November 2007 Newsletter

Bethel 85 has had a busy term so far. We’ve had initiations, worked at the Bloomington Area Shrine Club pancake breakfast as well as visited other bethels. We also worked at the Shrine Circus selling popcorn & cotton candy, helped serve the dinner and performed the cross ceremony for George Miller’s Hiram Award and helped with the reception for the OES Grand Organist Marla McFetridge! We recently returned from the Grand Bethel Fall Inn where several of our girls competed in ritual and music competitions. Our own Ashley Bican participated in the Miss Minnesota Job’s Daughters pageant. Our upcoming events include Go-To-Church Sunday on November 18th where we will attend our Honored Queen’s church, Chaska Moravian. Also, on November 18th we will have our meeting honoring our parents, Masons & Eastern Star with dessert to follow.

Prayer

As Thanksgiving comes nearer and we begin our search for that perfect turkey and drag out Grandma’s recipes, we may even start thinking about that perfect Grace that can be said. Too often, that might be the only time we say thanks for the many blessings that we have been given.

Our early Masonic leaders were men of faith and dedicated Freemasonry to the moral and spiritual improvement of man. Our ceremonies contain moral lessons intended to enhance the spiritual improvement of candidates and brethren. One of the Masonic Great Principles is "Truth" and in the search for Truth, to discover the knowledge of God's teachings. The second principle of ''Charity" is stressed in the Initiatory Degree and defined as a virtue of holy significance. The Master of a Lodge invokes the assistance of God for the third Principle of "Wisdom" to be worthy of the trust reposed in him by the brethren. Masons use prayer in the consecration of a Lodge, laying a cornerstone for a public or religious edifice, opening Lodge and Grand Lodge Communications, closing such meetings, guidance of Candidates for Degrees, celebration of anniversaries, as part of funeral services and in family or community gatherings. While Freemasonry is not a religion, all Masons are religious. Therefore, prayer becomes a significant part of a Mason’s life.

Initiates are required to profess a belief in the Creator as the Maker and Sovereign over us all, to even be considered as a candidate. In the initiatory degree the candidate is asked "ln whom do you put your trust?” The Candidate replies “In God” and begins a way of life based on the foundation of a firm belief in the one God. Freemasonry enables each member to worship the God he reveres under the universal name of the Great Architect of the Universe. The universality of Freemasonry is best expressed in its acceptance of a religion as that "in which all good men agree''. Masons are taught not to start any enterprise without first invoking the Guidance of Deity.

Prayer is a conversation -- a dialog, not a monolog. Prayer must be repeated and be continuous. It establishes our relationship with God. It is a solemn and humble request to God for His comfort in times of stress or in thanksgiving for His blessing and grace, or for His forgiveness when we have transgressed against His laws... Pray in the morning when you rise and thank God for the glory and beauty of another day. Pray during the day when you are at home and when you are away from home. Let your children see you pray and know it is for them. Pray in the evening as you prepare for the night and give thanks to God for the opportunity to be a witness to Him and to share His gifts of love with others.

Prayers are always answered. Sometimes the answer comes long after your prayer. Most often, your prayers are answered with what you need, rather than that for which you have asked. And sometimes, the answer to your prayer is no.

ú Pray to God simply and naturally – it is a conversation. Tell him what is on your mind.

ú Pray, remembering the blessings you have been given. Count them from time-to-time, and give thanks for them.

ú Pray for forgiveness from your unworthy thoughts and actions. He will always be near to a humble and contrite heart.

ú Pray for what you need to improve your life and enable you to approach your God as an upright man.

ú Pray for others, remembering the situations they confront and the help they need.

ú Pray for the world in need, asking God to bring relief to those who hunger, those who suffer, and those in war-torn countries, and offering your help to bring God’s help to all.

ú Pray above all else that God’s will be done in you and in the world. His purposes are deeper and wiser than anything we could possibly imagine.

