M ar c h 1, 2011 The Vision Statement Of Oasis Masonic Lodge # 52 Is That The Lodge: Is A Recognized Active Participant In The Masonic Community Fostering Fraternal Fellowship And Masonic Teachings. Supports The Local Community Through Involvement With Public Schools And Programs Addressing Community Concerns. The Mission Statement Of Oasis Masonic Lodge # 52 Is To: From the East W.B. Roger Cousineau he first three months of the 2011 year seem to have T gone by very quickly. During that time Oasis Lodge has conferred one first degree and one second degree. Both of the degrees and all of the stated meetings have Preserve And Promote The Teachings Of Freemasonry. Promote Masonic Values Through Service To Mankind And Truth In Life. Inspire Good Men To Seek Membership Within Our Organization. Encourage The Membership To Continually Seek The Truth. Promote Active Fellowship With Masonic Friends And Family. been well attended and our guests have included the Senior Grand Warden and a Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Arizona. It was a special treat for me to have Worshipful Brother Kenn Culbertson and Brother Rick Beaumont as visitors at the February stated meeting. Both of these Brothers are from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and are friends of my brother, Brother Charles Cousineau. Worshipful Brother Kenn was the Master of Evergreen Lodge No. 166 in Edmonton when I visited the Lodge last April. Both of these Brothers winter in Arizona and so I hope to see them often in Oasis Lodge. There is a lot of work to do at the Lodge this year and our committees are getting into full swing. The Membership committee is in the process of defining exactly what their mission and goals are and at the same time are working on several projects including the establishment of a phone tree so that we can be in closer contact with the brethren of the Lodge. The Mentoring committee is in the process of creating a more successful mentoring program which we expect will result in more of our newly raised Masons becoming more involved in the Lodge. The Widows and Welfare committee will begin planning for the first of two Widows Luncheons. In addition, the Long Range Planning committee will start looking at where the Lodge would like to be in three, five and ten years. We need the support of all of the Brothers of Oasis Lodge to help the Lodge to succeed in its goals and continue to be a vital, progressive Lodge. There are many ways that those of you who cannot attend Lodge due to (Continued on page 2)
P a g e 2 Features Page 1 Oasis Lodge Vision Statement Oasis Lodge Mission Statement Thoughts from the Worshipful Master physical problems or because you live outside of the Tucson area can be of assistance. If you are willing you could, for instance, be part of a calling tree. Remember brethren that while the committees are responsible for putting together and organizing programs and events, it is the responsibility of all of the brethren of the Lodge to participate and make them work. May brotherly love prevail and all of us work together to make this a great Masonic year. Page 2 Masonic Birthdays Page 3 Upcoming Events 2011 Officers 2011 Committees Page 4 From Refreshment to Labor Page 5 The Lambskin Words of Kindness Birthdays April Fultz, Fred Hickman, Carl Rollin, Mike Smith, Delmar Stalker, Robert Glassbrook, Lloyd Harty, Donald Hooks, Thomas Martin, Phillip Miller, James Stalker, Harold Jr Tillett, Melvin Pages 6&7 From the West From the South March Natural Beach, Gilbert Cottrell, Vern Day, Walter Hewitt, James Millard, Dean Miller, James Mysak, Terrance Willis, Edward March Masonic Badinger, Gerald Gilliam, Charles Slocum, Eric Wilhite, William Willis, Edward April Balser, Kenneth
