Mt Rushmore Lodge 220 Email Adddress

We have a new email address for our Lodge. It is MtRushmoreLodge220@gmail.com. For some reason, this site won't allow a G-Mail account to be used on the blogger page, so please disregard the Yahoo account. If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, please write to us. Better yet, come home to your Blue Lodge and speak up!

Thanks,

John Hebrard
Secretary
Mt Rushmore Lodge 220

A change of the old guard

Greetings one and all. The time has come for the old guard to step aside and allow the somewhat younger and more eager to assume the reigns of Secretarial control for our Lodge. I have had the honor of serving as your Secretary since the untimely passing of Brother Ken Stewart in September of 1997, and have tried to maintain the organization he started. It is now time for me to relinquish those duties and allow another Brother to pick up the ball and run.

It has been an honor for me to represent your interests as Secretary, and I will remember fondly the different Worshipful Masters and their officers as they traveled to and from the East. I hope you will give your full support and backing to Brother John Hebrard, as he assumes the duties of Secretary of Mt. Rushmore Lodge #220.

I hope to see many of you in our future meetings and look forward to the future success of this Lodge with our new slate of officers. Your new officers for 2011/2012 are as follows:

Worshipful Master: Rev. John McKnight
Senior Warden: MWB Jack Welker
Junior Warden: Bro. Trent Sheeder
Senior Deacon: Bro. David Meltz
Junior Deacon: Bro. Zach Pengra
Treasurer: WB George Bauder
Secretary: Bro. John Hebrard
Chaplain: WB Bill Carey
Tyler: WB Ben Kirkland
Marshall: Bro. Charles Peterson
Education Officer: WB Jeff Wiese
Senior Steward: Bro. Eric Garner
Junior Steward: Bro. Tom Huwe

Thank you once again for your support over these last 14 years as your Secretary.
Fraternally,
Lee A. Mai, PM

Notice of Passing

It is my solemn duty to announce the passing of one of our brothers. Brother Donald Mitchell passed on to that celestial lodge above on Tuesday, January 19, 2010 in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Brother Don's wife Alexa stated he had been bravely struggling with several different ailments over a long period of time. In the last days, Don had run out of strength and could not fight off the final challenge to his health, which took him peacefully and resulted in his passing. Through contacts relayed via our Grand Lodge office, Fidelity Lodge #192 in Ft. Collins, Colorado will be providing a Masonic Service for Don on Monday, January 25th. Brother Don a U.S. Air Force veteran, will be transported to Black Hills National Cemetery with a Masonic Graveside Service to be presented by members of Mt. Rushmore Lodge #220 on Wednesday, January 27th at 1:30 p.m. All members of the fraternity are invited to attend and pay last respects to our fallen brother.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Mt. Rushmore Lodge No. 220 and Rapid City Lodge No. 25 are hosting a dinner on Sunday, November 15, 2008 beginning at 6:00 p.m. MST. This annual event will take place in the Dining Room of the Rapid City Masonic Center, 618 Kansas City Street. You, your family and guests are cordially invited to celebrate an Old Fashioned Masonic Family Thanksgiving Dinner.

The sit-down dinner will consist of salad, roast turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, dinner roll and pumpkin pie and beverages. Price for the dinner is $12 for adults and $6 for children under 12.

The Schrader Commandery of Knights Templar will present the colors at 6:00 p.m. Serving will follow the flag presentation. Following the dinner, special entertainment will be provided, all in keeping with this year’s “old fashioned Masonic Family” theme.

Seating is limited and reservations are on a first-come first-served basis. No one will be admitted without a pre-paid reservation. Deadline for reservations is Monday, November 9 When you arrive, you will be escorted to your table. Groups up to eight will be seated together.

For reservations you may call the dinner Chairman, George Bauder, Home (348-4153) Cell (430-2725. You may e-mail your reservation to trainmangeb@gmail.com

Reservations including payment may be mailed to:

Masonic Entertainment Committee
618 Kansas City Street
Rapid City, SD 57701

Please include the number of adult and child dinners, Name, Address, Amount enclosed and check number.

Upcoming Events

We will be conducting an EA Degree at 7:00 PM on the 24th of September at Mt. Rushmore Lodge 220. At that time we will also be saying good bye to Brother Terence Satchell who has been and will always be a dependable brother in our lodge. Terence will be commissioned in the U.S. Army very soon. Please join as after the EA Degree for fellowship and to wish our brother God's speed in his endeavor.
We have completed and will be mailing out a member interest survey that I request you fill out and return or email. This survey will strictly be used to gather information from our members to help plan activities to further our efforts to get our members back in lodge and active again. I thank you in advance for your support.

Ray Harmon, WM
Mt. Rushmore Lodge 220

"The critics of our fraternity claim that Freemasonry has outlived it's usefulness"

My Brothers, these are indeed strange times we live in. The economy has been shaken to its foundation, people are out of work, companies are closing their doors, morality is crumbling, we have considerable political wrangling and backbiting underfoot, we have grave concerns about health care and the national debt, the country is still on guard against terrorism, and the nuclear threat has never dissipated. Obviously, we can ill-afford to conduct business as usual. If we are to survive, we must find new and imaginative ways to grow and evolve. Maintaining the status quo is simply not an option. As we have learned, stagnation means death. The critics of our fraternity claim that Freemasonry has outlived its usefulness; that it is no longer in step with the times; that it is actually an evil society that must be stamped out. I vehemently disagree. Although we are an imperfect society with our own unique set of problems, I hardly believe we are an obsolete institution. Now, more than ever, the world needs more Freemasonry, not less. We need more patriotism and civic pride, not less. We need more cooperation, loyalty, and teamwork, not less. We need more religious tolerance, not less. We need more Faith, Hope, and Charity, not less. We need more positive examples of ethics and pride in workmanship, not less. We need more Friendship, Morality, and Brotherly Love, not less. To do all this, we need more honest and respectful debate, not less. Yes, we need more Freemasonry, not less. Maybe I’m old fashioned; maybe I’m wrong, but this is how I see True Masonry; a universal and beautiful concept embraced by men around the world. We must remain the example for others to emulate. We must practice what we preach. And Brothers, consider this: If not us, who? Our Politicians? The media? Religious zealots? Who? Freemasonry is uniquely qualified to lead the charge. We are not a religious or political organization, we represent a cross-section of people from all social strata, located around the world, with honorable intentions. We are well established and have a strong historical background. As long as we do not deviate from the basic tenets of Freemasonry, we’ll be fine. I therefore admonish all of you to redouble your efforts as Masons and help perpetuate this great fraternity and make the world a better place. Thank you. Keep the Faith! NOTE: The opinions expressed in this essay are my own and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of any Grand Masonic jurisdiction or any other Masonic related body.

Article reprinted with permission of the author and “Freemason Information”
http://www.FreemasonInformation.com/

A note from the Master

My brother's,

As you are all aware that attended our last stated meeting on Thursday, July 25th, a motion was approved by all in attendance to send a message to the Grand Lodge of South Dakota with a request to issue a statement on the events of discrimination that occurred in Georgia over a black man being accepted into masonry. Our Grand Master called me today to inform me he was contacted by the Grand Lodge of Georgia with a request to allow them to handle this delicate situation appropriately. As you can well imagine this is both a travesty and embarrassment to all Mason's especially to our brother's in Georgia. While I am proud that situation does not exist here at our lodge I can also understand the Grand Master of Georgia wanting to handle this without outside interference. We all need to keep in mind discrimination occurs in all facets of life not just in relation to a person's color.

Fraternally,

Ray D. Harmon, WM

Mt. Rushmore Lodge 220

Rapid City, SD