Grand Lodge F. & A. M. State of New York - Grand Master

FACTS ON THE 227TH COMMUNICATION

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:18:52 -0500

I hope this message finds everyone well and staying warm.

This year's Grand Lodge session promises to be a great weekend of events as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of our Masonic Medical Research Laboratory and the 227th Annual Communication of our Grand Lodge.

The Convention Committee has worked very hard to arrange for more rooms at the headquarters hotel and the Marriott Hotel across the street, in East Elmhurst, Queens. They have arranged for a rate of $149.00 per night per ROOM and because the Masonic Medical Research Laboratory is hosting the celebration and the Communication, you will only have to pay $3.50 per ROOM per night in additional fees. The rooms are all double occupancy.

Grand Master's Independence Day Message to the Craft

Stu Card — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:52:26 -0400

MESSAGE TO THE MASONIC FRATERNITY IN NEW YORK AND OUR EXTENDED MASONIC FAMILY

JULY 4TH, 2008

My Brethren, families and friends ...

It seems like so very long ago that the church bells in Philadelphia rang out to proclaim our nation's independence from the yoke of tyranny imposed by the English monarchy, but it was only 232 years ago on July 4th 1776 that our Declaration of Independence was announced to the colonies.

As Masons, we must always remember that that precious Declaration, crafted for the most part by our Brother Masons on Masonic principles, was written with the blood of patriots, and not professional soldiers. Our young men and women today, are still paying the price for the hard won liberties we all still enjoy.

GM's St John's Day Address

Stu Card — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:21:42 -0400

Address of the Most Worshipful Grand Master, Edward G. Gilbert, to the District Deputy Grand Masters and Grand Lodge Staff Officers for the years 2008 – 2010 and Assistant Grand Lecturers in the Daniel D. Tompkins Memorial Chapel, Masonic Care Community at Utica, New York; on Saturday, June 21, 2008.

Right Worshipful Deputy Grand Master, Vincent Libone; Right Worshipful Elected Officers of the Grand Lodge; Most Worshipful Past Grand Masters; the Appointed Grand Line and Officers of Grand Lodge; my Brothers all and especially our Ladies and guests:

Good afternoon my Brothers! This is indeed a fine and glorious day and I thank the Great Architect for having blessed us with this opportunity to dwell together in Brotherhood. Today marks the summer solstice, the first day of a new season and the beginning of a new era of Masonry in the Empire State. It also marks the longest day of the year and I assure you that my address shall not live up to that definition.

Grand Master's Flag Day & Father's Day Message to the Craft

Stu Card — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:50:35 -0400

June 14 – 15, 2008

My dear Brothers, families and friends …

Flag Day this year will be observed on Saturday, June 14th and Father’s Day is celebrated the very next day on Sunday, June 15th. How appropriate that these two national holidays are so closely linked. If we stop a moment and think of all the lessons we learned from our Fathers … the sense of patriotism and loyalty to our nation and its flag … taught to us by our Fathers and passed down through the generations by our forefathers, we can all appreciate how important these lessons are in today’s world.

Masons have always had a deep and abiding respect for our flag instilled by a fervor and zeal for the institutions of Masonry and Democracy. It is part of our Masonic heritage to do honor to our flag at every Masonic gathering. Likewise, it is part of our Masonic teachings to remember the values of family as demonstrated by lessons taught to us early on by our Fathers. Masonry did not invent these moral codes, but we try to reinforce them and, in turn, practice them as a rule and guide in all our actions throughout life.

Grand Master's Memorial Day Message to the Craft

Stu Card — Fri, 23 May 2008 12:58:39 -0400

MEMORIAL DAY, May 26, 2008

To the Brethren of the Masonic Fraternity in New York, our families and friends…

Memorial Day 2008 and our nation is still at war and tens of thousands of our young men and women continue to serve our nation away from home and their loved ones. Many of them are Brother Masons or the sons and daughters or relatives of ours.

I ask you to please pause in your activities on this day of remembrance and give thanks to the Great Architect for our myriad blessings, our independence and the freedoms we enjoy that were earned through the sacrifice of so many millions of our veterans past and present.

Grand Master's Ball date announced

Stu Card — Tue, 20 May 2008 11:29:15 -0400

Grand Master's Ball date announced

The Grand Master's Ball honoring M.'.W.'. Edward G. Gilbert will be held at the Buffalo/Niagara Marriott on Saturday, October 25th, 2008. Check back here for more details...

