Grand Master's Thanksgiving Day Message to the Craft

November 2008

To all of our Brethren, Family and Friends,

We have so much for which to be thankful as we celebrate this special Thanksgiving Day 2008.

For Babe and me, we have been on such an exciting journey this year … thanks in great measure to you for entrusting in me the leadership of this great Grand Jurisdiction. As we contemplated this message in advance of one of our most meaningful family holidays, I could not help but think again about Thanksgiving’s relevance to our basic theme for this year … “Getting back to basics” and how important it is for each of us to involve ourselves with family at every opportunity afforded to us.

FROM THE GRAND MASTER

My Brothers, families and friends...

When I was a youngster we learned a poem in school that went something like this, "In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue ..." Of course this was just the start of a life long lesson in history involving the "discovery" of the new world, disproving the notion that the world was flat, and it was and is a lasting tribute to Italian heritage, exploration and the tenacity of man ... and the lesson evidently stuck.

This year Columbus Day is Monday, October 13th and many of our Masonic Brothers will be observing the holiday and participating in Columbus Day Parades. In New York City Garibaldi Lodge, together with many Brothers of Italian heritage (real and adopted), will parade down Fifth Avenue for all the world to see and applaud.

FROM THE GRAND MASTER

My Brothers, families and friends...

In a few days our Jewish Brethren and Jewish people worldwide will celebrate the start of the observance of the Jewish High Holy Days, the Jewish New Year 5769. This year the holidays begin with Rosh Hashanah on the evening of Monday, September 29th and end with the observance of Yom Kippur at sunset on Thursday, October 9th. This very solemn holiday is a ten day period during which Jews begin intense self-examination; it is a time for personal introspection and repentance and acts of charity. It is also known as the “Days of Awe.”

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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...

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