Sword & Trowel February 2015

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1 Sword & Trowel February 2015

.. 7 Editor...... 7 Website...... 7 Grand Council Cryptic Masons Officers.

2 Table of Contents Why do We have Cryptic Masonry?... 3 Itinerary... 3 Duties... 4 Far & Wide Communications... 4 Medical Research Foundation... 5 CMMRF... 5 Scholarships... 5 Masonic History... 5 Contact Information... 7 Illustrious Grand Master Cryptic Masons... 7 Grand Recorder... 7 Editor Website Grand Council Cryptic Masons Officers... 8 CMMRF Newsletter 9 Modesto Reception 10 Grand York Rite Sessions (May 16 through May Sword & Trowel February 2015 Volume 2 No. 9 Page 2

3 Why do We have Cryptic Masonry? Companions, I have been talking a lot about the importance of Cryptic Councils in the making of Royal and Select Masons. It is necessary to remind ourselves that Councils of Cryptic Masons need to be more than recruiting stations for Council Festivals in some other city, county, or region. Our Councils need to be perceived by their members as their Mother Council, just as our individual Craft Lodges are perceived by their members as Mother Lodges, where they are Initiated, Passed, and Raised. However, this is only part of the reason we must support and take active roles in our Councils and other Masonic Bodies. If this partially explains why we should support our Councils, should we not be asking the next question, pushing aside the next veil: Why do we have Cryptic Masonry at all? This is a difficult question to answer. I think the answer may very well be in a study of the history of the origins of the Cryptic Rite. It very well may be, but I ve found out this month that I m not anywhere near a good enough scholar to find the answer. What I did find is possibly more interesting than that which I sought. The men instrumental in the beginnings of our Cryptic Rite had incredible passion for the Royal and Select Master Degrees. They all had a vision of sharing these hidden truths with their fellow Masons. I do not believe that any of the earliest conferrers of the degrees ever thought about Grand Councils or General Grand Councils. Some of the very early communicators of the Rite did not even have a vision of individual Councils. Our earliest companions did not worry about the number of Cryptic Masons in the world. They worried about how to take the Royal and Select Master degrees to more Masons in the world, and those of our brethren that received the degrees wanted to do the same. This is reason Cryptic Masonry has been sought after. Today, we spend too much time trying to figure out how to make our Councils more interesting, more attended, and more relevant. We expect our Grand Councils and General Grand Council to provide a quick solution to what ails our organizations. Perhaps, instead of worrying about the diminishing memberships of our Councils, we should be developing ways to make more Cryptic Masons. Our mission as Cryptic Masons is to find more Masons who are truly passionate about finding light, more light, and further light in Masonry, & providing quality opportunities for those men to fulfill their passion. Sincerely and Fraternally, David Chesebro, Grand Master Itinerary For the latest schedule details: Sword & Trowel February 2015 Volume 2 No. 9 Page 3

4 Duties Companions, As we enter upon our first meetings after the installations there is much to do. Many of our Councils have new Recorders and some it seems were not made fully aware of their duties and a time line for necessary payments and reports to Grand Council. Payments Annual Return is due by January 15 th of each year. Per Capita is a required payment and does not need a vote of the Council to be paid. You will show it as an expense on the monthly Treasurers report. Insurance is due within 90 days of the billing. This also does not require a vote of the Council. New Member Fee: is paid with the annual return. Reports Forms 199 & 990: This past year has pointed out many problems with some Councils having lost their non-profit status. There is a threshold above a certain income where it must be reported. Below that level you are not required to report your income but you must file or your Council s non-profit status can be revoked. If this has occurred to your Council you can contact Right Illustrious Ken Hope and he can guide you to again have your Council recognized. Membership Report: Annual Return shall contain full names of all new members, names of Lodges & Chapters of which they are members, Council s name to which those who have transferred or affiliated during the year last belonged, full names of those who have been restored, suspended, excluded or have demitted or died, since the date of the last return, names of members whose dues have been remitted and reason for such remission Election Report: Election Report is to be sent to the Grand Recorder immediately after the election. It shall include Officers full name, Wife s name, address, zip+4, home, & cell phones Dispensation to hold election on different date. Installation Report: Must be submitted immediately after the installation. All required forms can be found on the Grand York Rite web site. There is also a calendar of events which you can add your special events or degree conferrals. Just send an to Ken. Forms section of the site can be accessed with the user name cagyr and the password brio (all lower case) Fraternally, Brett A. MacDonald Deputy Grand Master Far & Wide Communications Communications is vital for York Rite Masonry as Communications is vital for any entity, and is the key to any success. Those seeking further light in Masonry; those seeking further information about us; those just reading ; publications are an attempt to disseminate information. Become a part of this activity, resolve to act and resolve to become involved. Please 1) Disseminate Encompasser, a quarterly publication by Grand York Rite of California, far & wide throughout your York Rite Bodies; 2) Disseminate Workman, a monthly publication by the Grand Chapter Royal Arch Masons of California, far & wide throughout your York Rite Bodies; Sword & Trowel February 2015 Volume 2 No. 9 Page 4

