TRESTLEBOARD

September 2001

Greetings Brethren:

Summer is almost over. For the kids who are already back in school, it is over. Of course for those of us who can travel & vacation without kids, this is the best time to travel. But before you get too far away, breakfasts are coming back! Saturday, September 22 will be the first one of the new season. Food will be served from 9-11:00am. As usual its free, bring the family & enjoy some fellowship. For those of you who haven't been to lodge in a while this is a great opportunity to get reacquainted. Besides, not only is the food free, but its good.

Speaking of food, one reason we're getting this Trestleboard out is there are a couple of events coming up before the next stated meeting so we wanted to make everyone aware of them. I'm sure that brother in the SE corner will fill you in on the details, but I hear Mr. Bonfiglio will be preparing a spaghetti dinner for one of our youth groups soon - rumor has it nobody makes spaghetti like Mr. Bonfiglio. Also, Spartan Lodge in Millersburg has a steak fry coming up as well.

Well I'm sure by now everyone heard of the tragedy at the Medina fair. What most brethren probably don't know are the three luckiest people in Medina Lodge are JW Carl Thompson, SS Fred Justice, and Sec. Vaughn Cover. That's because if it wasn't for Roger Thomas, Lloyd Egbert and myself going to the Fair Office to complain about the water being so bad we had to purchase bottled water to make coffee & donuts, we would have been standing in front of that tractor (and Roger & I had our children with us too) when it exploded. Bad enough it drove right past us & Fair Commissioner Bertran just before it exploded. That would've meant Carl would be sitting in the East, Fred in the West, and Vaughn having to train them in a hurry to get this Trestleboard out (as well as all of the other business that goes on with the lodge). So I guess we should all be thankful that the Grand Architect was looking after us!

We should have lots of candidates returning & petitions to be voted on. It should be a busy fall.

See you in lodge,

Larry.

The Lodge was recognized in the Spring 2001 issue of the Beacon, a joint publication of the Grand Lodge of Ohio and the Ohio Masonic Home, for donating $1,000+ to the Home. This is the second consecutive year for this recognition, to the knowledge of this Secretary (he didn't notice such things prior to being installed in the Southeast Corner a couple of years ago). The donation, $1,285.00, was the sum of the contributions graciously and generously given by individual brothers above and beyond their annual dues. Thank you Brethren, Charity is the greatest of all virtues.

A non-profit organization, Challenger Little League provides children with physical and mental disabilities an opportunity to participate in the sport of baseball. Now in need of a facility dedicated to meeting their special requirements, Challenger Little League has asked for the financial support of the community. Medina Lodge, being an ardent supporter of the Special Olympics, and Medina Youth Baseball, recognizes the value of this activity to the children involved and to our community in general. The facility, to be constructed at Sam Masi Park, will be the first of its kind in the Midwest.

Denise Fink, one of three harpists from the trio known as Harp to Harp, has been playing the instrument since she was 8 years old. Her grandfather, a Freemason, would bring her to his lodge and proudly watch as she entertained at their gatherings, thereby gaining valuable experience performing in front of live audiences. Now she has earned a degree from The Cleveland Institute of Music, teaches harp, performs professionally, and still feels at home in a Masonic Lodge Room. She knows how to please a crowd, as those assembled for Ladies Night at Medina Lodge last June can attest.

.

Taking advantage of the lull between quarters at Kent State University, Medina DeMolay member Dan Bonfiglio took his first step in Freemasonry June 21, 2001 by receiving the Entered Apprentice Degree conferred by Worshipful Brother Donald Schmidt.

Dues for the 2002 membership year are $45.00, and are payable on or before the November 8, 2001 Annual Meeting.

Thursday, September 13^th, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, September 27^th, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, October 11^th, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, October 25^th, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, November 8^th, 7:30 p.m.

