Glendale Lodge #368 Mar—April 2015

“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” - Bro. Voltaire From the East—Wor. Robinson

Brethren, schools as a lodge I'd like to ask you Most Worshipful Russ Charvonia has to respond with how you as individual proclaimed April as Public Schools masons and members of the lodge month. So what does this mean for are supporting public schools this our lodge? Every year for the last sev- year. eral decades Glendale Lodge has You could take an active role in your sponsored the Glendale Unified child's or grandchild's PTA, be a par- School District Peers Recognition ent volunteer in a classroom or offer Awards. This year we will continue up your time and knowledge as a tu- this tradition. This year members of tor at either the local school or local our lodge will in their capacity as public library's literacy program. members of the Public Schools Advi- If you find yourself squeezed for time sory Committee will in partnership you can make a financial contribution with the GLOW Foundation award to the Annual Fund that provides the scholarships to deserving high school resources necessary to support the students through the fraternity's In- Investment in Success program. vestment in Success program. You can also help by spreading the If you're not familiar with Investment word about the work that we do as in Success here is a little background California Masons and members of (from Freemason.org): Glendale Lodge # 368 to support pub- The Investment in Success scholarship lic education. By doing so we can in- program is designed to support high spire others to take an active role in school seniors who demonstrate an ensuring that the future generations active pursuit of education in spite of have the light of knowledge. In the hardships. Although these students words of Brother Benjamin Franklin may not fit the traditional profile of a “An investment in knowledge, pays high academic performer, they have the best interest.” overcome significant obstacles to Fraternally, achieve their goals, demonstrating extraordinary potential and strength of character. The Investment in Suc- Travis S. Robinson cess program gives these students the Worshipful Master chance to obtain a higher education. So now that I've shared with you two of the ways we're supporting public Voltaire—(François-Marie Arouet)

On April 4th 1778, Voltaire was initiated in "Les Neuf Soeurs" Lodge in Paris. His conductors were Benjamin Franklin and Count Gebelin. Voltaire was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit, his attacks on the established Catholic Church, and his advocacy of freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and sepa- ration of church and state. Voltaire was a versatile writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including plays, poems, novels, essays, and historical and scientific works. He wrote more than 20,000 letters and more than 2,000 books and pamphlets. He was an out- spoken advocate, despite the risk this placed him in under the strict censorship laws of the time. As a satirical polemicist, he frequently made use of his works to criticize intolerance, religious dogma, and the French institutions of his day. His full name was Jean François Marie Arouet de Voltaire. This French philosopher, historian, dramatist, and man of letters adopted the name of François Marie Arouet de Voltaire though only the first words Voltaire—(François-Marie Arouet) continued were his by baptism, the father, a notary, being François Arouet. Whence the name of Voltaire was derived has been the cause of many perplexing speculations. One of the most famous of French writers, he was born at Chatenay, near Sceaux, November 21, 1694. His early life was loose and varied. In 1728 he became infatuated with a Madame du Chatelet his literary works cover some ninety volumes. In 1743, the French government dispatched him on a mission to Frederick the Great, by whom he was held in high favor, and in 1750, at the request of the King, he made his residence in Berlin, but five years later they quarreled, and Vol- taire moved to Ferney, Switzerland. His literary talent was most varied, and in invective he had no equal. During his exile in England he imbibed deistical theories, which marked his life. He was charged with atheism. Voltaire was easily misunderstood. While he attacked the fashionable atheism of his time, as well as Christianity, his real fight, broadly slashing as it was, and never any too courteously out- lined or defined, was probably against all persecution and oppression by any and all pampered orthodoxy. He was initiated in the Lodge of the Nine Sisters, at Paris, April 7, 1778. Benjamin Franklin and others distinguished in Freemasonry were members of this famous Lodge. Franklin at the time of Voltaire's initi- ation was a visitor only but subsequently became Worshipful master of the Lodge (see Nine Sisters, Lodge of the). Voltaire's death, on May 30, 1778, gave rise to a memorable Lodge of Sorrow, which was held on the succeeding November 28.

Die Tafelrunde by Adolph von Menzel. Guests of Frederick the Great at Sanssouci, including members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences and Voltaire (third from left) 20 Bucks Worth - Anonymous Submitted by Bro Arman Petrosyan

A speaker began a seminar, pulling a crisp, new bill from his pocket, and asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I’m going to give this $20 bill to one of you, but first let me do this." he proceeded to crumple up the bill. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air. "Well," he replied, "what if I do this?" He dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor, so now the bill was not only crumpled, but also dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air. "My friends, you have all learned a valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value in the eyes of those who love you. You are special – don’t ever forget it." Words In Masonry

Allegory: The Greeks called a place of public assembly agora; from this they built the word agoreuein, meaning speak, in the sense of ad-dressing a public.

