Short Talk Bulletin

Brethren, this Short Talk Bulletin Podcast episode was written by Bro Zelwyn B. Eaton, and is brought to us by WBro David Koncz, PM – United #8, Brunswick ME. It is uncomfortable to consider our own demise. As Freemasons, our accepted duties are to help, aid, and assist, and there is no one who needs it more than someone who has just recently lost a loved one. Here we find a guide to Masonic funeral planning, which we should all give consideration to while we have time. Enjoy, and do share this and all of these Podcast episodes with your brothers and your Lodge.

Brethren, this Short Talk Bulletin Podcast episode was written by MW Bro Carl H. Claudy and first published in July 1949. This justly famous elaboration of the Prestonian lecture upon Geometry, part of the Fellowcraft degree, is less well known to present day Masons than it’s poetical content deserves. Mackie mistakenly attributes the authorship to Pike, but, lucky for you, here is the real story. Enjoy, and do share this and all of these Podcast episodes with your brother and your Lodge.

Brethren, this Short Talk Bulletin Podcast episode was written by Bro Lawrence Chisom, Executive director for the Masonic Home For Children, and is brought to us by WBro Jason Thompson, PM – Village #26, Bowdenham ME. The problems of drugs and abuse threaten the lives of countless children, and the mentorship program instituted by Masonry is but one response. Here is the story. Enjoy, and do share this and all of these Podcast episodes with your brothers and your Lodge.

Brethren, this Short Talk Bulletin Podcast episode was written by Bro John J. Robinson, author of “A Pilgrim’s Path”, and is brought to us by WBro David Koncz, PM – United #8, Brunswick ME. Not to spoil the surprise, but the answer, of course, is “No”. Here we find part of an excellent series of Bulletins designed to equip Masons with ways to respond to the misleading, inaccurate, and often untrue statements about Freemasonry made by religious extremists. Enjoy, and do share this and all of these Podcast episodes with your brothers and your Lodge.

Brethren, this Short Talk Bulletin Podcast episode was written by MW Bro Carl Claudy, and is brought to us by WBro David Koncz, PM – United #8, Brunswick ME. It is remarkable that the fires of war have not always been hot enough to burn away Masonic obligations and brotherhood.. These six tales will undoubtedly raise a lump of pride in the throat, and hope that we may all live up to these examples in our own lives. Enjoy, and do share this and all of these Podcast episodes with your brothers and your Lodge.

Brethren, this Short Talk Bulletin Podcast episode was written by Rev Dr and Bro Joseph Fort Newton, and first sent to all constituent Lodges of all of the member jurisdictions in May 1924. Along with the square, the compasses are one of our oldest symbols, and represents more and more as it is revealed throughout the degrees. Here, we dive into these representations, though we barely put a circle around much of importance. Enjoy, and do share this and all of these Podcast episodes with your brothers and your Lodge.

Brethren, this Short Talk Bulletin Podcast episode was prepared under the direction of Bro Clarence ‘Bud” Brown, president of the United States Chapel Historical Society and a member of Blanchester Lodge #191, Blanchester OH, and is brought to us by WBro W. Clayton Grimm, newly installed first time Master and 58 year-member of Village Lodge #26, Bowdoinham ME. There is a play, ‘Where Freedom Speaks’, that has been published by the Chapel Historical Society that is performed by youth groups across the country that speaks to the organization and history of the United States government. Here is the story of the how and why. Enjoy, and do share this and all of these Podcast episodes with your brothers and your Lodge.

Brethren, this Short Talk Bulletin Podcast episode was written by the Rev Dr and Bro Joseph Fort Newton and was first published in February 1925. In this season of renewal, let us take a look back at one of the fundamental symbols of our gentle Craft, and remind ourselves whence we came. Enjoy, and do share this and all of these Podcast episodes with your brothers and your Lodge.

Brethren, this Short Talk Bulletin Podcast episode was written by RW Bro Michael W. Walker, GS of the GL of Ireland, and is brought to us by VW Bro David Koncz, PM – United #8 ME. Upon his initiation, the brethren are assured that the candidate is living in good repute among his friends and neighbors. Later, upon being charged, he is exhorted to learn how to discharge his duties to his God, his neighbor, and himself; also to always demonstrate those truly Masonic characteristics of benevolence and brotherly love. Here, we find the story of why this matters. Enjoy, and do share this and all of these Podcast episodes with your brothers and your Lodge.

Brethren, this Short Talk Bulletin Podcast Episode is from the golden pen of Rev Dr Bro Joseph Fort Newton, first published in June 1923. Freemasonry has no greater name than Robert Burns. If there are those who question his investiture as Poet Laureate of the Canongate Kilwinning Lodge, owing to the absence of certain documentary evidence, no one denies that he was, and is, the greatest poet of Freemasonry, the singer alike of its faith and its friendship, its philosophy and its fun, its passion and its prophecy. Nay, more; he was the Laureate, of the hopes and dreams of the lowly of every land, and here is his story. Enjoy, and do share this and all of these Podcast episodes with your brothers and your Lodge, and raise a salute on Bro Burns’ birthday.

