Trestle Board. Staunton Lodge No. 13 AF & AM

Transcription

1 Newsletter Date December 2015 Trestle Board Staunton Lodge No. 13 AF & AM Staunton Lodge No.13 Officers 2015 Worshipful Thomas H Otto Sr. Warden Harold Pat Smiley Jr. Warden Edmund Rick Potter Treasurer Steve R Wilt Secretary Benjamin L Edwards Sr. Deacon Kevin B Pitchford Jr. Deacon IMPORTANT DATES Robert Brian Moubray December 1, 2015 Staunton Stated Meeting, Nomination and Installation of Officers Chaplain David W Hayes Marshall Jason M Rexrode Tiler Stuart L Brown III January 5, 2015 Staunton Stated Meeting January 8, 2015 District Leadership Conference, Tinkling Springs Church Sr. Steward Jon H Otto/Jr. Steward Butch Smiley Brethren or others sick or in Distress. Pray for their recovery. Remember all our Masonic widows and orphans 1

2 Brethren, First I would like to truly thank all of you my Brothers, for having the confidence in me to lead such a truly wonderful group of men this year. I am humbled and awed to have served this year as Master and the harmony and unity I have witnessed this year from all of you has made it a most rewarding experience for me. From the Master Worshipful Thomas Otto My heartfelt thanks goes out to all the Officers and Brothers for their support and hard work. There are a lot of things that go into making a Lodge. Building upkeep and care, stated communications, degree work, widows, fellowship, community projects, the list goes on and on. But all the efforts behind the scenes, in many cases, makes all the difference. Staunton Lodge is definitely Setting a Good Example. Finally I want to wish all of our brothers and their families a blessed Thanksgiving and a truly joyous Holiday Season. Every Tuesday morning there is practice at the Lodge in all parts of the ritual, starting at 9:00 AM. Also every second and fourth Wednesday of the month there is practice at 7:00 PM. All brothers are welcome. Masonic Information Brethren, if you would like to add or see something in your Trestle Board, feel free to contact me, Wor. Thomas H Otto 32, at geteurdone@comcast.net MASONIC BIRTHDAYS KNOCKING AT THE DOOR Kenneth Wayne Glass 12/12/1985 Christopher Robert Grubb 12/17/1969 James Lynwood Mann 12/26/2002 Charles Burton Ware 12/11/1939 Applications Read (0) Entered Apprentices (0) Fellow Crafts (0) Master Masons (3) Please make plans to attend practices and degree work, and support these men (and their coaches) as they continue their Masonic journey through their degrees. 2

3 George Washington, The Mason George Washington joined the Masonic Lodge in Fredericksburg, Virginia at the age of 20 in His Masonic membership, like the others public titles and duties he performed, was expected from a young man of his social status in colonial Virginia. During the War for Independence, General Washington attended Masonic celebration and religious observances in several states. He also supported Masonic Lodges that formed within army regiments. At his first inauguration in 1791, President Washington took his oath of office on a Bible from St. John's Lodge in New York. During his two terms, he visited Masons in North and South Carolina and presided over the cornerstone ceremony for the U.S. Capitol in In retirement, Washington became charter Master of the newly chartered Alexandria Lodge No. 22, sat for a portrait in his Masonic regalia, and in death, was buried with Masonic honors. Such was Washington's character, that from almost the day he took his Masonic obligations until his death, he became the same man in private that he was in public. In Masonic terms, he remained "a just and upright Mason" and became a true Master Mason. Washington was, in Masonic terms, a living stone who became the cornerstone of American civilization. He remains the milestone others civilizations follow into liberty and equality. He is Freemasonry's perfect ashlar upon which countless Master Masons gauge their labors in their own Lodges and in their own communities. A Timeline of George Washington's Masonic Activities 1752 November 4, Initiated as Entered Apprentice at Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4, Fredericksburg, Virginia March 3, Passed to the Degree of Fellow Craft at Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4 / August 4, Raised a Master Mason at Fredericksburg Lodge No December 28, Marched in a Masonic procession in celebration of Saint John the Evangelist Day 1779 June 24, Celebrated Saint John the Baptist Day with American Union Military Lodge at West Point, New York / December 27, Celebrated Saint John the Evangelist Day with American Union Military Lodge at Morristown, New Jersey 1781 October - Reportedly visited Lodge No. 9 at Yorktown, VA with General Lafayette after defeat of British General Cornwallis 1782 Brothers Watson and Cassoul of Nantes, France present Washington with exquisite silk Masonic apron, acknowledged by letter dated August 10 / June 24, St. John the Baptist celebration - Marked with American Union Military Lodge at West Point, New York. / December 27, St. John the Evangelist Day - Celebrated with Solomon's Lodge No. 1, Poughkeepsie, New York June 24, St. John the Baptist celebration - Marked with Alexandria Lodge, Alexandria, Virginia / June 24, Made an honorary member of Alexandria Lodge No. 39 (Now Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22) Alexandria, Virginia / August Presented a Masonic apron made by Madame de Lafayette to General and Bro. de Lafayette Continued on next page 3