When to this is added alias, meaning another, the compound gives us our "allegory," which is the speaking about one thing in the terms of something else.

In Masonry we have the allegory of Solomon's Temple, of a journey, of the legend of a martyr builder, etc., in each case the acting and describing of one thing being intended to refer to some other thing.

For example, the building of Solomon's Temple is described, not for the purpose of telling how that structure was erected, but to suggest boxy men may work together in brotherliness at a common task. Glendale #368 F. & A. M.

Meets at 244 N. Maryland Ave., Glendale CA 91206

P.O. Box 329 Glendale, California, 91209

E-Mail: [email protected]

2015 Officers

Master Wor. Travis Robinson (805) 217-2636 [email protected]

S. Warden Hrag Bekerian (626) 487-9445 [email protected]

J. Warden

Treasurer Secretary Armen Keshmeshian (818) 241-9516 [email protected]

Asst Alishan Topalian Secretary Chaplain John R. Carlton (818) 545-7278 [email protected]

S. Deacon Varouj Meneshian (818) 720-7983 [email protected]

J. Deacon Shant Hamamjian (818) 968-6694 [email protected]

Marshal Gevork Asatryan S. Steward Andranik Ovsepyan (818) 400-6565 [email protected] J. Steward Shant Sarkisian (818) 400-3730 [email protected]

Tiler

Organist

Officers Wor. Nikoul Bilavian, (818) 745-3245 [email protected] Coach PM Candidates Alex Meloyan (805)813-6666 [email protected] Coach Inspector Wor. James Bayhylle (310)710-5994

A Call for Help

Call 888/466-3642 for information about all our support services.

The More You Fail, the More You

Failure drives us to change. are sadly mistaken. For example, you’ve Without it, where would we be today? always wanted to buy a home. You finally Bro. Thomas Edison produced tons of purchase the home of your dreams. How- light bulbs that did not work. If he had ever, your home must be maintained. not tried again and again, well, we all Once a goal is reached, you must have the know the answer to that one. Bro. Win- tenacity to remain there and move higher ston Churchill once stated, “Success is if you wish. Without repeated failures, based on going from failure to failure you do not have the know-how of sus- without losing eagerness.” Of course, tainability. some individuals are sardonic. These Even though success is the power that types of people never pick themselves up hastens us en route to our goals, it is fail- from failure because they did not grow ure that guides us to those goals that from a previous failure. Failure is the count. When failure is acknowledged as most wonderful teacher if we are willing being just as vital as success, it’s easier to to learn from it. accept it freely and carry on with search- Success does not come easy. Everyone ing for a resolution. must face one hurdle after another. It’s the only way to reach success. The reason being is that success must be maintained. If you think that once you have the success you crave and it’s time to relax, you

From the Secretary—Bro. Keshmeshian

Delinquent Dues notices have gone out March 15th. Thank you for all of you that have reached out to me and made arrangements on paying the 2015 dues. Un- fortunately those whom have not yet paid will get an Sus- pension letter at the end of April. Please reach out to me or the Worshipful Master if you have any questions. April Birthdays

Arthur Artian Herman Paine Jeffery Beckwith George Rybak Thomas Blood Takvor Salmastyan Jack Chammas Haroutioun Sarkissian William Curling Ronald Savage David Greenbaum Lawrence Young Robert Hickam Ralph Zenger John Hohlfeld Mehmet Incikaya Mansour Jahangiri George Jamgochian Kyle Johnson Roy Johnson Warren Johnston Hratch Ksadjikian Yervant Mikikian William Naylor Leon Nazaretian Calendar

April-7 6:30p Stated Dinner 7:30p Stated Meeting April-13 OSI—Magnolia Lodge April-18 9a Master Masons Seminar Simi Valley Lodge April-21 Ritual Comp. Practice Master Masons only April-28 7:30p Admin Tuesday and Education Night May-5 6:30p Stated Dinner 7:30p Stated Meeting Inspector’s Official Visit May-12 7:30p Degree or Practice May-19 7:30p Degree or Practice May-26 7:30p Admin Tuesday and Education Night June-2 6:30p Stated Dinner 7:30p Stated Meeting

Committee Meetings

Board of Trustees: TBD Hall Association: TBD For the most updated list of upcoming dates and events please visit www.GlendaleMasons.com or facebook.com/GlendaleMasons Glendale Lodge #368 F.&.A.M. P.O. Box 329 Glendale, CA 91209-0329