File - Leeward Lodge

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“We, as Free and Accepted
Masons, are taught to make use of
it for the more noble and glorious
purpose of spreading the cement
of Brotherly Love and Affection.”
JUNE 2014 ISSUE NO. 6 Inter-­‐Lodge Connections Officers attend Hawaiian
Lodge 2nd Degree Rite
Honolulu, HI >> In the spirit of brotherhood and to further inter-­‐lodge relations, officers of Leeward Lodge attended on M ay 14 a Second Degree conferral at Hawaiian Lodge in the Makiki Temple. With them was their guest from Grenville Lodge 629 in Toronto-­‐Don Valley District, Canada, WB Alexander Lazaro, who expressed desire to visit Leeward Lodge but arrived the day after its stated meeting. On behalf of Leeward Lodge, WB Jay Oliver Bajuyo, expressed appreciation for the hospitality of the host Lodge. He also commended the Hawaiian Lodge officers, with Bro. Anthony Escasa on the Oriental Chair (pro tem), for the excellent conferral ceremonies, and congratulated the newly passed brother, Zak Smith. WB Lazaro likewise expressed his thanks and appreciation for the warm accommodation extended to him b y both Leeward and Hawaiian Lodges. He said he has learned about Leeward Lodge through its website. Grand Lodge visitation set for July 11
The Grand Lodge of Hawaii, under the leadership of the
recently installed Grand Master, the Most Worshipful Richard
B. Huston, will have its official visitation at Leeward Lodge on
its July 11 Stated Meeting. All members of the Lodge are
enjoined to attend. Dinner will be served at 6:00pm; Lodge will
open at 7:00pm. Please make time for this very important
meeting. Attire will be tux with gloves for officers. Coat and tie
are recommended for members.
The Grand Master will personally reiterate to the Lodge
members his announcement of his term’s theme, as well as his
vision and direction for the Hawaii Masonic jurisdiction. He will
also welcome questions from the brethren and spend some
casual fraternal time with members.
Bring a brother with you and see you all there!
The TROWEL
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How time has flown so swiftly! In almost like a blink of an
eye, we are about to end the first half of the year. We are now
on a countdown in so far as approaching the tail of 2014.
In retrospect, I can say that the first half of the year has been a
very productive period for the Lodge. We have accomplished
many things that have become vehicles toward the realization
of our Masonic charges and obligations. We initiated relief
efforts for victims of typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines,
volunteered in the Great Aloha Run, brought cheers to
patients at the Shriners Hospital in Honolulu, restored the
luster of a marker of a Masonic brother and hero, participated
in the One-Day (Fast) Masonic class, attended Masonic
education sessions, spent evenings of fraternal get-togethers in
the Lodge, and more. Through our projects and activities, I
have seen heightened fraternal ties, fulfilling charity work, and
continuing Masonic learning. We have properly documented
these collective work in our meeting minutes, newsletters and
website, and it will be refreshing for us to reflect back and be
reminded of the collaboration and cooperation we had among
us and the community.
I like to thank all the brothers who have supported our regular
undertakings and new initiatives – both in and outside of the
Lodge room. I ask that you please continue to support our
Lodge . . . your Lodge.
We have important events in the next few months that need
your support. Among the major ones are the official Grand
Lodge visitation on July 11, Layman’s Night on August 1,
and Lodge Anniversary in September – just to name a few.
Our corps of officers continues to work on improving their
ritual and floor work, and I thank our Coach, WB Billy Biala
PM, for his dedication in guiding the officers. Senior officers
are also working on the qualifications for the posts that they
may be filling in for the ensuing year.
I thank WB Manny Aquino, PM for temporarily assuming
the responsibilities of the Oriental Chair while I am out-oftown for few weeks this June to attend to family matters.
And so, as we turn the pages of the calendar for the remaining
half of this year, I implore your continued support for
Leeward Lodge. I look forward to seeing you in the Lodge.
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June 2014
LEEWARD LODGE, F & A M
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Basically, Freemasonry forbids [us] to hate [our] Brother. We can disagree with our Brother’s thoughts, his statements, his initiatives, but we cannot wish to banish, diminish, silence or destroy our own Brother. To disagree with what a Brother says is human, and is our right. But to hate and wish to destroy one who has been united with us in the bonds of Fellowship is to commit a severe Masonic error. It is not to be allowed, nor, if done, to be suffered to continue. This is what is mean by the Mystic Tie, or the Cement of the Lodge. To allow any compromise with this most basic of Masonic commitments is to be hacking away at the very foundation of Freemasonry. ”
-- Brother Eric Ginette
Vermont Lodge of Research
January, 2008
The TROWEL
LEEWARD LODGE, F & A M
June 2014
Honoring a Brother and Serving the Community Maintenance cleaning of Rizal monument
set for June 14
Grab and bring a rag, brass polish, powerwasher,
broom . . . and let us get to work!
