December 2006 Newsletter

Congratulations to the 160 brothers of Minnesota River valley # 6 for a fine year and here's to another to come. We have worked well together. Each suggestion, each bit of advice and each helpful comment I received from you has gone into positive benefits. We truly have a top notch lodge. Best wishes and hoped for blessings are in my prayers for each of you in the coming year.

To those who are unable to come to lodge meetings, Greetings, you have not been forgotten, but you have been missed. Send us a note, tell us how you are doing and send us any request you may have. We will read it in lodge. If you can make it to a meeting but haven't come in awhile come on in. You will be welcomed and you may find that, which you thought you had lost.

At the December 5 Stated Communication, I was charged with keeping the momentum going. I was elected to serve another term as Master. A privilege and an honor to be sure. To repeat a comment I made at the start of this year. I do not take this responsibility lightly. It is a weighty office and I vow to continue to work hard. If I did not feel its weight I would not be cognizant of my duty. We do agree that to stay successful we bring good men into Masonry; we bind new Masons to us quickly and we keep the lodge brothers we have. We have begun to address these goals comprehensively.

I will soon cause us to examine the subject of lodging. I suggest you may want to begin to examine your own individual goals on the subject of future lodging now, and consider the what, where and how of it, pragmatically. At the outset, there is no consensus on what we will do. I am cognizant of strongly held and varied positions among our brothers. Our lodge is all over the board with ideas as would naturally be expected. We will work first on a format to gather, record and present objective data for comparative analysis. A pretty basic first step.

We will need friendly discussion and a willingness to abide differences of opinion as we work in harmony toward our goal of future lodging. The Master is charged with harmony among brothers. The charge is not on him to guarantee harmony prevails, as even among brother Masons disharmony is possible, but it does charge him with making every attempt to see that harmony prevails. I acknowledge that duty. I am available to meet with anyone if harmony is in the balance.

We can all look forward to a productive and a fine year ahead as we strive to remember the Mystic Ties of Brotherhood.

It seems that as soon as the Thanksgiving turkey bones have been picked over, and the good silver has been put away, it is time for Christmas. Obviously the Malls think so with their pre-Christmas sales and Christmas decorations. The radio stations begin to flood the airways with Christmas Carols, and the newspaper editorials start on their rants as to whether to call the season Christmas, Winter Holidays or the Solstice. And of course, the ACLU takes it upon themselves to remove any semblance of it being a religious celebration from all public buildings, roads, and parks – completely ignoring the fact that He is the reason for the season.

Fortunately, what ever folks decide to call it, we as Masons know this time of year as the season of hope -- from little children and their letters to Santa Clause, to parents praying for their children’s future. The Reverend Joseph Fort Newton wrote, in the early half of the last century (see article on “So, what's a Mason?” elsewhere in this Newsletter), that we know ourselves to be Masons when we know how to pray, how to love, and how to hope.

The dictionary declares hope to be “desire with expectations of obtaining that which we desire; to trust confidently that good will come.” But the dictionary definition fails to express the mental and spiritual importance of hope. Philosophers and poets have done much better. “Where there is no hope, there can be no endeavor,” says Samuel Johnson, phrasing a truism everyone feels though few express. All ambitions, all human actions, all labors are founded on hope. It may be crystallized into a firm faith, but in a world in which nothing is certain, the future inevitably is hidden. We live, love, labor, pray, marry and become Masons, and bury our dead with hope in something beyond.

Christmas is usually a time of family celebration, joyful gatherings, good cheer, and “stockings hung by the fire with care”. Usually. It can also be the loneliest time of the year for those who have lost spouses and for those who have lost their independence. Grief for the loss of a loved one or the circle of family about us never ends. And it is this time, when we can remember being in the midst of our joyful family circle, that can cause us to be in pain – mental, spiritual, and physical.

At this time of the year, we, the Masonic Brothers of MRVL #6, remember those who are in pain, by letting them know they are loved and remembered. We do this by delivering to them a Christmas bag of treats (candy, fruit, snacks and toiletries). Because of our gracious contribution of money and time, we are helping to fulfill our obligation to those in need of our honor and remembrance.

One final word about Masons and Hope. The Masonic theological ladder, representing Jacob’s dream of a ladder stretching from our world to the canopy of heaven above, embodies several of the principles of Masonry. Faith in God is the first rung of the ladder. However, Hope is the second rung representing our hope of immortality. We are led by a belief in His wisdom and goodness to our hope of immortality. This is a reasonable expectation; without it, life would be devoid of joy, and the grave a scene of desolation. The ancients represented Hope by a Nymph or maiden holding in her hand a bouquet of opening flowers, indicative of the coming fruit; but in modern and Masonic iconology, it is represented by a virgin leaning on an anchor, the anchor itself being a symbol of hope.

