Trestle Board May 2015 OPEN HOUSE MAY 9 FROM THE EAST Please join us in May for our annual open house. This is a great opportunity to bring friends and family to the Lodge and present May 23 3 to 7 pm them with the opportunity to tour the Lodge, review descriptions of each office and ask any questions they may have. If you were not able to make it out for the Stated meeting in April, we had a great exhibit by Morgan Laderer. Morgan demonstrated her winning engineering project. (From the East continued on Page 6) INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the West 2 Golden Fleece, Roman Eagle, Star and Garter Youth Groups... 5 Chapter Chairman Bill Enloe Message Eastern Star... 6 OES Invitation York Rite... 7 Installation of Officers Success or Failure?... 8 EVENTS THIS MONTH May 4 6:30 pm Trustee Stated Meeting May 5 6:00 pm Triple Second Degree. All three candidates will go through both sections at the same time May 12 Stated Meeting Dinner @6:00 Meeting at 7:00 pm May 23 Open House 3 pm to 7 pm May 26 7 pm Lodge of Education
FROM THE WEST The origins of the Golden Fleece Roman Eagle Star and Garter Presented at Shelby Lodge # 662, F.&.A.M. Waddy, Kentucky by Bro. Steve Case As they apply to the lambskin or white leather apron of a Mason and the meaning thus conveyed in the Entered Apprentice s lecture. Brothers, a couple of months ago I was assisting another brother in studying for his proficiency on the Entered Apprentice s Degree. That brother would ask, on several occasions, for more information on just what the Golden Fleece, the Roman Eagle, and the Star and Garter meant as it related to the Badge of a Mason. I will have to admit that my answer was somewhat lacking in detail. My answer and the answer of another brother present was something along the lines of they are ancient and honorable orders bestowed upon some individual who has done some great deed. But even as I spoke the words, it seemed to me to be an answer lacking in some detail. I could also tell that our Entered Apprentice was still looking for more information. Therefore, I have done some research on the topic and hope I can now give a better answer. While I did utilize our little library here in the Lodge, the Encyclopedia, and Webster s Dictionary for source materials, my best source of information actually came from an article on the Internet. It turns out that Brother Steven W. Sanford of Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4 in Fredericksburg, Virginia, had already worked up an article on just this topic. I hereby freely acknowledge his work and thank him for making it available to other brothers. In the first degree, it is explained that the apron is an emblem of innocence more ancient than the Golden Fleece or Roman Eagle, more honorable than the Star and Garter. From time immemorial, symbolic emblems, medals, and high orders of recognition were created by those in power to recognize outstanding individuals and to create orders of honor and chivalry. Congratulations to Companions Chuck Simpson, Colin Laing and Nick Tyler on becoming Super Excellent Masters on April 25th. The Super Excellent Master Degree is an honorary degree in the Council of Cryptic Masons of the York Rite. The Degree is very impressive and requires a very large cast. It is given once per year in Arizona. 2
Golden Fleece More ancient than the Golden Fleece or Roman Eagle. Sounds like something we may have learned about in high school, in Greek Mythology from Homer and the Iliad with Jason and the Argonauts performing a heroic deed in rescuing the Golden Fleece in 939 BC. Well, you are right. Mythology holds that the Golden Fleece was supposed by the Greeks to be hidden in a remote land far across the trackless sea. This precious fleece grew upon the back of a ram, the gift of one of their gods. The ram was constantly guarded by bulls that breathed fire and by a dragon that never slept. The promise to the Greeks was (or so the fable went) that if they could find and recover the Golden Fleece and bring it to Greece, wealth and prosperity would abound in that country. The hope of redeeming that promise led to the formation of an order which embraced in its membership many of the most illustrious men of that period, who were called Argonauts from the name of the ship, Argo, on which they sailed. Tradition is replete with the daring deeds and suffering of those men in the cause in which they enlisted. Somewhat later, in England, Philip, the Duke of Burgundy, founded the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1429 as an Order equal to the English Star and Garter as a means to keep alive chivalry, to honor old knights, and as a means to tie this Order to his title, which would in turn extend