J. F. Swartsel lodge No. 251 F. & A.M. Trestleboard

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1 J. F. Swartsel lodge No. 251 F. & A.M. Trestleboard Published monthly Volume MMXVIII Issue No. 1 January 2018 AD, 6018 AL Our stated Communications are: 1 st and 3 rd Thursday - - Supper 6:30 Meeting 7:30 The third Friday of EACH month is reserved for a public Fish Fry at the lodge and is open to the public. The fifth Thursday night of the month is reserved for family night at the lodge and is open to the public Lutz Lake Fern Road, Lutz FL Mail: P.O. Box 1475, Lutz FL info@jfswartsel251.org Website: Phone: Facebook: ww.facebook.com/jfswartsel251 IN THIS ISSUE YOU WILL FIND. Masonic Education, Chair Chatter, Lodge News & Events, Calendar of Important Events, Lodge Officers, Sponsors and Website Information Your Catechism Instructors for the three symbolic degrees in freemasonry are: W David B. Lambert Sr., W Stuart J. Graff, W Jerry M. Snell, Jr. and Brother Raymond J. Ciunci Masonic Education Submitted by W Stuart Graff The All Seeing Eye This is one of the oldest and most widespread symbols denoting God. We find it in Egypt, in India and in the Old Testament. The Open Eye of Egypt represented Osiris. In India Siva is represented by an eye. In the Old Testament we read of the eyes of Jehovah.

2 Omniscience and omnipresence are rather forbidding words; the All Seeing Eye in familiar syllables a thought easily comprehended by ignorant and wise alike. The conception of a sleepless Eye which sees not only material but spiritual things; which watches not only externals but the inmost recesses of the human heart has that pictoral and imaginative appeal which visializes to the most matter of fact the power and the universality of the Great Architect. We are taught of it as the All Seeing Eye whom the sun, moon and stars obey and under whose watchful care even comets perform their stupendous revolutions. In this astonomical reference is a potent argument for extreme care in the transmission of ritual unchanged from mouth to ear and the necessity of curbing wee-intentioned brethren who wish to improve the ritual. The word revolution, printed in the earliest Webb monitors, fixes the astronomical as comparatively modern conceptions. Tycho Brahe, progenitor of the modern maker and user of fine instruments among astronomers, whose discoveries have left an indelible impression on astronomy, did not consider comets as orbital bodies. Galileo thought them emanations of the atmosphere. Not until the seventeenth century was well under way did a few daring spirits suggest that these celestial portents of evil, these terrible heavenly demons which had inspired terror in the hearts of men for uncounted generations, were actually parts of the solar system, and that many if not most of them were periodic, returning again and again; in other words, that they revolved about the sun. Obviously this passage of our ritual cannot have come down to us by a word-of-mouth transmission from an epoch earlier than that in which men first believed that a comet was not an augery of evil but a part of the solar system, a body which engaged not in irresposible evolutions but law controlled revolutions. Here the change of a single letter would destroy an approximate date-fixing reference. Your 2 nd annual wild game dinner has been scheduled for March 15 th. Come hungry and leave with a satisfied tummy. This meal will be prepared by our newly raised Master Masons (assisting our Junior Warden in the kitchen) that are well versed and experienced with this. Most people will not even realize that they are eating what was once wild game. A very special THANK YOU to all of our Past Masters Without whose help and guidance we could not be where we are today. Below is a list of those that have not yet gone to the Celestial Lodge above W:.Thomas B. Daughtey 1973 W:.Stanley E. James 1976 W:.Phillip V. Getz 1978 W:.Clark W. Barlow 1981 W:.Edward B. Wilson 1984 W:.Lloyd D. Herbert 1985 W:.Charles Inman 1986 W:.Gary F. Gentry 1992 W:.Floyd A. Dozier 1995 R:.W:.Donald R. Bell, PDDGM 1998 W:.Gary A. Richey 1999 W:.David B. Lambert 2000 W:.David B. Lambert, II 2001 W:.James R. Lambert 2002 W:.Gregory A. Lambert 2003 W:.Joseph E. Fara, Sr W:.Joseph P. Wells 2007 W:.William L. Boortz 2008 W:.Gregory L. Savage 2009 W:.Drew M. Keenan 2010 W:.Donnel G. Cortright 2011 W:.Richard D. Sego 2012 W:.Jerry M. Snell, Jr W:.Gregory L. Savage 2014 W:.Jeffrey T. Sklet 2015 W:. Charles C. Osborne 2016 W:. Danilo O. Valdez Sr R:. W:. Charles J. Sam Pesola

