Trestle Board. Staunton Lodge No.13 Officers Staunton Lodge No. 13 AF & AM

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1 Newsletter Date September 2016 Trestle Board Staunton Lodge No. 13 AF & AM Staunton Lodge No.13 Officers 2016 Worshipful Thomas H Otto Sr. Warden Harold Pat Smiley Jr. Warden Kevin B. Pitchford Treasurer Steve R Wilt Secretary Scott L Fielding Sr. Deacon Norman Butch Smiley IMPORTANT DATES September 6, 2016 Staunton Stated Meeting, casual attire Jr. Deacon Jason M Rexrode September 14, 2006 David W. Hayes Area Dis- Chaplain David W Hayes trict Ritual School, Staunton Lodge No. 13 at 7:00 PM Marshall Robert Brian Moubray Tiler Stuart L Brown III October 8, 2016 Masonic Home of Virginia Family Day, Picnic and Parade at 10:00 AM, Location Masonic Home of Virginia Sr. Steward Antony Downs/Jr. Steward Todd Cribbs Brethren or others sick or in Distress. Pray for their recovery. Remember all our Masonic widows and orphans 1

2 Brethren, I hope everyone has been enjoying the summer months with family and friends. As the summer wanes and fall begins, we look forward to celebrating the long weekend labor Day offers. At the September stated communication we will have an excellent program from James Monroe Chapter No.549 & Jack Jouett Camp of the Heroes of 76, Charlottesville VA on Flag Presentation. The lodge will still be in casual attire and the attire for the remaining year will go back to coat & tie and all degree work. Brethren let s not forget that later in the month on Wednesday, September 14 th is the second RW David W. Hayes Ritual School at 7:00 PM at the lodge. From the Master Worshipful Thomas Otto A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving. Albert Einstein My grandfather once told me there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to be in the first group; there was much less competition. Indira Gandhi Fraternally, Thomas Otto Have a great and safe Labor Day weekend 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 David William Hayes 097/09/1981 (35 Years) Jonathan Henry Otto 09/28/2012 (4 Years) Robert Wesley Truxell 09/27/1978 (38 Years) Eric Christopher Yount 09/12/2012 (4 Years) Applications Read (0) Entered Apprentices (1) 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 Keeping Masonry on the Path A Masonic Perspective Esoteric, Spiritual and Religious Traditions all around the world have referred to their teachings, methods and attitudes as the Path. The word Path implies action, movement, and an eventually destination. It presumes that willful action must take place before completely understanding the doctrines of the Path. It implies development and change, and seems to tell us that we will make progress, at the beginning, the middle, and end of the Path. It also seems to point out that there must be something else out there, that we are trying to navigate through. In the mundane world, a path always leads through something, a forest, for example, and provides us with a guide whereby we can rightly say, If I stay on this Path, I will not get lost and will reach my destination. If I stray from this Path, I likely will not know where I am. Whether we are speaking spiritually or literally, a Path is something that one moves upon and one experiences first hand. A Path can be described to us, and we can get a general idea of what the Path is like. We can then think upon the idea of the Path, what it means to us, and what ramifications it has within our lives, as well as in the lives of others. Yet at some point, if we truly wish to know the Path, our knowledge must become experiential, not simply theoretical. When I was initiated into the Masonic Fraternity, I was humbled and honored to become a part of such a wonderful institution, and to be surrounded by so many people, so profound. It was great to sit in the Lodge with tolerant, thoughtful, dependable, capable men. The Masonic Brethren I met had such integrity, their word was their bond, and I took it upon myself to do whatever I could to emulate my new brothers whom I truly admired. In short, using my brethren as landmarks, I embarked on my journey on the Masonic Path. During the time I have been in the Masonic Fraternity, I have seen this same reaction among other newly made Masons, who also did their best to imitate the example of their brethren in order to become better men. It is because of this simple pattern of already good moral men, seeking Freemasonry as a way to improve spiritually, morally and intellectually, that we hold our Fraternity in such high esteem. These new members see something about our tenured members, something they feel will help them grow, something they wish to emulate. This is why, when I see someone with a Masonic ring, or Masonic decals on a car, my first assumption is that the person wearing that ring, or driving that car is a moral, tolerant and good man. Even though we may differ in religious, political and philosophical views, I could trust this man with my life and the life of my family. This Fraternal trust is the cornerstone of Freemasonry. It is truly, what makes us a genuine Brotherhood. We base our entire Initiatic structure upon the idea of finding friends to be Brothers, then discovering the profound meaning of what it is to be a Brother. Without this trust, this knowledge that when you meet a Mason upon the Path of life, you would not know that you have met a fellow traveler, whom you can trust, and who is willing to share the burdens of life with you. Without this fraternal connection, we are nothing but an odd group with archaic Kabbalistic rituals and some funny or strange passwords and handshakes. There are some profound mystical truths in Freemasonry, it is a true Mystic Path and thus, experiential, and the key to the Path is a deep sense of Fraternity. Masonry is many different things to many different people and it tends to evolve