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Brethren, Ladies, and Friends:
We all know the old saying that tells us to stop now and then and smell the roses. The satisfaction of progress can invigorate your spirit.
I received an e-mail message a short time ago that bubbled over with enthusiasm and prompted me to "stop and smell the roses" -- to pause and reflect on where we have been recently as a Fraternity. We have reason to feel good about what we have achieved together -- and, that progress should invigorate our spirit.
This is what a 33-year-old Mason from Pittsburgh wrote: "First, I want to say that I really enjoy being a Mason. I mean, I love it! I am Senior Warden of my Lodge and I have made many friends and renewed some old ones through the Craft. This is truly a wonderful thing. I feel that it has changed my life and made me a better person. I want nothing more than to see that our Fraternity and all its good works are perpetuated, not just into the new millennium, but all the way [to the millennium] after that. Thank you Grand Master for making this a great time to be a Mason."
Today IS a great time to be an active part of this wonderful world of Freemasonry -- especially in Pennsylvania. The first five months of 1999 were extremely busy, highly productive, very promising, and most gratifying for me and the Grand Lodge Officers. Every Pennsylvania Mason -- and all of us in our Family of Freemasonry can share in the gratification. It is your dedication, support, and personal effort that propels us to achieve "all those good works" that our brother highlighted in his e-mail message. Hand-in-hand with unanimity, we are "Partners for Progress" in serving mankind.
On June 1, the Masonic Homes and the Freemasons of Pennsylvania took another vital step toward our goal to extend full quality care services convenient to our brethren, their loved ones and the community statewide. A 128-bed Medicare- and Medicaid-approved nursing home at Sewickley became the Valley Care Masonic Center.
The Committee on Masonic Homes has announced a building plan there that will add 60 beds of assisted living at Valley Care. Master planning will start immediately and we will be working closely with community leaders there to establish an early construction date in order to plan an opening two years from now, in June 2001 (click here to see story).
Almost a year and a half ago, I was telling our lodges: "The community is the place to be we should be involved." The Grand Lodge Matching Charity Grants Program provided an inspiration and assistance for each lodge to make a meaningful impact in its own hometown. I can tell you that today, a majority of the lodges are involved actively in their communities and every day more join the team.
Already this year, as of May 20, more than 40 per cent of the lodges had applied for 405 grants with an estimated value well over a quarter of a million dollars, or about $523,000 when matched. At the time of that report, grants had been made to 281 of the applicants with an unmatched value of $158,000, or well over $300,000 when put together with the lodges' commitments (click here to see "Matching Grants")
I wish everyone in the Family of Freemasonry could have been with us at the Veterans Hospital in Pittsburgh on June 2. It was a special honor for us as Masons of Pennsylvania to present a fully equipped pavilion, landscaping with walkways, and a monument as a gift to honor all veterans who served our country through the years. Many were Masons, but all were veterans bonded as a brotherhood struggling to gain and preserve the freedom and justice we cherish so dearly. The Freemasons Pavilion says: "We will never forget the veterans." (click here to see story).
Soon (Aug. 7), a new partnership will come together at a Unity Banquet in the Harrisburg area. ALL Pennsylvania Masons -- that is the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania and the Prince Hall Grand Lodge -- are joining with the Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board in an impressive new substance abuse education program for high schools. When the program is on the road next year, it will demonstrate unity in action.
Each year, about two-thirds of the residents in the Masonic Health Care Center and about half of the residents in Congregate Care cannot pay for their care in its entirety. Fraternal care the result of generosity that is prudently invested and applied makes up the difference.
The youth programs are unexcelled in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Youth Foundation supports and guides DeMolay, Rainbow for Girls, Job's Daughters, and the Knights of Pythagoras, helping young people to prepare for adulthood by teaching them responsibility. In 1998, alone, the Foundation provided programming, meals, and housing for more than 2,600 youth in 39 programs at the Masonic Conference Center on the Patton Campus. The Grand Lodge and Foundation scholarship programs, as well as those made available by other organizations, are coordinated by the Foundation.
"Partners for Progress" is a most appropriate designation for the good works of The Pennsylvania Masonic Foundation for Children. I'm sure you are aware of the partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Education that has made the Student Assistance Program a reality in the schools across the Commonwealth. And, the partnership with D.A.R.E. that helps to train law enforcement officers to go into elementary schools where they help fifth and sixth grade students learn how to cope with peer stress, conflicts, and addiction. There are the scholarships for graduating high school seniors who have successfully completed a Student Assistance Program and scholarships for graduates seeking a career in law enforcement.
Freemasonry is at labor on the road to the 21st Century. I'm in tune with that writer of the e-mail and I hope you are, too, when he says; "I want nothing more than to see that our Fraternity and all its good works are perpetuated, ...."
Sincerely and fraternally,
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Addressing the Brethren and their ladies at the banquet after the Quarterly Communication, R.W. Grand Master James L. Ernette spoke of Freemasonry's involvement in the community and service to mankind strengthened by the vitality inherent in unity among Masons and the Family of Freemasonry. Following is the major portion of the message that made it clear: We are "United in the Common Goal to Serve Mankind."
