February 2022 Trestleboard

The Lodge Secretary endeavors to keep our roster as accurate as possible. If you are moving, changing your mailing address, phone number or email address, please update your information in GrandView or notify the Secretary so that your information can be kept current.

Twin Peaks Lodge Secretary

The Trestleboard is an official publication of Twin Peaks Lodge No. 32, which is a legally constituted Masonic Lodge operating under charter granted by the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of Utah. The Trestleboard is published for the sole and exclusive use of the members of Twin Peaks Lodge No. 32, and any other use is expressly forbidden.  The editor of The Trestleboard is Glen Van Steeter.  Submissions of educational articles or other announcements may be sent to the editor at [email protected], and if selected for publication, will be given full attribution. All submissions are subject to the approval of the Worshipful Master of Twin Peaks Lodge No. 32 and the editor of the Trestleboard.

Stated Meeting

• February 7^th, 2022 @ 7:30 pm. Officers who cannot attend should send their regrets prior to the meeting. Depending on whether Bro. Jeff Killpack is prepared to pass off his FC proficiency, we will open on either the EA or FC Degree.

Other Mondays

• February 3-5^th: 150^th Annual Communication of the MW Grand Lodge of Utah.
• February 12^th @ 9:00 am at the Midvale Temple: Practice for Funeral Service for WB Lee M. Rogers
• February 14^th: No meeting. Valentine’s Day.
• February 16^th: Funeral service for WB Lee M. Rogers at 12:00 pm at the SL Masonic Temple. Interment will be at the Herriman VA cemetery at 2:00 pm.
• February 21^st @ 7:00 pm. MM degree practice.
• February 28^th @ 7:00 pm: Meetup at R&R BBQ in Midvale. See related article for details.

Holidays and Observances

• February 14^th: Valentine’s Day
• February 21^st: President’s Day

Twin Peaks Lodge Meetup for February

Sickness and Distress

Brethren All,

Most of you should already be aware, but Worshipful Brother Lee M. Rogers, Treasurer of Twin Peaks Lodge No. 32, passed away on January 5^th due to complications arising from COVID-19.  Lee was a long-serving member of Freemasonry in Utah. He served as Master of Twin Peaks in 1993. He held many offices in Twin Peaks during his Masonic career and notably had served as Treasurer and Secretary of Twin Peaks for many years. He was also a member of Mt. Olympus #23, Order of Eastern Star and Past Worthy Patron of #23. He also served several times as the Grand Patron of the Grand Chapter of Eastern Star in Utah.  Finally, he was a member of the Utah York Rite bodies.

His Masonic Funeral Service will be conducted by both members of the Eastern Star and Twin Peaks Lodge at 12:00 pm on February 16^th. His earthly remains will be interred at the Herriman VA Cemetery located at 12465 S. Pioneer Street (6000 West) at 2:00 pm. All members of Twin Peaks are to make time to attend both services to support his loving wife Linda as well as to honor the memory of our departed and beloved Worshipful Brother.

Brethren all, if you are aware of any member of this Lodge who is suffering from ill-health or other adverse circumstances, or you yourself are suffering the same and you feel that it would benefit the member to be contacted by members of the Lodge, please reach out to the Secretary, and let him know!

From the East

On the Secretary’s Desk

Brethren,

The major news in this Trestleboard cannot be ignored. Worshipful Brother Lee Merritt Rogers, who served this Lodge with great dedication and distinction, has deposited his earthly tools and duties to return to the Celestial Lodge Above to be again with his Great Creator.

Worshipful Brother Lee was my Masonic Mentor and Instructor. It was he who gave me my first instruction, mouth to ear, to pass me through the Three Degrees of Masonry. This duty he served with great diligence and dedication. Not only did he pass me through those proficiencies, but he also gave me great insight into the moral and ethical duties of a Mason, how a Lodge functions, and how that Lodge interacts with Grand Lodge. He literally put my feet on my path and career as a Mason, an officer of the Lodge, and as a man who is influenced by the teachings of our ancient and honorable Fraternity. I never stopped reaching out to Lee throughout my entire Masonic journey  and he never failed to provide answers to my queries. Twin Peaks Lodge is poorer for the loss of his personal service to it. And yet, through his diligent teaching and mentorship of our members, Twin Peaks is forever a beneficiary of his wisdom and enlightenment through the good counsel he has imparted to his brethren. He will be missed by all the members of this Lodge and the other bodies of which he was an integral part. But for me personally, his return to his Creator leaves a void in my being that cannot be filled or replaced. I look forward to seeing him again, in that heavenly house, not made by human hands, eternal in the heavens.

