Community Lodge 292 F&AM

The degree team from Windhorst and Community Lodges is planning to put on a Master Mason degree on Monday, July the 16th with dinner at 6:30 and degree to follow at 7:30.  The degree will be held at Community Lodge.  Practice is ongoing at Windhorst Lodge and has been moved from Wednesday to every Tuesday evening at 7:00 pm.  Please feel free to join in as we can use all the help we can get and there are still a few positions to be filled.

Trestleboard April 2012

Here is a link to the PDF of our April Trestleboard.  Paper copies will be in the mail soon.

Community Lodge and Windhorst Lodge will be putting on an EA degree for three candidates on Wednesday, April 18th at Windhorst Lodge on Nebraska Ave.  Dinner at 6:30 with degree to commence at 7:30.  This is part of the ongoing work to develop a degree team with members from both lodges.  We are also practicing the MM degree and will be setting a date soon for that degree.  Practice is every Wednesday night at Windhorst Lodge and everyone is welcome.  Very casual and lots of fun.

After weeks of pressure washing, scraping, priming and sealing, the first two coats of the new white paint were applied to the first section today.  Brother Northrup spent all day on the ladder cutting in the letters while I was rolling away.  I think the new whiter white looks very nice and clean and fits well with the style of the building.  Anyone wishing to get in on the fun, please feel free to contact me anytime.  We will continue with the pressure washing as we work our way around the building……great fun!!!   Thanks to everyone who has pitched in on the effort.

We also still need to get started on the porch floors….the old tiles have been removed and we can begin cleaning / resurfacing anytime.  Again, feel free to jump in…

Our first practice took place on Wednesday night at A. W. Windhorst.  We had a fairly good turn out from both lodges.  I would like to thank the Brothers from Windhorst for hosting these practices and joining us in this effort.

We will be holding another practice next Wednesday, March 14, a 7:00pm at A.W. Windhorst.  These practices should be every Wednesday from now on.

From the East

Brothers, I hope this new year is treating everyone well.  I would like to congratulate all or our incoming newly elected and appointed officers, I think this year will be very productive.  We are focusing on building improvements and appearance, as well a new candidates.  We are looking for help in painting our building, labor, paint, moral support, etc.

WM:. Keith A. Crews

From the West

I stumbled across this one recently, thought I would share it.  I have no idea who wrote it, but I liked it.

Code Of Ethics Of Masonry

*Adore the Great Architect of the Universe.

*Love your neighbor

*Do good, sympathize with the weak, shun the malevolent, but do not hate anybody

*Talk with respect to superior, with prudence to peers, with sincerity to friends, and with tenderness to the poor.

*Always listen to the voice of your conscience.

*Avoid disputes and shun insults; on such occasions utilize your reason.

*Respect women. Never abuse them and die before dishonoring them.

*If the Grand Architect of the Universe gives you a son, that Him but tremble for the deposit He has entrusted to you in the future, you will be for that child the image of the deity. Make sure he fears you until age 10, loves you until age 20, and respects you until death. Until 10 be his teacher, until 20 his father, and until death his friend.

*Teach your children sound principles before fine manners. See that they owe you a clarified doctrine before a frivolous elegance, and that they prefer to be honorable men rather than able men.

*Read and make the most of your reading. Observe and imitate. Reflect and work. See that everything redounds to the benefit of mankind rather than your own benefit.

*Be always content for everything, with everything, and of everything.

*Never rashly judge the actions of men by either pardoning or condemning them.

God is the only one who can pass judgment on their works.

SW:. David Turner

From the South

My brothers, another year has arrived and with it new brothers, new officers and new responsibilities.  As the Junior Warden, the duty of keeping our brothers fed falls to me.  But these meals are about more than just sustenance.  Traditionally, the meals served before or after a Masonic communications are called an Agápe (pronounced ah-gah-pey).  This Greek word means both the love of God for man and for unselfish, charitable, brotherly love.  The word also refers to the Agape Feast (or Love Feast) as practiced in ancient time by Christians and in the present day by our Fraternity.  The Agape is one of the cornerstones of fellowship and brotherly love in any Lodge and ours is no different.  We meet with our brothers to enjoy one another’s company, share our lives and families, discuss issues in our fraternity and offer assistance to those that are poor or distressed.  Remember that when a candidate is prepared for any degree he is symbolically completely destitute, but he carries with him the food and brotherly love offered preceding the degree and is instructed to remember that great lesson of charity in his future walks through life.  I hope that many of our brothers that I have not met or those that have not been with us recently will return to us to share in these agápe meals and join in the fellowship once more.  I leave you with this toast and hope it finds you well:

“To all poor and distressed brethren, Wheresoever they may be, On the land, the sea or in the air.
A speedy relief from their suffering, And a safe return to their native land, If they so desire.
(Response) To all poor and distressed brethren.”

