The North Carolina Mason

September/October 2018 The North Carolina Mason Page 7 HALLMAN from page 5 ask delegates to approve an increase in the per capita. A $5 increase is less than a dime a week. I say this with all due respect: A Mason who can't aord an occasional modest increase needs our charity. A man who opposes such an increase on principle needs to examine his own values. What is Masonry worth to you? #A coarsening in society is intruding into our sacred retreat and eroding our bonds with one another. Remember your obligations. Heed our closing charge. #Masonry is rare. It is special. It is not for everyone. And it has been entrusted to us for only brief time. Our fraternity needs our very best eorts before our time is up, and before we hand Freemasonry to the next generation. #Your Grand Lodge is fortu- nate to have a cadre of line o!cers who are smart, hard-working and focused on the good of Masonry. Each brings a strong skill set and individual talents. Together they mesh into an eective and highly qualied team that is dedicated to excellence in all we do. Any success I have had this year I share with them, and every mistake and shortcoming is all mine. #Every Mason and every lodge is well served by our outstanding, professional and dedicated sta. is year I discovered how utterly indis- pensable each member of the team really is to the orderly and e!cient functioning of this sprawling and complex enterprise of 371 lodges and 38,000 members. ank you Walt Clapp, Jonathan Underwood, Cornelia Doherty, Vicki Lam and Hayley Moll. Finally, from Brother Goethe, a quote I've carried with me all year: "We are tied together, seeking that truth which none may learn for another, and none may learn alone. If evil men can drag us down, good men can lift us up. No one of us is strong enough not to need the companionship of good men and the consecration of great ideals. Here lies, perhaps, the deepest meaning and value of Masonry; it is fellow- ship of men seeking goodness, and to yield ourselves to its in&uence, to be drawn into its spirit and quest, is to be made better than ourselves." May the blessing of heaven rest upon us and all regular Masons! May brotherly love prevail, and every moral and social virtue cement us. So mote it be. Become a true builder. Become a member of the North Carolina Masonic Foundation's new Bridge Builder Society, a select group of donors who contribute $20,000 or more to the North Carolina Masonic Foundation for our Masonic chari- ties. Each member receives a beautiful sterling silver Tiany pocket compass, hand-etched with the NCMF logo. Join these founding members in building a strong foundation for the future of our charities and of North Carolina Freemasonry: Robert Broughton "Bobby" Carr, Mingo #206 William Pete Franklin, Charles B. Newcomb #740 For more information, contact Je Hensley, NCMF's chief development o!cer at jhensley@mfnc.org, or any member of the NCMF development team. New society recognizes bridge builders e Bridge Builder An old man going a lone highway, Came at the evening, cold and gray, To a chasm, vast, and deep and wide, Through which was flowing a sullen tide. The old man crossed in the twilight dim; The sullen stream had no fear for him; But he turned, when safe on the other side, And built a bridge to span the tide. "Old man," said a fellow pilgrim, near, "You are wasting strength with building here; Your journey will end with the ending day; You never again will pass this way; You've crossed the chasm, deep and wide- Why build you this bridge at the evening tide?" The builder lifted his old gray head: "Good friend, in the path I have come," he said, "There followeth after me today, A youth, whose feet must pass this way. This chasm, that has been naught to me, To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be. He, too, must cross in the twilight dim; Good friend, I am building this bridge for him." by Will Allen Dromgoole NCMF honors donors of $20K and more with special award DID YOU KNOW? You can nd The Mason on Facebook! Just link to http://bit.ly/2irdm6m or search for The North Carolina Mason. Read and post! And share your good news and charitable successes news with your fellow Masons!

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