August 2020

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From the East
Herbert "Tom" Tompkins, PM, Master

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Here comes August and the heat is here.  We received an e-mail from our Grand Master reinforcing the e-mail he sent out in March discontinuing all masonic meetings.  He is following the guidelines set forth by the Governor of California.  In looking at the news, the number of this Chinese flue cases is increasing and the number of deaths resulting from thus flu is increasing as well. Not very encouraging news.  Please wear your mask when you are out in public and maintain your social distancing.
Brother Colter Hostek is moving to Jackson California and is resigning from our officer’s line.  Colter has worked extremely hard and was ready to move up to the Senior Deacon chair.  We will miss having Colter at our stated meetings and our practices, it has been my honor and privilege to work with Colter since he joined our lodge.  Best of luck young man.
Congratulations and a huge THANK YOU to brother George Sims who stepped up to take Brother Hostek’s place in our officer’s line.  Brother Sims recently joined our officer’s line as Junior Steward and has been studying hard during this pandemic. Brother Sims will be ready to hit the ground running when our meetings resume.
More good news, we will have a couple of applications for membership when we return to our meetings.  Also, we have a few Brothers who have been cracking the books while this flu thing is going on.  Brother Michael Allen is ready to do his EA proficiency, Brother Peter Durgen and Brother Tyler Wilson have been working on their respective proficiencies. Brother Joe Grover has been working on his Master Mason proficiency. Congratulations to you all for your hard work during these strange times.
All your officers will be working in advance stations when we return. (That makes me working on the “retired for the second time” position.
I apologize there is not that much to report, if you know of someone in our lodge who needs assistance or needs someone to talk to, please let me know.
Stay well.

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From the West
Julius C. Cadorna, Senior Warden

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As the month of August approaches the lodge opening up is not looking too good with what’s happening in our society. We have surge of new cases of Covid-19 as a correlation with the events happening in our society. It looks like we are back to square one again. The virus does not discriminate. It doesn’t care what your religion, political side, sexual orientation, it will eventually find its way to a weak host, and if the weak host unfortunately does not survive the virus, this time there will be a no do over. It is our responsibility to protect others, it is not the time to be selfish. We can protect others by being responsible with our own action. With the things happening in our society it clearly show that we need to show more compassion and love for one another and that’s where freemasonry core values comes in. Integrity, Friendship, Respect, Faith, Hope and Charity is what we need especially during this hard times.
My family has been blessed enough that everybody is staying healthy, and the same thing I wish with everybody. Let’s all beat this virus so we can go back to our normal life without having of fear of doing anything. 

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From the South
Robert D. Henning, Junior Warden

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Freemasonry and Brotherhood

The fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons has members from every ethnic group and every continent in the world. Brotherhood is a primary teaching of Masonry--that each person must be judged as an individual, on his own merits, and that such factors as race, national origin, religious creed, social status, or wealth are incidental to the persons character. 
Freemasonry was brought to North America in the 1700's, at a time when racial attitudes were very different from today. As happened with many  churches and social organizations, these attitudes caused Freemasonry for African American men to develop independently. In 1776 a group of African American Masons in Boston began meeting as a lodge; they were formally chartered by England in 1784 as African Lodge #459. African Lodge and its descendants developed a separate Grand Lodge system, known as Prince Masonry (after the first Master of African Lodge).Prince Hall Grand Lodges ascribe to the same beliefs and rituals of Freemasonry as do all regular Masonic Lodges throughout the world.
Since a petition for membership in Masonry does not ask a petitioner's race, statistics on ethnic breakdowns are not kept by any Grand Lodge. Collecting such information is considered as inappropriate as collecting information about a Brothers Financial standing. A lodge is not permitted to accept or exclude a candidate on the basis of his race or national origin. To petition for membership, the petitioner must be "a man of legal age, good reputation, and possess a belief in a "Supreme Being." While election to membership in the fraternity is a matter for the local lodge to decide, the qualifications for membership are standard, and all Masons are required to observe them.                 
Stay safe my brethren and we will meet again in the future coming months.

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From the Hallboard
Herbert "Tom" Tompkins, PM - President

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​Hello Brethren
Greetings from your Hallboard,
Your Hallboard had our first Zoom Meeting and it was a success.  Even though there are no meetings at our lodge, there are a few housekeeping items that your Hallboard needed to discuss. The lodge is not charging any of our tenants rent during this flu situation, however, there are still bills that need to be paid.  The Hallboard is looking into getting a commercial disinfectant sprayer so the lodge, bathrooms, dining room, kitchen and patio can be disinfected after each use.
The upstairs library is looking to have new carpet and a computer installed.  Also, the possibility of extending the heating and air conditioning duct work to include the upstairs library. Secretary Bob Jackson will be getting prices on resurfacing and relining our parking lots to be completed after August 15th.
There are still folks getting in our back-parking lot over the dumpster and then jumping the fence.  We need to address this issue soon. (Electrified razor wire comes to mind)
Hopefully, we will be able to meet again soon.
Until then,

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From Your Secretary

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iMember 2.0: Social Feed for all Lodges
Your old Lodge App is now the Social Feed in the all-new iMember 2.0. All lodges and members have access to this exciting new feature and can install it directly to your phone or on any computer.
LOGIN to iMember: http://masons.informz.net/z/cjUucD9taT04MDEwMjc4JnA9MSZ1PTc5MjYwMTU2OCZsaT02NjU4MjE5Mw/index.html 

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​​Copied from the Masonic Service Association of North American
Brother Roosevelt Helps Arthur Godfrey During World War  II, according to an often-related story, radio personality Arthur Godfrey  wanted to fly for  the U.S. Navy. Turned down repeatedly; he sought aid from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was a Master mason.
The President called in a Navy officer and asked why. The officer told FDR that the Navy couldn’t give Godfrey a commission because of leg injuries he had sustained in an auto accident.
According to Godfrey, FDR said, “Can he walk” “Yes, he can walk,” the Navy aide replied. “Give it to him,” Brother Roosevelt answered impatiently. “I can’t walk and I’m the Commander-in-Chief.”

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Masons 4 Mitts

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​In baseball, the slide is a key—and exciting—part of the game. Not so much when it comes to childhood education!
This year, as California students confront an unprecedented disruption to all aspects of their lives, Masons4Mitts is focused on minimizing the effects of a “COVID slide.” Research shows that for many students, academic achievement slows or even declines over the summer months, referred to as the “summer slide.” And with the social and economic impacts of COVID-19, there’s fear that a one-two punch of the rapid change to distance learning and normal summer losses will have far-reaching effects on the most at-risk students.
That’s why this season, Masons4Mitts is proud to introduce the Super Summer Book Bag: A one-stop goodie bag filled with expertly vetted and age-appropriate reading and math material, compiled by the literacy experts at the national nonprofit Raising A Reader. These bags will be distributed through our Major League Baseball partners to kids throughout the state—all in addition to the classic leather baseball mitts that have defined Masons4Mitts for so long.
This summer, let’s rally together for California youth! Give today and help us support the kids.

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