Leeward Lodge members will revisit the
monument of Bro. Dr. Jose Rizal at the Filipino
Community Center on Saturday, June 14, 10:00 am
for the quarterly maintenance cleaning. The symbolic
structure was last cleaned by brothers from Leeward
Lodge three months ago, on March 29.
Family of Masons invited to
the July 4th Kailua Parade
Mark your calendar: Fourth of July,
Friday, 9:00 am, Kailua. Happy Birthday,
America!
Leeward Lodge members are invited to join
the 4th of July parade for this year. This
annual activity is open to various groups
and organizations in Hawaii, and
participated in by all Masonic Lodges and
concordant bodies in the jurisdiction. Let us
take part in celebrating the 238th
anniversary of the birth of our country.
Bro. Rizal joined Freemasonry in Madrid in 1883
at the Acacia Lodge No. 9 of Grande Orientes de
España, with the symbolic name of “Dimasalang.” In
1890, he became a Master Mason at the Logia
Solidaridad 53 in Madrid, and two years later, he was
designated Honorable and Venerable Master at the
Nilad Lodge, Manila, where he gave a lecture titled,
“La Masoneria.” While living in Europe, Bro. Rizal
obtained affiliations with Masonic lodges in France,
England and Germany and then visited lodges in
New York.
An intellectual, writer, artist, reformist and
martyr, Bro. Rizal inspired his people to fight for
their liberty and independence.
May 2014 Stated Meeting Brethren of Leeward Lodge flash their smiles following the smooth and p roductive May 2014 stated meeting. 3
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The TROWEL
LEEWARD LODGE, F & A M
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June 2014
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Alexander Lazaro, Bro. Anthony Escasa (Pro Tem
Master), Bro. Felix Yaranon Jr., WB Alex Escasa, WB
Raymund Liongson, and Bro. David Floirendo.
Officers’ Planning Meeting: Lodge Officers make plans for the month’s activities. L-R, counter
clockwise: Bro. Arnold Sarinas, WB Manny Aquino, WM Jay
Bajuyo, WB Billy Biala, Bro. George Pineda, Bro. Nestor
Muyot and Bro. David Floirendo.
Brethren from Leeward
Lodge visit Hawaiian
Lodge as the latter confers
the Second Degree to Bro.
Zak Smith.
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y hug to
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The TROWEL
LEEWARD LODGE, F & A M
June 2014
Call Me Brother
Bro. Thomas Devore
Courtesy of Freemason Information*
Some folks may call you Paul or Cliff
Or James or Chris or John,
Some folks may call you Dave or Charles,
or Tim or Pat or Tom.
Call me early in the morning
Or call me at high noon,
Or call me in the nighttime
By the light upon the moon.
And surely there are thousands more
The names that they might call,
I’ve not the space nor time
To write them one and all.
And should a Brother come to call,
No danger will I heed;
I must hurry to my Brother
With quickness and with speed.
But there’s a name that I am sure
Will fit you big or small,
A name that will catch your ear
The minute that I call.
So if you ever have a trouble
Should you ever be in fear,
Then just call upon me, Brother,
If you need me, I am here.
“Brother” is the name I mean,
Brother for you all,
Brother for the short guys,
Brother for the tall.
Call me Brother, when you worry,
Call me Brother when in need;
Call me Brother, should you stumble,
You may follow, I will lead.
‘Cause I was never good with names,
I guess I’ll never be,
So I’ll just call you brother
That seems the best to me.
Call me Brother when in sickness,
Call me Brother when you’re mad;
Or, you may call me Brother
When you’re happy, when you’re glad.
And you may call me brother, too,
The names seems heaven sent,
In fact you called me brother
Before I knew what “brother” meant.
Call me Brother when you’re lonely,
Call me Brother when you’re down;
Let me cheer you and delight you,
Make a smile out of a frown.
So if you need me any time,
Yes, anytime at all,
I’m waiting and I’m listening
If my Brother comes to call.
Call me Brother, that’s the message,
I am trying to get through
‘Cause it’s great to have a Brother,
A Brother -- just like you.
*http://freemasoninformation.com/masonic-education/freemasonry-in-general/masonic-poetry/bro-thomas-devore/
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The TROWEL
LEEWARD LODGE, F & A M
June 2014
[On the occasion of the 116th anniversary of Philippine Independence, The Trowel features a section from the book of historian Teodoro A. Agoncillo, History of the Filipino People, (Quezon City, Philippines), 1990, pp. 144-­‐146, describing the role of Freemasonry in the Filipino’s quest for independence. – The Editor] The Role of Freemasonry in the Campaign for
Reforms and Independence
Teodoro A. Agoncillo
Disgusted with the role of the friars in the
Philippine affairs, the Filipino propagandists in
Spain affiliated with Masonic lodges in Spain.
Graciano Lopez Jaena, not contented with
being a member of a Spanish Masonic lodge,
thought of bringing together all Filipino Masons
into one lodge. Consequently, he established
Lodge Revolución in Barcelona on April 1, 1889,
which was exclusively by and for Filipinos. A
year later, Lodge La Solidaridad was founded in
Madrid. This lodge took in all the members of
Lodge Revolución when the latter was dissolved.
