On another note, I’ve been asked to clarify the rules on electronic communications/devices (i.e. cell phones/PDAs) within the lodge. Masonic etiquette dictates that no other business be conducted during a meeting. Although there are many lodges within the state and across the country that absolutely prohibit them within the lodge during a meeting, I think that the blanket rule is slightly draconian. Accordingly, after consultation with many other Masters, our rule is as follows: (i) During meetings, phones must be turned off, silenced, or if the Brother anticipates an urgent message the phone may be set on vibrate so that the Brother may receive the notification; (ii) If the Brother receives a message that must be attended to before the next break, he must properly excuse himself from the lodge room to conduct his business. Once his business is concluded, he can return to the lodge room. This will preserve the Masonic tradition and lodge decorum while maintaining flexibility for the individual Brother. If you have questions or need further clarification, please feel free to contact me.

Finally, I want to invite all of you to a very special event. On June 19th, Mt. Moriah will hold an awards dinner to honor all brothers who are eligible to receive 5-year through 45-year service awards during 2012. Please note that the awards for 50+ years of service will be handled the same way as always. The June 19th awards dinner is a family dinner. After dinner we’ll have a very short lodge meeting while our friends and families are finishing dinner and then after we close lodge we’ll invite our guests in to present the awards pins. In addition, in a Mt. Moriah version of This is your Life, we’ll honor one brother who has made considerable contributions to the community over his entire life.

It’s going to be a fun and heartwarming night!

Sincerely & Fraternally,
George W. Hoffman
Worshipful Master

2012 Mt. Moriah Masonic Temple Golf Classic
05/25/2012
07:00 AM-5:00 PM

Mt Moriah Lodge #116, invites you to attend the Mt Moriah Masonic Temple Golf Classic.
The outing will be held at Fox Hollow Golf Course, in Timonium, MD. The proceeds of this event will be used to support, enhance and continue to grow Masonic Awareness, Education and Brotherhood, and to support charitable causes such as the MD C.H.I.P. (Maryland Masonic Child Identification Program).

Format: 4 Person Captain’s Choice
Date: Friday, May 25, 2012, Memorial Day weekend
Time: 8:00am Shotgun Start
Place: Fox Hollow Golf Course
Check-in: Begins at 7:00am
Fee: $80 Per Person + Buffet / $25 Per Person For gathering and buffet only afterwards starting @ 2:00pm.

Includes: Greens Fees, Golf Cart, $2.00 beers, free water/soda and snacks, Padonia Station hot/cold buffet, and cash bar after the tournament.

Need Directions to Fox Hollow Golf Course
1 Cardigan RoadTimonium, MD 21093

Cost is only $5.00.

Special Presentation on the History of the OddFellows by Gene Leisure

Need Directions to Mt. Moriah
507 West Chesapeake Ave.Towson MD 21204

We are currently accepting scholarship applications. All applications must be properly submitted before May 1, 2012. A copy of the application and eligibility requirements are available HERE for you to download. You can also call the lodge and ask to have one mailed, but downloading it is faster.

Also, do you know of a Mt. Moriah Brother who has done outstanding work in giving back to the community in ways other than through Masonic events? This year we will present an award for outstanding service to the community by a Mt. Moriah Brother. Any member in good standing is eligible for the award. Please send me your nomination, with details, via email or letter by May 1, 2012 and we’ll honor this exceptional brother at our Service Awards banquet this summer.

Sincerely & Fraternally,

George W. Hoffman
Worshipful Master

Enclosed you’ll find tickets to this year’s 50/50 raffle, which will help support our lodge’s charitable and other efforts. We’re counting on everyone’s support and help to make the raffle a success.
Sincerely & Fraternally,
George W. Hoffman
Worshipful Master

Brethren,

Please join us July 17th for this interesting and valuable discussion.

Have you ever wondered how Bonnie Blink started?  Have you ever had questions about it’s role in our fraternity today or in the future?  Possibly you’ve heard that Mr. Moriah Lodge has a special connection to Bonnie Blink but you don’t know the facts?  Or maybe you’ve simply asked, “What’s in it for me and why do I care?”  Or even the basic question of, “How do we qualify to move in there?”  Ms. Sedesse will visit our lodge and answer all of those questions and more!

Sunday, March 11, 2012: St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Join Mt. Moriah Lodge again as we march in the Baltimore St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Last year we had about 30 people participate and we all had a great time. Let’s make this year even better! This year the parade is held on Sunday, March 11th, and will begin marching no later than 2:00p.m. We will need to meet at the assembly area between 12:00 noon and 1:00p.m.

