Brethren,
Communion
is an essential part of maintaining a relationship. This holds true for the relationships among
the member of a lodge, and especially between the members and the lodge
itself. Well, that sounds good and
important, but what does it really mean?
It means that people need to keep in touch with each other to maintain a
close, current friendship. Sure, your
brother is your brother even if you have not heard from him in ten years, but
the brother you see all the time, call to check on, meet for lunch or go
fishing with enriches your life by being an active part of it. If you attend lodge regularly, chances are
that you have gotten to know a few brethren better than the rest. Have
you noticed brother who stays off by himself or attend infrequently? Maybe just letting him know that you care
enough by asking why would be enough to help him get through a rough spot, or
past his shyness. I know it wouldn’t
take too many lonely lodge nights before I started wondering if my time
wouldn’t be better spent elsewhere.
Likewise is
the relation ship between the lodge and its member. If the lodge doesn’t let the membership (even
those who don’t or can’t make meetings) know what’s going on, they won’t feel
like they’re really members of a loving organization. And if the members don’t let the lodge know
what they do and don’t like, the officers are likely to just carry on. What works?
What doesn’t? What should we try
to improve, and how? What should we
consider doing for a change? Some of us are able to go to most or all of
our lodge meetings and we tend to be well informed and make our opinions
known. But what about the brethren who,
for whatever reason, don’t get to lodge very often? Even if they can’t come and help, I’m pretty
sure that they’d like to know what the lodge has been up to and if there are
any special meetings that they should make an extra effort to attend.
Brother
Howard Harris has done a wonderful job with the newsletter this year, reminding
me when my article is due. For that I am
thankful. Brother Harris has done an
outstanding j0ob trying to keep all of our members informed with the newsletter
and meeting reminder cards.
Our August
meeting highlight was visiting Brother Stephen Skull of Harmony Lodge in Plymouth, England. Brother Skull has visited our Lodge several
times over the last couple of years, joining us for our 250th
anniversary and his visits are always enjoyable.
I am proud
to say that our lodge continues to be busy this year. On August 28, and Entered Apprentice degree
was conferred on two new candidates by Brother Charles Spears as Mast of the
Lodge, David Spears as Senior Warden and Craig Dopson
as Junior Warden. Soon we will be
conducting a Fellow Craft degree for these ne Entered Apprentices. Watch the mail for a notification card.
Fraternally,
J. Howell Youmans III
Worshipful Master
Brethren,
According to Solomon’s Lodge No. 1,
F.& A. M. in Savannah, Georgia, founded February 21, 1734 by the English statesman, philanthropist and
Freemason Br. James Edward Oglethorpe, it is the oldest continuously operating
English constituted Lodge of Freemasons in the western hemisphere. Solomon’s Lodge has in its possession a 1733
John Baskett Bible, which was actually signed and
given to the Lodge during its earliest days by Oglethorpe, the found of the
Colony of Georgia.
Solomon’s
Lodge No.1 is situated at the hard of Bull
Street on Bay in the Old Cotton Exchange, a dark
red sandstone edifice of imposing character.
Brother Laurence Laughlin and I have visited Solomon’s No.1 more than
one to witness the small but interesting difference between the English ritual our own special way of doing things. It is an educational experience, one that I
urge you to pursue.
Concerning
the oft-heard statement by some that Freemasonry is a religion, the Supreme
Court of Nebraska, in deciding a case some years ago, used the following
illuminating language:
“The
guiding thought is not religion but religious toleration… The Masonic fraternity refrains from
intruding into the field of religion and confines itself to the teaching of
morality and duty to one’s fellow men, which makes better men and better
citizens.
“The
distinction is clear between such ethical teachings and the doctrines of
religion. One cannot espouse a religion
without belief and fain in its peculiar doctrines. A fraternity broad enough to take in and
cover with its mantle Christian, Moslem and Jew, without requiring him to
renounce his religion, is not a religious organization, although its members
may join in prayer which, in the case of each, is a petition addressed to his
own Deity. Neither can the belief in the
immortality of the soul be denominated religious in the sense that it is
typical of any religion, of any race, or of any age. It constitutes ne of the most beautiful and
consoling features of our own religion, but it is equally found in almost every
other. It is so unusual and spontaneous that it is not so much belief or dogma
as it is an instinct for the human soul.
Neither does it imply or require adherence to any system of religious
worship.
“The fact that belief in the
doctrines of deity of no particular religion is required, of itself refutes the
theory that the Masonic ritual embodies a religion, or that its teachings are
religious.”
I would like
to thank our Past Master Henry C. Chambers for his generosity in allowing me to
use the color-copy machine at Beaufort Realty to prepare the 250 copies of this
newsletter each month.
Fraternally,
Howard Harris
Senior Steward & Newsletter Editor
Happy Birthday to you, Happy
Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Dear Brothers, Happy Birthday to you!
9/02 James Charles
Adams 9/02 Hartford
Franklin Capps
9/02 Virgil
Lawrence Davis 9/28 Eugene Fairey
Duncan
9/12 George Frank Emminger 9/09 Marion William Howard
9/16 John Randolph Hudson 9/20 James Larry Jordan
9/14 Ernest Jackson
Kirkland 9/20 William Lewis Parker
Note: Your newsletter
editor needs your email address; please send it to him at howardharris@hargray.com