Friday, October 24, 2014
Today we buried one of our Heroes
Today we buried one of our Heroes Malcolm Glad.
There is one word to describe Malcolm...Devoted. He was devoted to his country, to his family,and to Freemasonry.
Malcolm was a Marine Veteran of WWII. He served in campaigns at Guadalcanal, Guam, Bougainville,and Iwo Jima where he was wounded.
He treasured his wife of 64 years,cherished his children,and Grandchildren.
He loved the Craft.Malcolm was a Past Commander of the Shrine Legion of Honor, and was our Drill Master.He was always there to lead us on.
There is one word to describe Malcolm...Devoted. He was devoted to his country, to his family,and to Freemasonry.
Malcolm was a Marine Veteran of WWII. He served in campaigns at Guadalcanal, Guam, Bougainville,and Iwo Jima where he was wounded.
He treasured his wife of 64 years,cherished his children,and Grandchildren.
He loved the Craft.Malcolm was a Past Commander of the Shrine Legion of Honor, and was our Drill Master.He was always there to lead us on.
We will miss him, but we are so much better to have had him in our lives.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
The Past Masters Jewel
We are now introduced
to the Quadrant, Sextant, and the Sun
The
Quadrant - Shows the angle of the opened
compass. Now able to measure “due bounds” it is the Past Masters
experience of being responsible to ensure that Masons under his jurisdiction
made proper use of their own compass while he was Master. Here the
quadrant symbolizes the Past Master’s experience with balance.
The
Sextant - A navigation tool used to measure altitude,
symbolizes that the Past Master had to navigate the course of his Lodge.
Here the sextant
symbolizes the Past Master’s qualifications and ability to advise.
The Sun
- We recognize the Past Master as a source of Masonic Light and that
he has observed the sun at its meridian height, its setting, and its rising.
Here the sun
represents wisdom and the Past Master’s progression up the chairs.
From Worshipful Master
Ivan Smith Cataract Lodge #2 Speech 10-14-2014
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Introducing the Masonic Children's Hospital!
The University of Minnesota announced Tuesday, October 14 that following a new gift of $25 million from Minnesota Masonic Charities, and in recognition of the legacy of support provided by the Masonic Fraternity to the University, it is renaming the children's hospital to University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital.
Minnesota Masonry
has gifted a total of $125 million in the last 60 years to the University in
support of children's health and cancer care and research.
"We are proud
of our longstanding partnership with the University of Minnesota," said
Eric Neetenbeek, President and CEO of Minnesota Masonic Charities. "By
supporting the children's hosital, we hope to faciliate new treatments and
cures that will benefit patients and families across the state and around the
world."
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
A Recipe to Flourish
A Recipe to Flourish
By S.K. and PGM Thomas
Hendrickson
The life blood of every masonic organization is the
membership. Without active members we
cannot provide the meaningful message and purpose that we are chartered for.
Generally, across the nation all fraternal organizations
are suffering from the decline in membership. In my lifetime, I have seen the
Grand lodge of Minnesota membership at an all-time high of 68,000 members slip
downward so that today there are just under 14,000 members.
My thoughts are to concentrate on active
members…nurturing new members as well as rekindling existing members so that
out Commandries can be active and strong.
Not so long ago I had the pleasure of visiting another
Grand Lodge Annual Communication (you know…I was one of the old guys sitting up
front…the one not dozing off after the big lunch). A speaker was introduced to talk about
membership. He was a very dynamic
speaker who had a very well thought out and pertinent message. I remember this quote “Is your lodge a
typical lodge, that gets at least 10% of your membership coming to a meeting?
If not you’re not an active and dynamic lodge.”
We can look around and see our Lodges, Chapters,
Councils, Commandries, and Bethels that cannot even open their meetings because
of a lack of active members. There are
many reasons why this is happening.
There are some Masonic leaders who are ready to throw up their arms and
surrender…just give up in frustration.
