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I found this to be very thought provoking. Please remember that we have degree work coming up.
Fraternally, Richard Brown, WM
Mehr Licht! = More Light!
Number 242 – September 14, 2009
What Masonry Must Preserve; By M.W. Brother Dewey H,
Wollstein
It is well to pause at times and to ask ourselves
the question: "Whence arises my love for Freemasonry?" Does my enthusiasm
arise from the devotion to a name, an institution, or does it come from
the desire to understand great principles and teachings, truths which stand
today as they have stood since creation?
Institutions have grown big and powerful only
to lose sight of their original purposes. Numerical values have been
the goal of these institutions; they have branched out in their various
ramifications and have become arrogant because of that power figured in
numbers. Their political influence far exceeds their spiritual influence.
The most heinous crimes have been committed by religious zealots.
The history of persecutions throughout the ages is the story of religious
intolerance.
The design of Masonry is to develop individuality,
individual thought, so that men may concentrate on the substance and not
on the shadow. The work of Masonry is to preserve, not cold edicts,
not idle claims to infallibility, but those things which insure to posterity
rights that are God-given, and which can only be preserved in the hearts
of all mankind.
Masonry is the agency for the preservation of
all that is worthy to be preserved. If principles are preserved the
agency need not be concerned about its place in the future.
Words to live by: “The art of progress is to preserve
order amid change, and to preserve change amid order.”
Alfred North Whitehead
For all dinners please RSVP to the WM at 303-340-3511
or WBro. Bob Suggs 303-344-5676.
September, 2009
To all of the Brethren,
What a great summer we have had. It
hasn’t really been that “dark” this summer and the time has come for us
to resume our labors in the “Quarry” we have a lot on our schedule.
Several of our Brothers have stayed very busy
with many of their Masonic duties in the Blue Lodge as well as the other
Masonic Bodies. With Grand Lodge budget meetings, supporting Grand
Lodge in promoting our Great Fraternity and several “Outdoor Summer” degrees.
The last of which is the “Barn Burner Degrees” hosted by Kiowa #116 and
supported by Aurora #156 where 2 Brothers from Aurora were Raised on August
15th. Congratulations to Brettwick Gordon and Thomas Bruckner, our
newest Master Masons! The Master of Kiowa WB David Sears is a plural
member with Aurora, thank you for having us participate with Kiowa Lodge!
One of our biggest undertakings this summer
was the Cleanup of the Lodge building both inside and out. The exterior
was power washed from top to bottom. The grounds were cleaned, bushes
trimmed and trash removed. Most of the rust was removed from our
iron railing and supports and all were repainted. The interior and
carpet, was cleaned from top to bottom. I cannot begin to express
my, thank to all the Brothers, their wives, kids, DeMolay youth their Dads
and Moms, Brothers from Prince Hall, and others who pitched in including
some candidates in waiting. You all did a GREAT JOB, thank you all.
We also are having our Masters and Wardens chairs redone, and should be
completed by September 1st. It was past time to start this project.
We will be having several degrees in the coming
months. Also some interesting visitors may drop in. I suggest
you come to all of our meetings or you may miss something interesting and
special. We even made contact with some new possible candidates this
summer who want to become Master Mason.
Fraternally,
Richard
Brown, WM
Richard Brown, WM
June, 2009
To all the Brethren;
What a great month we have
had. We had openings, closings, and degree work that were almost
flawless; outstanding proficiencies in traditional form and brothers taking
on new parts. Thank you for your efforts Brethren. We had almost
45 Brothers attend one of our Stated Meetings and a special Master Mason
visiting from Australia who shared a lot of insight into the differences
between the two Grand Jurisdictions.
Our Honored Students Awards Dinner was well
attended, with over 60 persons present plus another 15 DeMolay, Job’s Daughters
and the adult sponsors with Brothers Parsons, Dunn and Newbury assisting
and cleaning up and serving the dinner that was prepared by our Secretary
and World Famous Chef Cliff Hilton. Great meal, thanks again.
We also had the pleasure of presenting a Grand Lodge Scholarship.
Sponsored by Aurora #156 to Kay Lynn Hohulin from Gateway High School,
for $7,000 that is renewable for 3 more years or a total of $28,000.
We really have a lot more work in the Quarry
in the coming weeks, before “Summer Darkness”, so please come and see what
all is happening. My hope is we can see as many of our Brothers as
possible make an effort to be present and available to help with this work.
We are reverting back to the “good old days” and doing the WORK the way
it is supposed to be done, and with the floor work by the book. Come
and see how well our new generation of Master Masons do their work.
