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Free Masonry
By Chuck Anway, Wise Master
Freemasonry
is, and always has been, an educational institution, and properly
considered, a Masonic lodge is a Temple of Learning where Masons seek
"enlightenment" illumined by the lessons enshrined in the Ritual
Charges and Lectures and embodied in the traditional history and dramatic
allegories of this Ancient and Honorable Society.
Masons, as
individuals, endeavor to extend their personal experience in order to gain
a deeper insight and study to expand their knowledge to achieve a fuller
understanding of the eternal verities.
Masonic
knowledge is cumulative and learning is sequential, and like the Operative
Stonemasons of old, we "build from the ground up". In the
course of our schooling in the lodge, as in all institutions of higher
learning, "degrees" are conferred "according to
merit and ability" to mark the student's progress. In the Ancient
and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry there are no less than
thirty-three degrees!
....(Someone has calculated that there are at least 110 in the various
rites, orders and appendant or concordant bodies of modern Freemasonry!)
The
significance of the several degrees in Freemasonry may be symbolized in the
simple mathematical instrument: the protractor: the small
semi-circular device we all used in elementary school to measure angles in degrees.
No, it is
not one of the symbolic "Working Tools" employed in
Masonic Ritual, but look at it for a moment through the eyes of a Mason.
First, observe that the lines radiate from a central point, the point where
we stand at the center of our Universe.
Secondly, as
the circle of our experience grows ever larger, the radiating lines spread
apart or diffuse. The farther we extend the lines defining the angle,
the broader the horizon and the wider our outlook. Thirdly, the more
degrees we add, the closer the circle approaches completion. However,
even with all the degrees available in Freemasonry, we cannot expect to
achieve "perfection," because our Quest will continue to the end
of time. In this life we press toward the mark of our high calling.
Before you
put the protractor back in its case, place it on the table and look down at
it from above. Do you see the outline form of a spiral stair like
those constructed by medieval operative masons in the walls of the gothic
cathedrals? Does it not resemble the "Winding Stair" by
which we ascend by degrees toward the Ideal? Finally, flip
it over. Now the circle is completed. You still stand at the center,
but the world of Freemasonry is all around you, and you are surrounded and
supported by a full circle of men you know as your Brethren all over the
globe.
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Greetings from South Dakota
By
Don Higgerson
Well I guess you could say that most of you were
right. We all want to get back to the Pacific
Northwest. The lightning and thunder storms are fun to watch
at first but I have seen enough of them now. I also have enough of the
tornado warnings.
It is beginning to warm up and I do have my garden
in and it is doing pretty well.
Masonry is another thin I really miss living here.
As I have said before the closest lodge is 50 miles away and it is really
hard to get into lodge function when you only see the Brethren once a month
for a couple hours.
With the gas prices what they are, (better here
than there), it also presents a problem getting to other lodges that I
might want to visit. I might get a chance to travel to the Shrine Hospital
in Minneapolis
this next month. A bus from Watertown
will be going there with some kids from that area. Grand Lodge is in Rapid City this year
and again the cost to go is just not in the cards. It isn't like the Grand
Lodge of Washington where I know a lot of the Brothers and feel welcome to
be there.
I have been pretty busy building, re-gripping and
tuning up golf clubs for a number of the golfers in the area. I am playing
in a golf league in Milbank SD. and that is enjoyable to a point. It really
isn't as friendly as it is back HOME. The friends that we made that were
the cause of us moving back here really were not the friends we thought
them to be.
He is a Mason but not the kind of Mason I am use
to. She has turned out to be a rather greedy person and one that we no
longer associate with. The problem is that we live only about 300 yards
away from them. They are not the only unfriendly people here. We have made
a few friends but for the most part this is not a friendly part of the
country. We get the feeling that if you weren't born and raised here and
lived all your life here you are not very welcome.
Well enough about us. I truly wanted to thank you
all for the Valley News. Especially
I want to thank Steve Cronkhite for taking the time to put it together and
get it out to everyone. I think I have read the last on three times already
and wished I was there to enjoy all that is going on. It sounds as though
you are doing great and the lodge is busy.
Without a Scottish Rite here or at least closer
than 100 miles away I really miss that part of Masonry. Thank you again for
keeping us informed as to what is going on and for just thinking about us
that are so far away from HOME.
God bless you all!!
Don Higgerson
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