Kansas Mason - Summer 2019

THE KANSAS MASON Volume 57 Issue 2

Summer 2019

A publication for Kansas Masons in partnership with the Grand Lodge of Kansas and Local Masonic Lodges

Dale Morrow, Grand Master of Masons 2019-2020

From The Grand East

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s we publish this edition of the Kansas Mason, the 163rd Annual Communication feels as if it is the distant past. It was the first time the

Annual Communication had been held in Wichita since 1987 and the first time at the Hyatt Regency. 2018-2019 Grand Master Robert Talbott put together a wonderful event that capped off a stellar Masonic year. Thank you Most Worshipful Talbott for your dedication to the Craft and all that you have done for this Fraternity so far. Please enjoy some of the photos I have asked our editors to include in this publication.

It was a truly humbling experience to be installed as the 150th Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Kansas, and that feeling has continued as I have traveled around the state in my official capacity. Identical to the Grand Lodge Mission statement, my mission is to do everything within my power to assist the lodges of this Grand

The new District arrangement has lodges that are grouped geographically closer together, allowing the District Deputy Grand Master to serve his lodges with, hopefully, less travel time.

Jurisdiction to be as successful as they can be.

The District Deputy Grand Masters completed their Official Spring visits and are now preparing for their Fall visits. I hope that you are already aware that all the Area and District numbers were changed this year. This change did not and will GRAND LODGE OF KANSAS A . F. & A . M .

MASONIC LEADERSHIP ACADEMY 13-14 SEPTEMBER 2019 DoubleTree – Overland Park

not affect anything with how any lodge functions but is only a minor change in the tracking mechanism for Area and District Deputy Grand Master reports and School of Instruction assignments. In the past, District numbers have been strictly numeric and numbered 1 through 40. Now the Districts are alphanumeric. Districts in Area One, for example, are labeled 1A, 1B, and 1C. While the “old” system has worked continued

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GRAND LODGE: From the Grand East continued from page 1

well for us for many years, this new arrangement seems to make a bit more sense. The new District arrangement has lodges that are grouped geographically closer together, allowing the District Deputy Grand Master to serve his lodges with, hopefully, less travel time. Every year the Districts will be reviewed and tweaks made as needed. Again, these changes are only administrative, for tracking purposes, and nothing in your individual Lodge has changed. There is an article on page 14 that has more information.

Making our lodge meetings interesting and valuable for our members should be on the mind of every Master of every Lodge in this Grand Jurisdiction. Every Lodge should have a Masonic Education Committee, and it should be one of the most used committees in the lodge. Your Area and District Deputy Grand Masters, as well as the Kansas Lodge of Research, can be great resources for programs to make your lodge meetings more interesting and fulfilling for every member of the Lodge’s desire for Masonic light.

Often we let the minutes, the bills, and the general business of the Lodge get in the way of a good Masonic experience that our members truly deserve.

Regarding membership, your Grand Lodge Membership Committee has been working hard to augment the Discovering Freemasonry program which has been available for several years but has been rarely used. This program is being revitalized with additional materials and more of a focus on an “open house” concept to help your lodge show potential members what Masonry is about and why (and how) one can potentially become a member of this great Fraternity.

If this is of interest, your District Deputy Grand Master can get you started on the right path and get the materials to you.

Finally, I have visited many lodges already this year and plan to continue doing so. No, I may not announce that I am coming ahead of time and I may just “drop-in”. You never know who that late Brother knocking at your lodge door could be.

The Kansas Mason is published by the Grand Lodge of Kansas A.F. & A.M. Inquiries should be sent to Editor@KansasMason.org

Dates to Remember Sept. 7

Schools of Instruction start

Sept. 13

Grand Table Lodge – Overland Park

Sept. 14

Leadership Academy – Overland Park

Nov. 1

Essays due to local lodges

Dec. 1

Winning essays due to Grand Lodge

Dec. 14

Last School of Instruction – Belleville

Dec. 27

St. John’s Day (the Evangelist)

March 19

Raffle Car Drawing – Wichita

March 20

Annual Communication – Wichita

March 20

Annual Communication – Wichita

Check the online calendar for the most up to date information and details. KansasMason.org

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Grand Master:

Dale R. Morrow Belle Plaine Lodge No. 173, Belle Plaine

Deputy Grand Master:

Tony W. Borum Parker Lodge No. 341, Parker

Grand Senior Warden:

Mikel J. Stoops De Soto Lodge No. 243, De Soto

Grand Junior Warden:

Michael D. Johnson, II Peace Lodge No. 243, Louisburg

Grand Treasurer:

B. Cole Presley, PGM Millbrook Lodge No. 281, Hill City

Grand Secretary:

Tracy L. Bloom, PGM Salina Lodge No. 60, Salina

Thank You Thank You to All Kansas Mason’s for helping to Endow the $1.5 million Freemason’s Endowment.