These lodges became the focus of propaganda
activities in Spain and were responsible for the
maintenance of unity in the ranks. The leading
Filipino Masons then thought that it was time
to establish lodges in the Philippines. Pedro
Serrano Laktaw and Antonio Luna were
selected to carry out this decision. Serrano
Laktaw, upon his arrival in the Philippines,
conferred with Filipinos regarding the feasibility
of secretly establishing Masonic lodges. On
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January 6, 1891, Lodge Nilad was established
and a year later, on March 10, 1892, it was
recognized by the Gran Oriente Español, the
Spanish mother lodge. The Masons were
careful in their pronouncements, for they did
not want to unduly antagonize the Spanish
authorities. In one of their meetings, the
Masons set forth their platform as follows1:
We want a dignified, free and prosperous
country in whose horizons can be seen
the splendor of the sun of justice and
civilization. We want a democratic
regime, a genuine and effective autonomy
of the human individual as against the
enslaving pretensions of an ambition that
nourishes its life in the absorption of the
rights of the people and that waters its
happiness with the tears of the needy. We
want a good government and a good
administration. We want our country to
be represented in the Cortes: not a single
representative, not a single Senator is
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The TROWEL
LEEWARD LODGE, F & A M
June 2014
defending its interest in the Spanish
Parliament. Its government is dependent in
Madrid upon the Ministry of the Colonies
who, by and for itself, legislates and governs
the Philippines through Royal Orders, while in
Manila the Governor-General executes and
annuls the orders of the Ministries. We want
our country declared a Spanish province, with
all the rights and obligations. In other words,
we want reforms, reforms, reforms.
Such platform could not but win the sympathy
of the enlightened Filipinos. In view of the
increasing number of Masons, it was thought
practical to establish other lodges throughout the
Philippines. As of May 1893, the Masonic lodges
in the country numbered thirty-five, nine of which
were in Manila.
It can be said that the propaganda corps was
composed mostly of Masons, and it was this fact
which worried the Spanish Minister of the
Colonies who, on April 4, 1895, sent a cablegram
to the governor-general in which he said that “an
alarm exists here about the separatist work in the
Archipelago through Masonic propaganda that
excludes all Spaniards and is directed exclusively
by natives. I request, Your Excellency . . . to
inform me hourly of this, and if true, to redouble
the vigilance and to issue necessary orders to the
[provincial] governors.
The intensive campaign for reforms, however,
did not yield any tangible results in the form of
changes in the administration of the Philippines.
Armed struggled became the ultimate recourse.
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Andres Bonifacio, a Freemason, founded the secret revolutionary society -­‐-­‐ Kataastaasan Kagalanggalang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK) – that launched the Philippine Revolution against Spain to attain the country’s independence from colonial rule. At the outbreak of the revolution,
Masonry was already deeply entrenched in the
Philippines. Though not directly responsible
for the revolution – Andres Bonifacio, the
founder of the revolutionary Kataastaasan
Kagalanggalang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan
(KKK), or Katipunan, was a Freemason – it
served a pattern for the methods and
organization of the radical society.
The single most common characteristic
among the leaders of the Katipunan was their
membership in a secret elite group:
Freemasonry. Freemasonry was based on the
pillars of the power of rationality and
individual freedom, as against the superstition
and blind obedience to the Catholic Church in
the 17th to the 19th centuries. The Katipunan
core group – Bonifacio, Deodato Arellano,
Valentin Diaz, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa
and Jose Dizon , as well as 16 other officers
and members were all Freemasons.
____________________
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Teodor M. Kalaw, La Masoneria Filipina (Manila: Bureau of Printing, 1920), p. 99.
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June 2014 Trestleboard
June 6 (Friday), 6:00 pm: Officers’ Practice
Schofield Masonic Temple
Officers’ Practice
June 13 (Friday), 7:00pm: Stated Meeting and Official Visit of GL Inspector
Schofield Masonic Temple
6:00pm
Dinner
7:00pm
Lodge Opens
June 14 (Saturday), 10:00am: Quarterly Cleaning of Rizal Monument
Filipino Community Center
Waipahu, HI
June 18 (Wednesday), 7:00pm: First Degree Initiation for Mr. Allan Lejero Pulido
Schofield Masonic Temple
6:00pm
Dinner
7:00pm
Lodge Opens
All Masonic brothers are cordially invited to attend our Lodge meetings.
JUNE
Birthday Celebrants
June 1
June 5
June 6
June 6
June 7
June 7
Richard B. Huston
Jaime G. Rapada
Alberto P. Alarcon
Vernon R. South
Jesus F. Guzman
Roberto S. Olaes
June 8
June 11
June 17
June 18
June 25
Severino R. Malajito Sr
Donovan O. Davis
Oscar M. Romero
Rizalde L. Del Prado
Erik J. Crocker