Please feel free to send me the names of any of our Brothers and/or their family members, who may be in distress as we pray to our creator for their comfort and relief. When we think of our experiences in taking the third degree, we cannot help but remember the words from Ecclesiastes: “Remember now thy creator . . .” and please remember those listed below in your prayers. We name the welfare of our brethren in our petitions because we love them; and knowing our own need of their prayers, we realize their need of ours.

For Healing and Support	For Thanksgiving	For Comfort
Bro. Buddy Schesso, now residing in Friendship Manor.	Bros. Michael Pierce and Stephen Sorenson, Praise God they have returned safely to their families, brethren, and friends.	Bobbie Wiggins (Bro. Schesso’s Sister)
For our Brother Ed Efferts whose cancer has returned. He is receiving home hospice care.		For the family and friends of Bro. Kenneth Stanley Engdahl who completed his journey on earth, October 3, 2006.
		For the family of Bro. William Tarbell, who completed his journey on earth November 14, 2006.
		For the family of Bro. Don Bloedow, who completed his journey on earth October 21, 2006.

I missed last month's newsletter, but it gave you more time to ponder the question: How old is Masonry?

The question is not answerable unless Masonry be defined. Some form of organization of builders, according to the oldest Masonic document, the Regius poem, existed as early as A.D. 926. Freemasonry, as distinguished from any other organization of practical builders, probably began among the Cathedral builders of the middle ages - tenth or eleventh century. The first Grand Lodge came into existence in 1717. Freemasonry in the United States dates definitely from 1730 and probably earlier.

If you would like to receive a copy, please get in touch with me and I will send you one.

I will also have additional copies available at the next several Stated Communications and Steering Committee Meetings.

The Grand Lodge of Minnesota Office is moving to the Minnesota Masonic Home Campus in Bloomington, Minnesota on October 15, 2006

The new, main phone number is 952-948-6700.
The fax number will be 952-948-6710
Our 800 number will stay the same, 800-245-6050

Our preferred E-mail address stays the same,

Our best wishes to the following brothers who will celebrate their birthday in December:

Articles for the next newsletter will be due by January 19^th. You may send articles to me for the newsletter; by any method you desire (email, fax, regular mail, etc…). Articles that are not received by the due date will be held over for the newsletter.

We would also like to encourage the other organizations that are affiliated with MN River Valley Lodge #6, such as the Jobs Daughters, Eastern Star, Demolay, etc… to feel free to contribute items to our newsletter and to our Lodge’s Web Calendar.

Brother Buddy Schesso has reached the “50 years as a Mason” milestone. Celebrating with him are (from left to right, top to bottom) Worshipful Master Mike Sullivan, Worshipful District Representative Dave Camp, Worshipful Brothers Alan Greene and Daryl Bren, Buddy Schesso, and Buddy’s sister Bobbie Wiggens.

Buddy currently resides at the Friendship Manor in Shakopee. His sister and his niece were kind enough to prepare appetizers and drinks in celebration of the event. When asked for any memories of his time as a Mason, Buddy responded with “those awful stairs – that seemed to get longer each time he was able to make it to Lodge”. We did encourage him with the fact that by the time he receives his 60-year pin, we should have corrected that problem.

I have experienced an interesting phenomenon since becoming a Mason. When reading literature and looking at artwork, I find connections (probably more like similarities) to the craft philosophies and teachings. Most of these “connections,” I realize, are not actual. But just the same there they are.

About a month ago my wife Betty and I went to an art showing that one of her friends was holding to debut her new paintings. The interesting thing about this phenomenon is that it just happens; I don’t intentionally go looking for it. It usually occurs suddenly; one minute I am not noticing anything, the next, WHAMO! There it is – a Masonic theme. That night as we were walking around enjoying the new artwork it happened again. Twice!

The first painting was of a lady in rich vivid colors, with long beautiful hair that was so bright it appeared as if the sun was focused on it. She was holding a limp female body that was of a deep blue color, which perfectly matched the color of the stream next to her. I studied it for awhile then moved on. But there was something about that painting which intrigued me, but I was not sure what.

