the last three weeks we have made great headway with the tenants of the front offices and theater. I would like to thank Bob Askew for all the fine work and time that he put into getting what the Lodge needs. We are now working on new By-Laws for the Temple Company.

With the help of Doug Shuler we have some new rules to run the Temple Company with, if the Grand Lodge lets us use them after we vote on them. We will be voting on new officers on November 13, 2003 after we have a Fellow Craft return his examination in the degree. I would like to say to my officers, thank you for all your help and support. I will not forget what you have done for me.

I heard a Past Master say how good the Lodge looked. He wanted to thank me for the nice job that I did. My response was: What great work the Brethren have done to make it this way. Just keep up the good work and we will shine again. To get back to the first thing I said, that I would take the next step, and I did. Now it is up to the next Master to take the next step.

It will take five years to show what we did as a Lodge that was down but not out yet. I did not turn from my charge and I have no regrets for if the Lodge survives then I have done my job, and that will be my reward for all the year of toil that I went through.

In closing I want to thank you all for letting me be your Master. Words can not express how I felt sitting in the East this past year. Thank you. See you later.

Respectfully,

William Carl Thompson Master
Soon to be Past Master 2003

Brother Samuel E. McCoy passed away October 9, 2003. Brother Ned Imhoff passed away October 12, 2003. Brother Raymond E. Hale passed away October 15, 2003.

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

STATED Meetings
Thursday, November 13^th, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, December 11^th, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, January 8^th, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, January 22^nd, 7:30 p.m.

SPECIAL MEETINGS
Installation Of Officers
Saturday, November 29^th
Lodge opens at 5:00 p.m., Dinner at 5:30 p.m., Installation following dinner

Special Events

Saturday Morning Breakfasts
November 22^nd, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
December 27^th, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Medina Masonic Temple Dining Hall

November Dinner to be Held
Saturday, November 15^th, 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Turkey Dinner with all the Trimmings
$9.00 per Plate
Medina Masonic Temple Dining Hall

Annual Blue Lodge & Easter Star Christmas Party
Saturday December 13^th, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
With Santa Claus and Balloons and Stories and an Elf with a Camera!
Medina Masonic Temple

Veterans' Day Message to the Troops
Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Sunday, November 11, 2001.

Eighty-three years ago, an armistice was signed between the Allies and the Central Powers. As the guns of both the victors and the vanquished fell silent, World War I -- "the war to end all wars" -- slipped into history.

For the next twenty years, "Armistice Day" was celebrated with parades and speeches, simple ceremonies, and sacred observances. For many years, buglers played "Taps" at 11 o’clock at the main intersections of towns across America – I was one of them -- And for two minutes, all traffic and daily transactions ceased, as citizens stopped to honor those who had fallen in defense of liberty.

Today, we celebrate "Veterans’ Day," but while the name has changed, its meaning and purpose remain the same. It is a day to honor and to remember those who died and those we are blessed to still have with us.

Their collective experience – from the gas-filled trenches of World War I to the deserts of the Persian Gulf – covers much of the turmoil and change of the 20th century. Their stories are the story of our history, for America rose to greatness on their shoulders.

But Veteran’s Day is also a day to honor and to recognize, not just the Greatest Generation, but the latest generation -- those who today wear the uniform and bear the responsibility for defending freedom and protecting our American way of life. And while this is true even when the country is at peace, it is particularly so when America is – as it is now –at war.

Like the thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who went before, you have dedicated yourselves to the strength and survival of our nation, and willingly placed yourselves in danger to secure peace and freedom. In so doing, you have assumed the highest responsibility of citizenship, and your country is grateful. Never forget that you serve in the finest military in the greatest nation in the world, a military and a nation dedicated not to oppression but to freedom.

Today we celebrate and salute the men and women who have served so gallantly over the decades to keep us free. We offer them our love, our thanks, and our promise that we will never forget their valor or their sacrifice.

We offer the same to you, as you voluntarily put your lives at risk so that we may all live in freedom.

Paying Our Bills
By Michael A. Botelho,
Past Master of Basin Spring Lodge No. 386 in Eureka Springs, Arkansas; Past Grand Tyler, Grand Lodge of Arkansas; and a member of King Hiram's Lodge, Provincetown, Massachusetts
[Published in The Scottish Rite Journal, S.J., July 2003 issue]

Bills! Bills! Bills! Every one of us faces the tiresome, never-ending parade of bills - utility bills, telephone bills, repair bills, tax bills, the list goes on. This is true in our private home, and it is true in our Masonic home.

As Masons, we are obligated to come to the relief of our distressed Brethren, yet we seldom consider the financial distress of the institution of Masonry itself. Right now we have Lodges, Appendant Bodies, and even Grand Lodges facing severe cost-cutting measures just to survive on their limited incomes.