MOTHER’S DAY 2008 MESSAGE TO THE CRAFT

Patricio Castro — Tue, 06 May 2008 01:00:00 -0400

May 6, 2008
To all of my Brethren, families and friends,

This weekend we celebrate Mother’s Day and as one of my first messages to you as your new Grand Master, I think it is so important that we pause in our daily routine to say a very special THANK YOU and pay homage and remember all of those we cherish and love as Mothers … be they our own Mothers or the Mothers of others whom we love and admire. We are all a product of our environment and our upbringing. Therefore, all that we are today, everything we have accomplished in life thus far, and everything we strive to achieve, we can and should thank our Mothers. It was our Mothers from whom we learned the meaning of love as demonstrated by their loving care and devotion and the lessons we learned from them as children. Now, as adults, as mature family members ourselves, and especially as Masons, it is not only appropriate, but it is imperative that we remember and take the time to count our blessings, and to say “thank you!” to all of the Moms in our lives. May your Mother’s Day be extra special and meaningful. May the warmth of this Spring season touch your heart and may we all fully appreciate all of the wondrous beauty and joys of life as our Mother would have wished for us. May we take an extra moment to remember the young men and women in uniform who will not be spending this Mother’s Day at home. May the Great Architect of the Universe watch over them and protect them and bring them home safely. God bless you and your loved ones and may God continue to bless our great fraternity and these United States of America. On behalf of Helen and myself and your entire Grand Line, “Happy Mother’s Day!”

With warmest fraternal regards,

MW Edward G. Gilbert
Grand Master

Sixty-Third Annual Masonic Dedication Service and Breakfast

Patricio Castro — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:39:47 -0500

On Sunday, March 9, 2008 more than 700 Masons, family members and guests attended the Sixty-Third Annual Masonic Dedication Service and Breakfast of the Metropolitan Region at Leonard's of Great Neck. Highlight of the event was the presentation of the prestigious DeWitt Clinton Award by the Grand Lodge of the State of New York to the Daughter's of the American Revolution (DAR)

Grand Master MW Neal I Bidnick (right) is shown presenting the award to Mrs. Gretta Beck Archer, New York State Regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution with RW Edward Gilbert, Deputy Grand Master.

EASTER HOLIDAY GREETINGS FROM THE GRAND MASTER AND A PASSOVER WISH FOR THE CRAFT

Grand Master — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 10:53:11 -0500

Spring 2008

My Brethren, family and friends,

In a few short days, many of us will pause in our daily labors to celebrate Easter. Passover will be observed in a few weeks. The calendar also marks the start of Spring. Less than two weeks ago, we changed our clocks, and welcomed a few more hours of sunlight to the normal course of our days. All around us are signs of optimism, growth and light. This time of year provides us with plenty of reasons to maintain our spirit of optimism.

It can be tempting to give in to the cynicism we see and hear all around us. We hear troubling news from overseas; we worry about the economy, and its effects on our families and the people around us. We may have reason to feel that the efforts we put in to trying to make the world a better place are not having any effect. But if we maintain our optimismâ€¦if we hold true to the principles of our Craft, and remember that each brick we place, each step we take, each heart we comfort, each penny we give, all matter. All of our efforts matter and in some way contribute to bringing some light into the lives of people around us. So, as we pause to give thanks to our Creator for all of the wonders and joy of life itself, and as we celebrate Easter and Passover, in that spirit, let us promise ourselves that we will keep optimism foremost in our hearts and in our minds.

National Kidney Registry

Patricio Castro — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:10:18 -0500

Kidney donations are always from a close relative, right? Wrong! There is a movement to donate kidneys to total strangers. This is a win-win, because it can form "donor chains" that lead right back to someone close to you, to whom you wanted to give a kidney but could not due to tissue incompatibility.

Brother Clint Marshall and his wife Cynthia are leaders in this movement. Clint donated a kidney to his biological brother years ago. More recently, Cynthia donated her kidney to a stranger, starting a donor chain. In early March, the two of them donated $5,000 to kick off a fund-raising campaign for the National Kidney Registry, which was formed to facilitate donations to strangers and donor chains.