Sword & Trowel May 2015

Transcription

1 Sword & Trowel May

2 Table of Contents Brotherly Love... 3 Itinerary... 4 Pictures Say it better... 4 Already here?... 5 Communication: What is a Companion to do?... 5 Battalion & Belles... 6 Far & Wide Communications... 7 CMMRF... 7 Scholarships... 8 Masonic Teachings... 8 You Might Be Involved With Freemasons If... 9 Contact Information... 9 Illustrious Grand Master Cryptic Masons... 9 Grand Recorder... 9 Editor Website Grand Council Cryptic Masons Officers Grand York Rite Reception - Red Bluff 11 Grand York Rite Reception - Chico 12 CMMRF Newsletter 13 Grand York Rite Sessions 14 Sword & Trowel May 2015 Volume 2 No. 12 Page 2

3 Brotherly Love Companions, At the end of April, I was asked by my friend Peter Champion of Morro Bay if I would like to ride with him and another friend, Peter Cunningham of Hanford, to Auburn to attend the conferral of the Select Master Degree upon another mutual friend, Right Worshipful David Perry, our very own Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of California. I was unable to do so because of family matters, but was very impressed by both Peters commitment to share this degree with David. When I see this kind of commitment to our Craft I truly do understand it. Why? Because the conferral of degrees is core to the existence of all our Masonic organizations. There is a beautiful metaphor from our ritual that illustrates why our degrees are core to our existence. In the conferral of the Select Master Degree, there are some little noticed roles played by Companions who are working with trowels on the construction of the Temple. However, they are doing more than simulating workmen. They are literally using the trowels in their hands for the purpose for which they were taught in the Third Degree. They are spreading the Cement of Brotherly Love and Affection upon every candidate and Companion in that room. Truth be told, every single Candidate, Cast Member, and Companion attending a degree, no matter what degree it is, arrives with his own metaphorical trowel to spread that cement. That is why the Peters chose to attend David s Select Master Degree. The first big dollop of the Cement of Brotherly Love and Affection spread for a Mason is upon the conferral of his Entered Apprentice Degree. Most Candidates receive their First Degree in their home lodge, conferred by the officers and members of that lodge. The same is mostly true for the conferral of the other two Craft Degrees. By the time a man is made a Master Mason in his Lodge, if he is truly interested in the Fraternity, the cement spread at the conferral of his degrees has set, and he is bonded to the members of his Lodge that have taken an active role in his raising. Unfortunately, that is not necessarily the rule for our Masonic Concordant Bodies. All too often, the York Rite Degrees are conferred at locations far from a candidate s home with a class of candidates he doesn t know, by Companions and Sir Knights that he may never see again. The Cement is being spread, but it has little chance of setting up to form strong bonds because of time and distance. Oft times, the members and officers of the candidate s own body don t make the trip to attend his degree. In that case, no meaningful bond is made at all. In this scenario, the new Companion may never show up for a single meeting. The conferral of a degree is a gift to a candidate. A conferral is a generous dollop of Brotherly Love and Affection freely given to welcome a man into a fraternity of which he has freely chosen to be a member. He pays fees for his degrees, but those costs generally cover the administrative and material overhead of new membership only. They have nothing to do with the conferral or gift of the degree itself. So, why is a degree conferral a gift? Because none present receive compensation beyond the wages of a Mark Master for the effort they expend in the conferral of a degree. This time and effort is given, by the members of a candidate s new Masonic organization, with love and affection because the givers were once presented with the same gift, and put a very high value on it. For these reasons, it is so very important for every Chapter, Council, and Commandery to confer degrees and orders. I have said several times this year that every Masonic Degree and Order should be conferred Locally and Often. Often, because these gifts provide opportunities to spread large dollops of the Cement of Brotherly Love and Affection, and Locally because that Cement will have a chance to set up firmly and create life long bonds between us all. Sincerely and Fraternally, David Chesebro, Grand Master Sword & Trowel May 2015 Volume 2 No. 12 Page 3

4 Itinerary For the latest schedule details: Pictures Say it better Companions traveling near and far for this special event: Degree Cast: King Solomon Scott Husmann Hiram, King of Tyre Greg Voetsch, Jr. H A John Dusty Deryck Chaplain W. Bruce Pruitt Captain of the Guard Don Lamoureux Conductor of the Fred Flint-Montero Council Ahishar Dick Kulhavy Historical Lecture Scott Husmann Apron Lecture Robert A.L. Whitfield, MIPGM, Grand Treasurer Charge Ken Nagel, PGM, Grand Lecturer Steward R. Don Meigs Sentinel Duane Howard Craftsmen Phil Sugg, Nicko Demeter & John Ticknor Prompter Tom Krummell Sideliners William E. Price, Grand Principal Conductor of the Work Richard A. Wilson, Grand Chaplain (North) & Inspector Cryptic Arch 7 William J. Miklos, Grand Orator K. Mark Harris, Grand Soloist & Dept. 1B Assist. Director of Ritual David P. Glass, Grand Standard Bearer Robert Whitfield, MIPGM (2011) & General Grand Conductor of the Council Richard W. Williamson, MIPGM (2013) Sword & Trowel May 2015 Volume 2 No. 12 Page 4