If you would like to meet at the lodge and carpool please be there no later then 10:30.

Mt. Moriah will be meeting at the Owl Bar at 12pm for fellowship before the parade.

Owl bar is located on 1 East Chase Street  Baltimore, MD 21202

Please reserve online (www.mm116.org) or let Bro. Michael Cohen (either 954-804-2256 or juniordeacon@mm116.org) know if you would like to participate, and if you need a ride or could help out with carpooling. We will need your name, best phone number to reach you, and your email address if you have one.

Need Directions to

For as long as I can remember Masonry has played a part in my life. I was born in 1976, twenty years after my dad was raised. By that time he was well established in the various bodies of Masonry, which even included becoming a High Priest in the Royal Arch Masons. As a young kid I knew about his involvement, but obviously didn’t understand, or really even care to understand. Occasionally my older brother and I had the opportunity to participate over at the lodge, such as at the annual New Year’s Day lunch. After watching my dad slurp back oysters out of a Styrofoam cup (we still tell stories of this) he would take us upstairs to play a few games of pool, and then walk us down the hallway to show us his High Priest picture on the wall.

Simple as this may seem, I look back at my childhood, and this was one of my best memories of being with my dad. I may not have understood everything that happened in that building, but it was easy to see the sense of pride he had walking the halls with his sons and in being a Freemason. One main reason for his pride is most certainly the fact that his father, my grandfather, was also a Mason. My grandfather passed away in 1945, just two years after being raised. My dad was only fifteen at the time, but, much like I did, he clearly recognized not only the joy the fraternity brought to his dad, but the sense of pleasure he had in being a Mason even for such a short period of time.

It was this type of connection, and a sense of history and family, that led me to start asking my dad more about the fraternity a few years ago. My older brother had become a Mason, and I could see the gratification that my dad had in seeing his son became a third-generation Mason. I decided that the timing in life was right to seek membership – I wanted my dad to have the opportunity to see me raised, as well. My brother and dad traveled nearly 500 miles back in May of 2009 to see me become a Master Mason. I didn’t know what to expect that night, but I knew it was special to have them there.

For me, though, my journey in Masonry has become more than just having my dad see me become a fellow Mason. While technically I did become a Master Mason that evening, it’s only through participation with my lodge that I am learning to understand what becoming a Mason really means. After being raised I joined the line, and became an officer, and even had the opportunity to have my dad join me in lodge to see me sit in the South. Shortly after he presented me with his dad’s Masonic ring, which is something I will always treasure. As I stated earlier I never had the chance to meet my grandfather, but I now know the significance of that ring, and feel a connection with him that I never had the chance to experience.

The past few years have been particularly difficult for my dad and my family. After a long battle with cancer my mom passed away in 2009. My dad has been battling cancer for the better part of the last five years, as well. There have been difficult times for all of us, and I know there will be more difficult times ahead. Throughout everything, though, Masonry and faith have helped my dad and my family get through.

New Year’s Day still remains special to me, and I even had the opportunity recently to return home and go to the lunch, once again, with my Dad and brother. The lodge is a little older, the tv in the game room is a little outdated, and they changed the Styrofoam cups to plastic, but the biggest difference was the fact that both my brother and I are now fellow Masons. Instead of walking around and showing off the lodge and his picture to us, my dad was showing us off to his lodge. Fifty-five years after joining the Freemasons the organization is still providing my dad a sense of brotherhood and pride, and now more than ever is proving an opportunity for the two of us to bond on a level that I have never had before.

-Bro. Jim Jolley
Raised May 19, 2009

St. Patrick’s Day Family Dinner
03/06/2012
6:30 PM-10:30 PM

St. Patrick’s Day Family Dinner

Tuesday 6 March 2012 –6:30 pm

Bro. Robert O’Schott will cook his delicious corned beef and cabbage for our families and us to enjoy.  The menu includes Bro. O’Schott’s corned beef, cabbage, ‘taters, Bro. O’Hoffman’s homemade Irish Soda Bread, and dessert.  The Order of the Eastern Star will help us celebrate this tradition.

At Lodge, we’ll have short meeting with proficiency in the EA Degree.

Cost: $20 for adults, $7 for kids under twelve.

Reservations: Either online (preferred) at www.mm116.org. or to Michael Cohen, JD, at (954) 804-2256 or at juniordeacon@mm116.org.

Need Directions to Mt. Moriah
507 West Chesapeake Ave.Towson MD 21204

Finally, I wish you and your families a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012.

Sincerely & Fraternally,
George W. Hoffman Worshipful Master