5 3) Disseminate Sword & Trowel, a monthly publication by the Grand Council Cryptic Masons of California, far & wide throughout your York Rite Bodies; 4) Disseminate Grand York Rite, a Facebook Web Page, far & wide throughout your York Rite Bodies; & 5) Disseminate Grand York Rite Web Site, Grand York Rite of California Web Site, far & wide throughout your York Rite Bodies. Medical Research Foundation Through basic & clinical research, conducted by Indiana Center for Vascular Biology & Medicine, (ICVBM) & supported by Cryptic Masons Medical Research Foundation, (CMMRF), advancements are being made to discover cures for many of today's health problems, prevent major diseases, & finally, to save lives. We have the opportunity to improve the human condition for those most dear to us & ourselves. We invite you to become a part of this team & join our partnership in discovery. Let's do something great together! Link: CMMRF Companions, It is the season for remembering those who need of our help in many ways. It is the time to give to those charities that mean to most to use personally. To me it is our charity, Cryptic Masons Medical Research Foundation. If you have not given this year now is the time to do so. All donations need to be in by December 26, 2014 so that I may process the proper receipts and mail all donations to Cryptic Masons Medical Research Foundation in Nashville, Indiana. Please take a few minutes and think about our charity. Listed on the Grand York Rite Website are the websites with all the information to help you in your decision. Fred J. Tiny Potter, Chairman of CMMRF in California 345 Otono Ct. Camarillo, CA Scholarships Companions, your children, grandchildren, & for some, great-grandchildren may receive financial help for attending school. After opening up Scholarship Center website, have them go to bottom of page & find the Scholarship Manual in (PDF format 450KB) to download. There they will find instructions for filling out the forms. This is the link which will take you to the public Grand Lodge web page on scholarships. All the information you need should be right there. This is a complete manual that you can download that talk about all of the scholarships available from the California Masonic Foundation as well as the Scottish Rite, York Rite, Eastern Star, High Twelve, DeMolay, Job s Daughters, & Rainbow for Girls. Masonic History For the sixth time in history, a pre-revolutionary Bible owned by the Masonic order was to be used for the swearing in of a U.S. president. George W. Bush had intended to take the oath of office as the nation's 43rd president on the historic Masonic bible. George Washington was the first, in The last was George H.W. Bush, who used the Bible in On Friday, 19 January 2001, three officials of the Manhattan-based St. John's Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons boarded an Amtrak liner for Washington, D.C., carrying the nine-pound, 234-year-old King James Bible in a special container. At Union Station, they were met by inaugural committee officials & escorted to Sword & Trowel February 2015 Volume 2 No. 9 Page 5

6 the inaugural site. They were literally waiting in the wings in a room adjacent to the inauguration platform when, at the 12th hour, a decision was made (attributed to the Vice President, but not confirmed) not to jeopardize the Bible because of the rain then pelting the area. Bound in London in 1767, the Bible was brought to the colonies and given by Jonathan Hampton to the St. John's Lodge in lower Manhattan three years later when he became its grand master. Just before Washington was to take his oath of office on the steps of Federal Hall in New York City on April 30, 1789, it was discovered that there was no Bible on hand. The then-new York Gov. Robert Livingston, a Masonic grand master, borrowed the lodge's bible from St. John's Masonic Lodge, which had meeting rooms just a short distance away. A statue of Washington marks the site in front of the present-day Federal Hall on Wall Street. No printer in the colonies produced Bibles at the time, and the London import, bound in maroon Moroccan leather with silver hasps, was ''probably close to a year's wages for the average fellow.'' Despite its age and history, the lodge today puts no monetary value on the book. ''I guess the word is priceless,'' a representative said. Other presidents who have placed their left hand on the Masonic Bible were Warren G. Harding in 1921, Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953, and Jimmy Carter in Among the six, only Washington and Harding were Masons. Harry Truman, probably the most active Mason among the nation's chief executives, did not use it, nor did several other Masons who served as president. In 1867, President Andrew Johnson, attending the dedication of a new Masonic temple in Boston, asked that the George Washington inaugural Bible be brought to his hotel room, and was seen by aides ''to weep as he held it in his hands". In addition to its role in presidential oath-taking, the Bible was used at Washington's funeral in December, 1799, the dedication of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. in 1885, the re-laying of the U.S. Capitol's cornerstone in 1959, and the christening of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington at Norfolk, Va., in It was on display at the New York world's fair in and at the White House for 30 days after the elder Bush's inaugural. Between travels, it is maintained by the National Parks Service in a protective display case at Federal Hall, open to Genesis 49, 50, the pages on which Washington rested his hand to be sworn in. Sword & Trowel February 2015 Volume 2 No. 9 Page 6