to the needs of each individual member. While opinion may differ even among Masons regarding some of the philosophies of the Order, all Masons agree that primarily in importance is Brotherly Love. It is what cements us together. Freemasonry, like many Esoteric Fraternities, comes and goes in cycles, that is, fluctuates like the wind. Currently, it is cycling through a period of shrinking membership. As the older members pass on, there are fewer new Masons joining the ranks. According to The Masonic Service Association of North America (MSANA), membership in the United States was at about 3.1 million members in 1925, spiraled to its highest point of the century in 1959, at about 4.1 million members, and then began declining steadily ever since. Membership in the United States, in 2003, was reported at about 1.6 million members, which was the lowest point in the past 75 years. Obviously, we recognize that in order to pass along the Tradition and keep Freemasonry in the United States as strong and as vibrant, an institution as it is today, we must begin to transmit our Tradition to younger generations. Many of the leaders in the Masonic community have begun to implement programs and introduce new ideas designed to do just that. It is this author s opinion that membership level will continue in cycles. Furthermore, there is no need to bring Freemasonry s membership back up to the levels it enjoyed in the 1960 s in order, effectively, to pass along the Tradition. Likewise, even in the face of shrinking membership, our focus should always be on the quality of the prospective members, not on quantity. During a recent Lodge meeting I attended, a Brother traveling from another part of the state stood up and spoke about our Membership Crisis. He had many good points about being more Masonic, suggesting that Lodges do more charity work and get out into the community more. He also talked about what he felt the younger generation expects to get out of a Fraternity like the Masons. He used me as an example of a younger member, as I am 30 years old in a Fraternity dominated by men over 60. He told me that my generation expects excitement, wants to be constantly entertained, and constantly busy or preoccupied. He also said that my generation was a generation of people expecting instant gratification, and that if the Order did not keep men like me busy, instantly, upon becoming members, boredom would cause us to leave. Apart from being slightly offended by his conception that my idle brain must constantly be bombarded with stimuli of some kind in order to be content, his statements were, otherwise, very enlightening. They explained why some younger candidates for Masonry are thrust through 3-day classes, where they are given all 3 degrees and with very little studying and memorization to do. The Brother s statements explained why newer ritual rules allowed that multiple candidates could be initiated simultaneously, even as they went through the most profound and personal parts of their initiations. Furthermore, his words explained why certain Lodges have become lax on some very important rules. I have seen the negative effects on the Fraternity when individual Lodges do not enforce the rules that exist for qualifying new membership, by signing petitions for perspective members whom they have not known for the minimum of six months, and by not thoroughly investigating perspective members prior to initiation. I, personally, know of one case where a man initiated into the Fraternity, had such questionable character, that his Lodge was forced to stop his progression on the Masonic Path, so that he could not advance beyond the Entered Apprentice degree. This unfortunate situation came about because the members and officers of this Lodge were trained to be concerned with the number of members, not with quality of members, in their Lodge. This Masonic Path is not supposed to be thrust upon someone within a few days. Like any other Mystical Path, we must take one step at a time, making sure that as each step is taken, it is taken because it is our free will to do so. Each step upon the Masonic Path builds upon itself in responsibility and commitment, and we cannot ask for this commitment, or even a thorough understanding of it, in a short 3 days. Masonry contributes millions of dollars to charity each year in the United States. It is partly for this reason, to help support the charitable contributions that our leaders have been pushing for more membership. Should we really be pushing quantity over quality? Ask an individual Brother this question and he will tell you that quality is more important! Yet, our Fraternity keeps trying to figure out how to make more Masons faster, rather than focusing on why we are making these Masons. - continued on next page 3

4 Keeping Masonry on the Path continued Strangely, though, some of our newly made Brothers become Masons so quickly, and they are finished with the degrees so quickly, they have nothing left to do within the Fraternity. They are Masons, but have been rushed through and have not had the time to develop the feelings of Brotherhood with their Lodge brothers. Everything has happened so fast that in many cases, they have missed the profundity of the lessons contained within the degrees. Lacking this understanding, they cannot adequately fulfill any officer s position, as they do not really understand yet what kind of commitment is expected of them. If new Masons are leaving, it is because they feel as if they have been rushed through the degrees and feel alienated from our tightly knitted group, because of their lack of understanding of what Masonry is. I thought about all of this as the speaker at the Lodge was telling us how we must start changing Masonry to conform to this new society, which expects instant gratification, if our Fraternity is to gain any new members; and that