his heritage. The name of the Order and its badge, a pendant sheep s fleece made of gold, was a new device for the House of Burgundy and was certainly intended to represent the fleece sought by Jason and the Argonauts, an heroic legend which paralleled the Arthurian origins of the Order of the Garter. The adoption of a pagan image as the badge of a Christian Order led to a protest by the Order s first Chancellor, Jean Germain, Bishop of Nevers, who preferred that it should recall Gideon s fleece (which was neither gold nor a prize for courage). Later in the century, Chancellor Guillame Filastes added the fleeces of Jacob, Mesa, Job and David to be associated with this image, making six in all and supposedly corresponding to the virtues of magnanimity, justice, prudence, fidelity, patience and clemency. The badge was to be suspended from a Collar adapted from an earlier livery badge to that of a Fire-Steel or (fusil). 3
Roman Eagle The Roman Eagle became the symbol of imperial power about a century before Christ. It was the most prominent fixture or symbol throughout the Roman Empire intending to remind everyone as to who was in power and it preceded all Roman armies when marching to and from battle. But, the ritual use of the Apron has a much earlier history than these. The Bible mentions a garment worn by the High Priest, called the Ephod, described as an apron or skirt covering the body from the waist down, and made of white linen with shoulder straps, possibly a bib. It also had a "girdle", described by the Bible as "curious," with no other details. Elijah and John the Baptist wore aprons of leather. Isaiah wore an apron of haircloth. Jeremiah wore an apron of Linen. The ancient Druids wore a white apron for the sacred duty of cutting mistletoe. Priests of the Roman gods wore white when making sacrifices. It is obvious that these various faiths chose a white garment to symbolize the importance of purity of heart when going about the work of God. To us, as Speculative Masons, it is a reminder of our very ancient and divine heritage. Star and Garter Our ritual goes on to describe the apron as being "more honorable than the Star and Garter or any other order that can be conferred. King Edward III founded the Order of the Garter in 1348 as a noble fraternity consisting of the King, the Prince of Wales and 24 Knights Companion. One picturesque version of its founding tells of King Edward at a ball where a lady lost one of her garters. Bending down to pick it up, the lady blushing and those present laughing, the King remarked, "Honi Soi Qui Mal Y Pense meaning dishonor to him who thinks evil of it. He tied it around his own leg and vowed to turn it into the most honored garter ever worn. Since its inception, it remains to this day as the highest Order of English Chivalry. The Order of the Star, created by King John II of France in 1351, was an imitation of the English Order. The apron as professed by our fraternity confers a greater honor than the very highest orders of chivalry. But, it also requires an extremely high standard of conduct for he who would dare to wear this emblem. These Orders do not have much meaning to our present day society, however, during those time periods; non-masons considered these orders to be the ultimate honor that could be bestowed upon individuals. High honors that we can all identify with today, range from the Medal of Honor to the Nobel Peace Prize. Either way, our Masonic Fraternity wants each Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason to know that from the very beginning of their Masonic journey, that the ultimate honor that can ever be bestowed upon them is their white leather apron. Scott Pearson Senior Warden 4
Order of DeMolay DEMOLAY SCHEDULE FROM THE CHAPTER CHAIRMAN Hello Everyone, My name is Bill Enloe and I m the Chapter Chairman from Chandler Chapter DeMolay. I wanted to personally thank Chandler Thunderbird #15 for the visitation and the warm reception. The youth groups could not survive without the support of the sponsoring bodies and often we forget the thank you for much of what you do. We look forward to a long relationship with the Lodge and hope that when many of the young men come of age and desire to continue their Masonic journey that May 13 6:30 Stated Meeting May 27 6:30 Stated Meeting If any of the members have boys between the ages of 12 and 21 that would like to know more about the DeMolay organizations, please send me an email benlow@gmail.com they look to the sponsoring body as one of their first choices for membership. With that said, I d like to provide a shameless plug for assistance. If any of the members have boys between the ages of 12 and 21 that would like to know more about the DeMolay organization, please send me an email benloe@gmail.com. Some of our strongest members in DeMolay come from those that have a Masonic family background and we d love to be the Chapter that can welcome these young men. So, please send us your sons, grandsons, and/or nephews because we d love to have you and your family join our Masonic family as a young man that can build into a bond that will last forever. In future, articles I m thinking about including a get to know us section where I ll spotlight members and advisors from our group. In the meantime, I d like to thank you once again and I look forward to working with you in the future. Bill Enloe Chandler Chapter Chairman 5
