From the East
Greeting Brothers and friends, welcome to the month of August!
We are officially halfway through the year and from the heat we've been experiencing, fully into summer. As a reminder, we will be dark this month which means, you guessed it, no dinner before the Stated Meeting. Those who plan on attending the Meeting, remember that the gavel will drop at 6:30pm instead of the normal 7:30pm.
We of course have no national holidays this month but August 19th is observed as a United Nations holiday known as World Humanitarian Day and is meant to serve as a day to honor humanitarian personnel and recognize their efforts as aid workers during humanitarian world crises. That said, I ask that on the 19th, you take a brief moment to include in your prayers those who aid and those who need aid around the world. There is a hurt in the world, do your best to project a little bit of positivity.
Fraternally, Chase Murray - Worshipful Master
From the West
Dear Ladies, Brethren and friends.
August is usually dark, but we have a special dinner planned on August 9th in Poway at the Mainstream Restaurant and bar starting at 5:30 pm. This dinner will be in honor of Worshipful Fred Pratt. He has received his 50 yr. pin from the Grand lodge of California and the Grand Lodge of Missouri .He is a twice past master of Santa Maria Lodge and I am personally excited to see Fred and his wife Alana again. I will make phone calls to remind everyone.
As we draw closer to Grand Lodge Communication and Lodge elections let's be filled with the Masonic spirit to finish out the year.
Have you ever wondered why the stone was rolled away from Christ's tomb? Was it so he could get out?...No, God could pass through walls of stone or steel. The stone was rolled away so that we could see with our frail human eyes that our Christ had risen.
Your humble servant Don Ruch, PM, Senior Warden.
From the South
To all the Brothers, Ladies, family and Friends,
This being the month of August means we are dark, and there will not be any dinner served.
Below are some pics from our July stated meeting dinner. We would love to see more brothers and their families attend.
It was brought up last month by Brother Wade Hendry that it would be nice if we as a lodge, started making it a point to try and visit other lodges in the San Diego area. Between the two of us, we are organizing a trip if not Monthly, at least every other month to go and visit other lodges for a degree or stated meeting. This will help expand our brotherhood and support other lodges. In return, we hope this will help bring other brothers to our lodge for degrees or other events. In July we visited Silver Gate 3 Stars for a 3rd degree. This was a Past Master’s degree, and I must say, it was one of the best degrees I have witnessed. Our Worshipful Brother Bill Graham sat in the East for the obligation and did a great job. I have added some pictures below. Please reach out to either Wade or me if you are interested in going and we will make sure to add you to our text messages. I have added a few pics below.
As mentioned in last month’s Trestleboard, We really need to focus on how to get brothers to come back to the lodge. This is an ongoing problem with most lodges in California and frankly all over the world, and especially with our lodge. With the hope that I will be voted by my brothers in a few years to become the Master of the lodge, I want to start my journey towards the East sooner and not wait unit I am actually sitting in the East (if elected). I would like to encourage all brothers currently coming to the lodge, but especially those that are not coming to the lodge to start reaching out to me personally and share your journey in Masonry with me and to start finding ways we can change, improve, or enhance the lodge experience to get all those brothers back that have gone away for one reason or another. I encourage the brothers to call me at 858-943-1079 or email me at pjjohnson04@gmail.com. Please share with me what we can start doing to get you back into the lodge. We are not looking to fill officers’ chairs (although in full disclosure, that is a concern), we are looking to get our brothers back into the lodge and build back what this Lodge once was. We have a lot of younger members that really would thrive by hearing the masonic journey from brothers that have been here for a long time. I will continue to push this every month and will start reaching out to those I don’t hear from. We need to get the Santa Maria Lodge back to the brotherhood we all came here to join and put the past in the past and build towards the future of this lodge, for the younger members and for members who have yet to join. Let’s be proud of our fraternity again and especially the fraternity that has been here in Ramona for over 100 years. I love you my brothers and would love to see you all come back!!
John 6:35 “and Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
May God Bless you all and keep you safe and healthy!!