3 WELCOME BACK Brother John Nagy We are looking forward to seeing you in the lodge. You and your musical expertise have been sorely missed. All of our future degrees will once again be top notch and even better than they have been during the past year. FROM THE CRAFT I always enjoy reading your articles and your current historical article about The King... top drawer! Sister Grace Remember our Masonic youth. for they are not only OUR future, but THE future of our country and possibly our world. De Molay. Scribes. Jobs Daughters, and the Rainbow Girls. They all deserve our thanks and support. To our newly initiated Brothers as of 12/14/17 James Dean Sucarichi, Timothy Sergio Morejon and Brian Andrew Reach Welcome to the Brotherhood It was our honor and pleasure. Now it is up to you

4 Chair Chatter From the Secretary s station: W David B. Lambert, Sr. Please take a look at your Dues Card and see if the year on it is 2018, if not please send in your dues, if you are having financial difficulties please give me a call, it is every brothers responsibility to help aid and assist their brothers, Again Brothers the new Program called Circumscribe which Grand Lodge has been implementing is up and running, To login to Circumscribe, simply follow these instructions: Open your internet browser Navigate to: Enter your initial Username: FL + Your Grand Lodge Number (example: FL @changeyour .info) NOTE: your Grand Lodge Number is printed on the top / middle of your current Dues card. Enter your temporary Password: FL + Your Grand Lodge (example: FL ) You will be immediately prompted to change both your username and password. Your NEW password must contain 8 characters and 1 number. Upon successfully entering both, you will be required to logout, and then log back in with your new credentials. Once you have successfully logged back in, navigate to your Masonic profile by selecting Profile from the menu items on the left side of the screen. Review your profile and make any appropriate changes to your contact information, and upload a current picture for your new permanent ID card. When uploading your picture, use as high a resolution as possible, and your face should be positioned to take up as much of the photo square as possible. You should avoid hats, sunglasses, other individuals or animals in the picture. Be sure to select Save Profile to complete the process. Online help is always available at or by clicking the question mark icon on the top right of the Circumscribe dashboard once you are logged in. For additional support, please me. This is what your new Dues Card will look like. (Except it will have your information on it). Calendar of Important Lodge Dates: January nd 6:30, Degree Swartsel. 4 th Stated Communication of Swartsel Lodge 6:30 PM, Lodge Opens at 7:30 PM. 6 th E.A. Degree, 8:30 AM, Degree to 9: AM. 9 th 6:30, Degree Swartsel. 15 th 7:30, Friendship No. 209 Meeting. 16 th 6:30, Degree Swartsel. 18 th Stated Communication of Swartsel Lodge 6:30 PM, Lodge Opens at 7:30 PM. 19 th Third Friday FULL Menu Fish Fry at J.F. Swartsel Lodge Serving from 5-8: PM. 20 th Masonic Home Fish Fry, Sponsored by Swartsel rd 6:30, Degree Swartsel. 26 th 6:30, Masters & John Darling No.154, Memorial Lodge to Follow. 30 th 6:30, Degree Swartsel.

