Grand Lodge of the State of New York
Masonic Care Community
Masonic Medical Research Laboratory
Camp Turk
What is a Lodge Ritual Director?
Does your Lodge have a Ritual Director?
For more information, see any of the District Officers.
Labor Day Message from the District Officers
Labor Day marks the beginning of the season where many of our Lodges resume their Masonic labors. As we return to the quarries in the coming weeks, the officers serving the Cortland-Madison District would like you to consider the following:
At first glance, this may seem to be nothing more than a quick, humorous jab at ourselves, but, as with so much in the Masonic world, there is a deeper meaning:
Masons are builders, not of buildings or other structures, but of men, communities, societies, and nations. We do this by constantly striving to improve both ourselves and the world around us by utilizing a mixture of introspection, education, and enlightenment as well as principles such as honor, justice, purity, knowledge, and truth. It is this labor that led George Washington, a Mason for nearly 40 years before becoming our nation’s first President, to state, “So far as I am acquainted with the principles of Free Masonry, I conceive it to be founded in benevolence and to be exercised only for the good of mankind.” As we return to our labors this season, we all should strive to apply these principles, both in life and in Lodge.
Grand Master’s 2015 Labor Day Message to the Craft
Click the graphic above to open a larger version in a new window.
District Trestleboard – 2015
Click the graphic below to download a copy of the District Trestleboard for this year.
September 2015 DDGM article for The Word
Greetings Brethren,
It is time again to resume our labors in the quarries. Many Lodges go dark for the summer. I hope that the new Masters and officers of their respective Lodges have continued working throughout the summer and have done the necessary planning so that their Lodges may have a successful and rewarding year. Thank you to the Masters that have forwarded their Trestleboard to me. It looks like an exciting year with many extraordinary programs slated. I am truly excited to get going.
RW Brooks and I want to thank the Brothers from the Cortland-Madison District who took time out of their busy summer schedule and attended Saint Johns Day to show their support for us. It was truly appreciated.
Congratulations to RW Brooks for conducting a veru successful Masters Chair Program at Cortlandville Lodge on July 7th. The program was very well attended with 7 of our new Masters along with several Brothers in attendance. Thank you to Cortlandville Lodge for allowing the program to be held there.
Congratulations to the Lodges that continued to bring new candidates into our Fraternity over the summer. I have enjoyed attending and participating in the degree work. Thank you to VW Scott Cary and VW Bart Chapin, Assistant Grand Lecturers, who dedicate themselves to preserving the great tradition of outstanding Ritual work in our District. They have been busy this summer as well, attending St Johns Day and regional meetings with the Grand Lecturer. Thank you Brothers.
Please take advantage of our district web site, www.cortland-madison-masons.org to keep informed of events happening around the District. Please utilize the grapevine to keep the Brethren informed of Lodge functions. Communication with the District will help each Lodge to have successful and well attended events. Please take the opportunity to thank VW Scott Cary for his efforts in maintaining and updating OUR web site. Work is being done to afford each Lodge the opportunity to have their own site on the District site.
My first year as DDGM has been a very special year. It has been very rewarding. I thank the Brothers of our District for having the confidence in me to lead our District. Our Fraternity is heading in a new direction. Many changes will be made in the near future. I have had to make some decisions this year that have not conformed to the “ That’s the way we’ve always done it” mentality. The decisions I have had to make have been done with the best interest of our District and our fraternity in mind. Last year I travelled 9642 miles and visited 21 Districts. I am very thankful for the new friendships that I have found. I have had the opportunity to see how other Lodges operate, how degree work is being done, how ritual is done in other lodges, and the opportunity to hear other DDGM’s deliver the Grand Masters message. Many Brothers think I am crazy for the travelling I have done and have taken this job to the extreme. My response is this. As a leader, not just as a DDGM, but as a Staff Officer, AGL, Master of a Lodge, and even Brothers working their way through the chairs. If you only attend meetings in your own Lodge or even in your own District, it is hard to measure up where you stand in the realm of this Fraternity across our jurisdiction. It has made me a better leader. I have seen so many great programs, heard so many great speakers, seen many innovated and inspiring ideas and programs, opened a network of Brothers who can help in all areas of Masonry should the need arise. It is now my responsibility to bring these new, fresh ideas to our District. As I have said so many times in the past, we have a very special District, I would put our District up against any District in the State. Our ritual is above most. Our etiquette is at a high standard. The Brotherly love that we have in this District is exceptional. This is not a coincidence. We have had great leadership in this District for many years. It is not the result of one person, or the current DDGM and Staff Officer. It is the result of a District caring enough about their District to properly prepare their future leaders.
See you around the District,
Brian Ziegler
R∴W∴ Meeting Change
The special R∴W∴ meeting scheduled for later this month has been changed, due to a schedule conflict. It will now be held at 7 PM on Thursday, June 18, at the DeRuyter Masonic Hall. Please update your calendars.
DDGM-The Word
Brethren,
I bring you warm Fraternal greetings from the Most Worshipful William J. Thomas, Grand Master of Masons in the State of New York. I thank all who attended the Town Hall Meeting on April 19th at Homer Lodge with our Deputy Grand Master, the RW Jeffrey M. Williamson. It was very well attended along with our Brothers from the Cayuga-Tompkins District. It was a very informative and well presented meeting. I think it was an eye opener for many as discussions were had over the District reorganization process. I hope everybody took something away from this meeting and has a better understanding of the difficult tasks and decisions Grand Lodge has as we move into the future.
