To the Brethren of Oriental Lodge No. 33:
This will serve as my report for Masonic Year 2008.
This year has been a challenging yet productive year for Oriental Lodge No. 33.
Masonic Work and membership.
We began the year with unfinished work docket of 21, and it was growing. Some of those members had been on the unfinished work roster for almost 10 years, and the Grand Lodge directed us to take care of this docket immediately. It became quickly apparent that any plans I’d made for my year would have to take a back seat to closing out our docket of unfinished work. We created a plan to give each person an opportunity to take their degrees this year. We attempted to contact each person on the docket and offer them the opportunity to finish their degrees. Some took us up on it, and some did not, but everyone was given the opportunity to finish their work and receive degrees if they wanted them.
I am pleased to report that the unfinished work docket is no more. The only unfinished work we have are two brothers who live out of town and intend to complete the degrees slowly over time. We have offered each of those brothers the opportunity to take courtesy work in their areas and at this time both have declined, stating they would rather finish their degrees with us. On April 26, we held a special 2nd degree day and conferred the 2nd degree on multiple candidates.
Work was the focus of this year, and it overshadowed other aspects of our lodge life. I made a conscious decision not to pursue the Grand Master’s Award of Excellence this year, for two reasons: I personally believed that we did not need external validation, and I felt it was more important to focus on our ritual work. I believe it paid off. In a lodge where we meet only once a month, we managed to initiate 9 new Apprentices, pass 10 Fellowcrafts and raise 7 Master Masons. And we were prepared, locked and loaded to do twice that. And with a very few exceptions we did it all ourselves. It is a tremendous testament to the excellence and dedication of our members and is personally more of a reward than any certificate or lapel pin. I am especially proud of our new members who jumped into the deep-end, learning ritual and lectures almost before ink of their names in the membership book had dried. Your work is laudable and you are a shining example of what a new Master Mason should be.
We started this year with 284 members and closed it out with 292, for a net gain of 8. I am especially pleased to report that we reinstated 4 members. We mourned the passing of two members this year: Norm Milan and our longtime Officer of Instruction and former Treasurer Nicholas Smith. We also just recently lost an honorary member of our lodge, Mohsen Modaressi. These brothers were active in our lodge and will be sorely missed.
Finances
In the Spring we learned that our bank accounts were improperly set up--not because of any fault on the part of anyone in the lodge, but because when our bank was sold to 5/3, the accounts were filed not as an organization but as a person by the name of “Oriental Lodge.” We were able to straighten everything out and all is OK.
We continue to have serious problems collecting dues payments. This is exacerbated by a Grand Lodge policy that discourages suspension of members for non-payment. All suspensions must now be approved by the Grand Master. Last year we had a default rate of around 30%, and this year it may be getting worse. We tried with little success to call each of the 135 members of our lodge in arrears, but it was difficult mustering the manpower. This represents up to and over $10,000 per year owed in lost revenue for the lodge. Adding insult to injury is the fact that we must pay $10 per member as per capita to the Grand Lodge whether or not they pay their dues. So a brother who doesn’t pay their dues hurts the lodge twice.
If we could get the same turnout we get in January for the Annual Eureka Challenge packet assembly for two weekends, we could might be able to take care of this and net much more than we do. I hope succeeding administrations will be able to deal with this more successfully, as it remains a serious challenge to our lodge and our ability to function for the benefit of our members. One positive step we have taken to alleviate this problem is we’ve created a Paypal account for the lodge. Members can now pay their dues online with a credit card. The savings in time processing, travel to and from the bank and in lost and delayed payments will more than make up for the $2-4 spent for each payment. You can pay your dues 24 hours a day, seven days a week at our website. No checks, no stamps needed.
Programs & Infrastructure
It was my goal to revamp the communications for the lodge. To that end we have made progress. We launched a new trestleboard website that is much easier to keep up to date. Entries can be posted via the web and entries can even be made on a smartphone. The new site is in a blog format which can accommodate both chronological entries and regular pages. All of the content on previous site has been migrated to the new platform except the photo galleries and the listings of past Officers. I will be working to complete that soon. We also have a new online calendar driven by Google. Not only can you check it for lodge meeting times, but you can subscribe to it in your iCal, gCal or Outlook application so events will automagically update in your own calendar.