the Masons are too boring for the new populace! To the contrary, every young Mason that I know, who has stayed in the Fraternity for any amount of time, tells me that excitement, entertainment and instant gratification are not the reasons he joined the Fraternity. No one expects to be constantly entertained, nor does anyone feel bored. There are plenty of distractions in the world from which to choose. If we wanted instant gratification, something to keep us satiated and busy, we would buy a Big Mac and play a video game, which would keep our mind occupied and our stomach satisfied. It made me wonder if our Masonic leaders had ever asked the younger membership why they were there! The Masonic Fraternity simply offers many things that are not readily available in Modern Society. In fact, the Path of Freemasonry offers exactly what I found lacking in Modern Society! Freemasonry must not be made to appeal to the masses. It has never appealed to the masses. No true mystery school ever has! Our Order contains profound and sublime lessons that are only meant for those who are willing to develop an open and introspective mind, willing to honestly examine and tirelessly work towards the improvement of the self and of humanity. Masonry is designed to encourage study, self-reflection and Brotherly Love. These lessons are wasted on those who are not willing to pursue these qualities and disciplines, or who wish to automatically gain these attributes without a period of work and self-development. We must never get to the point where we admit men of questionable character into the Fraternity just to meet membership goals, nor out of the need for more funds, nor out of fear that the Fraternity may cease to exist. The fastest and surest way to destroy the Masonic Fraternity would be to pass along the Tradition, irresponsibly, to those who did not respect and cherish it. It is far better for the Fraternity to shrink to a fraction of its size! However, we do have a sacred responsibility to hand down our Tradition to future generations. How do we do this? Well, I believe that the first thing to do, before we try to figure out how to make Freemasonry easier to join, would be to talk with our membership. Why did our members join? Why after joining did our members stay active? Certainly, we do not retain every prospective member because Masonry is not for everyone, but, for those who find it their calling, it can become one of the most important and most meaningful aspects of their lives. By focusing on what is important to the members we have, we ensure that Masonry is as valuable to future generations of Masons as it is to us now. I joined this Fraternity because I met some men of good character, who were intelligent, well-spoken and well learned or versed, in the Western Esoteric Tradition. These men, I knew not only talked about walking the Path, but they actually walked it. They spoke of enlightenment, morality and right action, and the actions they took reflected what they were telling me. I stay active because after my Initiation, I met more men who truly have walked the Path, who backed up their speech with action, and I saw myself and others around me change in positive ways because of our choice to become Masons. I admire the men in my Fraternity, and I am still a Mason because I desire to follow their example and become more like them. It is not that we must alter the Path of Freemasonry so that it is easier and quicker to travel on in order to replenish our membership. Rather we must find more ways to present the Path as it is, so that those who desire membership into our organization know that it exists, and anyone can ask us about it. How do we do this? Masons tend to be active in their communities. If we hold onto our Masonic Ideals, and demonstrate them to the outside world by virtue of our thoughts, words and deeds, we will inspire those seekers, who wish to be a part of our Fraternity to seek us out and request membership. If we continue to work to improve ourselves and dedicate ourselves to the betterment of humanity, then we will attract people of like mind, who will join our ranks. Let us also make sure that we never seek membership for the revenue it can bring. We are one of the biggest charities in the world, and if we need money, there are many ways to raise it, so that we may continue to be a strong force for the betterment of our communities. We must pass along our Ideals to other generations, and always keep our eye out for those who would seek this Path, but we also have a responsibility to make sure that we transmit the integrity of our Order only to worthy individuals who can understand its meaning and purpose. Otherwise, the secrets of Freemasonry will become hollow and meaningless, the profound wisdom long forgotten; and will become simply words, one must hear in order to get through the degrees and become a member of the club. As we walk the Path that we have chosen, it is important to remember that it is a Path, with obstacles and strange, unforeseen turns. We must constantly remind ourselves of the reasons we have chosen this Path and why we continue to choose to walk down it. We must also understand that as we walk the Path of Freemasonry, we become a part of that Path, and future Masons will look upon us as landmarks and examples of what it means to be a member of this great Fraternity. From the first day we become Master Masons, we are entrusted with a Tradition, and it is our sacred duty to preserve and pass along this Tradition, only to those who will cherish and follow it. If we wish to know the best way to ensure the transference of our Tradition, and what would appeal to prospective members, we must look into ourselves and find out why we desired to join the Fraternity, in the first place, and why we are still members. This [introspection] will lead to better results than trying