grand master’s message
Grand Master’s Message Vision: “To unite men of different beliefs and cultures into one common society of friends and brothers under the guidance of the Grand Architect” Mission: “To unite men of different beliefs into a harmonious and productive community through the application of Masonic moral values and the practice of benevolence, intellectual development, and mutual respect”
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ast year your Grand Line Officers took on allegories and symbols to teach, instruct, and remind the task of properly defining what our Grand us how to live. Lodge, in particular, and Freemasonry, in Questions that we never ask or have answered are general, actually does in our jurisdiction and where what is it we want to achieve or where do we want it is going. For many years men have asked: “What to go? If we arrive at our destination, how are we does Freemasonry do; what does it stand for?” to know? Our standard response has been: “Freemasonry In today’s society, memtakes a good man and bers of most groups or makes him better.” Wow, organizations know what I can see the questioners’ they do, who they serve, eyes glaze over on hearand how they serve by the ing this response. What use of a mission statement. is a good man and how They also know what they can you make him better? are trying to accomplish In Masonry there is really or reach by the use of a only one definition of a vision statement. Our Misgood man. A “good man” sion Statement answers is someone who has a faith the question: What does in God and has moral valMasonry do? The Vision ues — nothing more and Statement informs us nothing less. We have only about where we would like two basic requirements to get to. Our Grand Lodge to become a Mason. First, was created two hundred one must ask to be made years ago this year. Our a Mason (rather than be founders, I’m sure, saw no asked) and second, one need for either statement. must profess a belief in Neither did they write deity. So why don’t we just down their hopes, dreams, say that we take men who or vision for our Grand have a faith in deity and Lodge. Have we achieved strengthen their own relior exceeded their dreams? Most Worshipful Brother Jesse Villarreal gious beliefs? I hope we have, for what began originally as a collection of five lodges now Another response that we have often provided is: stands at forty one — certainly something that the “Masonry is a system of morality, veiled in allegory, founders could not have contemplated. illustrated by symbols.” This phrase really sends a prospective member into the nether lands. Again we So the task was undertaken to define and establish could have just as easily said, “Masonry is a moral both a mission statement and a vision statement for way of life and to emphasis the moral values, we use our Grand Lodge. A mission statement would map out what we do, how we do it, and who we serve. A continued on next page The Voice of Freemasonry
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