Upcoming Meetings P a g e 3 March 2010 08 Mar Mar Stated Meeting April 2011 12 Apr Apr Stated Meeting Trestle Board Editor W.B. Jim Hewitt 721-4049 jlhewittsr@cox.net Ritual Director W.B. Gene Scott 298-0920 WB Dan Tulloh Masonic Education WB Tim Yaser 661-3008 tyaiser@cox.net COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN Fall Masonic Family and Friends Night WB Dean Millard SD Mike Bravin Membership Committee WB Jerry Badinger Mason Of The Year Assigned by Lodge Master Candidates, Coaches, and Mentors SW Randy Jager Annual Veterans Day Poker Run WB Tim Yaiser SS Ray Donohue Long Range Plans WB Jerry Badinger Widows / Welfare / Assistance W.B. Paul Weathers WB Lee Harter OFFICERS for 2010 WM Roger Cousineau, 808-9757, rcousineau@gmail.com SW Randy Jager, 405-6098 randy@thejagers.com JW WB N. DeanMillard, 298-0765, drallimd@msn.com Sec. WB Timothy Yaiser, 661-3008 tyaiser@cox.net Treas. Robert Shrager, H-296-0709, C-449-4588, LBob130709@msn.com SD Mike Bravin, 777.3716, Bravin32@msn.com JD Leroy Smith SS Ray Donohue, 290-9802 / Cell: 203-3252 rmdonohue@cox.net JS Willis Taylor, Jr. Marshal Manny Daniels, 790-0828 Tyler WB Paul Weathers, 290-6260, pwabble@cox.net Trustees: 3 year Bro Russell Long, 2 year WB Bruce McLaughlin, 1 year WB Dean Millard Spring Masonic Family and Friends Night JW Randy Jager WB Kean Millard Public Schools WB Jim Donovan 886-3083 Sanpedro55@aol.com Bro Leroy Smith Masonic Communications JW Randy Jager Youth Groups W.B. N Dean Millard ByLaws/Dues / Relief W.B, Jerry Badinger 745-4307 WEB Master WB N Dean Millard Public Relations Briyan Wright SICKNESS and DISTRESS If you or your loved ones are stricken with an illness or distress or any other major concern, don t keep it inside, let us know about it. We may be limited in many cases to remembering you in our prayers. But I believe that the majority of us believe in the power of prayer so please let us be informed of your troubled times. Call WB Paul Weathers at (520) 290-6260 or Brother Ray Donohue at (520) 290-9802.
P a g e 4 This article by WB Marty Cranville was published in Aztlan Lodge #1 July 2010 Trestleboard. It is with his kind permission that I submit it for use in an issue of our Oasis Lodge #52 Trestleboard. I latched onto Brother Marty s article because it is a good supplement to what I ve been preaching that we haven t finished out obligation to our Lodge when we step down from the East at the end of an elected year in the Oriental Chair, our new duties as Past Masters have just begun. Paul Weathers, PM From Refreshment to Labor A couple of months ago I was speaking with a brother who was telling me that he had done this in Masonry, and he had done that, and so on. When I asked him if he was interested in joining us in doing ritual or degrees he replied, No, I ve paid my dues, I ve done enough! This got me thinking. What does I ve paid my dues really mean? Is it a certain point in a person s life, a particular age (55,60, over 60) or is it reaching a certain number of years in Masonry? I don t know, I just can t figure it out. When we were participating at the Memorial Day services at the Citizen s cemetery, I realized that those we were honoring that day really had Paid their dues. Yes they had Done enough Too much, in fact. They not only Paid their dues, but our dues as well, to lives here in the greatest country on earth. But, I digress! When in Masonry do I get to say, I ve paid my dues. Funny, but it never occurred to me to even ponder such a question. As long as I can be of service, and I am wanted, and I am able, I intend to do so. A long as there is more to do, then I (will) have not done enough. We speak in our ritual of the time when we at last lay down the working tool for the last time. That to me, my brothers, is when I ve done enough. We don t stop doing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop doing. We need you, my brothers, to get involved again, to help out in the degree work, help with the ritual or the various speaking parts. Maybe helping out in the kitchen, or clean-up afterwards. How about coaching, Lord knows we can use help there. There s always something for you to do, just ask. You would be surprised how much better you feel, when you feel useful, and needed. Hope to see you in Lodge! Marty Brothers of Oasis Lodge, this could very well be addressed to every member, whether Past master or not. Review the obligations you took under oath, with your right hand, a sign of fidelity, on the Three Great Lights of Masonry and ask your self this, Have I paid my dues, have I done enough to honor my obligations to Masonry, especially for my Lodge, my Masonic Brethren?