Note: Horse Barn 3rd Degrees the 3rd Saturday in August, out in Elbert
County, more to follow. Any questions, please contact me [303-340-3511]
or WB Bob Brewer DL #51 [303-671-9395.]
Finally, special congratulations to our newest
Fellow Crafts, Brothers Steven Staubach, and Wick Gordon who were passed
May 2, 2009.
Fraternally,
Richard
Brown, WM
Richard Brown, WM
May, 2009
To all the Brethren;
The First Degree Proficiency
was presented by Brother Wick Gordon, "who took us on a tour of the Lodge"
while doing his presentation, from the time he entered the Lodge Room as
a candidate, until he exited the Lodge Room as a Brother. If you
missed this most interesting and unique proficiency, I can only hope you
can be there to see what he might do the next time. And maybe he
has started something special for Aurora #156. Many of the Brothers
that have been "around a long while" say "they have never seen" a proficiency
presentation like this. Brother Wick and his posters are to be congratulated
for their effort and the work they have put into helping improve Masonry.
Great job Brothers! And the WORK was letter perfect as well.
I would like everyone to make it a point to welcome
our newest EA, Brother Steven (Steve) Staubach. Brother Steve was
initiated March 28th and stood his proficiency April 14th doing a fantastic
job. We still are hoping to get Steve raised before he reports for
Basic Training (USMC). If we can hold up our end, I am sure he will
take care of his. Steve is a former Master Councilor of Aurora DeMolay.
Brother SW Marvin Parsons is putting together the
Degree Team to present the 2nd degrees for these two Brothers and hopefully
another Brother that is almost ready to stand proficiency. The Degree
is scheduled for May 9th 2009; please join us and see some great degree
work. We need everyone that can to attend to show our support for
these new Brothers.
We had to reschedule our School Awards Program April
18th, due to the spring snowstorm. The School Awards Dinner and Program
will now take place Saturday, May 16th with dinner at 6:00 PM and program
at 7:00 PM. We need a big turn out to show our support to our Aurora
Students Scholars and the Aurora Public Schools. We have two students,
[one young lady and one young man] from each of five Aurora High Schools
to be recognized and honored. The Schools are Aurora Central, Gateway,
Hinckley, Rangeview, and Wm. Smith. The students are all outstanding
Junior Class Students.
Please RSVP for this dinner as we had over 70 reservations
for our first try.
Fraternally,
Richard
Brown, WM
Richard Brown, WM
April, 2009
Brethren;
You never cease to amaze
me, starting with Junior Warden Bryce Dunn putting together a great cast
for the 1st degree, for our 3 new Brothers. I would like thank each
and every one who took their parts seriously and gave a fantastic delivery
that our new Brothers won’t soon forget. I would like to welcome
and introduce our 3 new E.A.’s Thomas [Tom] Buckner, Michael [Mike] Mahaffey
and Bretwick [Wick] Gordon, to those Brothers that haven’t been able to
attend lodge lately, please join up as these Brothers begin their journey
into Light.
You never know where our
next Brothers will come from, these E.A.’s all stopped by the Lodge seeking
information and continued to join us for dinner, for six months making
friends and enabling us to get to know them. Some Brothers met with
them away from Lodge and became their sponsors and got to know them better.
We hope to see them as often as we have in the past. We have another
young man whose petition has been voted on, who has come to us from Aurora
DeMolay. JW Bryce is trying to put together a 1st degree ASAP, as
the new candidate is set to report for Military Duty very soon. If
Brother Bryce asks you to help with the work, please say yes, your help
and just being there is important to all.
We will have our School
Awards Dinner and Program April 18th with dinner at 6:00 pm and program
at 7:00 pm. We need a big turn out to show our support to our Aurora
Students Scholars and to make the families comfortable.
Spring has Sprung, The Grass Is Riz
Be careful with all the outdoor yard work,
Where Last Years, Careless Driver Is.
house repairs, and clean-up.
-Burma Shave-Drive Careful
We need to see you in LODGE
Fraternally,
Richard
Brown, WM
Richard Brown, WM
March, 2009
My first thought was WOW!! No Double WOW.
The Grand Master's reception was a fantastic success because of the efforts
of many different Brothers. Our visitors were very impressed with
everything they saw in, on, and around our Masonic Lodge. A big thanks
to just a few who made "IT" happen. WB Bob Suggs for a great dinner,
he never fails us. The Youth, their adult sponsors and the WM daughters
and others who helped pull off the dinner. Plus all the cleanup crew.
Dinner was enjoyed by all. Many good comments about the dinner were
heard during the reception.