Rest in peace, my good friend.

Lee Merritt Rogers, Past Master of Twin Peaks Lodge #32, was born on June 30^th, 1942 and passed on January 5^th, 2022 at the age of 79 years. He was initiated into Twin Peaks on October 13^th, 1986; passed to the Degree of Fellow Craft on November 10^th, 1986; Raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason on November 24^th, 1986. He served as Master of Twin Peaks in 1993. He served many offices in the Lodge, including Secretary for several years and as its Treasurer from 2014 through 2021.

His passing admonishes to emulate that great Grand Master of which the 3^rd Degree of Masonry is the focus: So live thy life, that when thy summons comes to join the innumerable caravan that moves through that mysterious realm to take his place in the silent halls of death. Go thou not like a quarry slave at night, scourged to his dungeon; but sustained and soothed by an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave like he who wraps the drapery of his crouch about him and lies down to sleep.

Please keep his wonderful wife Linda in your thoughts and prayers.

With the greatest fraternal sorrow,

Glen H. Van Steeter, PM
Secretary

Masonic Birthdays

The following Brethren have anniversaries of their being raised to the Degree of Master Mason this month.

• Worshipful Brother George Auer, PM, raised on February 16, 1978 and has 44 years of service.
• Brother Albert Shahinian, raised on February 24, 1979 and has 43 years of service.
• Brother Edward Dwain Riley, raised on February 10, 1990 and has 32 years of service.
• Worshipful Brother Stephen Charles Horman PM, raised on February 17, 2014 and has 8 years of service.

Happy Birthdays

• Brother Jon Harris, born on February 12.
• Brother Jaysen Roundy, born on February 17.
• Worshipful Brother Leland Nielson, born on February 24.
• Brother Miles Crockett, born on February 28.

York Rite Masonry

In honor of Worshipful Brother Lee Rogers, this article briefly summarizes the origins of York Rite, and its bodies. He was a member of the Utah York Rite.

The origins of York Rite Masonry are found in the Regius Manuscript, which is generally held to have been codified around 1390. It contains the following: “Ancient Masonry consists of four degrees, the first three of which are those of the Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and the sublime Degree of Master Mason: and a brother, being well-versed in these degrees is eligible to be admitted to the fourth Degree: The Holy Royal Arch.”   It derives its name, York Rite, from a legendary assembly of Masons in York, England in the year 926, long before the formation of the United Grand Lodge of England, and possibly the first general assembly of masons ever held. While some of the bodies and degrees come to us from England, the system that we are familiar with was developed in America and is largely confined to it.

There are eleven degrees in the York Rite and they are further grouped by three separate organizations.

Membership Eligibility

Membership in the York Rite is open to all Master Masons in good standing. All members must maintain their membership in good standing in Blue Lodge in order to participate in the meetings and activities of the York Rite bodies.

Royal Arch Masonry, which consists of the following degrees:

• Mark Master Degree: to some extent this degree is an extension of the Fellow Craft Degree of the Blue Lodge. In some jurisdictions, this degree is conferred in a Fellow Craft Lodge.
• The (Virtual) Past Master Degree: This degree conforms to the requirement that only Past Masters of a Blue Lodge may be admitted to the Holy Royal Arch, although this requirement is unique to the United States.
• The Most Excellent Master Degree: In this degree, King Solomon’s Temple has been completed. In England, the degree is conferred by Cryptic Councils.
• The Royal Arch Mason or Holy Royal Arch Degree is said to be the most beautiful degree in all of Freemasonry.

Cryptic Masonry

Membership in the Council of Royal & Select Masters of the Council of Cryptic Masons is not required for membership in the Knights Templar in some jurisdictions. Its name originates from the fact that a crypt or underground room figures prominently in its degrees.

• Royal Master
• Select Master
• Super Excellent Master

In some councils, a Most Excellent Master Degree is offered between Select Master and Super Excellent Master, and some jurisdictions do not have the Super Excellent Master degree.

Knights Templar (Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the U.S.A.)

