Happy August, Brethren! Most lodges may be dark, but that doesn’t mean your District is on vacation. This is your monthly update from the DEOs of the Second District.
DGM Rollout – The Deputy Grand Master will roll out his program at Huber Heights Lodge #777 on Wednesday, August 7 at 7PM (Those Huber brethren and their 7’s). This will provide a wonderful educational opportunity to hear what the Deputy Grand Master has planned for his year as GM (if elected). Wardens, LEOs, and secretaries are HIGHLY ENCOURAGED to attend.
DGM Meeting with the SWs – The DGM will be hosting a night to meet with the SWs of our lodges. This will provide a unique opportunity to get to know each other as you both look forward to moving into your respective positions in the East in the coming Masonic year. This will be held on Thursday August 22 at 6:30 PM at Jefferson Lodge #90 in Middletown.
Best Practice Submission – The Grand Lodge of Ohio knows amazing things are happening in our fraternity, especially in the Second Masonic District, and they want to hear about it. If your lodge has identified an issue, formulated a solution, and implemented an action, then you are encouraged to submit this as a Best Practice to the Grand Lodge Education Committee. Your ideas and actions may be exactly what another lodge in the State needs to help them regain vitality. Your LEO or DEO can get the proper form to you and aid in its completion if necessary. Please contact your DEO if there are any questions.
“The secret of Masonry, like the secret of life, can be known only by those who seek it, serve it, live it. It cannot be uttered; it can only be felt and acted. It is, in fact, an open secret, and each man knows it according to his quest and capacity. Like all things worth knowing, no one can know it for another and no man can know it alone.” ~ William Howard Taft
“The genius of Freemasonry is not our Masonic buildings and temples or the trappings of our organizations. It is not our great charities or community activities. It is not our beautiful rituals or their teachings! It is the ‘practice of Freemasonry’ by the Freemasons. Yet we cannot practice that which we do not know or understand. Thus Masonic education is the foundation for our Fraternity.” ~ Carl H. Claudy
For some new LEOs (and a few of the more experienced ones) this is an anxiety inducing question. We often wonder, “How am I going to come up with a new idea for every meeting?”
“Brother LEO, do you have an education program for us?”
“Worshipful, why are there members of your Lodge not in attendance?”
For every Master (and most of the active membership) this seems like an age-old question we continuously struggle to answer.
Why not try for two birds with one stone? LEO programs do not always have to be a reading of a well written article, an emotional poem, or a deeply researched topic. Often the programs that come from the heart are the best – the ones that may be a little rough around the edges. Remember, every Brother in your Lodge has a story to tell. Maybe it is the reason they became a Mason or a way they have been touched by the Fraternity. And most of the time, they are just waiting to be asked.
For your next meeting, consider asking a Brother to tell his story in Lodge. Use it as a way to learn more about new members, a way to let older members reminisce, or a way to encourage “lost” members to return to Lodge. If nothing else, the Brethren will learn a piece of Lodge history which they may not have been aware, hear a heart-touching or inspiring story, be reminded of why they are Masons, or just give some a reason to come to Lodge.
Make the best of this Fraternal experience and enjoy what you do.
Fraternally,
David L. Daugherty
DEO, 2nd Masonic District
MSA: A Good Source for Education Programs
David L. Daugherty, DEO
If you are not familiar with the Masonic Service Association (MSA), it is a Masonic organization that was formed in 1919 and, as their website will tell you, is as relevant today as it was a hundred years ago. The three major functions of the MSA are Education, Disaster Relief and Hospital Visitation. You are encouraged to fully explore their website at www.msana.com, but for this article we focus on the educational offerings of the Association; in particular, the Short Talk Bulletins. The Bulletins are published monthly and include writings under the categories of Leadership, Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, Master Mason, About Individuals, Body of the Craft, Bypaths, Civic and Patriotic, Historical, Inspiration & Charity, In the Lodge, Literature, Philosophy, Religion & Ethics, Symbols & Symbolism, and The War and After.
If your lodge has not already subscribed to the MSA Short Talk Bulletins, you are encouraged to do so. Although a select few are available at no cost on various websites and you can peruse the catalogue of titles in order to purchase individual publications, the subscription cost of $12 per year is an insignificant cost for the educational opportunities and insights provided in the relationship with the Association. Additionally if there is interest, your lodge may purchase collections of past bulletins dating to the 1920’s.
There are many sources available for educational programs. You are therefore encouraged to search and read widely to find programs that are appropriate to the needs of your lodge (or perhaps create your own). You are also encouraged to discuss and share possible programs with Brothers within and without your Lodge. Therefore, the MSA Short Talks are not going to be the only source you need to maintain a healthy, growing Lodge. Nonetheless, they are a good set of tools to have in your bag when the need arises.