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September, 2007
 FROM THE EAST
 Charles H. Tupper, Master

 

 

t is September again and schools all over are opening for the year.  Our Accelerated Reader program will supply more   bicycles for drawings in our schools and we are all eager   to find   out how   St. John's   support

  is helping to teach our children.

This month is just the right time for us to receive reports on the progress of the Accelerated Reader.  Representatives from Cedar Way Elementary, Sacajawea Elementary, and John Rogers Elementary Schools will be here to tell us how the programs are progressing in each school.  They will tell us about how our money goes to help them teach the kids better reading skills.  They will also let us know what is needed for the 2007 - 2008 school year.

Last spring marked the end of the first year that St. John's Lodge No. 9 supplied bicycles to these schools each term to reward students in the Accelerated Reader program. Students became eligible to enter a drawing for the bicycles by reading books  according to a plan set up
by the administrators.  We will find out how much success this program has actually had during the entire past year.

Our Lodge Secretary, VWBro. Jim Russell, tells us that one of his neighbor's children kept leaving a bicycle outside without locking it. When he approached the parent to suggest that it was likely to be stolen if this continued, he found out that the bike was won at a drawing at Cedar Way Elementary.  We bought the bike and I thought it interesting that one should appear so close to one of our active members.  It gave VWBro. Jim a smile and a chance to blow the horn of St. John's Lodge No. 9 in the complex where he lives.

In order to slowly bring us back to Lodge attire we will have a wild socks and ties contest a this Stated Communication.  I will find some wonderful prizes for the most outlandish and have three of my officers, who are not eligible because they are required to wear their tuxedo lodge attire, judge the aspirants.  I expect to see some really strange socks and tie combinations.  It will be fun.

WB Marv Pearson and I are putting on ritual classes on the second Monday of each month for all officers of Lodges in Districts 4 and 5 at the Greenwood Masonic Center.  We have a Deputy of the Grand Master present with the Standard Work to correct errors and we teach the nuances of delivery.  These classes will help everyone who is in the line in all of our Lodges to learn the opening and closing ritual with meaning and correct wording. 

See you all at the September Stated on the 19th.

Coming to Dinner at 6:15? RSVP at  206 623-0261 or email the Secretary at stjohns9@seattlemasons.org.

  

     Happy Birthday to us! September 4, 1860    

 

FREEMASONRY FOR DUMMIES

Okay, let's get it out of the way right up front - the title sucks.  I'm surely not the first who heard the name of this book and thought 'Oh, great!  One thing Freemasonry doesn't need is more dummies!'

 But my own curiosity persuaded me to take a look, and I'm hoping to do the same for you, because as soon as you start flipping through you'll realize that this book wasn't written to appeal to dummies; the men it will attract to the Craft won't be dummies, and the author (Christopher Hodapp) certainly isn't any dummy.  In fact, this might be the best general book on Freemasonry any Mason or non-Mason could want.

Freemasons for Dummies belongs on every Masonic bookshelf.

And guess what?  It's available through our company store!   

CALENDAR

·   September 11 (6:15pm) 7pm:  (dinner) Master Mason degree

·   September 19 (6:15pm) 7:30pm:  St. John's 9 (dinner) Stated Wild Socks and Tie Contest

·   September 26 (7pm): Officers meeting

·   October 8 (7-9pm):  Ritual instruction classes at Greenwood

·   October 10 (5pm):  Board of Trustees (08 Budget preparation)

·   October 11 (7pm):  degree

·   October 17 (6:15pm) 7:30pm:  St. John's 9 (dinner) Stated

·   November 5, (7:30pm):  Eureka Lodge No. 20 Officer Installation

·   November 21 (6:15pm) 7:30pm:  St. John's 9 (dinner) Stated  Election of Officers, Past Masters Night

SEPTEMBER STATED MARKS RUN TO YEAR'S END

 

Suits are in - Good taste in socks and ties are out!

Suit and tie will again be the attire of the day as summer winds to a close and the Master calls the Craft to order, Wednesday, September 19.  To add a little twist, prizes will be awarded to those who come dressed in the wildest socks and tie.
                                               		 
Following dinner prior to the stated communication, representatives from John Rogers, Sacajewea and Cedar Way Elementary Schools are expected to be present to bring us up to date on what is happening in their respective accelerated reader programs.

For the past nine years, elementary students have enjoyed the benefits extended by the members of St.  John's .  They are  improving their  reading skills
in large part because the Lodge has been 100% of the support for the accelerated reader program at one school and has given a major shot in the arm at two others.  St. John's has worked with John Rogers Elementary school in northeast Seattle since 1998 to provide books for the A/R program.  At John Rogers, significant improvement in the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) test scores for math and reading are being attributed in part to the program.  Cedar Way Elementary in Mountlake Terrace was added in 2002, and Sacajewea Elementary (Seattle) began the program in 2005.