The Knights Templar is the final order joined in the York Rite. It is distinctive in that unlike all other Masonic bodies which require a belief in a Supreme Being, the Knights Templar is open only to Christian Masons who have completed the Royal Arch degrees (and in some jurisdictions) the Cryptic Mason degrees. Throughout history it has been claimed that Freemasonry itself was founded by the Knights Templar Order, or that after their dissolution by French King Phillip the Fair in the early 1300’s, that they took refuge in Masonic Lodges. The Grand Encampment of the United States acknowledges the existence of these theories but states that there is no proof to justify them.  A local Knights Templar division is called a Commandery and operates at the state jurisdictional level as well as under the Grand Encampment of the United Sates. WBro. Rogers was a member of this order. Their degrees or orders are as follows:

• The Illustrious Order of the Red Cross
• The Passing Order of St. Paul (or the Mediterranean Pass)
• The Order of the Knights of Malta (or the Order of Malta)
• The Order of the Temple

Prominent Charitable Foundation

In 1956, the Knights Templar Eye Foundation was founded by the Grand Encampment of the United States of America and is governed by a Board of Trustees and is incorporated under section 501(c)3 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service code, meaning that it is tax-exempt as a charitable or philanthropic entity. Since 2010, the Foundation has focused on the mission “to improve vision through research, education and supporting access to care.” It partners with the Seniors EyeCare Program, EyeCare America, and the Foundation of the American Academy of Opthalmology. More about this charity can be learned at https://www.ktef.org/

The Order of the Eastern Star (O.E.S.)

In honor of Worshipful Brother Lee Rogers, this article briefly summarizes the origins of The Order of the Eastern Star, and its bodies. He was a past Worthy Patron of Mt. Olympus Chapter #23 as well as a past Grand Worthy Patron of the Grand Chapter of the OES in Utah.

The Order of the Eastern Star is a Masonic Appendant Body open to membership by both men and women.

History

The OES was established in 1850 by lawyer and educator Rob Morris, but was only adopted and approved as an appendant body of the Masonic Fraternity in 1873. By 1855, he had organized a “Supreme Constallation” in New York, which chartered chapters through the U.S. In 1866, Dr. Morris worked with Robert Macoy, the founder of the Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Company, which still exists. Macoy organized the current system of Chapters and modified Dr. Morris’ Rosary into a Ritual. The General Grand Chapter was formed in Indianapolis, Indiana on November 6^th, 1876. Committees formed at that time created the Ritual of the Order of the Eastern Star in more or less its current form.

Basis

The Order is based on writings from the Christian Bible. The emblem of the Order is a five-pointed star, with the white ray pointing downwards towards the manger of Jesus’ birth. The meaning of the letters FATAL surrounding the center pentagon is only revealed to members of the Order. In the Chapter room, the downward pointing ray points West. There are five heroines or exemplars of the Order:

• Adah, the daughter of Jephthah, Judge of Israel, from the book of Judges: She is represented by the color blue and a sword and veil and she represents the virtue of obedience to duty.
• Ruth, of the book of Ruth. She is represented by the color yellow and a sheaf of barley. She represents the virtue of religious principle.
• Esther, the wife of the book of Esther. She is represented by the color white and a crown and scepter and she represents the virtue of loyalty.
• Martha, the sister of Mary and Lazaraus from the gospels of Luke and John. She is represented by the color green and a broken column. She represents the virtue of endurance under trial.
• Electa, the “elect lady” from II John. She is represented by the color red and a chalice. She represents the virtue of endurance under persecution.

Presiding Officers of a Chapter

There are 18 main officers in a full chapter and is presided over by the Worthy Matron, or executive female officer. The Worthy Patron is the only male officer of a Chapter, and must be a Master Mason in good standing of a Blue Lodge, and whose principal duty is to provide general supervision.

Membership Eligibility

All members of the OES must be at least 18 years of age. Men must be Master Masons in good standing, while women must have a specific relationship with Masons. Originally, women had to be the daughter, widow, wife, sister or mother of a Master Mason. Today, the Order permits other relatives as well as allowing members of Job’s Daughters, Rainbow Girls, the Organization of Triangles (NY) and Junior Stars (NY)to become members when of age.

Charities

The OES has supported a number of charities in its history, including Alzheimer’s disease research, juvenile diabetes research, and juvenile asthma research. Bursaries are available to students of theology and religious music. Many jurisdictions offer scholarships. Some jurisdictions have founded or supported Masonic or Eastern Star retirement centers. The Elizabeth Bentley OES Scholarship Fund was established in 1947.