This coming Thursday, September 29, we are once again
spending the evening at Jillian's for a little bowling.
I'll be at the bar at 6:15 pm for dinner, let's plan on
bowling around 7 pm or 7:30 'sh.
Also, unless we have a Petition for membership at this next
Stated Meeting, our degree's maybe done for the year. We
will revise the calendar with opportunities every Thursday
to either have lodge visitations, Social or Practices. We
will hold firm to that schedule until the end of the year.
I definitely hope to have an evening where we visit a Prince
Hall Lodge - Degree preferred. I still want to have
practices as I would like to pass on an excellent, rehearsed
Craft just like I received from Wbro. Hargitt so that next
years Master can begin degree's right away if needed.
Not having degree's does not mean not having anything to do
at Lodge. Plan on a full schedule from this day forward and
let me know if there is something special You wish to do?
Is there a Lodge we have not visited, that you want on the
schedule. We will talk more about this on Thursday at the
Bowling Social.
Thanks to all for your support,
Fraternally - Todd Ebbert - WM
We have received an invitation from Wbro. Richard Condre of
Speedway Lodge # 729 to attend a Fellow Craft Degree this
coming Thursday (9/22) at 7:00 pm. A light dinner will be
served prior to the degree at 6:00 pm. Speedway Lodge is
located at 1620 N. Lynhurst Drive in Speedway, In 46224.
This is a good opportunity for us to see how another Lodge
puts on a degree and support those brethren if needed.
Wbro. Condre and his Secretary are looking forward to Broad
Ripple Lodge attending that evening. Please let me know if
you will be in attendance for the dinner or degree as they
will need to plan ahead to accommodate for the meal . This
certainly will be a wonderful evening!
Also, Bro. Will Saylor has invited us to attend an Entered
Apprentice Degree this coming Wednesday at Brooklyn Lodge #
471. The lodge is located at 1 N Main Street 46158 in
Brooklyn. Dinner again is served at 6:00 pm with the degree
following at 7:00 pm. Bro. Saylor will be giving a lecture
that evening for the degree. Brooklyn is located near
Mooresville for those unfamiliar with the area. If you need
a ride, I plan on attending the degree and perhaps the
dinner as well.
Fraternally,
Todd M. Ebbert - WM
HURRICANE KATRINA MASONIC RELIEF FOR CHILDREN
From: The Grand Master of Masons, State of Indiana
Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth.
My Brothers,
From the founding of our nation Masons have risen to the challenge when tyranny, war and disaster have put our brothers in peril. Many of these Masons have been on the front lines of our armed forces defending our country on foreign soils. However no country, no matter how strong, has the ability to control the forces of Mother Nature that wreak havoc on a vulnerable people.
Never before has the cause been so clear and so urgent.
We all know from the media's coverage of Hurricane Katrina, that thousands of good and dedicated citizens of our nation have suffered the savage effects of this monumental storm and its impact on their lives. Our President said, it's the worst disaster ever to befall the United States. Fortunately, the immediate needs of the citizenry have now been met in the form of water, food and temporary shelter; however, children are affected in many different ways. Emotionally, they need structure and routine in their daily lives. Now considerations must be made for personal hygiene, clothing, permanent housing, transportation and school.
Your donation will be targeted for specific relief to children.
I'm asking all Indiana Masons to make a monetary contribution to help the kids of this disaster. Your donation will be distributed through the Association of Masonic Boards of Relief of the USA and Canada for targeted relief to children. Use the attached donation form and send your donation today! You may also make your donation by credit card on our website www.indianafreemasons.com.
Note on your payment "Hurricane Relief". Do it now while you are thinking about it.
Contribute as liberally to this relief as you can without inconvenience to yourself.
My Brother, NOW IS THE TIME and HERE IS THE PLACE! I doubt that you will ever have a better opportunity to display the tenets of our fraternity so openly as now. Remember when you were admonished to contribute as liberally to the relief of another as you can do without inconvenience to yourself? If not now, then when is your Masonic assistance to a child not so deeply obvious?
Mail or Fax your donation form and payment to:
Indiana Masonic Home Foundation Inc.