The students and their parents know where this support is coming from.

What on earth is an accelerated reader book?

The elementary school kids know.  You check out a book from your school library or your teacher and you go home and read it.  Then you go to a school computer, insert the software and the computer asks you questions about the book.  It determines how well you read the book, what you remember, and scores you on your answers.  The kids get points for each book and a real sense of accomplishment.  They love getting on the computer.  And, along with their parents and teachers, they know the grade level of their reading comprehension.  Each student agrees to a target of reading level comprehension.

WBro. Charles Tupper hopes for a good attendance at this September Stated as he and his officers begin to close out this Masonic year.  All Masons are invited to join us for a full evening of programming and business.  Dinner begins at 6:15.  Please let the Secretary know you and a guest will be in attendance so we can give the chef an accurate count!

  

A group of Masons were sitting together after Lodge and conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and in life.  After listening quietly, the old Past Master went to the kitchen and returned with a tray containing several cups and a pot of coffee.  On the tray sat an  assortment of cups - porcelain, crystal, glass, plastic, some cups were exquisite, some were plain, and some were cracked or chipped. The PM told his Brothers to help themselves.

Once everyone had a cup of coffee in hand, the PM said, "Notice that all the attractive and expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and defective ones.   While it is human nature to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems.  What you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously chose the best cup and were eyeing each other's cup."  The PM continued, "Think of the coffee as Life - life  as  God  intended  us  to   live  full  of   substance,  hope  and

meaning.  Now  think  of  the  cups  as  your  jobs,  money,  worldly  treasures  and social status.  They are useful tools but they are not Life."

"The cups do not change the quality of Life. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided.  Don"t stress over the cups - enjoy the coffee instead!"

Statement of Availability  Something new will be tried this year as we approach the annual election of officers in November.  Any brother who wishes to run for the office of Master, Warden, Secretary, Treasurer or Trustee will be encouraged to submit his statement of availability and a list of his credentials by October 1 to be published in the November Trestleboard.  Statements should be concise due to the limited space available.

IN AND ABOUT THE LODGE IN AUGUST

294 brothers are members of this lodge.  Two remain delinquent in their 2007 dues.   Dues for 2008 will be $13.

Bro. Vincent Kodikal satisfactorily demonstrated his proficiency as a Master Mason in August.

Student scholarships ($20,000+) have been awarded to seventeen students, with up to three more under consideration.

Grand Master MWBro. Wayne Smith installed Bro. Nick Mitchell to the vacated office of Senior Deacon and Bro. Joe Oates to Bro. Nick's vacated office of Senior Steward.  MWBro. Sat Tashiro served as the Installing Marshal.  Bro. Ken Wehl stepped aside as Senior Deacon because of time requirements of his business.    

 

PERSONALIZED MASONIC LICENSE PLATES

Last month, MWBro. Wayne Smith pleaded for those who have not yet purchased a personalized Masonic license plate to do so, as the extra money generated from those sales is directed to the Rite Care program of the Scottish Rite.  Our sales have fallen short on our promises to the Department of Licenses.  The Masonic plate is a way to let the world know who we are.  We say to the men in our community, "To be one ask one."  To do that, they must be able to know who to ask.

 

CHARITY BEGINS..WHERE?

The Board of Trustees reviews all members requests for lodge charity support prior to recommending the annual budget for the coming year.  Any brother who wishes to propose that the lodge support a cause or program should submit his recommendation in writing to one of the members of the Board prior to the budget review meeting October 10.

Who"s on the Board?  The Master and Wardens, the immediate Past Master, the Secretary, the Treasurer, and four elected at-Large:  VWBro. Chuck Brockway, WBro. Hans Wehl, WBro. Jeff Lane, and WBro. Bill Collison.

The town of Joppa was a seaport town that supplied Jerusalem during the construction of King Solomon's Temple. By 1870 it was called Joffa, and today it is a suburb of the modern Israeli town of Tel Aviv.
Freemasonry is kindness in the home, honesty in business, courtesy in society, fairness in work, pity and concern for the unfortunate, resistance toward the wicked, help for the weak, trust in the strong, forgiveness for the penitent, love for one another, and reverence for God. 
                                                                  Author unknown
It was a very hot night at the initiation of a new candidate. The air conditioning was out at the Lodge and the air was heavy. At a certain time during the evening the WM asked the candidate what he most desired. The man answered "a beer." The SD leaned over and prompted him and the candidate then answered "OK, a Lite Beer."

 
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