This years Freemasons Endowment Auction, held during Annual Communications, put us over the top at $1,665,304!

Now we will always have a fund to help our fellow Brothers, their Widows and Orphans in their time of need.

Take great pride in this accomplishment!

GRAND LODGE: By Tracy L. Bloom, Grand Secretary

From the Grand Secretary’s Desk The 163rd Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Kansas is well behind us, and I am happy to report that everything seemed to go quite well and we are already planning for the 164th Annual Communication which will again be in Wichita. As expected, getting used to a new venue has its challenges, but everything seemed to go very good. Thank you to M∴W∴ Bob Talbott for a very successful and productive year. Many things were accomplished and a pace set for a return on others. I also want to Congratulate M∴W∴ Dale Morrow for his instillation as the 150th Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Kansas along with his Grand Lodge Officers who I know will pick up where Bob left off and lead our Fraternity well into the future.

At the Grand Lodge Office, we always hope for a short break right after the annual meeting. Vain hope! With the changing of all Area and District designations, all the Grand Lodge Officers, Area and District Deputy Grand Masters, and the changing of assignments for all Areas and Districts to all 201 Kansas Lodges, it was quite busy, if not hectic, to get all of those items changed around and functioning properly. I believe everything is now up to date and correct but if you notice something out of the ordinary with any of those, please be sure to let us know.

We kicked off the 2019 Masonic year with a member information update being conducted by Publishing Concepts Incorporated (PCI), a company the Grand Lodge contracted to gather current member information. This direct contact update, initiated with a yellow postacard encouraging you to call in, caused more negative feedback than we ever anticipated.

While we have answered many questions, I wanted quickly to list the answers to the most common ones.

PCI, of course, is a reputable company that has

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conducted exactly the same projects with many other Grand Jurisdictions, Missouri, Indiana, Minnesota, and Shriners International, just to mention a few.

We vetted the company over the past several years, and you can rest assured that none of your personal information is in any danger of being sold to ANYONE. We have an exclusive contract with PCI, and 100 percent of the information is for the benefit of the local lodges and the Grand Lodge of Kansas. Each year we spend thousands of dollars just in returned postage from non-updated mailing addresses, and this will eliminate at least some of that for the time being.

I applaud the local secretary’s in their endeavors to maintain current member information for each of their members. However, they can only update what they receive from members, which is woefully inadequate in most cases. Before we started the PCI campaign of our 15,000 + members, we only had around 4000 email addresses, and 3500 cell phone numbers. I can’t imagine many people in today’s society not having at least one, if not both, of those important communications tools.

Some have asked why our office staff can’t do these kinds of updates. Quite frankly, we do not have the time to contact each member and still be able to

complete the common day to day tasks. Running not have to commit any resources to the update, nor a quick calculation based on a 10-minute phone pay anything for it, in fact we get some funds back conversation (which is way underestimated) with each for the project, our members enjoy a better stream of member to update his contact information, it would information coming from the lodge and Grand Lodge, take one employee over a year and also reduces our Before we started the PCI campaign of our to complete. So you can start return mail cost. to see the enormity of the task.