525 North Illinois Street
P.O. Box 44210
Indianapolis, Indiana 46244-0210
Phone (317) 637-9582 Fax (317) 634-7449
God Bless You For Caring,
Dennis T. Herrell
Grand Master of Masons
State of Indiana
YOU MAY ALSO DONATE ON-LINE AT WWW.INDIANAFREEMASONS.COM
----------------------------------------------------------
Brethren, if you wish to donate by letter or fax, you may download the letter in pdf form which includes a form to fill out. Otherwise, you may donate online at the http://www.indianafreemasons.com website, via Paypal.
This information may also be found on http://www.hiramsforum.com
Two Masonic opportunities to contribute to relief of victims of Hurricane Katrina are available.
One is the official Grand Lodge of Indiana appeal for the Association of Masonic Boards of Relief of the USA and Canada. You can read the Grand Master's letter on this subject here (requires Adobe PDF Reader). This appeal specifically benefits children who have been left homeless and empty-handed by the storm.
The other is an appeal by the Masonic Service Association of North America, the proceeds from which are to be distributed equally between the Grand Lodges of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama for relief in their states. For more information, click here. (You will also find there another appeal for relief of victims of the two hurricanes that hit the Pensacola, Florida area earlier this year, should you be so inclined to donate further.)
It is with deepest and heartfelt sadness that I forward the news of the death of the Grand Master's son, Donald K. Herrell, on Tuesday, September 6, 2005, from a heart attack. He was 41 years old. Wbro. Donald Herrell was the Worshipful Master of Eureka Lodge No. 397.
What hurts one of us hurts us all. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Grand Master and Sharon in this terrible time of loss and sorrow.
The obituary is below, with times and details of the services.
-------------------------------------------
DONALD K. HERRELL
HATFIELD, IN - Donald K. Herrell, 41, of Hatfield passed away on Tuesday
September 6, 2005 at his home from a heart attack. Don was born in Owensboro, KY on July 9, 1964 to Dennis and Sharon (Krantz) Herrell. He attended Hatfield United Methodist Church, and a member of Cement finishers Local 692 Area 566. Don was Worshipful Master of Eureka Masonic Lodge No. 397, Eureka Order of Eastern Star Chapter No 132, a Senior DeMolay, and graduated from South Spencer High School in 1983. He was preceded in death by his grandfathers.
Surviving are his parents, Dennis and Sharon Herrell of Hatfield, IN; a brother, Brian Scot Herrell of Rockport, IN; grandmothers, June Herrell and Virginia McReynolds of Hatfield, IN; a niece, Janaye Herrell; nephews, Brandon Parks and Mason Herrell.
Services are 11 a.m. Saturday September 10, 2005 at Boultinghouse Funeral Home in Rockport, IN with Rev. Reno DeMuth officiating. Burial in Ebenezer Cemetery in Richland, IN. Visitation is from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. until time of service on Saturday at the funeral home.
Masonic Service 7 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to Indiana Masonic Home Foundation.
Friday, July 29th, a number of invited Masons from Broad Ripple Masonic Lodge, #643 F & AM were the guests of Fidelity Lodge #55, P.H.A. (Prince Hall Masons) to once more attend the annual Prince Hall Grand Lodge Memorial Services held at the Marriott located at East 21st Street, Indianapolis, IN.
This Service commemorates the recently departed Brethren of the Prince Hall Lodges within this Jurisdiction.
To use the term impressive would be an understatement. The dignity and ceremony was truly inspiring. The officers involved moved about the large room like a precision military drill team, yet softly, reverently, sadly....
At one point, Most Worshipful Brother James Hill, Grand Master P.H.A. greeted Worshipful Master Todd Ebbert warmly and the two spoke at length.
Our Grand Master, Dennis Herrell was present with the Grand Lodge officers lending an air of both friendship and dignity to the evening.
Also a number of invitations to attend a number of the many hospitality suites from the various supporting lodges (including Fidelity Lodge #55, W.M. Michael Ricketts) within this jurisdiction. Masonic friendships were renewed from last year. Both food and beverage were freely shared by all present.