Pete Johnson - Junior Warden
Secretary’s Corner
August is here and the year is rapidly winding down. The Lodge is Dark this month. There is no meal at the Stated Meeting. Remember, per our By-Laws, the August Stated Meeting starts at 6:30PM. Even though we are dark, we will still be having coffee on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month. Come join us and have some great fellowship with our newer Brothers, our older Brothers and some of our prospects.
Please go to member.freemason.org and check your information. If you have not yet created your account, PLEASE get with me and I will walk you through creating the account and entering your information.
If you are interested in becoming a Life Member, please use the following information from the CMC 2022
§809.320.B LIFE MEMBERSHIP A sum of money equal to the Lodge’s annual dues at the time of purchase of the Life Membership
multiplied by the factor indicated opposite the member’s age in the following schedule: Age 49 and under, a factor equal to or greater than 24 times annual dues; 50 to 54 inclusive, a factor equal to or greater than 20 times annual dues; 55 to 59 inclusive, a factor equal to or greater than 18 times annual dues; 60 to 64 inclusive, a factor equal to or greater than 16 times annual dues; 65 to 71 inclusive, a factor equal to or greater than 14 times annual dues; and Age 72 and over, a factor equal to or greater than 12 times annual dues.
Our current dues are $126.00. Use the chart above to calculate the amount needed. As an example, I am in the 55-59 bracket. For me to purchase a Life Membership, the cost would be 18 x $126.00 for a total of $2,268.00. Please contact me if you wish to pursue this.
There are still 16 Brothers that are in arrears for the 2024 dues. Remember, you have an obligation to pay your dues. If you have not made your payment, you are overdue. The dues for 2024 are $126.00. Per our By-Laws, the calculation is $60.00 + per capita rounded up to the nearest dollar. Per capita is $65.25 this year, which gives us our total of $126.00
If you are in arrears for your dues, you need to pay all that is owed to be brought back in to good standing. As an example, if you pay for 2024 only, and owe for 2023, I cannot send you your 2024 dues card. You are still in arrears and will need to bring your dues up to date first.
If you are financially unable to pay your dues, please contact the Master to discuss.
You can mail your dues to: Santa Maria Lodge No. 580, PO Box 68, Ramona, CA 92065
You can also go to our website, http://www.santamaria580.org, and pay online. If you have paid and have not received your card in a reasonable amount of time, please contact me at 951-970-4294 or secretary@santamaria580.org and I will take care of it.
S/F
Bill Graham, PM - Secretary
Reminder!!
Have you moved? Changed your phone number? Changed your e-mail address? Have you notified the Lodge if you have done any of these things?? In an ongoing effort to ensure that all member get due and timely notice of all Lodge information, it is important that you keep your information updated with us.
I would greatly appreciate it if all of you would log in to member.freemason.org, go to the My Profile section and ensure that all of your address/phone number/e-mail is up to date. This will automatically update the i-member section that I use as the Secretary to for your mailings and other contacts.
Calendar of Events
Lodge Officer Directory
Master - Chase Murray
Senior Warden - Don Ruch, PM (Vicki)
Junior Warden - Pete Johnson
Treasurer - Bob Weldon, PM (Brenda)
Secretary - Bill Graham, PM (Teri)
Chaplain - Elijah Descoteaux
Marshal - Bruce Smith, PM (Beverly)
Senior Deacon - Ken Bychak II, PM (Laura)
Junior Deacon - Rex McCray
Senior Steward - Mark Lantz (Kim)
Junior Steward - Dave Murray, PM (Catheren)
Tiler - Wade Hendry (Marianne)
(619) 607-2935
(619) 787-3858
(858) 943-1079
(760) 807-2883
(951) 970-4294
(619) 987-1004
(760) 788-9475
(707) 328-9617
(760) 788-4957
(858) 231-4646
(619) 302-1223
(760) 535-3176
Santa Maria Masonic Building
Association (SMMBA) Directory
President - Don Ruch, PM
Vice President - Chase Murray
Treasurer/Secretary - Dave Murray, PM
Member - Ken Bychak II, PM
Member - Bob Weldon, PM
Member - Wade Hendry
Member - Bruce Smith, PM
Member - Pete Johnson
(619) 787-3858
(619) 607-2935
(619) 302-1223
(707) 328-9617
(760) 807-2883
(760) 535-3176
(760) 788-9475
(858) 943-1079