From the East
Brethren,
Greetings It is election time. By the time you read this, our county’s midterm elections will be over. I’m sure there will be law suits and recounts just as there have been in the past. There will be joy and sorrow, anger and celebration, disbelief and dismay. These seem to be more contentious times that any that I remember. I would like to remind you of that portion of the Charge you were given when you because an Entered Apprentice:
In the State you are to be a quiet and peaceable citizen, true to your government and just to your country. You are not to countenance disloyalty or rebellion, but patiently submit to legal authority, and conform with cheerfulness to the government of the country in which you live. In you outward demeanor, be particularly careful to avoid censure or reproach.
As a Mason, we should be an example to others and teach the lessons we have been taught.
As Albert Pike explained in Morals and Dogmas, the Rough Ashlar represents the people as a mass, rude and unorganized. The Perfect Ashlar represents the State whose rulers derived their power from the consent of the governed, the Constitution, and the will of the people. The six faces of the Perfect Ashlar are divided into the three visible faces representing the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial departments of Government. The three hidden faces represent Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. The Common Gavel represents the force of the people, or the popular will, in action and exerted, guided by and acting within the limits of law and order represented by the Twenty-four Inch Gauge, and having for its fruit – Liberty regulated by Law, Equality of rights in the eye of the law, and Fraternity with its duties and obligations as well as its benefits.
Our November Communication is also our Annual Communication to elect officers for 2019. For those brethren that do not make it to lodge regularly, this would be one of those times to join your brothers and help keep the lodge strong into the future.
I look forward to seeing you in the lodge.
Fraternally,
Bill Stout – Worshipful Master, PM
From the Secretary
Brothers,
The November Stated Communication will be busy with a secret ballot on a petition, the deter-mination of the disposition of members who remain delinquent in their 2018 dues payment, and the election of our 2019 officers.
The 2019 dues notices have been sent (emailed on Thu, Nov. 2 or included with this Trestle-Mike Hamrick, PM board). If you have not received your dues notice as one of these, please contact me as soon as possible. Dues payments are due by December 31.
Fraternally,
Mike Hamrick, PM
Secretary
From the South
Brothers,
Greetings from the South. The Junior Warden is the 3rd in line within the Masonic lodge hierarchy and helps the lodge to run smoothly, both at labor and at refreshment.
ASSISTANT OFFICER: In Freemasonry, the Junior Warden is an elected officer in the Lodge. His position is similar to a Vice-President.
JEWEL: His Jewel of Office is the Plumb,… which is a stonemason’s instrument used for ascertaining the alignment of a vertical surface. It symbolizes upright behavior among Masons.
REFRESHMENT: He sits in the South (symbolic of the position of the sun at midday) and is responsible for the Brethren while the Lodge is at ease or refreshment.
It is his to arrange all meals for the lodge, and, typically, the two Stewards act as his assistants in this responsibility.
Symbolically, it is also his duty to make certain that the members do not convert their refreshment into intemperance or excess. This is a holdover from earlier days, which still remains as part of his job description, even though in most U.S. jurisdictions, alcohol is barred from the lodge.
Which Officers Can Open the Lodge? The Master, the Senior Warden, the Junior Warden or a Past Master may open the lodge if the ranking officer(s) is unable to attend the meeting.
Looking forward to seeing you in the Lodge soon.
Fraternally,
Chris Leuck, JW