Many thanks for the work that was done on the outside
of our building, cleaning up the grounds, with several helping. The
timely repair of our flagpole and rope, the stripping and polishing of
our dining room floor and other building cleaning by J.W. Bryce Dunn and
his son. WB Chuck Lewis and his mystery helper, for the repair of
the handrail, going up from the basement; it is much safer now. All
that helped clean the Lodge Rooms and get it set up properly. It
was noticed right away by the Right Worshipful Deputy Grand Master Charlie
Johnson, who said, "that when Masons are proud of and respect their Lodge
it shows" like Aurora #156 did.
Thanks to the Deacons and Stewards (Bro. Troy Kaiser,
WB Chuck Lewis, Bro. Jeffery Noakes, WB Keith Chandler, a "stand in"),
they had a tough task of the floor work and escorting visitors to their
proper places in the proper manner. The time you took to practice
and have it right was really noticeable. Our visitors were impressed
and many praised the effort and results of your work.
Thanks to the rest of the Officers for your hard
work, support, and cooperation in all of our endeavors. A big thanks
goes to WB Anthony Wiley and members of Prince Hall Masons for attending
our meeting, and my special friend MWB Ray Black, PGM.
We returned the favor at their next meeting, and
were not only treated to their opening, closing, and floor work; but they
conferred the First Degree on 5 candidates, which was very impressive.
We want to try and have a good showing when they do the Third Degree.
Not only were Aurora Brothers there, but also through the word of mouth,
several other lodges had members present.
Fraternally,
Richard
Brown, WM
Richard Brown, WM
February, 2009
We are getting back into the "groove." We
have several degrees to start presenting: two First Degrees for sure next
month and another petition to be investigated. Some Second Degrees
as soon as times can be set up. The two First Degrees will be in
February, the Senior Warden Bryce Dunn is lining up the cast. Please
contact him ASAP. As a reminder, all line officers should be able
to do all the degree parts associated with their place in line. Any
Master Mason can do any of the parts they would like. Please help!!
The only way Aurora #156 is going to grow is through
new members. This is your chance to do a Great Service for your Lodge,
by volunteering to take a part, and/or being there for the work.
Carry a Petition with you all the time or have it close at hand.
By the time the trestleboard gets out the Grand Lodge Session will be over.
My hope is that Aurora was well represented. I guess we will find
out soon.
Our other activities are starting to pick up with
George Washington's Day Dinner February 21st and Valentines Day Dinner
February 24th for our Ladies as our guests.
I will be talking soon, about the active Brothers
contacting Brothers less active and we haven't seen in Lodge for some time.
When did you last sit in Lodge with your 1st and/or 2nd line signers??
Why not give them a call see how they are doing tell about how active Aurora
is getting and invite them to Lodge. If you are like some of the
Brothers, that have been around a long time and their signers have gotten
their call. Try a couple of Brothers that came into the Lodge with
you or you got to know early in your Masonic Life.
For all special dinners, please RSVP WM 303-340-3511 or Bob Suggs 303-344-5676. Upcoming dinners are February 21 and February 24.
Fraternally,
Richard
Brown, WM
Richard Brown, WM
January, 2009
First, I would like to thank the Brethren for the
HONOR by electing me to serve Aurora Lodge #156 as Worshipful Master for
the ensuing Masonc year. The first meeting in January we will practice
receiving the Grand Master and Escort in "stop" instruction method.
The next meeting in January we will practice receiving the Grand Master
and Escort in preparation for his visit to Aurora Lodge February 10th.
There will be a dinner prior to the reception of the Grand Master.
On January 22 through 24 the Grand Session will
be held in Colorado Springs at the Doubletree Hotel South. The top
3 officers must make an effort to attend, and all others should try to
attend, plus the meetings are open to all Master Masons.
I invite all members of the Lodge to suggest activities
they would like to see during our meetings. We will be doing degree
work in the coming months. If there are any parts or lectures you
would like to do, contact the Director of the Work or the Junior/Senior
Wardens. There will be a practice prior to ALL degree work.
Our George Washington Day dinner will be February
21. Plans are to have a special guest to address us. Please
invite family, friends, and non-masons, as this is our major fundraiser
for the year. The cost will be $15.00 for adults and children under
12 are free. I look forward to a very enjoyable year with a lot of
fellowship and "Great Work in the Quarry." As the Brethren know,
the finances of Aurora Lodge are not in good shape. I am asking a
donation $10 for all dinners at regular meetings. If you have any
viable ideas for fundraisings, please contact me.
For all special dinners, please RSVP WM 303-340-3511
or Bob Suggs 303-344-5676. Coming up dinners are February 10 and
February 21.
Fraternally,
Richard
Brown, WM
Richard Brown, WM
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