June 2008 Plumbline from the Grand Master
It's St. John's Day, brothers, one of twin annual remembrances where we honor the two eminent patrons of the Craft, the holy Saints John: St. John the Baptist (today, June 24) and St. John the Evangelist (Dec 27th). Thus it is an auspicious day for a short Plumbline with tidings from the Grand East.
So far we’ve dodged the worst of the weather that has plagued our neighbors to the south and to the west, and have had a pretty easy start to the summer. May the Grand Architect bless you and your lodges in the days and weeks ahead, and continue to favor this marvelous enterprise of ours, Freemasonry, thriving here in Minnesota.
Special Projects - if you were in a college fraternity any time and at any school, please read and respond to the note below. Also, if you have a significant connection to a foreign nation or another state, please also respond to the note below…
First to a topic of charitable urgency. Iowa Flood Relief. Our Junior Grand Warden, Tom Hendrickson and Area Deputies are organizing a work crew to travel to Iowa for one or two days of hard but immensely rewarding work, planned for as early as this Saturday, June 28th. Depending on volunteer availability, they may wait another week or so to depart. IF YOU WISH TO HELP, send your contact information to your Area Deputy, co-copying Grand Secretary Doug Campbell at the Grand Lodge office. Contact info follows this paragraph. Let them know when you can help. We'll provide transportation and food and they are working out potential lodging. We have confirmed that several lodge halls were flooded badly, and that a number of brothers and widows have major losses. May I add, it is comforting to see Iowans rally to help their friends and neighbors, a reminder that charity and community begin at home. There have been NO reports of looting in Cedar Rapids. Just strangers lending a hand. Hmmm.
Doug Campbell grandlodge@qwest.net 952-948-6700
Area Deputies see http://www.mn-masons.org/page1007.aspx
If you don't know which one is your Area Deputy, write to Doug.
And one more topic of charitable urgency: The Brothers of Newport Lodge No. 118 in St. Paul Park have organized a benefit fund raiser for W. Brother Neil Hexum and his family. The benefit for the Hexum family is to help with their ever increasing medical bills. Even with insurance, the expenses just keep mounting Neil has been in the ICU at Regions Hospital since Memorial Day Weekend. He has cancer and the prognosis is not good. The benefit will be at O'Malley's Pub in Woodbury on Saturday, June 28th, 2008 at 12: noon. They are planning a silent auction and other fun activities. Osman/Zuhrah Pipe band will play at 3:00 pm. They are also looking for items for the silent auction in case you can help out that way. Please contact W. Brother John G Hawthorne - jghawthorne@comcast.net for more details or if you want to help in some way.
Recruitment and raising activity is at a rapid pace in many lodges. I tell you, one thing this One-Day-to-Masonry experiment has done is to remind many, many lodges of what really good degree work looks like, and I'm pleased to see individual lodges raising candidates themselves or with a couple of neighboring lodges, whereas a few years ago they wouldn't have thought it possible anymore. Bravo to you, for stepping up.
Kudos as well to the following lodges that are ahead of their recruitment pace already this year:
Minneapolis Lodge No. 19, Corinthian Lodge No. 67, Braden Lodge No. 168. If your lodge should be listed here and it is not, be sure that your new members have been submitted to the Grand Lodge office for inclusion in the Grand Lodge database.
One pleasant event has happened more than once already this year. Sons are raising their fathers, men who until now have not thought to join the Fraternity. Or who have always thought that he had to be asked... Times have changed, and interest and awareness in the Fraternity is way up. One such example is Pete and Chuck Reinert of Star in the East Lodge No. 33 in Owatonna. Are there others? Please let us know as we might want to do a little feature on this phenomenon in an upcoming issue of the Minnesota Mason Newspaper.
Owatonna lodge is sponsoring another One Day Class on October 11th. Time to get those petitions in NOW! Details to follow as forthcoming, but you can contact Doug Campbell in the Grand Lodge office for information or see the Grand Lodge website.
Once again we are hosting Tickets for Troops, a nice tradition begun by MWB Steve Johnson several years back. We provide the families of active servicemen and women free tickets to a Minnesota Gophers football game, along with vouchers for a game day t-shirt. This year the game is Saturday, September 13th. As sponsors, the game day tent on the pavilion is ours, so Masons and their families can mingle with the families of the brave military men and women who join us. The Grand Lodge has developed a significant partnership with our veterans and current servicemen these past few years, with scholarships and other support. This is just one example. Many are now considering membership in the Fraternity. Join us, and meet these fine future brothers and their families! There is a special price for Masons who wish to join us in the fun, and enjoy the game day pavilion tent to the north of the Dome that day. Call Doug Campbell for tickets at 952-948-6700, or write to him at the address above. Cost again this year is just $30.00 and that includes the ticket, a fabulous pregame brunch, the game day t-shirt and a round trip pass on the light rail from Fort Snelling so you do not have to pay to park downtown.
