January/February 2016 The North Carolina Mason Page 5
Building a Stronger Foundation
Saints John vs. St. Jude
By Bryant D. Webster
Grand Master
Our lodges are tradi-
tionally dedicated to the
Saints John: Saint John
the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist. ey are
represented in our lodges, and we celebrate their
festival days in summer and winter. What then of
St. Jude, that eminent saint after whom the world-
famous children's research hospital in Memphis,
Tennessee is named? One might think that a saint
after whom such a great children's philanthropy is
named should be counted in our Masonic panthe-
on, up there with the Saints John, King Solomon,
Hiram Abif, and perhaps our American secular an-
swer for a saint — George Washington.
Yet, if one digs a little deeper, the reason for ex-
cluding St. Jude is obvious: you
see, St. Jude is the patron saint
of the lost cause. Brethren, our
fraternity, our charities, our
institutions are anything but a
lost cause.
One has only to look at our
successes, whether it be the
implementation of MORI to manage our mem-
bership information, or 100 years of service to our
seniors at WhiteStone, a Masonic and Eastern Star
Community, or 145 years of service to children at
the Masonic Home for Children at Oxford, or the
recent formation of new lodges to include motor-
cycle lodges, traditional observance lodges, a uni-
versity lodge, and the new MESH Lodge UD at
WhiteStone. ese highlights make clear that we
are far from done, that our best lies ahead, that we
are not a lost cause.
When something is a lost cause, you cut your
losses, mitigate the damages, fold the tent, and go
to the house. We are not there. Our troubles are
well-documented; I'm not interested in rehashing
them. I have a very small rear-view mirror and a
very large windshield, and I'm willing to accept
instruction as to how to focus from the same. We
must look forward.
To that end, we are introducing some tools to
help us find our better selves:
1. e Lodge Self-Assessment Tool: Located
on the Grand Lodge website, this form allows your
lodge to measure itself against a set of standards
— for your building, your meetings, service to the
community, fundraising, ritual proficiency, etc. is
is your tool to use for your purposes. We all know
that we cannot manage what we do not measure.
You can evaluate your lodge and establish goals for
"raising your game." No one else is going to grade
it, look at it, or ask for it; it is to help you. You can
find it here: .
2. Tips for Treasurers: We have been derelict
in providing training and instruction for our lodge
treasurers. We will soon be putting on the Grand
Lodge website bits of information and news, best
practices and reminders, to help our treasurers do
their very important jobs.
3. Wilkerson College: is is not a new tool, but
it is an underused tool. We have over 300 lodges
in North Carolina; fewer than 40 of those lodges
apply to send someone to Wilkerson College annu-
ally. Many of the same lodges send someone every
year. Brethren, I'm challenging you to find a way
to nominate and send your incoming junior or se-
nior deacon to Wilkerson College. If the applica-
tions surge, we will prioritize those lodges who have
not had an attendee. We will also put in place plans
to expand the availability of Wilkerson College.
It is difficult to contemplate expanding when we
are past deadline filling the class each year. Please
demand this service by making provision for your
officer to go.
4. Senior Protection Program: We want to build
a system to assist our elderly members, their wid-
ows, and families, to prepare them for certain death,
and to prevent them being the victims of abuse,
fraud, or theft. Please help your lodge secretary
get the information about the career skills of your
members into MORI, so we can identify resources
for our members and their families. We will provide
information on estate planning, and begin to create
the infrastructure to provide value to our members
and protect them when they are vulnerable.
5. Estate Planning: As I hold district meetings
around the state, I will be providing a brief primer
on estate planning documents, to help you help
your families to be prepared in the event you can-
not handle your own affairs during life, and for that
eventual demise that touches us all.
6. Masonic Education: If you have not looked
lately, go to the Education Resources Tab of the
Grand Lodge website, and check out all the re-
sources that are there for you. We have a new
Speaker's Bureau to bring exciting programs to
your lodge. We have print and media resources
galore. Please take advantage of these tools. More
will be added throughout the year. Your Grand
Lodge Committee on Masonic Education is work-
ing diligently to provide tools you can use to make
yourself and your lodge better. Self-improvement
is the name of the game.
7. SMART Goals: On the topic of self-
improvement, rather than New Year's resolu-
tions, commit to three
to five personal goals.
ey should be specific,
measurable, attainable,
realistic, and timely —
SMART. ey can be
physical — doing 50
push-ups each day. ey
can be financial — paying off 30% of your credit
card debt this year. ey can be spiritual — engag-
ing in a daily devotional. ey can be personal —
taking your wife on a date once a month. Whatever
they are, write them down, commit to them, keep a
log of how you are doing. e idea is that this time
next year, you should be able to smile when you ask
yourself the question, "Am I a better man now than
I was a year ago?"
8. Masons Can: Plan on bringing ten cans of
food and/or ten dollars with you to Annual Com-
munication in September. Ten dollars contributed
to a Food Bank means 70 meals for needful people
of our communities. We annually gather to do our
business, have good food and fellowship. Let's take
this opportunity to "do good unto all, recommend
it more especially to the household of the faithful."
We can show our communities the good we do,
and we can put a dent in hunger.
As we go forward, we will continue to look for
new and better ways to serve you, for the benefit
and betterment of our beloved Craft. While he is a
noble saint, and champions those much in need, St.
Jude has no home here. Our cause is far from lost.
If we all pull on the oars together, we can move the
boat forward faster and faster.
… we will continue to look for new and better
ways to serve you, for the benefit and
betterment of our beloved Craft…