As we continued enjoying the artwork, we came upon a triptych with the center painting larger than the other two which were strategically placed, one on each side of the main. The two side canvases each were of big trees with a bounty of branches. Both sets of branches were leaning toward the center canvas. The artwork continued in the center painting with the branches becoming united in a way as to hold an orb-like object within the lattice of the conjoined branches. This orb was bright with colors and after some study it reminded me of a cocoon. Here again, after several minutes of taking it all in, we went on.

While Betty went to visit with her friend, I continued to wander around taking in the artwork for a second time. However, I found myself returning several times to these two pieces of artwork – there was just something about them that I couldn’t explain.

After returning to the work of the lady holding the blue body, I noticed the title underneath the painting in small letters. I leaned over to read – “Rebirth of oneself” – thinking “…interesting title.” When I straightened up to look again, that is when it hit me… “That could be a Masonic theme,” I thought.

I then went directly to the triptych work again. Hmmmm… Two trees both old and strong were supporting a gorgeous object. My mind went immediately to Wisdom and Strength intertwined to foster Beauty. There they were – the three main pillars of the Lodge.

I know this artist had no intention of conveying these Masonic suggestions, and the connection to the craft is solely in my mind. I think this reaffirms that our themes and lessons are truly ancient and well rooted in human life.

I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances."

The MRVL Chanhassen Dinner Theatre event this year will be held on March 3, 2007 with a World Premiere of a new stage musical based on the 1948 MGM film classic - Irving Berlin's EASTER PARADE, to be co-developed by the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres and the world-renowned Rogers & Hammerstein Organization in New York. Called "the happiest musical ever made," EASTER PARADE is light and airy as a scrumptious soufflé's. This charming romantic comedy begins as snappy dancer, Don Hewes, is dumped by his ungrateful dance partner, Nadine Hale, so she can pursue a solo career.

As in the classic Pygmalion story (My Fair Lady), the lovelorn Don declares that he can turn any chorus girl into a star. The girl he chooses to mould in his new "Nadine" is the randomly selected unassuming insecure, yet beguiling Hannah Brown. He vows within a year to make her the toast of Broadway and New York's famed Easter Parade. Many of Irving Berlin's greatest song are in this show. This is one show that you won't want to miss.

The Lodge only has 80 tickets for this event, so when you received your letter don't wait to long to reply. The cost this year per person has increased to $43.00 dollars. Lunch is at 11:00 AM with the show time of 1:00PM. Any Questions about this event please contact David Scheffert at the following address or call him:

The Installation of officers will be at the Jan. 2 '07 Stated Meeting and it will be open for guests and family. We will have a light dinner before the meeting beginning at 6:30 PM and we will start the meeting at 7:30 PM. We have District Representative David Camp as Installing Master start with piping the officers in. This will be the first item of the night so as not to keep important family members waiting. The installation ceremony will include Jobs Daughters performing the Flag Ceremony, very impressive for all visitors. After the installation we will open for a short business meeting.

A Mason is a man who has decided that he likes to feel good about himself and others. He cares about the future as well as the past, and does what he can, both alone and with others, to make the future good for everyone.

One of the most eloquent statements of “What makes a Mason” was written by the Reverend Joseph Fort Newton, an internationally honored minister of the first half of the 20th Century.

When he can look out over the rivers, the hills, and the far horizon with a profound sense of his own littleness in the vast scheme of things, and yet have faith, hope, and courage which are the root of every virtue.

When he knows that down in his heart every man is as noble, as vile, as divine, as diabolic, and as lonely as himself, and seeks to know, to forgive, and to love his fellow man.

When he knows how to sympathize with men in their sorrows, yea, even in their sins knowing that each man fights a hard fight against many odds.

When he has learned how to make friends and to keep them, and above all how to keep friends with himself When he loves flowers, can hunt birds without a gun, and feels the thrill of an old forgotten joy when he hears the laugh of a little child.

When star-crowned trees and the glint of sunlight on flowing waters, subdue him like the thought of one much loved and long dead.

When no voice of distress reaches his ears in vain, and no hand seeks his aid without response.

When he finds good in every faith that helps any man to lay hold of divine things and sees majestic meanings in life, whatever the name of that faith may be.

When he can look into a wayside puddle and see something beyond mud, and into the face of the most forlorn fellow mortal and see something beyond sin.

When he has kept faith with himself with his fellow man, and with his God; in his hand a sword for evil, in his heart a bit of a song -- glad to live, but not afraid to die!

Such a man has found the only real secret of Masonry, and the one which it is trying to give to all the world.

Visit the Lodge Website and view the Lodge calendar for our complete list of events.