Berwyn Masonic Lodge #839 AF&AM

July degree work

Alan Schwartz — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 01:09:49 +0000

We have a busy month for degree work in July:

July 20th: first degree with 2 candidates

July 27th: stated meeting followed by a third degree for 2 candidates

As usual, dinner will be at 6pm and the work will begin at 7pm sharp. If you want to help out, contact Bro. Senior Warden, Jim Hrejsa.

2010-2011 officers

Alan Schwartz — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 04:10:34 +0000

Berwyn Lodge held its annual election of officers on June 8, 2010. The elected officers for the 2010-2011 Masonic year are:

WM-elect: Terry Young, CLI

SW-elect: Jim Hresja

JW-elect: Gabriel Monroy

TR-elect: Jose Padilla

SE-elect: W.B. Luisito Fanlo

SD-appointed: Alejandro Cabral

JD-appointed: Antonio Castro

SS-appointed: Thomas Pott

JS-appointed: Antonio Vicera

CH-appointed: Francis Awad

MA-appointed: Charles Raymond

TY-appointed: Darin Gonzalez

OR-appointed: W.B. Stanley Freese

The installation of officers is scheduled for July 11, 2010 at 2pm (officers and installing officers to arrive at 1pm).

April and May and the beauties of visitation

Alan Schwartz — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:01:25 +0000

Greetings, Brethren,

I just had the pleasure of visiting Fidelity Lodge #20 F&AM PHA in Washington, D.C. for a stated meeting and 2nd degree. The brothers there treated me extremely well, and their work was very impressive. They meet at the Grand Lodge building, where 25 lodges and 15 OES chapters meet, so you can find a Masonic meeting at that building nearly every night.

Visiting lodges in other jurisdictions is one of my favorite Masonic activities. You really get to see interesting differences. For example, Fidelity has a Sr. and Jr. Master of Ceremonies officer, and their Senior Deacon’s lecture in the 2nd degree is about twice as long as ours! They also have a lovely closing ceremony with the Brethren in a ring of fellowship around the altar. But the differences are superficial, and you also get to see the important similarities: the brotherly love, the focus on relief of the sick and distressed, the attention to Masonic ritual and education, the engagement with the community, and the pride in being part of the worldwide Masonic fellowship. Fidelity’s Master is a fairly regular traveler to Chicago, so I hope we’ll have a chance to host him here as well.

Back home in Berwyn, we’ve got a lot going on as well. Here’s the upcoming events:

April 17 – Special Saturday morning 3rd degrees, 9am-noon

April 19 – Visit to Shriner’s Childrens Hospital, families invited, 6-7pm

April 20 – Special meeting for 3rd degrees

April 27 – Stated meeting

May 4 – Special meeting for 1st degrees

May 11 – Stated meeting

May 18 – Special meeting for 3rd degrees Practice at Berwyn, 2nd degrees at LaGrange

May 25 – Stated meeting and 2nd degree

June 1 – Special meeting for 3rd degrees

June 8 – Annual meeting and election of officers (wow, already?)

We’re also planning a family picnic in June, date to be determined.

Past Masters Night

Alan Schwartz — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 05:00:47 +0000

Photos from our Past Masters Night in honor of Past Masters and 50-year members are now online at http://www.berwynlodge.org/photo-albums/?album=4&gallery=5. Pins for 25, 50, and 60 years of membership were given out, and corned beef and cabbage was served.

March happenings

Alan Schwartz — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 17:01:20 +0000

It’s only mid-February, but we’ve already got a packed schedule coming up in March:

Mar 2 1st degree

Mar 9 Stated meeting and Eureka challenge

Mar 16 Past Master’s night and St. Patrick’s day dinner

Mar 23 Stated meeting

Mar 30 Visit to LaGrange Lodge for 3rd degree

With the promise of more degree work in April, including 3rd degrees.

February happenings

Alan Schwartz — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 03:33:56 +0000

February is set to be an exciting month at Berwyn Lodge:

Feb 2       3rd degrees (two of them)
Feb 9       Stated Meeting and reception of the DDGM
Feb 16      Table Lodge at Klas Restaurant (7pm)
Feb 23      Stated Meeting and 2nd degrees (three of them)

About 25 brethren are signed up for the Table Lodge as of Jan 26, 2010, and we can take up to 25 more. Members of other lodges are welcome. $20/person gets you an excellent Bohemian meal and a unique evening of Masonic education.

We also particularly need a Tyler, who must be a Master Mason. The Tyler is outside (by the bar) for most of the
Table Lodge, but gets to give the final traditional toast. We will pay for the Tyler’s meal. (Got a Tyler!)

Season’s Greetings

Alan Schwartz — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:05:33 +0000

Season’s Greetings to members of Berwyn Lodge and visitors to our web site!

Berwyn Lodge will celebrate St. John’s Day by visiting Christ Lutheran Evangelical Church at 607 Harvard St, Oak Park, IL (at Harvard and East) at 10:30 am on Sunday December 27.

Our next special meeting will be Jan 5, 2010. We will practice for our upcoming third degree in February.

And Bro. Secretary has asked me to let you know that dues cards will be sent out as soon as he’s back in the U.S. after his second foot operation.

This time of the year is one in which we can all celebrate the coming of Light. I wish you all the best of the season and a very happy new year.