Brethren, this Short Talk Bulletin Podcast episode was written by MW Bro Jeffrey Williamson, PGM – NY, and is brought to us by VW Bro David Koncz, PM – United #8 ME. We find ourselves at the start of a new year, and with that come new officers and new responsibilities. Some brothers serve their Lodges by accepting the next chair and traveling through the line. But does this engender leadership of our Craft? Or does it just lead to more continuing? Enjoy, and do share this and all of these Podcast episodes with your brothers and your Lodge, and especially with all new officers.

Brethren, this Short Talk Bulletin Podcast episode was written in 1980 by WBro Harry M. Lehrbach, editor of the Masonic Tribune in Seattle. At the time of his writing, WBro Lehrbach was struggling with the question of “Why?” with respect to his own Masonic journey. Besides being well worth the listen, this may shed some light on your own reasons for continuing to be a Mason. Enjoy, and do share this and all of these Podcast episodes with your brothers and your Lodge.

Brethren, this Short Talk Bulletin Podcast episode was written by Bro Joseph J. Berlandi, Executive Secretary of the 32 Degree Learning Centers For Children and Scottish Rite NMJ, and is brought to us by Bro Matt Bower, Host of the Tyler’s Place Podcast for the Scottish Rite SMJ. “It was like watching a caterpillar become a butterfly before my eyes; a miraculous transformation had occurred.” That sentiment from a parent of a child with dyslexia being tutored, at one of our Children’s Learning Centers, is a testimony to our success. Here is the story. Enjoy, and do share this and all of these Podcast episodes with your brothers and your Lodge.

Brethren, this Short Talk Bulletin Podcast episode was written by MW Bro Donald W. Hensiak, PGM – WI, and is brought to us by VW Bro David Koncz, PM 0 United #8, Brunswick ME. With the advent of a new year, many of us will be moving to different chairs in our Lodges, whether that be moving up the line or covering a vacant chair, and with this comes new parts of the ritual for us to learn. Here, we find an excellent discussion of our memorization, and why we do it. Enjoy, and do share this and all of these Podcast episodes with your brothers and your Lodge.

Brethren, this Short Talk Bulletin Podcast episode was written by RW Bro Charles O. Bierkan, PDDGM – CT, and is brought to us by MW Bro Russ Charvonia, PGM – CA. No city, save Jerusalem, interests Masons as much as Tyre, once the capital of Phoenicia. Here is some of that story. Enjoy, and do share this and all of these Podcast episodes with your brothers and your Lodge.

Brethren, this Short Talk Bulletin Podcast episode was written by Rev Bro Jan L. Beaderstadt, a member and past master of Copper Country Lodge No. 135, Hancock, Michigan; a member and junior warden of Bowring Lodge No. 414, Standish, Michigan; and editor of the Michigan Masonic Publication, From Point-to-Pointe, and is brought to us by MW Bro Russ Charvonia, PGM – CA. As a new entered apprentice, I stood and looked at that circle with the two parallel lines, and at my proficiency examination, recited it with perfection. But what does this really mean to me, a man and a Mason? And why the Sts. John? Enjoy, and do share this and all of these Podcast episodes with your brothers and your Lodge.

Brethren, this Short Talk Bulletin Podcast episode was written by MW Bro Joseph Fort Newton and first published in January 1924. We are all pilgrims travelling through time. As we reflect on the year past and anticipate the year to come, let us hear these timeless words that our brothers of 1924 heard, read aloud in Lodge, as relevant today as ever. Enjoy, and do share this and all of these Podcast episodes with everyone you know, and have a happy and joyous New Year.

Brethren, this Short Talk Bulletin Podcast episode was written by MW Bro Conrad Hahn, PES of the MSANA, and is brought to us by Bro Matt Bowers, host of the Scottish Rite Journal Podcast. Rudyard Kipling is one of the giants of modern English literary history. He towered over the closing years of the Victorian era, and lived well into the twentieth century. Enjoy, and do share this and all of these Podcast episodes with your brothers and your Lodge.

Brethren, as has become traditional at this time of year, this Short Talk Bulletin Podcast episode was written by Dr Bro Joseph L. Blau in remembrance of his father. May we all receive the gift of Emmanu El, God with us, this season. Enjoy, and do share this and all of these Podcast episodes with your brothers and your Lodge.

Brethren, this Short Talk Bulletin Podcast episode was written in 1975 by Rev Bro Oscar Alan Gwyn. On this winter Feast of St. John the Evangelist, let us remember why each of our Saints John so well represent the duality of our efforts in the Craft. While St. John the Baptist represents the fiery call to action (summer), St. John the Evangelist represents the contemplative writer and knowledge of faith (winter). Enjoy, and do share this and all of these Podcast episodes with your brothers and your Lodge.