The North Carolina Mason

May/June 2019

North Carolina Mason

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Page 4 The North Carolina Mason May/June 2019 T h e m i s s i o n o f f r e e m a s o n r y i n n o r T h Ca r o l i n a i s T o r a i s e T h e m o r a l , s o C i a l , i n T e l l e C T u a l , a n d s p i r i T u a l C o n s C i e n C e o f s o C i e T y b y T e a C h i n g T h e a n C i e n T a n d e n d u r i n g p h i l o s o p h i C a l TeneTs of broTherly love, relief, and TruTh, whiCh are expressed ouTwardly Through serviCe To god, family, CounTry, and self under The faTherhood of god wiThin The broTherhood of man. (USPS 598-260) is published bimonthly by e Grand Lodge of AF & AM of North Carolina, 2921 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27608. ird class postage paid at Oxford, NC 27565. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to !e North Carolina Mason, School Of Graphic Arts, Masonic Home for Children, Oxford, NC 27565. Grand Master Dwight M. "Mack" Sigmon Board Of Publication Kenneth Wayne Lambert, Chairman John R. Beaman III John S. Dodd Adam Russell Cloninger Dwight Stephen Decoskey II Editor Beth Grace Good quality pictures are essential for suitable reproduction. e right to re- ject any submission not suitable for use is reserved. Pictures will be returned to the sender only if accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Email submissions are welcome; high resolution, unaltered JPGs and Rich Text Format documents are preferred. Submissions and other correspon- dence should be sent to the editor at 2921 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27608 or . Each North Carolina Mason is a subscriber to !e North Carolina Mason. If you know a member who is not receiving the paper, please send us his full name, his complete address, and the name and number of his lodge. Masonic widows receive !e Mason free upon request. Subscriptions are available to others at a rate of ve dollars per year. Subscription inquiries and address changes only should be sent to: e School of Graphic Arts, Masonic Home for Children, 600 College Street, Oxford, North Carolina 27565. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of The North Carolina Mason, the Grand Lodge, or Board of Publication. FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK Grand Master Dwight M. "Mack" Sigmon .............msigmon@glnc.us Deputy Grand Master P. Shaun Bradshaw ............ sbradshaw@glnc.us Senior Grand Warden R. David Wicker .................... dwicker@glnc.us Junior Grand Warden Larry B. ompson Jr. ........lthompson@glnc.us Grand Treasurer Lewis R. Ledford (PGM) ............... lledford@glnc.us Grand Secretary T. Walton Clapp III ...........................wclapp@glnc.us Senior Grand Deacon Kevan D. Frazier .....................kfrazier@glnc.us Junior Grand Deacon Donald E. Kehler .....................dkehler@glnc.us Grand Marshal Robert W. Rideout ............................ rrideout@glnc.us Grand Steward Steve M. Norris ................................... snorris@glnc.us Junior Grand Steward Gilbert D. Bailey ......................gbailey@glnc.us Grand Tyler Guy E. Cline ..................................gccline77@gmail.com Grand Chaplain Richard A. "Rick" Williams.....rickwttu69@hotmail.com Grand Lecturer Dalton W. Mayo (PGM) ................... dmayo@glnc.us Grand Historian Ludwik J. Wodka .............ludwikwodka@yahoo.com NORTH CAROLINA The Mason Doing the right thing is a Mason ʼ s obligation By Beth Grace Editor R ules were made to be broken. I don't know about you, but I've heard that phrase countless times in my life – uttered mostly by folks who didn't know or like the rules. I have developed a renewed respect for rules in almost three years working with this Craft. Masons, it's true, have a rule for almost every eventuality. And, it turns out, they were not only created for a reason – there's good reason to follow them. Rules, obligations, promises. All of them are important. ey make this fraternity what it is: a haven for fellowship, community and charity. is issue of the NC Mason takes a look at some of those obli- gations, promises made and broken, good intentions either faded away with time or simply forgotten. Take, for instance, Masonic widows. e women behind the men of Freemasonry. ey spent a lot of time – some, decades of their time – supporting their husband's love of the Craft. ey attended ladies nights. ey proudly watched as their husband moved through the chairs to become Master of his lodge. ey formed friendships and groups of their own among fellow Masonic wives and girl- friends. Some joined the Order of the Eastern Star to share through sisterhood that "indis- soluble chain of sincere aection" that exists between their husbands and his brothers. ese good women were all in on their husbands' behalf. Brothers agreed at their raising to be all in on behalf of widows and orphans in need. In our front page story this month, meet some of those women who still treasure their connection to Masonry. If you take anything away from the story, take this message: Call your lodge widows and say hello. ey will love hearing from you, and the rewards of their friendship and participation are endless. e Grand Master's column takes the message of obligation a bit further. His message: Masonry is not only work, it's a good idea. "Making good men better is not just a slogan, it should be a way of life," he writes. Deeper within this issue is a column from Grand Secretary Walt Clapp that focuses on the nancial obligations of brothers to support their lodges nancially. "e higher the value we place on our fraternity," he writes, "Men will be inspired to participate in something they have had to save and work for." And then there are this month's new items in the standing Traveling the Tar Heel State and Mileposts sections. Nowhere can you see the fullment of fraternal obligations more clearly than in the stories about fundraisers, raisings and special awards for those who have been good brothers for more than 70 years. I invite you to take some time during the long summer to read these stories and re&ect on what Masonry means to you. Save a Tree – Opt Out of the Print Version On behalf of all the trees …. Thank you! Dozens and dozens of brothers have opted out of receiving the print version of the NC Mason (and reading it online now). Your kind gesture saves the trees, for sure – and it saves the NC Mason some money by cutting the number of issues we have printed! We're happy you're reading the Mason in any form and thank you for subscribing, but if you want to join the ranks of your brothers who have opted out, here's how you do it: Email your name, lodge number, and mailing address to ncmason@glnc.us. Write OPT OUT in the subject line. That's all it takes. (Note – if you have sent your notice in via other addresses, Facebook or Messenger and the paper is still coming, try again

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