October also brings another milestone, the 50th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone for our Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota. We will mark that milestone with a re-dedication on that same date, October 4th. The plan is to invite Masons from around the state to join with the Grand Lodge officers in a public celebration of this historic event. Look to the Grand Lodge website for more details, at www.mn-masons.org <http://www.mn-masons.org/> .
Happy Anniversary. One of several such events in the past few months, last weekend I visited Pleasant Grove Lodge #22, to join with them in celebrating the 150th anniversary of the founding of their lodge. Lodge volunteers set up sturdy outdoor tents and picnic tables and grilled up a delicious feast of burgers, brats, baked beans and root beet on tap, with a cake for dessert. Besides myself, speakers for the day included a marvelous review of historical highlights, the presentation of 50-, 60- and a 72-year certificates, and an address by Pleasant Grove’s own MWB Phil Soderberg. They had a sound system, and had arranged for the Minnesota Masonic Historical Museum to be present, with a very fine exhibit for the benefit of the many members, families and guests that were present. The lodge had coordinated a special color insert to mark the occasion in the Stewartville paper, copies of which were distributed to all the guests. The weather cooperated, and gave us an altogether wonderful day at this country lodge in the SE. And yes, the officers all wore their nicest bib overalls, per their custom. --Most of them with white shirts and ties.
Brothers, Pleasant Grove is a 60-man rural lodge. The event was well-planned, and an example of pride and brotherly love. I’d recommend this model for any small (but big hearted) lodge celebrating their 50th, 75th, 100th, 125th or 150th anniversary in the coming years. Koochiching Lodge No. 270 in International Falls had a nice open house for their 100th anniversary on June 1st. Other celebrations I know to be on the drawing board include Caledonia Lodge No. 20’s 150th Anniversary on October 16th and Roseau Lodge No. 268’s 100th Anniversary on September 6th.
Special Project 1 -- I’ve a recruitment project in mind, and need the assistance of any brother who was a member of a college or university fraternity. It doesn’t matter which school, nor does it matter when you attended, nor which fraternity. As some of our heavily-recruiting lodges have found out, college fraternity men - “Greeks” - are already attuned to what YOU and I know so well: that Fraternity is a marvelous experience. Hence, if we were to tap in to the many hundreds of graduating Greek Fraternity seniors each year to usher them into membership at local lodges around the state, we’d enjoy a recruitment bump like no other. I won’t give away all the ideas here, but if you have this background, please write me a line, with “Special Project 1” in the subject line. Co-copy Doug Campbell. Let me know your name, contact info, college or university, fraternity in college, years attended, and if you have any current connection with that chapter. I’ll contact you via e-mail with the details. Time commitment would vary, but it could be minimal to very involved. Also, Lodge Masters: I’d appreciate your assistance in finding those members of your lodge with this background. Please alert them to this opportunity and have them contact me at tom@pro-activemktg.com, co-copying Doug Campbell at grandlodge@qwest.net.
Special Project 2 -- If you have a significant connection to a foreign country or another state, and would like to assist Masonic travelers who might occasionally visit between here and there, I’d like to know. Perhaps you travel somewhere regularly for business, or did so at one time and still have those contacts. Perhaps you have family member or you yourself are from another state or nation. Or you have a child living elsewhere on the globe. I am currently filling open Grand Rep positions on behalf of other jurisdictions, and would like to know about your connection there if you are willing to serve as our ambassador to that other grand lodge. NO PROMISES, but if I can appoint you to an open position for which you qualify, I will be happy to do so. We’d also like to keep a short list of those members who might be interested, should an opening appear. Please write me with your contact info and a summary of your connection to that part of the world, at tom@pro-activemktg.com, co-copying Doug Campbell at grandlodge@qwest.net.
Brothers, my best wishes to you all for a happy and productive summer. Look for those Masonic rings when you travel, and say hello to Hiram for me.
Thomas C. Jackson
Grand Master
News In Minnesota Masonry
KidsID at the 2008 Great Minnesota Get Together
Come join us at the Great Minnesota Get Together.
The KidsID booth will be running at the Education Building on thge State Fairgrounds again this year, and we expect thousands of children to need our services. Our booth needs eight people per shift (spouses, family and friends) and with three shifts per day we need volunteers. Shift 1, 9am-1pm , shift 2, 1pm-5pm, and shift 3, 5pm-9pm. We need to get our schedule set for the season, and times are on a first come basis. Come join with our good work. Please check the calendar page on the Grand Lodge website for the up to date list of shifts needed.
Bruce L. Clarke, Cell 651-398-3005
Sr. Warden, Saint Johns Lodge No. 1