I want to tell you that not every case is hopeless. One of the many ways to success is to find 2
or 3 “spark plugs” in your organization and let them brain storm a plan and you can go
from being on the verge of having you charter revoked to and active and
thriving Masonic body.
When I was traveling the state talking with Masonic
leaders they identified a few obstacles that had to be overcome.
In today’s society there is so
much entertainment available to the average citizen that they can fill their
non-working hours with ease.
In the average household today
both parents are working and kids have hundreds of activities to choose from.
Most of these activities require transportation. Parents are under pressure to raise a family,
provide a home, and manage their careers.
Here is a hint…the average male who is 25-38 years old with a family has
about 5 hours of free time. We need to
provide a good and valuable experience.
Potential members are unaware of
us. As our organizations continue to meet
in secret, there is not a sign on the building for people to see. The Chapter, Council and Commandery all meet
in lodge buildings. The Blue Lodge
generally is not aware of who we are or what we do.
Here are three stories of
lodges that had not met in years who transformed into thriving organizations.
A Master of a lodge was
complaining that members were not attending and when he called them to find out
why the consensus was that the members would rather stay home and watch
TV. The Master said in frustration “How
can I compete against CSI Miami?” I suggested that the Master change the lodge
meeting night as well as a few other changes.
After the Master implemented these changes membership increased by 50%.
Another Master complained that
most of the younger members would rather stay home and surf Facebook than
attend lodge. I suggested that he start
a Facebook page. The lodge made that
change as well a few additional changes and not only did the younger members
return to lodge meetings, the lodge received a couple of new petitions.
For the last example, the lodge
was basically dead, but 2 very motivated “spark plugs” brought the lodge back
to life and turned it into a powerhouse!
They did this by…
getting help from neighboring
lodges;
having the local paper write
stories about the lodge and publishing their meeting notices every month;
Creating awareness by joining
in community events such as participating in park clean ups and supporting
other various civic groups;
serving food at the local
homeless shelter;
and much more.
As the community gained awareness
of the lodge, good men came knocking on the door and wanted to join. Today the lodge is active, they perform all
three degrees and they have won the Mark Twain award.
Many of you know that I like to
cook. That is obvious from my increasing
waist size.
I have learned that lodges that
provide meaningful and relevant experiences through fellowship and ritual
knowledge have discovered a recipe for success.
So if you are not happy with the
number of Sir Knights and visitors at your Commandery, here is a recipe you may
wish to try. Just take a look…maybe
there is something new you might try?
Ingredients
1 cup of Brotherly Love
1 cup of Relief
1 cup of Truth
1 splash of creative thinking
Mix well and add planning and
organization. Serve and Enjoy.
1 cup of Brotherly Love
1. Serve
a meal before your meeting.
At Minneapolis Mounted we
started having and EXTREME POTLUCK. It is manly dishes served up in man size
portions. We’re talking ribs, Swedish
meatballs or pulled pork and all the trimmings.
We decided to try this because
after taking a poll of our active members, we found that 90% said they came to
Commandery straight form work. They did
not have the time or opportunity to eat (unless they stopped at a gas station
and grabbed a candy bar or a bag of chips).
Others (about 2%) live in care home and they have few opportunities to
enjoy a home cooked meal.
The meal creates on hour of
fellowship before the meeting begins and it creates a nice atmosphere for
members to wind down after work.
We invite all Master Masons
who would like to join us for dinner and learn more about us and the York
Rite. Dinner is served from 5:45pm to
6:45pm with meeting starting at 7:00pm.
The only requirement is a notice via email that you are coming. We would be happy to set a place for you at
our table.
2. Create
a Buddy System
Have your recorder assign each
active member a buddy or two. The
buddies are responsible to call and remind each other of upcoming meetings and
events.
3. Develop
and Post a Flyer
Every month develop and post a
flyer announcing your upcoming meetings and events. Be sure to leave a flyer in your lodges,
Shrine and Scottish Rite for all to see.
This will create awareness for your target audience and create opportunities
for them to contact you and learn more about the Commandery.