W.M. Todd M. Ebbertt led our group consisting of Bros Tim Maguire, SD, Will Saylor, JD and Wbro. Jerry T. Cowley, PM.
(Submitted by Wbro. Jerry T. Cowley, PM)
The time for gladiatorial games has returned. Brethren, get those pots hot and that chili sauce fermenting! The Fifth Annual Broad Ripple Lodge Chili Cookoff is set for 6:00 PM on Saturday, October 22nd.
Compete for a permanent place in posterity on the famed Scarlet Pepper Trophy! Props, costumes, theme music and other assorted effluvia have been known to favorably affect judges, and the list of categories gets wilder each year. So get your bragging clothes on, start the trash talk, and get hot with our cookoff. The competition is open to all, including your ladies. Last year saw contestants, spectators and victims from all over the state. Come to compete, come to eat or just come for the fun. Start harvesting those secret ingredients now!
Calling all Motorcycle Masons! Ride in the 3rd Annual Grand Master's Motorcycle Rally, Saturday, October 22
Leaving from Indiana Masonic Home, Franklin, Indiana, rain or shine. Launching Point for Rally is located behind the Indiana Masonic Home Medical Center - Shelter House
Registration and Breakfast at IMH Shelter House 8:00 am thru 10:00 am, last Bike Out 10:30am; dinner at Johnson County Shrine Club 3:30pm
Pre-registration Pricing: $45.00* per person or $65.00* per couple. *Add $15.00 for Walk-in Registration (Day of Event). Includes Breakfast, Pin, a Rally T-shirt, Dinner at the Johnson County Shrine Club, Door Prizes.
Grand Master Dennis T. Herrell encourages your active support for the Indiana Masonic Home Transportation Fund. Each year the Home Bus makes hundreds of trips to help our residents be able to shop, take in the sights, attend a Scottish Rite play, visit the doctor, pick up prescriptions, and so forth. Without this valuable service, many of our Home residents would be "home-bound".
For general or pre-registration inquiries contact George Eastman (317) 736-6141 ext.403; or email to: georgee@inmasonichome.org, or Brian Biehn (317) 710-6386; bbiehn@cipherglobal.com
Broad Ripple Lodge will be hosting a session of the Indiana Grand Lodge/DeMolay Child Identification Program (also known as CHIPs) on Saturday, September 10th. This is a new program in Indiana, based on many successful versions in other states. Nearly 1,000,000 children are reported missing every year in the U.S. While most are found, many are not. The lodge will provide, free of charge, a video interview on DVD of children along with their fingerprints and a DNA swab kit, to assist in their identification if the unthinkable happens and they are lost or abducted.
In addition, we will be holding a huge Yard Sale that same day. We'll need lots of assistance to both run the Garage Sale and the Child Identification Program booth, from 7:30am until about 1:00pm. We'll need people all day long to help, at any time and for as long or as short as you can. The CHIPs booth will take a minimum of four people at all times, and we'll need help manning the garage sale as well. Please mark your calendar and help us any way you can.
We will be opening the Lodge up Friday night to set up the CHIPs booth and for collection and pricing of items for the Sale, so bring your castoffs, your horribles, and the rest of the junque, debris and flotsam clogging your closets and attics. Come on out, bring your stuff and help your lodge!
And don't forget to help spread the word about Saturday Sept 10th! Let's make this a great event!
Our dear friend and brother Wbro. Ralph Hook passed to the Celestial Lodge on June 7th at the age of 69. Ralph was pursuing his dream - he was on the way to pick up a boat in Delaware to begin a journey down the rivers of America when he died of a massive heart attack .His death was untimely, and his brethren mourn.
Ralph was a Past Master of Bellville Lodge #65, but he was also an honorary member of Broad Ripple Lodge, and he was a frequent visitor. Many of our degrees would never have been performed without his help, and he was always willing to jump in at the last minute and fill in for a needed position. He will be sorely missed by us all.
Brother Wallace Newell "Wally" Wells was called to the Lodge Above on May 30, at the age of 89.He was initiated into Darlington Lodge No. 186, Darlington, Indiana, on November 28, 1942 and raised to the Sublime Degree on February 10, 1943.