- Alan

Berwyn Life reports on Friend’s Night

Alan Schwartz — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:07:09 +0000

The Berwyn Life newspaper has run a short announcement of our upcoming Friend’s Night. You can read it here. We’re currently expecting upwards of 30 visitors.

October Temple Topics

Alan Schwartz — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:18:04 +0000

Greetings All, this is you favorite Berwyn newsy, Silence Dogood again. Well October is almost over and I hope everyone has a Spoooooky Costume and ready to Trick and/or Treat.

This has been a busy month at Berwyn, a First Degree and a Second Degree, we are really moving along, as well as the fact that, the Annual Grand Lodge Meeting was this month. As I am sure you all know, the Grand Lodge Meeting is utilized to discuss new Bylaws, the current State of Masonry in Illinois, and this time around to ring in a new Grand Master.

Well, with this brief recap stated, I would like to open up for our Worshipful Master, Alan Schwartz to express an important issue which is important to many of us as a Fraternity and as individuals.

“Unfinished Work”

During the 2009 Grand Lodge meeting, reports from the outgoing and incoming Grand Master strongly suggest a concern with the amount of “unfinished work” in Illinois Lodges. This concern is also expressed in the new Grand Master’s Award of Excellence criterion, which includes a new 2-point primary requirement that a lodge have no unfinished work initiated before June 2009 and the ongoing 1-point primary requirement for maintaining an unfinished work committee to encourage brethren to progress to become Master Masons. Many of us have also heard talk about the importance of pushing candidates on to receive their third degrees, and there are a variety of programs – shortened catechisms, Blue Lightning events, etc., designed to help.

In my opinion, this approach to unfinished work is a mistake!

Philosophically, every man and Mason — even those of us who have been raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason, and completed our proficiencies — we remain a work in progress. Masonry should encourage each of us to look at ourselves as unfinished work, and to continue to strive to use our working tools to shape, sculpt, and polish our lives and actions.

Practically, some men will desire or need to take more time reflecting on a degree than others. In some Grand Lodges, in fact, there are minimum waiting periods (often ranging between 4-52 weeks) before a degree can be conferred. Lodges are not pressured to advance candidates who may not be ready to seek advancement. In Illinois, we are sending a mixed message. The catechism and the Intender Program Reflection Questions tell us that a man must make suitable proficiency to proceed. But the advancement programs mentioned above tell us that we must put men on a rapid — and arbitrary — time schedule to advance.

Why the rush? In large part, I lay the blame at the feet of our Illinois by-laws, and particularly on the innovation that a man only becomes a member of the lodge — and begins paying dues and Grand Lodge per capita — when he is raised. Historically, a “master mason” was one who had served as a Master of a Lodge, and most lodge members were Apprentices and Fellowcrafts. In the present Constitution of the United Grand Lodge of England; to take a prominent example, a man becomes a member when he is initiated, and is responsible for paying dues from that point.

We should begin the process of proposing and discussing changes to our Illinois Grand Lodge by-laws to return to this traditional and widespread definition of membership.

Many Illinois lodges already conduct business meetings on the first degree and seek to actively involve their Apprentices and Fellowcrafts in lodge programs. If Apprentices and Fellowcrafts were paying dues, there would be no financial pressure on Lodges or the Grand Lodge, to advance them more rapidly. The brothers themselves, as active members of their lodge, could seek advancement when they are truly prepared, or when they wish to qualify to serve as officers or undertake the additional responsibilities to the Craft that require the Degree of Master Mason. In the mean time, these brothers, seeking knowledge from their more senior Brethren, as well as from their own researches, would contribute to an ongoing culture of Masonic Education in their lodges. Their example could revitalize a lodge, and demonstrate to new Masons how to develop themselves as men and brothers through their own patient initiative.

Petitioners come to Masonry seeking enlightenment and self-improvement. Unfinished work is not a problem. It is, in fact, a key to Masonry.

- Alan Schwartz

Scheduled Events
On Tues Oct 20, Berwyn Lodge will visit LaGrange Lodge for a practice/instruction session. LaGrange is located at 1215 Chestnut, Western Springs, IL

On Tues Oct 27, we’ll have a regular Stated Meeting

On Tues Nov 3, we’ll hold Friends Night — bring one or more friends who you think would be interested in Masonry and qualify to be good brothers if they have the interest. There will be food, fellowship, and Masonic information. Contact: Jadly Gandour and Kenmond Eng with information about whether you’re coming and how many people are coming with you (so they can order dinner) – they would also like to know if you’re available to help out with the event.

So I believe that should sum it up for this Month. But as always I will leave you with a true and timeless bit of wisdom to reflect upon until next time. Silence Dogood signing off.
“When your only tool is a Hammer, all of your problems look like Nails.”

Visits back

Alan Schwartz — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 03:00:03 +0000

On the special meeting of September 29, 2009, we had the pleasure of initiating two new Brothers as Entered Apprentices. It was an exciting night, as we hosted not only visitors from Hiram Lodge #14 F&AM PHA, but also brothers from 6 other lodges: Union Park, Azure, La Grange, Integrity, River Forest-Austin, and Clarence P. Schwarz. All told, there were four visiting sitting Masters in attendance, possibly a recent record.

The degree was preceded by lively fellowship over excellent Bohemian food. And as a special bonus, Bro. Joe Tranauskas was presented with his 60-year pin (he’s actually been a Mason now for 61!)