North Carolina Mason
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/5190
T h e m i s s i o n o f fr e e m a s o n r y i n no 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.
The Mason
NORTH CAROLINA
(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
Dan C. Rice
Board Of Publication
John O. Newman Jr., Chairman
Gary R. Ballance
Don E. Bolden
omas A. Pope Jr.
Hugh K. Terrell Jr.
Editor
Ric Carter
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Page 2 The North Carolina Mason May/June 2009
From the editor's desk
or is willing to show up and help with every work project at the
lodge? How about the Brother that cannot make it to the lodge
regularly, but really supports the Masonic charities with financial
gifts each year? And then, there is the Brother who does not know
any of the ritual, who, because of his age, cannot work at the fund-
raisers or the work projects and who cannot give large amounts to
the charities, but who lives his life, year after year, as a good and
decent man. is man lives Masonry in all areas of his life and
gives as he can to the charities and is proud of his Masonry.
Are all of these Masons equal? I guess it depends on who is
judging and what criteria they are using. ere are certainly peo-
ple that would argue on behalf of each of them.
After carefully pondering whether all of us are created equal, I
have simply concluded that, given my very limited skill set, God
given gifts, and personal experiences, I am not even remotely
qualified to seriously consider the question. We are all put to-
gether so differently that there is no way to compare people by the
way they are created by God.
On the other hand, there are certainly methods to compare
people by the way they live their lives after being created. Some
people choose to be mean and selfish while others tend to be nice
and charitable. Some people tend to be industrious, while others
are lazy. We do get to choose how we live our lives. Some choose
well, while others make poor choices. Our Masonic teaching says
that we are to judge a man based on his internal and not exter-
nal qualifications. A person cannot control what gifts he is given
when created, nor how tall he is, nor the color of his eyes or skin,
but he can decide whether to be a good man or a bad man. As
Masons, it is important that we choose men who are good on the
inside regardless of their external appearance.
e lesson to be learned here is that everyone has different
God-given gifts. It is extremely important that any organization,
and especially a Masonic lodge, have a diversity of men with a
complete variety of God-given gifts. A lodge will always function
better with a wide range of thoughts, skills, and abilities. Har-
mony is not having everybody thinking exactly alike. Harmony is
when everyone agrees to work together for the common good.
I want to emphasize that all of us have been given many spiri-
tual gifts by God. We did not get to pick our individual gifts any
more than we got to determine our own skin color. No one gift is
greater than another. at being said, we do determine whether
we utilize our God-given talents for others. An unused gift from
God is like a beautiful apple being allowed to rot. On every good
team, regardless of the sport, people have different assignments
and different skills. A really good coach will analyze his pool of
talent and available positions and match them up properly. My
challenge to masters and lodge officers is to get all the Brothers
in the game. Every lodge has an abundance of talented brothers
waiting to be asked to help. May we always meet on the level and
judge others only by their internal qualifications — if we have to
judge at all. Let charity and love prevail in our lives.
e Apostle Paul said in I Corinthians 13:1–3, "If I could speak
in any language in heaven or earth but didn't love others, I would
only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging
cymbal. If I had the gift of prophesy, and if I knew all the myster-
ies of the future, and knew everything about everything, but didn't
love others, what good would it be? And if I had the gift of faith
so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, without
love I would be no good to anybody. If I gave everything I have to
the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if
I didn't love others, I would be of no value whatsoever."
BOTTOMLINE, from page 1
HAMLET — It's an unusual coincidence for
a sitting master to earn a service award during
his term in office. It goes into the realm of unbe-
lievable when the service award is the Diamond
Jubilee Award— that one is given for 60 years
lodge membership.
Recognizing the rarity of the occasion, Grand
Master Dan Rice himself attended Hamlet 532's
March 12 meeting to present personally Hamlet
Lodge Master Earl Bradshaw his Diamond Ju-
bilee pin and certificate.
Bradshaw, at 93 years old, is thought to be the
oldest master in North Carolina, and one of our
oldest ever. It's his second trip to the chair. Raised
in Hamlet Lodge in 1949, Bradshaw served a
year as tyler before being appointed to the officer
line of the lodge. He was master in 1962 at age
47. He went on the serve as lodge chaplain for 25
years before entering the officer line again.
Hitting 94 August 8, he is serving his second
term at twice his age during his first term.
An estimated 100 Masons from around the
state attended the event. And, lest you giggle, no,
Earl's no "old man in dotage." He's enjoying a
capable and energetic year in the east.
— William P. Horne Jr.
Masonic research
loses an old friend
FULLERTON, CALIFORNIA — Ralph
Herbold, longtime face of the Southern Califor-
nia Research Lodge, passed away earlier this year.
He was 93. Herbold joined the SCRL in 1959
and was its master in 1963. Ralph's letters to the
members became the publication of the educa-
tion oriented lodge. You can learn more about
his admirable legacy and Masonry at