JW:. Wayne P. Middleton

From the Secretaries Desk

My Brothers, we have a new year ahead of us, I would like to make this a year when some of you Brothers who have not been active in Lodge become active again and help move the Lodge forward.  We have several Brothers who will be raised this year and several to be passed.  We could use your help in putting on these degrees.  Please don’t think that if you have been inactive for a while all is forgotten, it only takes on practice to freshen your memory.

I urge you to come to Lodge to meet your new officers for 2012, they are the ones that keep the Lodge functioning.

I want to again thank all of you Brothers who have paid your 2012 dues, your response is appreciated.

We have experienced some problems in getting this trestleboard out in a timely and informative manner, we hope to do a better job this year, if you have ome input please do not hesitate to let us know, this is your report on the Lodge business.

PM:. Matthew K. Jones

UPDATE: Due to scheduling conflicts, these practices will be held at A. W. Windhorst Lodge exclusively.

Community Lodge is teaming up with A. W. Windhorst Lodge for the purpose of building a permanent degree team for our area.  This is still in the early stages, but we are making progress.

As such, we have rescheduled our Degree Practice night to Wednesday at 7:oopm to accommodate both District 22 and 23 schedules.

Brothers from any area Lodge are welcome to join us as this will hopefully remain a long term project.

The date for our upcoming Master Mason degree has not been set yet, but we are projecting somewhere within the next six weeks.

Please excuse my mess as I update our calendar system.  When completed, the new one will let you sync and subscribe our calendar to your Google Calendar and other iCalendar compatible programs, making it much easier to keep track of events.

Last night was the District Deputy Grand Masters official visit.  I would like to thank RW Edwards and his traveling party for an informative presentation and the offer for help in improving our lodge.

This Thursday, the 16th, we will be paying a visit to A. W. Windhorst #185 for fellowship and to discuss a combined effort in our upcoming Master Mason degrees.  Dinner is at 6:00pm and meeting is at 7:00pm.

A reminder that this Saturday at Fellowship Lodge is a Masonic Education Workshop at 8:30am and Memorial Lodge at 10:00am.  This is also Fellowship Lodge’s monthly breakfast, so fill belly and your mind.

This Sunday is our Lodge work day.  Pressure washing will begin and any other small repairs can be made.  If you would like to help with any aspect, please stop by.  We should be there early in the morning until the afternoon.

Next Monday is no meeting, but we will be holding an Officer’s meeting to discuss our various programs and Lodge business.  Degree or Catechism practice will most likely happen.  Degree Practice on Tuesday.

Brothers, we are beginning our 2012 round of degree practice and education.   Practice nights will be every Tuesday starting tomorrow January 24th.  At the moment we will be practicing the Master Mason degree as our Fellowcrafts near proficiency in their catechisms.  We need as many members to attend as we can, especially for the second half of the degree where there are a greater number of roles to fill.  For those in need of catechism practice or any other topic, please attend.

A reminder, Masters and Wardens is this Friday, the 27th, at 7pm at Fellowship Lodge.  This is the first meeting of the year and any officers or members that can attend are encouraged to do so.

We will be having a Family Night dinner on Monday, the 31st.  As usual, bring a covered side dish.  The Lodge will provide the main dish and beverages.  As always, there is no charge and it is open to all Masons and their families.

Our officers have been installed and our first meeting conducted without a hitch.  Already we have begun work on replacing the urinals in the men’s bathroom, are in the process of buying our new refrigerator and are planning work to strip and repaint the building.  Nearly every officer this year is brand new to their chair and are excited to make our lodge something to be proud of.

Our new officers and committees have been updated, you can view them following the links in the navigation bar at the top of this page.  Pictures will be added soon.

Keep an eye out for your Trestleboard in the mail, they are being mailed soon.

Our calendar has also been updated for the year,  all important meetings and education events are now listed for the 2012 year.  If you find any errors, feel free to comment or email me corrections.

I am personally doubling my efforts to make this the best lodge website in the district and encourage anyone with comments or suggestions to leave a comment below, I hope to get as many brothers as possible involved.  Additionally if you would like to write or post an article on this site, please feel free to also leave a comment or email me.