EASTERN STAR IN CHANDLER Did you Know... EVENTS THIS MONTH May 14 Stated Meeting May 25 Stated Meeting June 6 2:00 pm Installation of Officers Chandler Chapter #18, Order of the Eastern Star will hold its annual installation of officers on Saturday, June 6 th? If you didn t know, mark your calendar now! Installation will commence at 2:00 pm. at the Chandler Masonic Lodge at 88 West Erie Street in Chandler. If you are reading this notice, you and your friends and family are cordially invited to attend this open event. Come join us as we celebrate the Eastern Star year now drawing to a close and as we look forward to fun and friendship in the 12 months to come. Want to know more about the great things Chandler Chapter OES is doing? Contact our Chapter Secretary Karon Lamb at (480) 892-0327 or karonlamb@cox.net. You can also visit www.azoes.com FROM THE EAST (continued from Page 1) Also at the April Stated meeting the Lodge approve a couple of key measures including helping the Chandler DeMolay Chapter with their fund raiser (selling pistachios) and we are delighted that in the near future, Brother Chuck Simpson will install a beautiful black and white stone tile mosaic pavement (see sketch) Our calendar for May is full and includes a triple Second Degree on Tuesday May the 5 th. We have a number of 3 rd degrees to do before we go dark so keep an eye out for notifications. -- Fraternally, Craig Carlson WM Chandler Thunderbird Lodge 480-427-8862 6
EAST VALLEY YORK RITE INSTALLATION The York Rite Bodies of Scottsdale, Mesa and Chandler will hold a joint Installation of Officers on Thursday, May 27, 2015 at the Hall of Chandler Thunderbird Lodge No. 15, F&AM, 88 West Erie Street, Chandler at 6:30 p.m. The Companions of Burning Bush Chapter No.14, Royal Arch Masons and Tyrian Council No. 8, Cryptic Masons and the Sir Knights of Crusade Commandery No. 11, Knights Templar, invite everyone to join in the celebration, which will include dinner and the installation, and which will be followed by a Stated Assembly of Tyrian Council (open to Cryptic Masons). Companion G. Nicholas Tyler will assume leadership of Burning Bush Chapter, and will be assisted by Companion Lee E. Stith, King and Most Excellent Companion Paul C. Howell, Past Grand High Priest, as Scribe. Most Excellent Companions Foy O. Yancey and David G. Stankow have been re-elected to serve as Treasurer and Secretary, respectively. Companion George P. Pirkle has been elected Illustrious Master of Tyrian Council, and will be installed together with Right Excellent Companion Paul C. Howell, Deputy Master and Companion G. Nicholas Tyler, Principal Conductor of the Work. Most Illustrious Companions Foy O. Yancey and David G. Stankow will be installed as Treasurer and Recorder, again, respectively. Sir Knight Douglas J. Marley, Past Commander, will be serving another term as Eminent Commander, to be assisted by Sir Knights George P. Pirkle, Generalissimo; G. Nicholas Tyler, Captain General; Charles R. Unger, Senior Warden and Lee E. Stith, Junior Warden. For the sake of consistency, Sir Knight Foy O. Yancey, Right Eminent Past Grand Commander, will continue as Treasurer, and Sir Knight David G. Stankow, Right Eminent Honorary Past Grand Commander, Recorder or another year. David Stankow Secretary/Recorder Chandler York Rite Bodies EVENTS THIS MONTH May 16 10:00 Regius York Rite College at 345 W. Monroe in Phoenix May 20 Practice May 27 Installation of Officers May 27 Tyrian Council 7
SUCCESS OR FAILURE? Does the picture at the right represent success or failure? The osprey had just attempted to catch a fish that was too large and strong for him. The fish pulled him 90% under water. The picture was taken just after the osprey let go of the fish and pulled himself out of the water using his wings. The water spray was from the bird s wings that were completely drenched. Source: http://www.caseinterview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/victor-cheng- Osprey1.jpg Chandler Thunderbird Lodge 15 P. O. Box 580 Chandler, AZ 85225 PLEASE PLACE STAMP HERE 8