Greetings from all the Masons in the Bluegrass State

Most Worshipful L. Todd Eastham
Grand Master 2009-2010

The 54,585 Masons of Kentucky welcome you to the Grand Lodge of Kentucky Free and Accepted Masons site.

Although Masonry has been in Kentucky over 200 years, this represents one of the few public appearances in any media other than individual stories about the many philanthropic endeavors of our Lodges and affiliated organizations. It is not that we want to be secretive, but our tradition is to not be flamboyant or advertise our good works. It is our hope that this site will serve to remove some of the shroud of mystery associated with Masonry. Any suggestions you have to make it more valuable will certainly be appreciated.

Are you interested in pursuing membership? The basic criteria for membership is:

• A belief in God
• Believe in the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man
• Male and at least 18 years old
• Be a resident of Kentucky
• Be recommended by 2 members of the Lodge
• Receive a unanimous ballot for membership

There is one little known aspect of petitioning for membership of which you should be aware. You will not be asked to become a member. Masons in Kentucky do not solicit for membership, we wait for the man to ask for a petition.

Grand Master's Widows Initiative

During my tenure as Master of Greenup Lodge #89, I wondered what could be done to promote Masonry within our community.  I was tired of coming to Lodge, holding a meeting, eating, and then going home.  In my eyes this was not what Masonry was supposed to be about.  My belief system is founded on the principle that acting like a Mason and being a Mason are two entirely different points of view.  With this in mind, I searched for something that would instill pride in our Lodge members, while serving the community on a greater scale. 

The answer came to me one meeting night when I asked the Senior Warden this simple question.  “Why did you become a Master Mason?”  Through the years, we all have answered that question in open Lodge and the search for me brought me full circle back to his answer.  It was then that is dawned on me that if we can’t take care of each other, especially our poor distressed worthy Brothers, their widows, and orphans, then how could we handle or worry about anything else outside of the Lodge.  My thought on this was that if we could get this ONE THING right, then we could move on to something else.

This initiative begins the moment that one of the Lodge members hears of a Brothers death.  It is at that very moment when a Master Mason should be assigned to assist, if needed by the widow, in any way possible.  Take time to read the attached letter that is given to each widow or family, and its meaning will be clear.

Thus far, this initiative has worked great things in our Lodge, and if you would like to hear first hand accounts, you can always contact me.

The program is simple and here are the guidelines

1. 1) The Senior Warden keeps track of all widows and assigns a Master Mason to them until the day the widow remarries, dies, or the Master Mason assigned to them dies.
3. 2) The widow is checked on at least weekly to ensure her needs are being met and that she is doing well.
6. 3) The Master Mason reports back to the Lodge each meeting night with a sense of pride as to how the widow he has been assigned is doing.
   
   
7. 4) If the widow needs something done, the Mason assigned to her does it, or enlists the help of other Lodge Brothers.
9. 5) If the Master Mason does not keep up with the widow, she is reassigned to someone who will.

You will come to find that I believe in simplicity and doing whatever is in the best interest of the Craftsman.  By forgetting about our widows, they and their family members will forget about us.  Don’t let a widow wonder what her husband was doing all of those years when he told her that if he died, she would be taken care of.  Let’s show them that Kentucky Freemasons, in particular, will always honor our deceased Brethren by honoring their widows.

The Kentucky Masonic Home Journal is now available online Click Here for the November 2009 edition »

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