Our experience, will call us to question why God would appear to answer one person’s prayers and not another’s prayers? It may be because they don't have a relationship with God. They may know that God exists, and they might even worship God -- from time to time. But those who never seem to have their prayers answered probably don't have a relationship with Him. They may feel that their way of life will prevent them from ever being able to establish that relationship. What they may not know is how they can receive God's forgiveness for all their sin. They might not know that they can come into a relationship with God so that God will hear them. All who come to God, with a contrite heart, and believe in Him, will receive salvation. This is the foundation for God answering your prayer.

For all who want to follow God, and actually listen to what He says, praying for help becomes a natural part of our relationship with God. We can feel comfortable coming to God with our needs, our concerns, and whatever issues are current in our life. His wisdom is greater than ours and His advice and counsel will also be greater than ours. From what we read in the Bible, God wants us to rely on Him. "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us."¹

Prayers for our Brothers and their Families

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.

Psalms.147

[1] Praise the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is good.
[3] He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds.
[7] Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:

Remember those listed below in your prayers. We name the welfare of our brethren in our petitions because we love them; and knowing of our own need of their prayers, we realize their need of ours. “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer...”

For Healing and Support	For Thanksgiving	For Comfort
Brother Buddy Schesso, now residing in Friendship Manor.	For David Peterson the father and grandfather of our Brothers Tom Peterson and Tom Smith, who went home this September. He has now been healed of all earthly pain and distress.	For Bobbie Wiggins (Brother Schesso’s Sister)
Bring the help and comfort of our Lord’s grace to our Brothers Tom Peterson and Tom Smith, on the loss of their father and grandfather.	For Rodney Marek of Montgomery who went home on October 4. He has now been healed of all earthly pain and distress.	For our Brother Timothy Jacobs and his family at the loss of his father.
Pray for help and comfort for our Brother TJ Berg and his family, that, through our Lord’s grace, they will be granted relief from this passage in their journey of life.	For Barbara Jean Godejohn, who went home on October 23. She has now been healed of all earthly pain and distress.	For the family of Barbara Jean Godejohn, on their loss. Barbara was the sister of our Brother Gordon Bane,
Bring the help and comfort of our Lord’s grace to our Brother Tom Peterson in his time of need, and that he will be granted relief from this passage in his journey through life.
Bring the help and comfort of our Lord’s grace to our Brother Lou Price and his family, for the healing of his Father-in-law who is recuperating in the hospital.
Bring the help and comfort of our Lord’s grace to our Brother Larry Wigfield for the healing of his wife Bonnie, who is recuperating in the hospital.
Bring the help and comfort of our Lord’s grace to our Brother George Strehlow who is recuperating from cellulites at Friendship Manor in Shakopee.

“My wife caught me last night. When I came home late from Lodge, I usually sit down on the top step of my porch and hunt for my latch key. She says I never get home until after mid-night. I say it’s before. She caught me all right last night.”

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

Bill Boyle	Dec 7
Gordon HL Clough	Dec 13
Berlyn Teig	Dec 13
David Willemsen	Dec 15
Gary Nagel	Dec 16
Wallace Perry	Dec 19
Scott Guss	Dec 19
Jim O’Conner	Dec 20
Steve Dixon	Dec 22
Eugene Dodge	Dec 23
Jacob Janikowski	Dec 23
Steve Sorenson	Dec 31

How should I wear my Masonic ring; with the compass pointing towards my fingers or the reverse?

No Grand Lodge has legislated upon the subject except North Carolina whose law states that a Mason should wear the ring so the tips of the compasses are pointed towards him. But this is suggestive, not mandatory. The consensus is that if a Masonic ring is worn to advise those who see it that the wearer is a Master Mason, the tips of the compasses should be pointed toward the tips of the fingers. If the ring is worn to remind the wearer that he is a Master Mason, the ring should be worn with the tips of the compasses pointed toward the wrist

Our Parents and Our

Prayer

Prayers for our Brothers and their Families

Psalms.147