7 Contact Information Illustrious Grand Master Cryptic Masons: Most Illustrious Companion, David L. Chesebro, KYGCH Grand Master Cryptic Masons of California (805) Grand Recorder: Ken Hope E. Artesia Blvd, #13 Artesia, CA (562) (W) (562) (C) Editor: Richard E. Thornton (209) (C) Website: Grand York Rite of California Note: Hyperlinks or links to other pages or web sites are prevalent throughout the document. Please notice my name, Ken Hope s name above; or other references, especially the reference Sword and Trowel; if you run your mouse over these names you will see Ctrl + Click to follow link. These are valid links to York Rite information. A line of Jackets for our York Rite bodies continues to be available: MP.ENTERPRISES. The price for red and blue is great -- $75.00 plus tax and shipping, for sizes 34 to 49 in short, regular and tall; and $87.00 plus tax and shipping for sizes 50 to 60, also in short, regular, and tall. Purple Jackets are little more expensive at $95.00 for the smaller and $ for the larger. Also available are Men s and ladies vests, tuxedos and shirts, pins, patches, and flags, and OES T-Shirts. Contact Max Luy at (510) ; or at his website: or directly to his at maxluy@hotmail.com. Have you gone to our Grand Council website lately? alifornia.org/ Do you know that there you can find rosters of officers, forms that you need, and a complete copy of the Officers Guide. The Officers guide helps you plan and know what is expected you. Sword & Trowel February 2015 Volume 2 No. 9 Page 7

8 Grand Council Cryptic Masons Officers We, the officers of Grand Council of Cryptic Masons, are here to assist you, Please call upon us. 154 th MOST ILLUSTRIOUS GRAND MASTER David L. Chesebro, KYGCH & Sarah San Luis Obispo Council No. 38 C.M. DEPUTY GRAND MASTER Brett A. MacDonald & Donna Shekinah Council No. 35 C.M. GRAND TREASURER Frederick J. Tiny Potter, MIPGM & Donna Ventura Council No. 15 C.M. GRAND DIRECTOR OF RITUAL Kenneth G. Nagel & Kathy San Jose Council No. 20 C.M. GRAND CHAPLAIN (South) Paul D. Erickson & JoAnn San Luis Obispo Council No. 38 C.M. GRAND CONDUCTOR OF THE COUNCIL William S. Dann & Anne Pacific Council No. 37 C.M. GRAND SENTINEL Robert A. Morrison & Pauline Butte Council No. 50 C.M. GRAND MARSHAL (North) Guy M. Chalmers & Jeanne Redwood Empire Council No. 46 C.M. GRAND SOLOIST K. Mark Harris Oakland Council No. 12 C.M. GRAND BIBLE BEARER Richard J. Jolley & Carol Sierra Nevada Council No. 44 C.M. GRAND PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR OF THE WORK William E. Price & Janet California Council No. 2 C.M. nc46billprice@aol.com GRAND RECORDER Kenneth G. Hope, HMIPGM & Sonny Shekinah Council No. 35 C.M. ca.yorkrite@verizon.net GRAND CHAPLAIN (North) Richard A. Wilson & Kitty Sacramento Council No. 1 C.M. D246rich@surewest.net GRAND CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD Lee P. Whelan & Teresa Riverside Council No. 59 C.M. whelanelectric@hotmail.com GRAND STEWARD Eduardo Estrada & Natasha Omega Council No. 11 C.M. zestrada@pacbell.net GRAND ORATOR William J. Miklos III & Angelica Amador Council No. 31 C.M. billmiklos@sbcglobal.net GRAND MARSHAL (South) Rees W. Padfield & Elaine Ventura Council No. 15 C.M. rpadfield@roadrunner.com GRAND MUSICIAN John A. Gonsalves & Saralu Shasta Council No. 6 C.M. pianoman1934@charter.net GRAND STANDARD BEARER David P. Glass & Kathy Gateway Council No. 13 C.M. secretary@ssyra.org Sword & Trowel February 2015 Volume 2 No. 9 Page 8

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Sword and Trowel. Grand Council of Cryptic Masons of California

Sword and Trowel. Grand Council of Cryptic Masons of California 1860 2014 Grand Council of Cryptic Masons of California Most Illustrious Companion David L. Chesebro, KYGCH 154 th Grand Master Cryptic Masons California July 2014 Volume 2 No. 2 Page 1 Table of Contents