On a bit of a somber PCI, not only takes that note, for those of you who off our plate, they complete might not have heard the the campaign for us, and in news yet, as of the end of doing so, they also offered March, we no longer have a few items for sale that a Grand Lodge Archivist. were pre-approved by the Dylan Sweyko-Kuhlman’s Council of Administration and gives the Grand Lodge position as Grand Lodge Archivist was created and a cut of the sales. So, not only do we improve our funded by the Kansas Masonic Foundation. Because membership database, but PCI pays us to do it. This of budgeting issues, they had to cut the funding for is a win-win situation. Yes, I’ve heard the argument Dylan’s position, and the Grand Lodge of Kansas didn’t many times that the Grand Lodge sold their soul to PCI have the capacity to pick up that funding. Dylan has for doing this in terms of compromising our member’s worked his tail off over the past four years digging personal information. NO, we did not! Again, PCI has through stuff in boxes and having no idea what he’d an exclusive contract with the Grand Lodge of Kansas find. Some items were worthy of cataloging and boxing and can do nothing with the data except for giving it up for future display; some items were simply trash; to the Grand Lodge of Kansas, no one else. Please let several items were priceless treasures that directly me clarify; they cannot give the data to anyone else related to the formation of the Grand Lodge of Kansas other than the Grand Lodge of Kansas. Your personal and yes, even some of the formation and founding information will not be compromised in any way, of our Great State. Dylan was a great asset for our shape, or form from PCI! Craft and has been greatly missed. Sometimes his job In summary, most spilled over to the Grand Lodge side when we’d need members will have an extra hand for projects, answering the phone, doing their personal genealogy research, doing historical research in lodges, information other jurisdictions, and or talking to people that simply updated, wanted to come in and see what we had in our library we do and museum. Initially, I was concerned about future employment opportunities in such a rare field, but I am happy to report that Dylan was recently hired by the Kansas Historical Society and he and his wife will be able to stay in Kansas. We wish him continued successes. If you wish to contact Dylan, we have kept his email active. dylan@kansasmason.org

15,000 + members, we only had around 4000 email addresses, and 3500 cell phone numbers

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GRAND LODGE: Mikel Stoops,Grand Senior Warden

What is the Length of My Cable Tow? Some say that the cable tow can be traced back to the Egyptian tale of Horus.

He being represented with seven ropes which in turn represented his seven powers.

The ropes or cables around the neck representing the guiding force that led him from his earthly death to a spiritual existence. If this is the case, then, we can say that the length of our cable tow is the measure of the distance along which we have to travel to attain spiritual enlightenment.

Others say it is a physical representation of the brotherly love that binds us all as members of this great fraternity. The physical representation of it can be removed because we are bound together by a true love for our Brothers. So in this case the length of our cable tow represents the depth of our Brotherly love.

Yet others have a much more basic explanation of the table tow. They say that the cable tow refers to the rope or cable used by our ancient operative brothers to hoist tools and material to the scaffolding on which they worked. The length of their cable tow would therefore determine how high they were able to work.

Those having more skill were able to work at greater heights, and therefore, they had longer cable tows. This would lead us to believe that the length of our cable tow symbolically alludes to those thing that are within our reasonable ability.

So what it the length of your cable tow? If asked or summoned to perform the duties of your station, assist this the work of the Lodge, or to help a Brother, how do you determine your response? Do you base it on a true desire to travel a path of spiritual enlightenment?

Or maybe you base it on the Brotherly love you feel to those associated with the request? Yet still maybe you simply look at what is within your basic ability to answer the call? These are questions that we all, as Brothers, must ask ourselves when we determine the length of our cable tow.

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2019 Annual Communications

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GRAND LODGE: By Tony Borum, Deputy Grand Master

Waiting On The World To Change

All Freemasons are proud of our membership history. We embrace the fact that many signers of the Declaration of Independence, inventors, hall of fame athletes, generals, astronauts, and awardwinning actors were/are Masons.

We proclaim our masonic connection to historical figures, as well as many current national and world leaders when we pitch our organization to non-Masons. We show pictures of our famous brothers with pride to prospective Masons as if we are all potentially famous as well. We drop their names as if Masonry made them into famous politicians, scientists, world-class athletes, military leaders, heroes and Oscar winners. We proudly recite their writings and quotes on social media and lay claim to their ideas, hopes, and dreams as if they were all 10

“Masonically” inspired. We hope, perhaps, that the profane in our families, our schools and around our communities see us as leaders solely by our association.

Do you truly believe that these men were transformed and inspired by the teachings of our Craft? Or, is it true that our great fraternity has been the benefactor of the membership of these great men?

No matter which one, or both, is true, or what you believe, we all have been given the tools embedded in our rituals, oaths, and lectures to become inspirational leaders that could make a profound and positive difference in our world.

There is something that all these persons have in common that is more than occasionally lost on the majority of Masons today.

These men had the desire and

self-motivation to succeed. These men did not just show up at our meetings.