P a g e 5 Composed by Bro. Edgar A. Guest, a Great Masonic Poet Submitted by Paul Weathers, PM THE LAMB SKIN It is not ornamental, the cost is not great, There are other things more useful, yet truly I state, That of all my possessions, there s none can compare, With that white leather apron, which all Masons wear. As a young lad I wondered just what it all meant, When Dad hustled around, and so much time was spent, On shaving and dressing and looking just right, Until Mother would say; It s the Masons tonight. And some winter nights she said, What makes you go, Way up there tonight through the sleet and the snow, You see the same things every month of the year. Then Dad would reply, Yes, I know it, my dear. Forty years I have seen the same things, it is true. And though they are old, they always seem new, For the hands that I clasp, and the friends that I greet, Seem a little bit closer each time that we meet. Years later I stood at that same door, With good men and true who had entered before, I knelt at the Altar, and there I was taught, That virtue and honor can never be bought. That the spotless white lambskin all Masons revere, If worthily worn grows more precious each year, That service to others brings blessings untold, That man may be poor tho surrounded by gold. I learned that true brotherhood flourishes there, That enmities fades neith the compass and square, That wealth and position are all thrust aside, As there on the level men met and abide. So honor the lambskin, may it always remain, Forever unblemished, and free from all stain, And when we are called to the Great Father s love, May we all take our place in that Lodge up above. This is alleged to be the last sermon given by Lord Siddhartha Gautama, the first mortal Buddha prior to his death, more than 900 years before the life of Jesus Christ. We should all strive for this level of enlightenment and this way of conducting our lives. Submitted by Paul Weathers, PM WORDS OF KINDNESS his is what should be done. Be the one who is T skilled in goodness, and who knows the path of peace. Let them be able and upright, straight forward and gentle in speech. Humble and not conceited, contented and easily satisfied, unburdened of duties, and frugal in their ways, peaceful and calm, wise and skillful; not proud and demanding in nature Let them not do the slightest thing that the wise would later reprieve. Wishing in gladness and in safety, may all beings be at ease. Whatever living beings these may be, whether they are weak or strong, omitting none, the great or mighty, medium, short or small, the seen and un-seen, those living near or far away, those born and to be born, may all things be at ease! Let none deceive another, or despise any being in any state. Let none through anger or ill-will wish harm on another. Even as a mother protects her child with her life, her child, her only child, so as with a boundless heart should one cherish all living beings; radiating kindness over the entire world, spreading upward to the skies and downward to the depths, outward and un-bounded, free from hatred and ill-will. Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down free from drowsiness, one should sustain this recollection. This is said to be the sublime abiding. By not holding fixed views, the pure-hearted one, having clarity of vision, being free from all senseless desires, is not born again into this world.
P a g e 6 From The West Bro. Randy Jager Senior Warden W hat came you here to do? It is a question with which we are all familiar. This question holds very specific meaning from a ritual standpoint; however, I submit to you that we should all ask ourselves this question each and every time that we attend a Lodge function. Are we attending the function for our own benefit, or are we attending the function for the benefit of the Lodge or our Lodge Brothers. We need to be certain that we are keeping the Lodge s best interest at heart. It is, of course, important for all of us to sign up to help with Lodge activities. However, it is even more important to follow through on the commitments we make to the Lodge. We cannot kid ourselves into thinking, There are plenty of other Brothers there that will pick up the slack if I am unable to deliver on my commitment. Oasis Lodge is only as strong as we can be as a team. No one Brother can make the Lodge successful on his own. The Oasis Lodge planning process relies on all of us making and keeping commitments to the Lodge. If all members are not committing themselves to the success of the Lodge, the direction of the Lodge could easily become the product of only a few select Brothers. Input from new members brings fresh ideas to the Lodge and provides existing members with insight into what new candidates might be looking for from the Lodge and the Fraternity. Input from the not so new Brothers provides experience, stability, and a sense of tradition. All members bring something to the planning process, and it therefore begs for all of us to make and keep a commitment to the Lodge. Of course, there will be times when a Brother may feel that his input is not being heard by the Lodge. It is at those times that I once again ask: What came you here to do? If you came here to grow and improve and to see the Lodge grow and improve, then I charge you to remember that Oasis Lodge relies on you making and keeping your commitments keep trying! We must all keep talking and listening to each other. We all have good ideas, skills, and talents that can help the Lodge. The Oasis Lodge planning process will be starting again soon. I am looking forward to seeing and hearing from all of my Oasis Brothers at the planning sessions. Watch your email and issues of the Trestleboard for the first planning session, and then make time to be there. Do not let someone else fill in for you bring your input in person. Make a commitment and keep it. I am looking forward to seeing you in Lodge very soon. From The South W.B. N Dean Millard Junior Warden --Making Masonry Relevant -- A Past Master of our Lodge recently passed on an article to me that talked to the idea that it isn't the ritual, the degree work, the memorization or even the charitable work that we are doing that attracts and keeps a Brother in the