We voted on doing a print newsletter, and I designed a template but we did not go forward with printing and sending it out, mainly due to our financial situation. It is my hope that we can do a quarterly mailing to all members. This will help them transition to more electronic forms of communication.
Even though our year was oriented around work, we did manage to squeeze a few programs in. Oriental was the organizer of the 5th Northeast District Blood Drive, and when I say “Oriental” was the organizer, I really mean “W. Bro. Paul ‘MOTY Forever’ Scheeler,” was the organizer. We were able to collect a fair amount of the red stuff and even donate some of the green stuff to the cause. Thanks to Bro. Scheeler for his dedication and hard work.
In July, TimeOut Chicago did an article on Freemasonry and our lodge. The article presented us in a favorable light, and I hope it will lead some good men to our doors.
We also did a Historical presentation night which was well attended. Bro. Kyle Bieneman gave an excellent presentation on the Donner Party and its Masonic connections, and I gave an updated presentation on the history of our lodge. The evening was well attended and the feedback I received was very positive. It is my hope that we can do more events like this with Masonic content in the future.
Finally we have a robust Masonic mentorship and education program, thanks in large part to the work of Kyle Bienemen. Kyle has coordinated a monthly get together that has served as the social lubrication to make petitioners feel like brothers; make brothers feel like members, and make members feel like mentors. Thanks Kyle for making that happen each month.
People & Reflections
It is with sadness we said farewell to our Tyler Zeke Lombard, who moved back to New Orleans to help his hometown community rebuild. We also saw the resignation of our Secretary, Ben Wechsler for personal reasons. I must thank Ben for his service and support, which continues even as he is out of office. Even as he faced some difficult times, he was always there for me and the lodge and always had his duty at the top of his mind.
There are a few people I’d like to thank. Todd Newton our Senior Warden was an exemplary Senior Warden. His support and wisdom made my year as Master much more rewarding. Thanks also to our past masters, especially Michael Toth, Johnathan Barnes Howard Graff and Martin Starr who have been good friends and patient advisors. I’d also like to thank the brethren of North Star Lodge No. 1 of the Prince Hall Grand lodge, especially Bro. Harlan and Bro. Priester. They’ve been pretty regular visitors and their presence always warms my heart. I hope to return the favor after my retirement from the East.
I learned a lot as Master this year. I saw the best and the worst among my brothers. It was joyful, funny, painful, difficult, triumphant and rewarding. I learned that we are...all of us flawed human beings. As master I had many tough decisions to make. Some I might have done differently upon reflection, but I learned from all of them. I learned too that each one of us has that one something that drives someone else crazy. But like a family we see past our faults to the potential and goodness inside. And the best of us patiently overlook the crazy and gently try to coax our brother’s better nature out into the world. And that is the true meaning of brotherhood. Our paths might diverge or cross, and we may agree or disagree, but we will never stop being brothers.
I came into this year with a detailed plan, which almost immediately had to be scrapped. It was scrapped because the needs and more importantly the priorities of the lodge had to come first. In some ways, I might feel regret at the lost opportunity, but the diligence and zeal of our newly raised brethren, combined with the knowledge that whatever sacrifice had to be made advanced the security and well-being of the lodge, more than make up for any personal disappointment. At the end of the day I have no regrets. It was a good year.
If you love your lodge, being Master is a challenging job, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. But I still believe that I belong to the greatest lodge in the world. And it is the greatest lodge not because of our fine furniture or an impressive building. It is for the quality of men that labor here month after month. It is for the powerful experiences we bestow upon each candidate as we bring them into a new light with each degree. It is for the new energy that bursts forth in our lodge each time a new Master Mason is raised. It is you, each and every one of you that makes this lodge not just good, but premier. And it is to the members of our lodge that I thank most of all for honoring me with the privilege of serving you as your Worshipful Master. May God bless you, and God bless Oriental Lodge No. 33.
Faithfully Submitted,
Eric Diamond Worshipful Master
November 12, 6008 A.L.
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