As some receive this edition of the Word, myself, RW Clinton Brooks, and several Masters will be in New York for the Annual Grand Lodge Convention. Thank you to the Lodges of this District who made the commitment to be present. I look forward to communicating the happenings at Grand Lodge back to the District.
Congratulations to Tri-Valley Lodge for a successful Entered Apprentice degree on April 11th.
May will be a very busy month for everyone. Many Lodges are holding awards programs and surviving spouses and ladies appreciation dinners. If your Lodge is not doing these programs, you should be. Election of officers and installations are fast approaching. Please contact me and RW Brooks in a timely manner of the dates of your installations. We will be glad to assist. We hope that all newly elected Masters will attend the Investiture Service at Hamilton Lodge on May 28th. The AGL’s will be looking for help with the evenings ceremonies. Please accept the offer if asked.
I am in the process of designing a new District Trestleboard. It will be in a booklet style. I am asking that all new Masters submit to me in a timely manner a copy of their respective Lodges trestleboard for the upcoming Masonic year. These trestleboards will be included in the District Trestleboard. I am also requesting a picture of the newly installed Lodge officers. These pictures will be included on the Trestleboard. When submitting this information, please include all updated phone #’s and e-mails. We will also be posting the trestleboard on the web-site. Thank you for your assistance.
RW Brooks and I cordially invite all Brothers and Families of the Cortland-Madison District to accompany us at St. Johns Day this year in June. For those who have never been, we encourage it. For those who have attended, come on out and reunite with Brothers you have not seen in many years. Take the opportunity to tour OUR campus in Utica and the many great buildings there. Take the opportunity to visit residents in the Masonic Home. Check out the Library and Medical Research Lab. We would love to hear you make some noise as we march by in the parade. More info to come.
Please remember our men and women serving in the Armed Forces, as well as law enforcement officers who are facing many new challenges as they protect and serve us, in your prayers.
Brian Ziegler
April 2015 DDGM Article for the WORD
Greetings Brethren,
I send each of you warm Fraternal greetings from the Most Worshipful William J. Thomas, Grand Master of Masons in the State of New York.
I apologize for my missed article last month. It was submitted, but apparently too late. I know what you are thinking. I have been running around the District all year encouraging each Lodge to contribute articles to the Word, and the District Deputy Grand Master doesn’t even put one in. At the beginning of the year, myself and RW Clinton Brooks informed each Master that we would take them out to dinner if they did not miss an article for the year. As of this date, the following Lodges are still in the running. DeRuyter #692, Cortland # 470, Otselic-Valley # 659, and Cortland-Madison Masonic War Veterans Post # 44. Congratulations and keep it going.
Though a little belated, I must inform you of the passing of two Brothers of our District.Brother Daniel Miller of Cortlandville Lodge who was raised on 3/29/2003, and Brother Charles Mosely of DeRuyter Lodge who was raised on 1/23/1964 and a DSA recipient. I ask that you take a moment of silence for these Brothers.
I am very happy to see the degree work taking place in our District. It also refreshing to see newer Brothers taking an active part in these degrees. The following Lodges have degrees coming up. DeRuyter, Homer, Cortland, Otselic Valley, and YES, Tri-Valley. Please offer your assistance when called upon if it is within the length of your cabletow.
It was brought up at a TEAM meeting this summer that many Brothers would like to look in to the possibility of creating a District web site. I am proud to announce the unveiling of our new District Web Site. We are up and running. Please be patient as we work some of the glitches out. www.cortland-madison-masons.org . The web site will enable us to communicate more effectively and efficiently. It will also keep us updated on the happenings of the District. A big thank you to VW Scott Cary for his many hours of time in getting the site organized. More to follow in the upcoming weeks.
Thank you to those who assisted with the Safety ID Event at the Marathon Maple Festival. It is nice to see Brothers coming together as a TEAM for a common cause.
Please mark this date in your calendar. Sunday, April 19th 1:00 PM at Homer Lodge. This a combined venture with the Cayuga Tompkins District. The RW Jeff Williamson, Deputy Grand Master, will be holding a Town Hall Meeting. I encourage all to attend. There is a lot of information being discussed about the near future of our Fraternity and some hard decisions that Grand Lodge must make to begin the process of streamlining our jurisdiction into a more efficient entity. YOUR input and ideas are important to our Deputy Grand Master. He wants to hear from the Districts. He wants to know our concerns. Attend if you can. You will be glad you did.
Grand Lodge is right around the corner. I hope you share my excitement. We have a couple Brothers going this year that have not been to Grand Lodge before. Should be fun. I am still waiting to hear from two Masters whether they are attending or if a proxy is going in their stead. All other Lodges are represented. Awesome!
RW Brooks and I are working on our trestleboards for next year. I hope that Master elects and incoming Wardens are starting the planning process for the new Masonic year that will be fast approaching. By order of the Grand Master, next years Official Visits will be completed by December. This will be a change for our District. I will be contacting the Lodges in the very near future with my Official Visit schedule for next year. I will do my best to accommodate each Lodge with a date that works for them.
Keep our men and women in uniform in your thoughts and prayers!
See you around the District,
Brian Ziegler
DDGM
Brothers, Our website is slowly coming together. We will be able to operate more efficiently as a District. Communication amongst the Lodges will be easier. The Grapevine will operate right here off the website. We are working to get e-mail list updated and entered. Please be sure to register so we can get e-mail saved. A big thank you to our Webmaster Scott Cary for his many hours of work getting the site organized.
Brian Ziegler