to determine what is in the minds of persons, whom, we have not yet met. Freemasonry does not have to bring its membership [number] back to what it was in the 1960s in order to be an effective group. There are other ways to bring money into the Fraternity if needed. Our actions, our development as Masons will show others what it means to be a part of the Fraternity. Above all else, and most important to the future of the Fraternity, we must hold sacred our duty regarding recommendation for degrees. We must not recommend someone for the degrees of Masonry unless we are sure that that person is able and willing to understand the importance of the degrees they may receive. Thereby, we can reasonably believe that all of their future transactions with humankind will reflect the high values and integrity of our Order. If we do this, we will ensure that Our Fraternity remains intact and alive for generations to come. This was originally published Jan 19, 2011 as a contribution from by Tony Horsnby - taken from 4

5 In 1992, the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Virginia adopted the Life Membership In Perpetuity Plan (L.M.I.P.). This program enables a Master Mason, in good standing, to purchase a Life Membership. Additionally, this program provides a perpetual endowment, which will continue to pay a participant's dues to his subordinate Lodge even after his death. The Methodical Digest (Section 5.0) contains the legal wording which governs the Life Membership In Perpetuity Plan. The purpose of this document is to provide some basic information about the program and to answer some commonly asked questions. If you are interested in this program, or have additional questions about it, we suggest that you ask your Secretary. He can supply you with answers to your questions as well as an application and specific information about the cost of Life Membership in your Lodge. Q. What are the advantages of buying a L.M.I.P.? COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS A. First, it benefits you in that you will never again have to remit dues to your Lodge. Second, it provides an endowment that will continue to pay your Lodge, in perpetuity. Thus, you benefit in that you will no longer be subject to dues increases and your Lodge benefits in that it will have income, in the amount of your dues, forever. Q. How do future dues increases affect my L.M.I.P.? A. Once you purchase your L.M.I.P., you will never again have to pay dues. Neither will you have to pay for future dues increases. Effectively, your L.M.I.P. "freezes" your dues at the current level. Thus, your Lodge will receive funds from L.M.I.P. each year based upon the dues in force at the time you purchased your Life Membership. Q. How much does it cost? A. Your current dues must be paid. Then, the L.M.I.P. can be purchased at sixteen times your current dues at the time you pay for it. Thus, if you elect to make installment payments, and your Lodge has a dues increase, the cost is sixteen times the dues at the time you make your final payment. For example, assume Lodge dues are $50. The L.M.I.P. would cost $800 (16 x $50). If you make installment payments towards the $800 cost, and your Lodge increases its dues to $55 before you make your final installment payment, then your Life Membership costs goes up to $880 (16 x $55). It will obviously benefit you to make your final installment payment before any dues increase takes effect. Q. How are the funds invested? Am I assured that I will never have to pay dues again? A. The funds are invested by a professional money manager. He utilizes diversified investments to both maximize income and hedge against investment risk. The manager is supervised by the L.M.I.P. Committee to assure compliance with established investment goals. By using conservative investment goals, we can assure the long term stability of the Plan, which will preclude you from ever having to pay dues again. Q. How do assessments by Grand Lodge affect the L.M.I.P.? A. The 1996 Grand Lodge session approved a change to the L.M.I.P. Plan, so that assessments do not affect L.M.I.P. participants. Thus, L.M.I.P. participants are not affected by either dues increases or assessments. Q. How is my L.M.I.P. affected if I transfer membership to another Lodge? A. A L.M.I.P. purchased with Lodge funds can be transferred only upon approval by vote of the Lodge and agreement of all parties. Your L.M.I.P. may be transferred to a "new" Lodge, if they vote to accept it. Different dues levels in subordinate Lodges may make it difficult to transfer your L.M.I.P. Additionally, your L.M.I.P. will only transfer to another Virginia Lodge. However, if you have dual membership, you must pay dues in the second Lodge, or buy a second L.M.I.P. With two L.M.I.P.'s you will actually be endowing two Lodges in perpetuity. 5

6 100th Birthday Card Shower!! My Dad, Sam, will be 100 years old on Saturday, September 17, 2016, please take a moment and send him a note or birthday card to celebrate his day! Please send your cards to: Sam Holsinger # 4 Little Half Calf Pasture Highway Swoope, VA Thanks to all in advance for making his 100th birthday very special and meaningful. Best Regards, David Holsinger Picture on left was taken in July 2016 at home in Buffalo Gap / next picture was taken when he was 33 years old The David W. Hayes District Ritual School The 19th District Masonic ritual school will be held at Staunton Lodge No. 13 at 7:00 PM on the second Wednesday, September 14th. 171st Grand Master of Masons in Virginia Most Worshipful James Edward Litten Setting a Good Example 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: September 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Labor 6Staunton # Lee # Day Stated Meeting Stated Meeting RW David Hayes Ritual School 15Highland #110 Stated Meeting Augusta # Stated Meeting Staunton # Evening practice 8