He affiliated by demit with Broad Ripple Lodge No. 643 on July 7, 1950. He received the Indiana Grand Lodge Award of Gold on May 7, 1993. He was also affiliated with the Order of Eastern Star and the Scottish Rite, as well as being a former Boy Scout leader. Wally was a Navy veteran of World War II, and was the owner of Von Ray Jewelers and Trophy.
He was preceded in death by his wife Gladys.
He leaves several survivors, including his daughter, Margaret A. "Margie" Wells McCarthy, 4 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren, and 1 great great grandchild. Our deepest condolences go to his family.
The Broad Ripple Masonic Angel Fund was contacted by the Damien Center at the beginning of August concerning a family with four children badly in need of school uniforms, shoes, clothes and back to school supplies. The Angel Fund provided gift cards for Wal Mart for the family in the amount of $150 for each child.
With that $600 expenditure, the Angel Fund is falling dangerously low on financial resources. As you know, we restrict the fund benevolences to $150 to $200 per case, but when a whole family is in need, it can strain our Fund treasury.
The aim of the Fund is to answer calls for help within 24 hours of the request, but we can only continue to help the children in our community with your support. The Fund is supported strictly by donations. We have been blessed with generous contributions over the years that more than adequately covered our needs, but those gifts have tapered off this year. As children start back to school the requests begin to come in, and for the first time since 2001, we are approaching a level that we will have to turn away appeals.
Even a little bit can go along way to help a child in need of items that may seem trivial to us, but make a world of difference to them - new shoes, a winter coat, a backpack, summer camp fees, or just new socks and underwear. It is easy to take such things for granted, but there are kids in our schools for whom these are unbelievable luxuries. Please consider making a donation to the Angel Fund in the coming weeks, and help us to help them. Checks should be made out to Broad Ripple Masonic Angel Fund.
For more information, go to the Broad Ripple Lodge website at www.brlodge.org
Wbro. Chris Hodapp, PM is the author of the latest book in the ubiquitous yellow and black “For Dummies” series of books from Wiley Publishing. "Freemasons For Dummies" is due in bookstores October 6th.
It is available online at Amazon.com, or directly from the publisher at
Wiley.com
Hurricane Katrina has devastated several states. The full extent of the damage is still not known but the need is urgent. Because it is impossible to know the full extent of the damage, at the present time, the responses to the appeal will be divided equally between the Grand Lodges of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. (There is also a separate appeal out for Florida as well.)
Specific gifts will go to the Grand Lodge that is designated. Undesignated gifts will be divided with one third going to Louisiana, one third Mississippi and one third to Alabama.
All contributions, in whatever amount, from Grand Lodges, Lodges, Individuals, or Appendant Masonic Bodies will be acknowledged by MSA with most grateful thanks.
Checks may be sent to:
MSA Disaster Relief Fund
8120 Fenton Street, Ste. 203
Silver Spring, MD 20910-4785
Phone: 301-588-4010
If you wish to donate online via credit card, the Philalethes Society has announced that it is collecting donations on behalf of the Masonic Service Association of North America for Hurricane Katrina Relief.
Go to http://freemasonry.org and follow the link.
The Masonic Service Association of North America does not have the ability to collect donations by Credit Card, and so the Philalethes Society has stepped up and volunteered to handle the donation collections for them.
The final gavel fell on the Order of the Eastern Star Broad Ripple Chapter # 315’s last meeting in July, ending a full century of tradition and service. The Chapter has officially consolodated with Millersville’s OES Chapter #300 .
We acknowledge and applaud the devotion of Broad Ripple Eastern Star’s regularly attending members and officers, and especially Bob and Jocelyn Strader, and Barbara Lanouette for their many years of leadership.
Star members are encouraged to participate with renewed dedication in their new home. All Broad Ripple Masons with an interest in the Star, for themselves and their ladies, are urged to contact Millersville’s Worthy Matron, Candace May at 574-0148, or by e-mail at cdmayzinger@sbcglobal.net
It is very sad to see the end of this organization at Broad Ripple, and we wish the Star members the greatest of luck and happiness in their new home.