R. · .W. · . Kevin P. Wardally (14) Grand Junior Warden – MWPHGL of NY
When I first became a Master Mason my Worshipful Master at the time created a program called “Masonic Meals on Wheels,” where we would gather at my house, hang out, grill up some food, add some sides and then we would break into teams and go forth to the homes of our Sick and Shut In Brothers or our widows and take them the food we had prepared. After a few times doing this, he came up with the idea to tape a message from those older brothers on his phone, to the other members of the lodge whom due to age or sickness they had never met but wanted to share how much they and the lodge meant to them. Those messages were then showed to the brothers of the lodge in meetings and study class and those were
some of the best memories I have of some of those brothers specifically Bro Wilmer Jones and Bro Carlton Foster. YouTube was not really a big thing then, but I wish it was and I wish that we had uploaded those videos there so I could show them to the brothers of my lodge today, to help impart to them the love I saw in those men’s eyes, Both those brothers had not sat in lodge for almost 20 years due to sickness, but in those videos they talked about how much they loved Masonry, how much Adelphic Union #14 has meant to them, they thanked the brothers for not forgetting them and the history they imparted in those clips will never be heard or passed on again since both of them have since passed. But that was then, today we have so many more tools, more technology and ability to capture those stories, that history, that love, than we had then, and we are failing to do so. We are failing our brothers; we are failing our children, and we are thus falling our community. In just the first few months of 2024 in the jurisdiction of New York we have lost RW David. S. Bailey, the 30+ year Chair of the Committee on Masonic Education, RW Philson A.A. Warner, a hydroponic scientist and great man and mason of Boyer Lodge #1 and Past Grandmaster John Fields, a Grand Trustee Emeritus and leader of our craft for over 40 years. The stories that they shared with us who knew them are life changing and I know I will take every moment I got to spend with those honorable gentlemen to my grave and I am thankful for it and them and the lives they led and the things they taught. But that’s a selfish way of thinking and that doesn’t help better our community as a whole or help further educate the Masons who came behind me and never got to know them as intimately as I did. So I am issuing a challenge to myself and to every Mason and leader of this craft that loves this thing of ours and wants to see it be as great as it once was and is a true lover of its history, a lover of its brothers and wants to pass on that which you h ave learned and treasure and hold dear……..its living breathing history and memory. Go online and buy a tripod for your phone, get with your Lodge Secretary, and get the information for the 5 most senior members of your lodge and call them and ask if you can come and spend 30 minutes with them as soon as possible. Let them know that you would like to come and tape them as they answer a set number of questions and ask them to give their unique perspective to the many brothers they have not yet had the opportunity to meet in their lodge and to add on to the respective history and memory of Prince Hall Freemasonry.
Prince Hall Sentinel May 2024 Page | 48
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