5 Ricky L. Lawler, Department 2 Assistant Director of Ritual Peter G. Champion, Grand Pursuivant, Grand Lodge F&A.M. Peter L. Cunningham, Grand Tiler, Grand Lodge F&A.M. John L. Cooper III, PGM Nunzio Napoli, High Priest Stockton Chapter No. 28 Henry Clayton Casey Norris, PGC Philip A. Hardiman, PGHP Fredrick L. Smith, PGC Already here? Companions, Grand Sessions are here already? I m amazed how quickly the year has passed. As we approach next year we have made some inroads on items which were identified as needing attention during our planning seminar in Covina. Membership is always at the forefront of discussions about York Rite. Along those lines within the next few months you will be able to download a brochure which will help you discuss the benefits of membership. There will also be an easy to assemble display about Cryptic Masonry and our charity. Our charity is a much bigger selling point for Council than we realize. As Masons we are faced with the decision of which of our numerous charities we should support. CMMRF has been making great strides working with Indiana Center for Vascular Biology and Medicine. Their pioneering research using a person s own stem cells to help blood vessels heal from problems caused by diabetes and damage caused from surgeries to remove sections for heart bypass operations is showing great promise. The importance of this blood vessel research has also led to Grand Commandery making a donation to help fund research into how these techniques can be used for eye problems. Hopefully once our members are better informed of the importance of our charity s research we will see an increase of meaningful donations and the possibility that California lead all the other Grand Jurisdictions with our support of CMMRF. Fraternally, Brett Mac Donald Deputy Grand Master Communication: What is a Companion to do? One of the things we struggle with is communications. How can we best accomplish solving this ongoing problem? First let s look at the modern answer, social media. Should we use this in our craft society? Of course we should! All we need to do is be careful on what is proper to submit to this way of communication. It is faster than the old methods and can reach our members in several ways, straight to their phones, by or Facebook to mention a few. But some of our members still don t have this way to be reached and sometimes are forgotten. We need to keep in touch, at all cost, these members are our brothers and their welfare is vital to a strong organization like ours. Next we need to consider what a fraternal group should do. We have to look at the human touch, that warm hand shake of welcome to a bother at a meeting, concerned voice on the phone asking how are you? or a card of get will signed by many companions. Yes Companions, this is communications that makes our fraternity the best group going. This past month I saw this type of communication in action. Sword & Trowel May 2015 Volume 2 No. 12 Page 5

6 In Auburn I saw Companions from all over northern California gather at Gateway Council #13 for one candidate to receive his Select Masters Degree. A gathering for a Companion joining a different Council than the one conferring the degree. It was like a family reunion or maybe it was a family reunion. A few days earlier another group of companions gathered for a dinner/dance to raise funds for a companion that needed help in his travels but he wasn t even in the area, but the help was needed and that need was meet. This is communications we need to foster, like this and other ways to bring companions and their families together. Stated Assemblies are not the only communications. Be creative to bring companions together and you will be surprised how much communications will flow. Remember functions don t need to cost anything. Think of ways to accomplish a cost free function, like a potluck dinner, a barb-q or a picnic. We are a brotherhood and need to get back to this in the future. I hope to see you all at Grand Sessions and we can talk about how we can continue making our York Rite even better. God Bless you all, William E. Price KYCH Grand Principle Conductor of the Work Battalion & Belles A very successful Fundraising event! Thank you to: Guy and Jeannie Chalmers, Martin and Jackie McKeay, Bill and Janet Price, Alberto Jacinto and Walter Ancheta and the rest of the story can be told in pictures (Line Dancing?) (Food, Food) Sword & Trowel May 2015 Volume 2 No. 12 Page 6

7 (2 supervisors & one worker = Cal Trans) (Prizes) Bob Whitfield, MIPGM, General Grand Conductor of the Council 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. 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 Grand Chapter Royal Arch Masons of California, far & wide throughout your York Rite Bodies; 3) Disseminate Sword & Trowel, a monthly publication by 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. CMMRF Companions please think about Cryptic Masons Medical Research Foundation. Our Charity (Cryptic Masons Medical Research Foundation) can really use your support with Dollars. Please send all donations to me, 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. Fred J. Tiny Potter, MIPGM Chairman, CMMRF (California) 345 Otono Ct. Camarillo, CA Sword & Trowel May 2015 Volume 2 No. 12 Page 7