These men did not just sit on the sidelines and complain. These men did not lament the failures of their peers. These men did not wait for success to come to them or their communities. Most of all, these great men certainly were not content on waiting for “the world to change.”

In November 2018 at a Table Lodge event in Lindsborg, Kansas Past Grand Master (2017) B. Cole Presley passionately appealed to all Kansas Masons to show the world who and what Freemasons really are. He challenged us to prove to our communities that we are the leaders that can bring positive change in our world, oh, ...... and that we are also Freemasons.

He challenged us to join the local PTA, offer our leadership skills to our school boards, city councils, and mayoral or other government leadership type positions.

When we study the history of our lodges, we find many of the great men and past leaders in our own communities. We find that men that were Kansas Masons stepped up to form and create our local churches, our businesses, our towns, our cities, and our state. The

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history of our fraternity suggests that Freemasonry has, and should, always attracted the true servant leaders in our society. Leadership is one of the social contracts given to us by the founders of Freemasonry.

If we, as members of the oldest and greatest fraternity in the world, somehow hope to inspire other good men and leaders to join our fraternity we cannot simply wait for the peaks and valleys of an everchanging society or world.

We cannot simply be a charitable organization or a “secret brotherhood.” We cannot continue to wait quietly in the shadows and watch the world change around us, hoping that society will progress for the better. We cannot just hope that, over time, Freemasonry and Masonic membership will magically expand with good men knocking at our preparation room doors. We cannot continue just to stand tall, wear our rings, emblems, and regalia around our communities without providing the needed leadership. We cannot proudly proclaim that we are descendants of leaders, quietly, maybe even internally, elevating ourselves above our fellow citizens, all while not assuming leadership positions in our communities.

It is time for us to take the lead.

We must assume the roles of our masonic forefathers, find solutions for challenges of today, and stop, “Waiting for the world to change.”

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2019 GRAND LODGE: By Kansas Mason Staff

LEADERSHIP ACADEMY

Experiencing success with a late summer Leadership Academy in 2018, our Deputy Grand Master has again scheduled the 2019 Academy for early September.

Being held at the DoubleTree in Overland Park on Saturday, September 14, 2019, another large attendance of Brothers in search of knowledge is expected.

Historically, Grand Lodge Leadership events have always been held in the spring or late fall and have conflicted heavily with other Masonic body events, particular those of our five Kansas Shrine Temples. Moving the Leadership Academy to an early September date allows our Brothers to attend that would otherwise be unable to attend due to their commitment to new members of their respective bodies. In 2018 many “new” faces were seen, and the Leadership Academy was one of the best attended ever.

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Started several years ago, a “Grand Table Lodge” has been held the night before the Leadership Academy and continues to swell in popularity. Being held on Friday, September 13, in a large banquet room of the host hotel, the event is expected to be close to a sellout.

For those unfamiliar, a Table Lode is a formal banquet (tuxedo or dark suit and tie is required), intertwined or culminating with various toasts.

Deputy Grand Master Tony Borum has stated that this year’s Grand Table Lodge event will be much different than in years past.

Attendees will partake in a topnotch meal and receive a take-home commemorative firing cannon that will be used during the toasting. A social time will start at 6:30 p.m.

with dinner served at 7:00 p.m.

Reservations are required.

While the Masons are enjoying the food, finery, and unique fellowship experience of the Table Lodge, the ladies will have the opportunity to partake in their own unique experience. The ladies can reserve their spot to travel from the host hotel to the New Theatre and Restaurant where they will enjoy dinner and the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor DreamCoat.

Reservations are required and may be limited due to transportation restrictions.

On Saturday, the Leadership Academy will start at 9:00 a.m.

The keynote speaker will address attendees in the early afternoon.

Speaking on leadership will be

LEADERSHIP ACADEMY

PRESENTERS KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Bill Snyder Tracy Bloom David Hendricks college football Hall of Fame member and Coach of the Year recipient Bill Snyder from Kansas State University. His presentation is expected to be powerful and motivating.

Individual Academy sessions are varied and should appeal to all Freemasons with applications for both self betterment and your Lodge’s. As of press time topics scheduled to be presented include: Membership Retention, Preparing for the East: The Warden’s Path, Planning for the Future, Advancement of Masonic Leadership, The Elevator Pitch, Public Relations: Our Foundation, Not Just A Man…A Mason, Our Lodge Page, Conducting a Lodge Audit, It Is Not About the Title, and Servant Leadership. Attire for the Leadership Academy is business casual or better.