Lodge. His idea was that it is the Fellowship and care of one Brother for another that is what men today, as well as in the past, are really looking for. When you think about the problem that we have today in the Fraternity, it seems to come down to two things: 1) Being able to attract a man to the Fraternity sufficiently to get him to join a Lodge and 2) Once you get him there, how to keep him from leaving or becoming inactive. We have tried all kinds of things to solve these problems. We have tried one day classes to get the busy man initiated, passed and raised. We have begun doing so much charitable work that we nearly drive the Lodge into bankruptcy to finance it. We have driven our Lodge Officers to do perfect work and we have tried a multitude of other ideas trying to get men on the outside interested in us and trying to keep our active Masons interested enough in what we are doing that they will stay with us. It seems that ALL of these things help some, but they don't seem to be enough to do it all. Perhaps we are trying so hard to please and interest our fellow members that we are overlooking the one or two things that would actually accomplish what we are trying to do, attract and keep members. How long has it been since a Lodge Officer talked with YOU personally? Some time? Probably. How long has it (Continued on page 7)
P a g e 7 Masonic Symbolism Submitted by The Masonic Education Committee s it true that the lodge symbolically represents the world? Our Monitors tell us that the form of a lodge is an oblong I square from East to West and from between North and South, from earth to heaven and from surface to center. This of course, if it means anything, can mean nothing less than the entire known habitable earth and Masonic scholars universally so interpret it. This meaning was more manifest at the period when Freemasonry is supposed to have had its origin, for the then known world lying around the shores of the Mediterranean sea was literally of the form of an oblong square. Also at this time the belief was that the earth was a flat level surface. If you traveled far enough North life was impossible because of the cold and darkness, and likewise that beyond a certain limit southward it was impossible because of the blinding glare and intense heat of the sun. It was even supposed that in the farthest South the earth was yet molten. The biblical idea was that the earth was square. Isaiah 11:12 speaks of gathering the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth : and in Revelations 20:9 is the vision of four angels standing on the four corners of the earth. So thoroughly grounded were these belief that in ancient times the square now the recognized symbol of the lodge, was the recognized symbol of the earth, as the circle was of the sun. In this antiquated expression oblong square we therefore have not only an apt description of the ancient world and evidence that the lodge is symbolic thereof, but also a remarkable evidence of the great age of Freemasonry. Likewise the lodge, which is sometimes defined as the place where Masons work, symbolizes the world or the place where all men work. Again, its covering is said to be a clouded canopy or starry decked heaven, a description that could not have the slightest application to any thing else but the world. If the lodge symbolizes the world and the Mason symbolizes man, it follows that the initiation must symbolize the introduction of the individual into the world or the birth of a child. It was so regarded in the ancient system of initiation and is now so understood by Masonic scholars everywhere. It is the least important view to consider it merely as a method of admitting one to membership in a Society. (Continued from page 6) been since YOU talked personally with other members of the Lodge, either in or out of the Lodge? This one seems to be a little more touchy. If you are active at all, the answer is probably that you have not only heard from someone recently or frequently, but that you have also been in touch with others of the Lodge recently and frequently. OK, so you are receiving at least SOME communication from the Lodge and you are talking with others of the Lodge, how about the ones who are sick or infirm? Judging by my own experiences, not often. After all, we work 5 or 6 days a week at a job, we attend Lodge once a week for whatever the event is, we may be attending one (or more) of the appendant bodies and, of course, we are trying to stay active with our own families. This hardly leaves much time to spend trying to find out what our Brothers are doing or how they are faring! Besides, we have a Brother of the Lodge that is retired, which leaves him with ALL of that spare time, that checks on all of the Brothers who are reported as having problems and then reports back to the Lodge on them. Isn't that enough? My guess is (and that is what it is, a GUESS) that, NO, this isn't enough! Why? Because this one or maybe two Brothers visiting the ill and infirm just aren't enough to let the ailing Brother feel like the WHOLE Lodge actually cares about them--why should I care about the Lodge if the Lodge doesn't care about me? Once a Brother begins to feel this way, it becomes a kind of disease that just seems to fester and grow to the point where he feels that there really is no point to it all and he leaves, either by demit or by NPD. How can we change this pattern? How can we attract more men and keep them interested in what we do? Once again, I have to guess. But perhaps the article I mentioned at the beginning can give us a clue or two. We need to remember, and practice, that to get someone to pay attention to you, you need to pay attention to them. Perhaps it is a simple phone call. Perhaps it is actually driving to a hospital to visit a Brother. Perhaps we need to attend Lodge to see all of our friends and Brothers who are also visiting Lodge. How can the Officers help to promote this idea? We can participate in phone trees. We can make certain that we attend as many functions as possible. We can learn who our new and our old members are and keep in touch with them. Now it's YOUR turn--help me out with ideas and get active!
P a g e 8 Oasis Masonic Lodge #52, F&AM 450 N, Pantano Rd. Tucson, AZ 85710