Thunderbird Lodge No. 15 Free and Accepted Masons

Temple Talk

552 North 40th Street

Phoenix, AZ 85008-6441

Vol. 17, No. 2                             www.thunderbird15.org               MARCH - APRIL 2010

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NOTICE OF SPECIAL ELECTION

            Thunderbird Lodge #15 will be having a special election for Senior Warden at the April 1 Stated Meeting. The circumstances are that the Master of our lodge is presently in a medical care facility for an undetermined length of time with an infection of his foot and renal problems which require him to have frequent kidney dialysis. Our Senior Warden announced his resignation at the March 4 Stated Meeting because he will have to be moving back to Pennsylvania by April 1 to care for his father who recently had a stroke. This effectively leaves us with our Junior Warden (who is in good health) as the only pedestal officer to preside over the Stated Meetings of our lodge for at least the near future.

            At the March 4 Stated Meeting the brethren who were present voted unanimously to hold this special election and for the Secretary to inform the lodge brothers in our Trestle Board which will be mailed on March 11. Worshipful Master Jeff Grayson was also consulted on this matter in person and he approved of holding the special election.

            Therefore,  Official Notice is being given to brethren of Thunderbird Lodge #15 that we will be holding a special election for Senior Warden at the April 1 Stated Meeting, as well as any other elected offices which may be vacated by the Senior Warden election, at our Stated Meeting on April 1, 2010, pending dispensation from the Grand Master.

James E. Drake, Jr. PM

Secretary

 

From The South:

 

Hello Brethren,

            We had a great time last movie night. The movie was excellent and the sound and video superb. The Pop corn was great and our refreshments satisfactory. But more than anything, the brotherly love among our brothers and family members that were able to attend. Our quest to make our lodge a great place to improve in masonry keeps getting better. Some brothers might say it is a small process and some might see already great improvements. The important thing is that we are trying and preparing ourselves to make our purpose a better reality.  Even though we are having great distress with our Worshipful master’s health situation and our loss of our senior warden very soon, I strongly believe that we will be able to keep our lodge in the right direction. I encourage you to bring ideas for the next stated meeting, which I am confident it will be a very special meeting where I hope we will have an open forum discussion regarding our own lodge and possible ideas that might help us improve. There is a lot of work to be done in our lodge so any help on your part would be a great help.

 

See you there!

Gustavo Rodriguez

Junior Warden

 

From the West:

            Brethren of Thunderbird Lodge #15,

            It is with a very heavy heart that I must tender my resignation as Senior Warden. As some of you may know, my father recently suffered a devastating stroke and it has become necessary for me to return to Pennsylvania to care for him and put his affairs in order. I do not know at this time if or when I will be returning to Phoenix so I thought it would be best for the lodge for me to resign at this time so a new Senior Warden can be elected to carry on in my place.

            I have completed the second installation from Mackey’s Landmarks of Freemasonry for this Trestle Board, continuing on from the first installment in the last Trestle Board, Landmarks 6 - 10:

 

6. The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant Dispensations for conferring degrees at irregular times.
7. The prerogative of the Grand Master to give dispensations for opening and holding Lodges.
8. The prerogative of the Grand Master to make masons at sight.
9. The necessity of masons to congregate in lodges.
10. The government of the craft, when so congregated in a Lodge by a Master and two Wardens.