Practice for Installation

Friday, November 16^th, 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, November 15^th, 7:00 p.m. - Refreshments after Meeting

Saturday, November 17^th, 7:00 p.m. - Refreshments after Installation

Thursday, May 16^th, 2002

Dinner at 6:30 p.m. - PM's open Lodge & confer FC Degree at 7:30 p.m.

Ladies' Night

(An Open Event)

Thursday, June 20^th, 2002

Dinner at 6:30 p.m. - Entertainment at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, February 7^th (or 21^st)

Open at 6:00 p.m., Dinner at 6:30 p.m., Degree at 7:30 p.m.

Menu and exact date t.b.a. in future edition

Thursday, November 22^nd

Thursday, December 27^th

Saturday, September 22^nd, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Saturday, October 27^th, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Medina Masonic Temple Dining Hall

Sunday, June 23^rd, Time t.b.a. in future edition

First Christian Church, Michael R. Cassady, Pastor

3611 Center Road (SR 303), Brunswick

Unscheduled as of Press Time

Courtesy of http://www.msu.edu/~benyouss/fmason3.htm

(Continued from the June Trestleboard)

No non-Mason who may chance to knock at the door of a lodge can have his petition received, still less voted on, unless he has first proved himself to possess certain qualifications. All the mystifications which have been woven about the subject can be dispelled at a stroke, by asking a single question, which also is a simple one: Qualified for what? It is obvious that Shakespeare was qualified to write the greatest plays ever penned; but he may not have been qualified for membership in the iron monger's gild. Albert Einstein was qualified to discover the theory of relativity, but possibly was not qualified for work in a factory. A lad who is qualified to enter a liberal arts college, may not be qualified for a school in medicine or in law.

Qualified for what? Freemasonry's own answer to that question is, qualified to be a Mason, Qualified to be a member of the lodge, and to perform his duties therein.

Among the forty-nine Grand Lodges in the United States there is a certain amount of variation in their formulations of the qualifications required; but the differences are nearly always in phraseology, not in substance. A petitioner must be of lawful age; he must be morally responsible for his actions; ethically, he must be "under the tongue of good report;" he must come of his own free will and accord; physically he must at least be able to perform the Masonic duties which will be required of him, and have sufficient monetary means to pay his share of expenses; and he must be personally acceptable to the men already in the lodge's membership, because he must be agreeable to them, since from then on. he will be bound to each of them by the Mystic Tie.

A non-Mason cannot demand membership but must humbly seek it. In the language of the lodge he is called a petitioner and the form which he signs is called a petition. Even if a lodge is willing to receive his petition, his status remains unchanged until the petition has been balloted on.

The petition itself, along with whatever information may accompany it, must show that the petitioner possesses the required qualifications. This is a fact of the first importance because it means that a man cannot even begin to apply for admittance into the Masonic Fraternity unless he already has the reputation for possessing a sound character. Freemasonry is not a reformatory. Its purpose is not to turn bad men into good men, but to make good men better. Also, it tries to make them happier, and does so by surrounding them with friends and fellows, and by opening up vistas and opportunities for many things both fine and great.

Once a man is admitted into a lodge he is not permitted to run loose in it. Freemasonry is a constituted fraternity. Above and behind it are the Ancient Landmarks, which neither a lodge nor a Grand Lodge can alter or ignore. A Grand Lodge itself has its own constitution. A lodge has its own installed officers, fixed orders of procedure, and tolerates no violation of peace and harmony. Nothing ever is altered to suit the position, fame, fortune, or personal predilections of a petitioner; he must accept Freemasonry as it is, or let it alone. A lodge itself cannot come into existence unless the Masons who will compose it pledge themselves to abide by the Ancient Landmarks, the constitutions, and the general laws; it cannot decide for itself what Freemasonry is or is not, and could never do so even though its members might vote unanimously to make the attempt. It is as if Freemasonry were to say: I am what I am. My members must accept me as I am or not at all. It would be better for me not to exist than for the members here, there and everywhere to keep altering me to correspond with their own schemes, theories, or whims.