8 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 Teachings On September 2, 1810 Thomas Lowndes ( ) and fifteen other active Masons founded what they named Columbian Grand Council No. 1, Royal Master Masons. At this meeting is recorded the first known conferral of the Royal Master Degree. It is said, and perhaps with much truth, that without knowledge of this degree, that of the Royal Arch can neither be neither fully understood nor justly appreciated. It rationally accounts for the concealment and preservation of many essentials of the Craft that were discovered and brought to light at the building of the second Temple, after they had lain buried in darkness for four hundred and seventy years. Cryptic Masonry, as in the Council, completes this story by teaching of the Word's initial preservation. The Council degrees are referred to as the Cryptic degrees. The Cryptic degrees of Masonry are the Royal Master and Select Master. The Super Excellent Master Degree is a part of the Council degrees but does not have anything to do with a crypt or a vault. The Super Excellent Master Degree is not required in some jurisdictions but all Royal and Select Masters are urged to take this degree when it is conferred. The Cryptic degrees derive their names from the scenes of the Royal and Select Master which are laid in the underground crypt beneath King Solomon s Temple. The Cryptic degrees historically precede the Royal Arch; this is a peculiarity of the York Rite that the moving of degrees is often inverse and the historical connection reversed. The light and knowledge gained always reflects back upon the path we have traveled. This is good for York Rite as it causes the reflective Mason to be continually studying the sublime precepts and ceremonies. *General Grand Council We discuss of adding more and more and more Companions and still not seeing sideliners what about education? There is a line in Royal Arch stating That when engaged in the pursuit of truth, the great object of Masonic study When a Master Mason, a brother, desires to become a Royal Arch Mason, a Cryptic Mason, and a Knight Templar, a Companion, he submits his application and then waits and waits and waits. He is told he must travel, sometimes to a different city and attend a festival where other York Rite members, many times put on by members not of his own local York Rite, will do his Chapter Degrees, Cryptic Degrees, and Commandery Orders. Should we not make an effort to educate ourselves and begin to accomplish the degrees in our own York Rite bodies? In accomplishing this, are we not spreading the cement of Brotherly Love, establishing a true foundation that can never be torn apart? The Sword and Trowel has a listing of all Cryptic Grand Officers and above this list is a sentence added by Most Illustrious Past Grand Master Richard Williamson, KYGCH We, the officers of Grand Council of Cryptic Masons, are here to assist you, Please call upon us. Could we not embellish this statement We, the officers of Grand Council of Cryptic Masons, will visit you and ask May We Help? There are additional sites to become more familiar with York Rite; Grand Council has an educational piece on Cryptic Masonry, What is Cryptic Masonry; Grand Chapter has many educational pieces Royal Arch Education; and Grand Commandery Who are We? Enhance your agenda at the next Council by adding Masonic Education. Sword & Trowel May 2015 Volume 2 No. 12 Page 8

9 You Might Be Involved With Freemasons If by Thomas George, (Carrollton,Ky) 1....If your yearly dues are bigger than your car payment If you are looking for a new degree team, because you feel you do not get enough practice with two If the only day of the week you do not break bread at a lodge is Sunday If in any year, you can find yourself in more than one chair If you ever had to turn down joining a Masonic appendant body because you could not find a day in your schedule for another organization If, on your calendar, you have written the hat and ring you need to bring with you for the evening If you have driven to hear the talk on the cup of brotherly love more than once If you are listed as a master ritualist in more than one lodge If you have been asked more than once to give a degree lecture for a lodge at the last second If you do not pass an open lodge without visiting. 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 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. Have you gone to our Grand Council website lately? 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 May 2015 Volume 2 No. 12 Page 9

10 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 PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR OF THE WORK William E. Price & Janet California Council No. 2 C.M. GRAND TREASURER Frederick J. Tiny Potter, MIPGM & Donna Ventura Council No. 15 C.M. GRAND RECORDER Kenneth G. Hope, HMIPGM & Sonny Shekinah Council No. 35 C.M. GRAND DIRECTOR OF RITUAL Kenneth G. Nagel & Kathy San Jose Council No. 20 C.M. GRAND CHAPLAIN (North) Richard A. Wilson & Kitty Sacramento Council No. 1 C.M. GRAND CHAPLAIN (South) Paul D. Erickson & JoAnn San Luis Obispo Council No. 38 C.M. GRAND CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD Lee P. Whelan & Teresa Riverside Council No. 59 C.M. GRAND CONDUCTOR OF THE COUNCIL William S. Dann & Anne Pacific Council No. 37 C.M. GRAND STEWARD Eduardo Estrada & Natasha Omega Council No. 11 C.M. GRAND SENTINEL Robert A. Morrison & Pauline Butte Council No. 50 C.M. GRAND ORATOR William J. Miklos III & Angelica Amador Council No. 31 C.M. GRAND MARSHAL (North) Guy M. Chalmers & Jeanne Redwood Empire Council No. 46 C.M. GRAND MARSHAL (South) Rees W. Padfield & Elaine Ventura Council No. 15 C.M. GRAND SOLOIST K. Mark Harris Oakland Council No. 12 C.M. GRAND MUSICIAN John A. Gonsalves & Saralu Shasta Council No. 6 C.M. GRAND BIBLE BEARER Richard J. Jolley & Carol Sierra Nevada Council No. 44 C.M. GRAND STANDARD BEARER David P. Glass & Kathy Gateway Council No. 13 C.M. Sword & Trowel May 2015 Volume 2 No. 12 Page 10

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