LANDMARK SIXTH: The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant Dispensations for conferring degrees at irregular times, is another and a very important Landmark. The statutory law of Masonry requires a month, or other determinate period, to elapse between the presentation of a petition and the election of a candidate. But the Grand Master has the power to set aside or dispense with this probation, and allow a candidate to be initiated at once. This prerogative he possessed [in common with all Masters,] before the enactment of the law requiring a probation, and as no statute can impair his prerogative, he still retains the power[, although the Masters of Lodges no longer possess it].^
LANDMARK SEVENTH: The prerogative of the Grand Master to give dispensations for opening and holding Lodges is another Landmark. He may grant, in virtue of this, to a sufficient number of Masons, the privilege of meeting together and conferring degrees. The Lodges thus established are called "Lodges under Dispensation." [They are strictly creatures of the Grand Master, created by his authority, existing only during his will and pleasure, and liable at any moment to be dissolved at his command. They may he continued for a day, a month, or six months; but whatever be the period of their existence, they are indebted for that existence solely to the grace of the Grand Master.]^
LANDMARK EIGHTH: The prerogative of the Grand Master to make masons masons at sight, is a Landmark which is closely connected with the preceding one. There has been much misapprehension in relation to this Landmark, which misapprehension has sometimes led to a denial of its existence in jurisdictions where the Grand Master was perhaps at the very time substantially exercising the prerogative, without the slightest remark or opposition. [It is not to be supposed that the Grand Master can retire with a profane into a private room, and there, without assistance, confer the degrees of Freemasonry upon him. No such prerogative exists, and yet many believe that this is the so much talked of right of "making Masons at sight". The real mode and the only mode of exercising the prerogative is this: The Grand Master summons to his assistance not less than six other masons, convenes a Lodge, and without any previous probation, but in sight of the candidate, confers the degrees upon him, after which he dissolves the Lodge and dismisses the brethren. Lodges thus convened for special purposes are called occasional lodges. This is the only way in which any Grand Master within the records of the institution has ever been known to "make a Mason at sight". The prerogative is dependent upon that of granting dispensations to open and hold Lodges. If the Grand Master has the power of granting to any other Mason the privilege of presiding over Lodges working by his dispensation, he may assume this privilege of presiding to himself; and as no one can deny his right to revoke his dispensation granted to a number of brethren at a distance, and to dissolve the Lodge at his pleasure, it will scarcely be contended that he may not revoke his dispensation for a Lodge over which he himself has been presiding, within a day, and dissolve the Lodge as soon as the business for which he had assembled it is accomplished. The making of Masons at sight is only the conferring of the degrees by the Grand Master, at once, in an occasional Lodge, constituted by his dispensing power for the purpose, and over which he presides in person.]^
LANDMARK NINTH: The necessity [of] |for| masons to congregate in lodges is another Landmark. It is not to be understood by this that any ancient Landmark has directed that permanent organization of subordinate Lodges which constitutes one of the features of the Masonic system as it now prevails, but the landmarks of the Order always prescribed that Masons should from time to time congregate together, for the purpose of either operative or speculative labor, and that these congregations should be called Lodges. Formerly these were extemporary meetings called together for special purposes, and then dissolved, the brethren departing to meet again at other times and other places, according to the necessity of circumstances. But warrants of constitution, by-laws, permanent officers and annual arrears, are modern innovations wholly outside [of] the Landmarks, and dependent entirely on the special enactments of a comparatively recent period.^
LANDMARK TENTH: The government of the craft, when so congregated in a Lodge by a Master and two Wardens, is also a Landmark. [To show the influence of this ancient law, it may be observed by the way, that] a congregation of Masons meeting together under any other government, as that for instance of a president and vice-president, or a chairman and subchairman, would not be recognized as a Lodge, The presence of a Master and two Wardens is as essential to the valid organization of a Lodge as a warrant of constitution is at the present day. The names, of course, vary in different languages, [the Master, for instance, being called "Venerable" in French Masonry, and the Wardens "Surveillants,"] but the officers, their number, prerogatives and duties, are everywhere identical.^

 

Fraternally,

Jon Logan, Senior Warden

 

From the Secretary:

            Brothers, I want to tell you that your lodge is in need of you now more than at any time in the past. We have an election in just a few weeks for Senior Warden and we only have one, maybe two brothers who have the credentials to fill that chair. We still have some unfilled chairs, specifically the Senior Deacon and Junior Steward. We do not presently have a prospect for Master of the lodge or Junior Warden for next year and we should be looking for a new Treasurer and Secretary. We have fewer than a handful of Master Masons who are regularly participating in the Lodge. And I heartily laud them for their efforts, for they have done much, quite often more than they have time or ability to do. In spite of their efforts, they can not do everything that is needed to have a reasonably functional lodge. For some time now we have mostly been spinning our wheels just to get the things done that need to be done to keep the Lodge open.

             How are we to prepare men to hold these officer’s positions if there is no interest by the brothers in the lodge? Who will represent our lodge at Grand Communications? What will the fate of our lodge be if pedestal and elected officer positions remain unfilled? How can we bring new men into the craft if we can’t get a degree team together from our lodge to perform even a single degree, much less a Master Mason degree? How are we to coach our candidates if there are not enough brothers willing to coach them? What are our newly initiated, passed and raised brothers to think when they have just become a member of such a highly regarded Fraternity and continually see an empty room? Maybe the same reason that visiting brothers looking for a new lodge to affiliate with end up somewhere else?