While the men are busy at the Leadership Academy, the ladies who

have registered in advance will be relaxing on a private trolley ride to City Market and then to Union Station for Lunch at Pierpont’s.

Saturday looks to be a fun-filled day for the ladies.

Cost for the Leadership Academy is $50 and includes lunch, all sessions, and the presentation

by Coach Synder. All Attendees, men and women, must register in advance. To register for the Table Lodge, Leadership Academy or Ladies activities, please go to the Grand Lodge web page, www.KansasMason.org, click on the News and Events tab, then the Event Registrations tab.

Host hotel reservation can be made by calling the hotel directly at 913-451-6100 and ask for the GRAND LODGE ACADEMY rate of $122/night. Reservations can also be made online by clicking the link on the Grand Lodge registration

Derik Hockett Warren Hughes Robert McClarty Alex Powers 07 Mark Reeder Doug Wilkinson Curtis Utley Lincoln Wilson

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GRAND LODGE: By Kansas Mason Staff

2019 Schools of Instruction Here is the schedule for the 2019 Schools of Instruction. For the most current updates, as always, check the online Trestle Board calendar.

On that calendar you will find the

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exact location, assigned Grand Lecturer, and District Deputy Grand Master(s) responsible for each School.

All 2019 Schools start at 9:00

Sept. 7

Latham No. 401

Latham

Sept. 21

McPherson No. 172

McPherson

Sept. 21

Carson No. 132

Elk City

Sept. 21

Old Mission No. 135

Prairie Village

Sept. 21

Cedar No. 103

Chanute

Sept. 28

Lafayette No. 16

Manhattan

Sept. 28

Hutchinson-Reno No. 124

Hutchinson

Sept. 28

Bestor G. Brown No. 433

Wichita

Sept. 28

Lawrence No. 6

Lawrence

Oct. 5

Kiowa No. 293

Greensburg

Oct. 5

Solomon City No. 105

Solomon

Oct. 5

Troy No. 55

Troy

Oct. 5

Wyandotte No. 3

Kansas City

Oct. 5

Parker No. 431

Parker

Oct. 5

Marvin A. Armstrong

Pittsburg

Oct. 12

Atwood No. 164

Atwood

Oct. 12

Lake No. 50

Silver Lake

Oct. 12

Shawnee No. 54

Shawnee

Oct. 12

Spring Hill No. 56

Spring Hill

Oct. 19

Hugoton No. 406

Hugoton

Oct. 19

Anthony No. 200

Anthony

Oct. 19

Emporia No. 12

Emporia

Oct. 19

Winfield No. 110

Winfield

Oct. 26

Hoxie No. 348

Hoxie

Nov. 2

Iola No. 38

Iola

Nov. 9

Corinthian No. 79

Burlingame

Nov. 9

Hancock No. 311

Fort Leavenworth

Nov. 16

Anthem No. 284

Scott City

Nov. 16

Haysville No. 112

Haysville

Nov. 16

Fidelity No. 106

Eureka

Nov. 23

Millbrook No. 281

Hill City

Dec. 7

Great Bend No. 15

Great Bend

Dec. 14

Belleville No. 129

Belleville

a.m. Attire should be business casual or better with many wearing a jacket and tie. No regalia (apron, jewel, etc.) is needed. If you have a name badge, please wear it.

As referenced elsewhere, the Area and District numbering system changed this year. What does this change mean for Schools of Instruction? Nothing. Changes were made for administrative/ management purposes only. You will generally find the same lodges and same members attending the School of Instruction in your location to be the same as you have for many years.

As a reminder, there is no mandate or even a recommendation that sitting officers be in their elected or appointed position when participating in the work at a School of Instruction. If a Lodge chooses to do so, they can move all of their officers “up” in an effort to better prepare them for the position they will most likely be at in 2020. Schools of Instruction are not meant to be a “showcase” for already proficient members.

Rather, they should be treated as an opportunity to assist those wanting to become more proficient in their work and performing to the same standard as others around our state.

GRAND LODGE OF KANSAS 320 SW 8TH AVENUE TOPEKA, KANSAS 66603

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