Many local Lodges are being forced to operate in a virtual financial vacuum. The costs of keeping the Lodge open are forever rising, yet members are reluctant to meet the challenge out of their own pockets. As a result, Masonic Bodies resort to holding pancake breakfasts, yard sales, and spaghetti dinners to raise money, not for the purpose of funding our charitable works but rather just to provide for the cost of operation. There was even a story recently about a Lodge that was planning to place big mayonnaise donation jars around town, hoping to raise the money it needed to pay its own utility bills. Thankfully, the Grand Master of that jurisdiction vetoed the proposal. Imagine Masons asking the public to underwrite the cost of keeping our own Masonic doors open!

The answer to these financial problems is to be found within Lodge walls, not outside them. Masons must be willing to make the financial commitment to keep the Craft strong! Recently a Lodge in Arkansas has done just that. In a Grand Jurisdiction where the average Lodge dues are $30 per year, the Brethren of Basin Spring Lodge No. 386 Eureka Springs, Arkansas, recently voted to raise their dues from the average to $100, the highest of any Lodge in the state!

With just over 110 members, this Lodge is housed in a building whose 40 years of deferred maintenance is beginning to show. Unfortunately, the Lodge is located in both a state and a county that assess a real estate property tax to all buildings except actual houses of worship. Basin Spring Lodge was facing a serious cash crunch.

Historically a Lodge with a very active membership, the Brethren of Basin Spring Lodge No. 386 had held all the usual fund-raisers, collecting nearly $20,000 last year alone. However, there has been a long-standing Masonic promise to the community that all money raised in this way would go to fund only the charitable activities of the Lodge. The membership was unanimously unwilling to break that commitment, but what to do?

Finally, the Worshipful Master decided to call an emergency meeting of his principal officers and those Past Masters of the Lodge who had served in the recent past to consider the situation. The discussion went far into the night and was adjourned to the next evening as well. The answer was obvious to all attending - raise the dues. But how?

The burning question was how much of an increase would the Brethren accept. Older members on fixed incomes could not afford an increase, it was said. Nor could younger Brothers with families. The Lodge was warned that Brethren would relocate their memberships to other area Lodges that had yet to face their own financial realities.

As previous attempts to raise the dues had met with a great deal of resistance, a decision was made to design a program to "sell" the membership on the idea of a meaningful dues increase.

The first step in this program was to identify and prioritize all the expenses that had brought about the crisis. These primarily fell into three categories: a) ongoing major expenses that were not easily controlled such as insurance and real estate taxes b) necessary, but non-emergency, deferred maintenance to the building which could be scheduled over a fixed period of years, and c) the immediate replacement of failing major systems.

The next step was to draft a letter to the membership frankly outlining the problems and recommending the hard solution, a major increase in dues. The Worshipful Master and both Wardens then signed this lengthy letter. Importantly, six Past Masters also signed the communication to the Brethren, a clear indication of the severity of the matter at hand. In the message, members were invited to attend a special meeting of the Lodge to discuss the problem or to contact any of the signatories who would explain the matter in greater detail.

There was an enormous amount of interest, and attendance at the informational meeting was very high. Numerous phone calls were made to the signatories. An important result of these conversations was the creation of a Dues Review Board. Composed of three Past Masters appointed by the Worshipful Master, this board would consider appeals made by individual Brethren relating to the level of hardship the new dues imposed upon them. The board was authorized to decide each case in the best interest of the Lodge and to report its actions by summary only, never naming the Brethren who had appealed. The board was given authority to waive dues altogether; to set the dues at the old rate of $30 or at half the new fee; and to allow periodic payments to be made - all as determined by the circumstances of each appeal.

The vote to adopt the new $100 dues was set for the next Stated Meeting. The air was electric as nearly 75% of the total membership packed into the Lodge Hall. For several older, infirm Brothers, it was the first time they had sat in Lodge in years! At the appointed time in the meeting, the Worshipful Master asked for a motion, which was made and seconded.

When the floor was opened to discussion, one of the long-absent elderly Brethren slowly struggled to his feet. "There are way too many 'ring bearers' in Masonry," he said in his slow, earthy style. "These are Brethren who are always ready to flash their fancy Masonic rings, but never available to do anything helpful." "Tonight," he continued, "we can remind everyone of his obligation to serve and preserve our glorious Fraternity in a most meaningful way!" Not another voice was raised, and the motion was passed unanimously!

Predictions that many Brothers would relocate their membership if this increase were adopted were wrong. Not a single Brother has asked for a demit. Only five appeals were heard, and all the Brethren were accommodated to their satisfaction.

All Masons can learn a valuable lesson in the efforts of this Lodge. It is that our Brethren are willing to share the financial burdens of our Fraternity. As this story demonstrates, it is only necessary to explain the need in detail, holding nothing back, answering all questions forthrightly, and having a sensible plan in place to assist those Brothers who are truly in need.

He who acts upon the Square
Will always well with all compare.
The Mason uses tools of love
To build a Temple planned above.
The Gauge he constantly employs
To measure work and limit joys.
The Plumb imbues his soul and heart
With love Divine and sacred art.
The Level guides his daily act
And makes good fellowship a fact.
If we employ these tools each day
A beautiful Temple will be our pay


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