Wilmette Park Lodge No. 931
Our annual beach picnic on August 3rd was a great success, Brother Chaplain who organized the event this year, made sure there was enough food to put on the grill for everybody by donating it himself. Others brought wonderful side dishes and tasty deserts. Children played on the beach, some adults went sailing. All in all a great Masonic day for Brothers, family and friends.
Brother Stuart B., a Fellowcraft since June, gave an interesting & esoteric presentation on a topic of the First Degree.
Since last year’s Illinois Child Identification Program (IL CHIP) at the open day of the Wilmette Fire Station was such a success, Brother Blackwell is currently working with the Fire Chief and others to make this a possible annual event at the Fire Brigade.
This year’s Past Masters dinner in September will be a very special one,the auditorium will be rededicated in honor of late Worshipful Brother Edward P. Coussens, who has helped our Fraternity as a Tyler for 34 years, and who was president of the Wilmette Masonic Foundation for many years.
Part of the entertainment this year will be done by the same girls of a local dance studio who gave a great short form performance of the Nutcracker at our Holiday party last year.
(please check our website or facebook page for the date in September)
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Being a Mason is Not Easy
By Donald J. v. Kirk
Being a Mason is Not Easy! That seems like a peculiar thing to say, but think about it for a minute. Each time we attend Lodge we reinforce the lessons we learned when we initially took our degrees, but what is the purpose of those lessons? It’s “to make a good man better” is the trite answer. Has anyone ever asked you what that means? From our earliest years we have been taught the Golden Rule, say please and thank you, help the people who cannot help themselves, etc, etc., The phrase “friendship, morality and brotherly love” is supposed to extend to everyone, not just our Masonic Brothers!
Being a Mason is Not Easy when our moral and ethical values are being questioned by the very people we are trying to help. Some church groups have attacked us on several issues and have raised doubts among the Brethren of those denominations as to where their loyalties should be directed. Politics and politicians have always raised any issues that would benefit them. Some social organizations have from time to time questioned our charity work which may have “infringed” on their territory. All these situations are not new and are being handled as each arises again like a Phoenix out of the ashes of their destruction. These concerns do not really bother me as much as what I have seen happening within the Fraternity for the past several years. We are no longer practicing tenets we have learned among our own membership! The five points of fellowship do not mean anything more to many of our members. This is true for both the Mason who is not living up to his obligations and the Mason who is allowing the situation to continue without counselling the Brother. That is what Brotherhood means!
Being a Mason is not easy. It means doing things which you may not like or want to do. It means bringing attention to someone’s faults to help him overcome his shortcomings in the manner in which we have been taught. Instead of helping our Brothers, we have resorted to the same remedy that the profane have, “Bring Him Up ON Charges!”
Have we forgotten how to apologize, and how to accept an apology graciously? Are we all too proud to say I am sorry for what I may have said or done, even in the heat of a lively discussion? Each time we hold a trial for un-masonic conduct we degrade the Fraternity just a little bit. The rest of the world finds out about it and the incident becomes fodder for the lies and untruths that they speak about us. The active members of the Lodge are taking sides and no one takes the time to whisper good counsel in the ear of the erring Brother? This in itself borders on un-masonic conduct. None of these disputes are brought about by outside situations but by the members from within. It’s disgraceful!
Being a Mason is Not Easy. It means that you personally must live up to a higher standard than your friend, co-worker or neighbor who is not a Mason. You must be better than he in your attitude, temperament, honesty, friendship, charity, etc., etc., etc. When we see a Brother failing down in some area it is our duty to try and help him in any manner that we can, that means financially, mentally and emotionally. We live today in a fast paced world which generates a lot of pressure on all of us. Not just the men in the plants and offices, but the women who stay at home and try to keep our lives sane and within the bounds of emotional security. When we come home or to Lodge we still carry a vestige of the emotional trauma with us. As a result, we are not always at our best and as such may do or say something that we would not ordinarily say or do. That is the time that your Masonic background should come to the rescue.
We must go the extra distance and ask what we can do, ask what happened and let the Brother pour out his troubles to you. You may not have to do anything but sit and listen but it will make a big difference to your Brother, and that my Brothers, is Freemasonry in action!
As a Master Mason I am asking each of you to go out of your way to practice the tenets of Freemasonry on a regular basis. Every day when you get up I want you to think about the lessons you all learned and how you may be able to apply them to a problem you have at work, home, in your Lodge. Try and find a way to give good counsel to your friends, family and most especially your Brother. Try and heal the wounds that are presently in your Lodge and prevent any more from occurring. These simple acts by each of us will bring us closer together as a Fraternity and will build bonds of friendship that cannot be broken. If we can accomplish that we can eliminate Masonic Trials, which should only be used as a last, resort when all other avenues of resolution have. been tried and failed. Remember, not everyone can be a Mason because Being a Mason is Not Easy!
A Poem by Br. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:
TO THE MOON.
BUSH and vale thou fill'st again
With thy misty ray,
And my spirit's heavy chain
Castest far away.
Thou dost o'er my fields extend
Thy sweet soothing eye,
Watching like a gentle friend,
O'er my destiny.
Vanish'd days of bliss and woe
Haunt me with their tone,
Joy and grief in turns I know,
As I stray alone.
Stream beloved, flow on! flow on!
Ne'er can I be gay!
Thus have sport and kisses gone,
Truth thus pass'd away.
Once I seem'd the lord to be
Of that prize so fair!
Now, to our deep sorrow, we
Can forget it ne'er.
Murmur, stream, the vale along,
Never cease thy sighs;
Murmur, whisper to my song
Answering melodies!
When thou in the winter's night
Overflow'st in wrath,
Or in spring-time sparklest bright,
As the buds shoot forth.
He who from the world retires,
Void of hate, is blest;
Who a friend's true love inspires,
Leaning on his breast!
That which heedless man ne'er knew,
Or ne'er thought aright,
Roams the bosom's labyrinth through,
Boldly into night.
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We can also be found on the internet:
www.mastermason.com/wilmettepark
On Facebook, by searching for Wilmette Park Lodge 931
The Officers and Brethren of Wilmette Park Lodge No.931 look forward seeing you in Lodge and or at any of the events.
Wilmette Park Lodge No.931
Meets, First & Third Thursday of the month, except for October.
Dinner 6:30 pm, Meeting 7:30 pm
Next Meeting: September 4th, 2014
October 16th, 2014
Wilmette Masonic Temple
1010 Central Avenue
Wilmette, IL 60091
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