4 George Washington, The Mason continued 1785 February 12, Walked in Masonic funeral procession for Bro. William Ramsay at Alexandria, Virginia 1788 April 28, Named Charter Worshipful Master of Alexandria Lodge No. 22 when a new charter from the Grand Lodge of Virginia was issued. Unanimously re-elected Master December 20, 1788 for one year Elected honorary member of Holland Lodge No. 8, New York, NY / April 30- Inaugurated President of the United States using Bible from St. John's Lodge No. 1, New York 1791 April 15, Welcomed by members of St. John's Lodge No. 2, New Bern, NC / May Received the greetings of the Grand Lodge of South Carolina by General Mordecai Gist, Grand Master, Charleston, SC 1793 September 18 Acting Grand Master - Laid the cornerstone for the United States Capitol, Washington, D.C Sat for William Williams, portraitist, in Masonic regalia at the request of Alexandria Lodge 1797 March 28 Received a Masonic delegation from Alexandria Lodge 1798 April 1, Attended Alexandria Lodge No. 22 proposed a toast at the banquet that followed 1799 December 18, Buried at Mount Vernon with Masonic rites as well as those of the church, conducted by Alexandria Lodge Taken from: The George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association, Inc. Fellowship at Highland s Stated Communication 171th Grand Master of Masons in Virginia Most Worshipful James Edward Litten Setting a Good Example 4

5 Saint John the Evangelist December 27th is Saint John the Evangelist day, which is the 2nd feast day in the year to celebrate the Holy Saints John. The placement of the holiday also marks the winter solstice, which is directly opposite Saint John the Baptist s day at the summer solstice in June making a notable completion in the cycle of the solar year. The actual dates are slightly off, but you get the symbolism. But why John the Evangelist, and what about him represents the counter balance of John the Baptist, the opposite pillar of the point within the circle? For those who forget, the point within the circle is the Masonic symbol that all men are said to endeavor to emulate in their physical and spiritual being. It essentially is the balancing ones desires and passions in the pursuit of knowledge. Saint John the Baptist, represented as the inverted pyramid, the Alchemical sign for water, representing the spiritual and emotional love. St. John the Evangelist, represented as the pyramid pointing up symbolizing fire that is the drive and will of action. When placed together, they symbolize the perfect balance of darkness and light, life and death, passion and constraint, will and emotion, winter and summer. Together both represent the interlocked star of Solomon, or the Square and Compass. So who was John the Evangelist? Known for several things he was most notably as the only disciple of Christ to not to forsake the him in the hour of His Passion at the foot of the cross and he was the first to reach the tomb; when he met the risen Lord at the lake of Tiberius, where he was the first to recognize Him. Also, he is also attributed as the writer of the Epistles of John, and the book of Revelation. His feast day is said to have first been mentioned in the Sacramentary of Pope Adrian I near 772 A.D. The Evangelist is also called the Apostle of Charity, which may be in part, his connection to Freemasonry. Or perhaps it is his unwavering resolve and purity for his love of the divine. The message to take from John the Evangelist is to Apply thyself, therefore, to purity of heart, and thou shalt be like Saint John, a beloved disciple of Jesus, and shalt be filled with heavenly wisdom. The feast is little remembered today, except in passing by a few lodges that gather together to celebrate it. It was once a high feast day for Freemasonry because of its proximity to the holidays and the presence of lodge members being close to home. It gave them a festival to meet under to punctuate the closing of the year. Meeting like this though is something not so convenient in this modern day as everyone travels abroad for the holiday. I belong to just one such club who is actually meeting the night before the feast, where we will definitely venerate the meeting and its symbolic importance. So the days following Christmas, pause for a moment to reflect and remember the feast day of Saint John the Evangelist, that pillar on the opposite side of John the Baptist balancing that circumscribed point within a circle. Taken from: Masonictraveler.blogspot 5

6 Staunton Lodge #13 AF & AM Masonic Pictures 6

7 Staunton Lodge #13 AF & AM Masonic Pictures 7

8 Staunton Lodge No. 13 Masonic District 19 Ancient Free & Accepted Masons 708 D Street Staunton, Virginia (540) Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1 Staunton, Virginia StauntonLodge13@gmail.com Facebook: Staunton Lodge #13 AF&AM Website: December 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Staunton # Stated Meeting Staunton #13 Evening practice 10 Lee #209 Stated Meeting Augusta #111 Stated Meeting 16Highland #110 Stated Meeting Christmas