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

Installation of officers for 2009/2010

The members and Past Masters of Mt. Rushmore Lodge #220 will be presenting the installation of it's new officers on Thursday evening, July 9, beginning at 7:00 pm. The installation program is open to all Masons, visitors and guests and will be held at the Rapid City Masonic Center at 618 Kansas City Street. Light refreshments will be provided in the downstairs dining area following the installation ceremonies. Stop by, meet your new officers and visit with long time friends.

Upcoming Events

Greetings Brothers,

Our "Books for Bicycles" program is in progress in several of our Rapid City elementary schools. The goal of this program, started by Worshipful Brother Ben Kirkland, is to get the children interested in reading and build an atmosphere of fun competition. Each child from kindergarten through 5th grade is given an opportunity to have their name entered into a drawing once for each book they complete with the teacher's approval. At the end of each school quarter, a drawing will be held and four students will be awarded a new bicycle and riding helmet courtesy of Mt. Rushmore Masonic Lodge #220 of Rapid City. One bicycle and helmet is given to a child from kindergarten through 2nd grade and another is awarded to a child between the 3rd and 5th grades. The Rapid City Journal, in addition to KOTA and KEVN television stations have expressed an interest in this program and will cover the presentations. The first presentations will be made on Friday, April 17th beginning with an assembly at Wilson Elementary School starting at 10:30 a.m. followed shortly after by a second presentation at Grand View Elementary School. All members of the Masonic Fraternity are invited to attend and support this fun and important program. Questions can be directed to WB Ben Kirkland, 716-2189 or WB Lee Mai, 393-9850. Hope to see you at school!

Mt. Rushmore Lodge #220 will be presenting an Entered Apprentice degree for two new candidates on Thursday, April 23rd beginning at 7:00 p.m. Worshipful Master Ben Kirkland would be pleased to welcome all Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft and Master Masons who would like to attend and help us welcome these two new brothers.