Lodge open house Sept 17th 2-5pm

Open house at Van Rensselaer Lodge No. 87 in East Greenbush NY on Sept 17th 2-5pm. We're aiming to get a nice response from the public, but also looking for some focused travelers to stop by and share their time as well. Please share the flier and information with others.

Thank you!

And if I havent mentioned it yet...

I am Senior Deacon for the 2011-2012 MASONIC year at Van Rensselaer Lodge No. 87. I'm super excited and of course looking forward to the work in this chair.

Freemasons For Dummies: Message for the Rocky Mountain Masonic Conference

Freemasons For Dummies: Message for the Rocky Mountain Masonic Conference: "The Rocky Mountain Masonic Conference opens in Salt Lake City, Utah today. I promise I wish I was there. Speakers include Thomas W. Jac..."

Freemasons For Dummies: Surgery Day

Freemasons For Dummies: Surgery Day: "Most of you know by now that I was diagnosed with stomach cancer back in March . (My apologies to Facebook folks who have been following th..."

Garibaldi Lodge 542 first degree

Friday May 6th Garibaldi lodge No.542 will be hosting a first degree. This degree will be conducted in Italian accented by Scottish Rite candour. I'll be at this degree and hoping to connect with many brothers. See you there!

Brother Chris Hodapp - April 6th 2011

Peace, brothers.

This April 6th event with Bro. Chris Hodapp has been cancelled due to Bro. Chris being diagnosed with cancer. When he called to inform me that his travels had to be cancelled he apologized. Even though I appreciated it I got a small chuckle out of it considering he'd just been diagnosed with cancer and he was apologizing to me! What a humble dude. I still can't believe this news myself, but Bro. Chris appreciates your thoughts and prayers as he deals with this condition. He made me laugh with telling his doctor to hurry up and fix him haha only Bro. Chris, right? ;)

Please update your calendars, brothers.

Thank you.

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Hey, brothers!

Just a quick heads up about an event I'm getting together for Wednesday, April 6th at 7:30pm at the Albany Masonic Temple.

Brother Chris Hodapp will be the guest speaker for the evening. Chris usually speaks for about 20-25 minutes and his speeches are filled with masonic light. I have 2 other guest speakers that will speak for about 5-10mins. This event will be focused on what it means to be a Master Mason.

Of course this event is free and is open to brothers only. EAs and FCs are definitely welcome.

Refreshments along with a meet and greet with Bro. Chris Hodapp will be held right after.

Please spread the word as this will be another well attended event. We had Bro. Chris come through last year and it was a huge success. It was great to see so many brothers attend.

More info to follow soon.

Peace and light, Caution.

Freemasonry for 2011

What do we want for freemasonry? Maybe a successful year for our lodges. Maybe do the same thing as last year. Sounds like a safe bet.

We still raise men that become non existent. 

What makes them non existent? I'll tell you. They were attracted to the story or the history of this fraternity and when they arrived at lodge they met you. The one guy who emulated freemasonry, but is surrounded by other guys who are drones. You quickly became burnt out and took a step back from being "that" brother.

One brother cannot be the mentor to all new brothers. One brother cannot perform all the lectures.

We have men treating this fraternity like it has nothing more to offer than a meeting here and there and then squeezing the life out of the newest members. Is that good enough for you? Are our avenues in freemasonry serving our brothers properly? Are we eager to grow? Or are we keeping freemasonry for ourselves?

Do we need to learn more about freemasonry and for what reason? Are we done with letting conspiracy theorists, anti-masons and the profane define who we are? I think fighting back is a great thing. Sign up for any masonic reading courses you can get involved with. Participate in the Masonic Development Course your district offers. READ your ritual book and pick up a few parts and then tell your close brother to also learn it. Let's share the light by sharing the responsibility.

A lot of men who join this fraternity are already pretty awesome. Does freemasonry make them better or does it merely take the credit for an already better man?

Is freemasonry still making great men? Are you one of them?

We need to strengthen the future of this fraternity by enabling our brothers in a strong positive light. But I have to say I'm kind of turned off because I see our ego resting on the shoulders of past great masons. Every lodge I walk into has a picture of a great mason that was alive 200 years ago. Well, those masons aren't here anymore and one day we will be gone too.

What are we leaving for future masons to be inspired by?

We can't depend on an initiation process of 3 quick very confusing degrees to be the end all to a brother's education. This is the springboard into something that could bring about another George Washington, Prince Hall or Mozart. 

FREEMASONRY is an avenue to become a noble man. It's offerings are in addition to anything that would encourage or strengthen you. It's not meant to replace your religion or faith. Freemasonry is not gonna make you a heart surgeon. It's not about becoming a politician or a teacher, but inside all of that there are standards and disciplines that can help you become whatever you want. 

Upon handing in your petition and during your interview you were most likely asked "why do you want to become a freemason?" you stumbled through a quick few lines to impress the interviewer.

Well, now you have a new name, you've been given working tools, and you've been raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason. Let me ask you now, why have you become a freemason?