            No brother is more tired than I am of having to get on this soap box, but I just don’t understand it. I know we have a large number of elderly brothers who are unable to come to Lodge, and we have a large number of brothers who live outside of the Phoenix area who can not attend Lodge. But of our collective of 162 brother Master Masons I would think there would be at least a couple of dozen who became a member of this lodge for some reason compelling enough to regularly support it. This lodge has been like an open book for years now – no cliques, no old guys saying “We always did it like this” or “We never did it like that” or with any curious traditions which had to be adhered to. I have visited local Lodges a number of times which do have these conflicts yet these Lodges continue to have a high degree of participation and function very well.

            This will be the last you hear from me on this subject. If you want to support your lodge you will do it by your works, not by your promises. When I was Master I had enough empty promises from this lodge to last a life time as well as enough griping and complaining from brothers who were unwilling to strive towards a resolution. Remember, every time you stay away from Thunderbird Lodge #15 you are voting again by your feet what the fate of this lodge will be.

 

                                                                         James Drake PM, Secretary

 

 

Masonic Birthdays for: March and April

 

John Arganbright                    4/20/1994                    James Hyde                 4/13/2002

Robert Baxter                         4/20/2000                    Roy Judd PM              3/19/1954

Robert Bell PM                       4/18/1973                    Thomas Kinloch, Jr.    3/23/1960

Chuck Bent PM                      4/8/1999                      Edib Kirdar                 3/15/1972

Charles Bentley                       4/13/2002                    Raymond Marks         4/8/1982

Thomas Bouck                        4/22/1981                    Alfred Mathena          3/28/1984

Raymond Brown                    4/27/1961                    Freddie McDaniel       3/15/1973

Bobby Bryant                         3/20/1953                    Lewis Neeb                 4/6/1956

Harrison Copley                      4/26/1972                    John Neeley                4/14/1979

William Cunningham              4/24/1963                    Gail Owens                 4/10/1975

John Dalton                             4/26/1962                    Zenas Prust                 3/28/1950

Keith Farnham                        4/8/1998                      Jack Redman               3/22/1973

Berin Fite                                4/13/2002                    Paul Reynolds             4/13/2002

John Fry PM                           3/22/1968                    Leroy Smith, Jr.          4/18/1968

Theodore Gardiner, Jr.            4/18/1998                    WB Scott Thomas       4/14/2005

Theodore Gardiner, Sr. PM    3/29/1969                    Marquis Toliver           4/21/1954

Arturo Gonzalez                     4/13/2002                    Clarence Tomasek       4/18/1998

Steven Gragg                          4/13/2002                    Louis Tomlinson         3/29/1962

Kenneth Harter                       4/17/1996                    Carol Williams, Jr.       4/29/1971

Cory Hazlett                           4/18/1998                    John Williams, Jr.        3/23/1961

Philip Hazlett                          4/18/1998                    Robert Winburne        4/10/1975

Charles Hosey                         3/21/1960                    Gary Woodfill             3/21/1974

 

 

Calendar:

March 18: Dinner and a movie, Julie and Julia.

April 1: Stated Meeting, 7:00 PM, dinner in Red Fez at 6:00. Dinner is on the Lodge.                                         Special Election for Senior Warden.

April 8: Fellowship, practice and education, 7:00 PM, dinner in Red Fez at 6:00.

April 15: Dinner and a movie, STAR TREK (the new one) Don’t forget your taxes.

May 12 – 15: Scottish Rite Reunion, Scottsdale.

May 12: Scottish Rite 1st & 2nd degrees, El Zaribah Shrine, 3:30 pm. $25.00 includes dinner.

May 13: Scottish Rite 3rd degree, El Zaribah Shrine, 3:30 pm. $25.00 includes dinner.

June 4-6: 128th Grand Communication, Tucson. Registration forms are in Arizona Masonry or from the Secretary.

For more information on any of these events, please feel free to contact the Secretary.

Information and flyers are also available in the lodge room. Or check out the web site.