4. Host
a Masonic Family Movie Night or a Super Bowl Party
This is a great way for
members and others to get together, eat a little popcorn and enjoy an afternoon
or evening together. Heck, you can get
the Jobbies to pop the popcorn and the DeMolay to clean up.
5. Write
an article about your Commandery and have it published in the local lodge newsletter.
This is a great way to build
awareness and remember to include the dates and times of your meetings and events.
Carve
your name on hearts, not tombstones, a legacy is etched into the minds of
others, and the stories they share about you.
Shannon
L. Alden
1 cup of Relief
Our values as Sir Knights are
based on personal integrity, kindness, honesty and fairness. We are taught to practice charity and not
only for our own, but also for the communities we live in.
1. Find
a local organization that serves your community
Sponsor a drive for the local
food shelf, raise money for the local fire/ambulance service for purchase of
life saving equipment or help the local habitat for humanity.
2. Give
Blood
If you really want to help
save a person’s life or help someone your donation of blood will make a real
impact. It only takes about an hour of
your time and it truly is a gift of life.
3. Knight Templar Eye Foundation
4. Special
Olympics/ARC
It is an organization that is
state wide and it benefits all parts of Minnesota for those who have
intellectual and developmental disabilities.
No, you don’t have to do the Polar Bear Plunge!!!!!
5. Have
a painting party
Maybe one of your Brothers or
someone in the community needs help.
Gather the materials, arrange the project and gather the Brothers to
help someone in distress.
6. Your
Brother
Not much needed to say about
this. We all know out obligation. Be
watchful and be ready to give your hand.
These are
just a few ideas. There are many very worthy causes to which you can donate
your time, talent or money that will help people in a time of need. Another idea is that when you are out serving
the community, wear your uniform, a Commandery shirt or a Commandery hat to let
everyone know who we are and that your are proudly serving.
Help
us to help each other, Lord
Each
other’s cross to bear,
Let
each his friendly aid afford,
And feel
his brothers care.
Ralph
Harrison
1 cup of Truth
1. Most
Sir Knights find truth thru the ritual.
Create opportunities for the Ritual to be heard and experienced.
Have
practices so officers can learn their parts.
Have a
discussion in your aslum and talk about the meaning of certain parts.
2. Provide
meaningful education programs. We are an organization that is steeped in
history, culture and Christian values.
There is much to learn and many ways to be entertained.
3. Invite
the Grand Commander or Grand Officer to come and talk about chivalry or other
Commandery values.
4. A
local Pastor can be invited to talk about Spiritual Warfare or other topics.
5. Request
a Pastor who participated in the Knights Templar Holy Land Pilgrimage to show
his slides and talk about his experiences.
6. A
local college professor could talk about medieval history or the Knights
Templar.
7. Start
a book club and discussion group to discuss such books as The Templar Code for
Dummies, The Templars and the Shroud of Christ or The Templars – The Secret
History Revealed.
If you have speakers why not
consider inviting or sharing it with other Commanderies and Masonic
Lodges? Maybe adding a cup of coffee, a
glass of punch or a cookie wouldn’t hurt.
All
truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to
discover them.
Galileo
Gallel
A Splash of Creative Thinking
Creative thinking is just
exploring for many possible ways to find a solution. Every Commandery and S.K. is unique in their
own way. This is the perfect place to
survey the members and see what they would like to do. Then as a group put your thinking caps on and
come up with ways to do it.
There’s
a way to do it better – find it.
Thomas
Edison
Mix Well with Planning and Organization
Why? Well it allows proper coordination, it helps
organize, it gives direction, motivates the people involved, encourages
innovation and helps in decision making.
A good plan is like a road map;
it shows the final destination, and usually the best way to get there.
H
Stanley Judd
Remember you are not alone in
this worthy cause or rejuvenating your Commandery, Chapter, Council or
lodge. There are many who would love to
help – the spark you create could be all this is needed to create change and
growth.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Mounted Troop #23