5 From the Worshipful Master s station: M W Martin A. Greif Thank you for the confidence you placed in me by installing me as your Worshipful Master for the upcoming year. It is an honor and responsibility that I do not take lightly. I will endeavor to keep the Lodge moving forward with the same level of enthusiasm that we have enjoyed these past few years. For 2018 we have some exciting programs and projects in store and I will be providing more details in our stated communications in January. Additionally, there are a few Committees that I need to appoint, and I trust you will give due consideration to participating if called upon to serve. As a new year is upon us, and we have a new slate of officers, I would ask your help in supporting those new to the various appointed chairs. For the Deacons, please help them learn their positions and master their Degree work. Not only do they have to learn their chairs for all three Degrees, they also should learn at least one chair up. While I have complete faith in both our Brothers, a little extra support goes a long way. For the Stewards, please help them not only when the lodge is at labor, but while we are at refreshment. As you know, the Stewards are responsible for helping the Junior Warden with refreshment. Preparing meals, keeping the lodge clean all while learning to improve their selves in Masonry is a big task. So, when in the lodge, please lend a hand in keeping the refreshments coming and the lodge clean. The Stewards will greatly appreciate the help. Finally, I wish to thank R W Sam Pesola for his guidance and leadership this past year. His commitment to ensuring that his officers were well versed in our Degree work was very much appreciated by all. This year we ve had some of the most polished Degrees in the district and the credit for that success belongs to our very experienced Worshipful Master. It will be hard to follow in his footsteps. From the Senior Warden s station: W Jerry M. Snell, Jr. First I want to wish everyone and their families a happy and prosperous New Year. I want to congratulate our newly elected and appointed officers for 2018 and look forward to working with each one of you this year. I'll continue to teach the catechism this year to our newly initiated Brothers as well as Fellowcraft and Master Masons. I look forward to 2018 and we'll see you in the lodge. From the Junior Warden s station: Brother Adam S. Feldman First, I would like to thank the craft for electing me as their Junior Warden. I am honored and eager to work alongside the officers and craft of JF Swartsel to continue improving the lodge (and myself) during my year in the South. Secondly, I would like to thank our sister Cindy Long for once again offering her assistance in the kitchen. I hope the meals we prepare exceed your expectations, and I appreciate any feedback you d like to provide me. With regards to improving one's self, I became reflective of the Hiramic legend while preparing for our last Farmer Degree. Abiff s refusal to give up his secret knowledge to the undeserving, preferring death to debasing his dignity, teaches us the importance of the immortality of the soul. As such, a Mason should not only strive to develop himself physically and intellectually, but also spiritually and esoterically in our journey from West to East. I look forward to my year in the South, and to continually improving myself, with the assistance of the brethren, both as a man and a Mason. From the desk of the editor: W Stuart J. Graff Well, my brothers; we are off to a great beginning of All of your new leadership has been duly and truly installed in their respective offices. M W Greif has promised a new and different leadership and it is up to each and every one of us to do everything we can to help him succeed in his endeavor. At the very least we could start to show up again for the stated communications and IF you so desire, you could even volunteer to help out with some of the projects that are being planned as well as those that have already been planned for As we gear up for a new Masonic year, I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank you for having confidence in your elected (and appointed) officers and only ask that you now support them. ALSO: This will be the last issue of this year that the Masonic Education portion will appear in the Trestleboard. It will be available for you to read online, but separate from the Trestleboard. Please let us know how you feel about this new format. Please remember your Lodge boosters and thank them! R:.W:. Ronald E. Stanley - R:.W:. Donald R. Bell - Mark L. Lager - Daniel Allen - Brad Sollberger - Ernest P. Sidlow

6 We had an absolutely marvelous installation Of our 2018 line of officers. The lodge was opened and the lodge of sorrow was closed at 8:00 AM by W Danny Valdez. The lodge was then put at ease for the public installation of officers. Plant City Commandery No.6, assisted by Tampa Ivanhoe Commandery No. 8 performed the Color Guard/Honor Guard ceremony. Our Grand Master, the Most Worshipful Richard G. Hoover was pleased to be our installing officer; along with Right Worshipful Glen Bishop, our Grand Marshal as our installing Marshal. Right Worshipful Charles C. Osbourne acted as our installing Chaplain and Brother John Nagy was our installing Musician. Your 1018 officers are as follows: Worshipful master w m Martin (marty) Greif Senior warden W jerry M. Snell, Jr. Junior warden brother Adam s. feldman Treasurer = w stuart j. graff Secretary w david b. lambert, sr. Chaplain brother frank e. penny Marshal brother dennis martin Senior deacon brother Samuel mc pherson Junior deacon brother Gregory (greg) muth Senior steward brother Raymond (ray) j. Ciunci Junior steward brother angel luis Acosta Tyler = brother wade Edward angel Musician = brother john nagy Historian W danilo (danny) valdez

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