Continue reading »]]> I sincerely hope that all is well with you and yours. I would like to start off the year on a positive note with something I read at www.masonicnetwork.org which I think is the life blood of Masonry:
“We must constantly remember that in every moment of our life, in public, at work, at pleasure, with our families, even when you are alone, We are a Mason!”  We live by a Standard of Masonic Conduct.  The non-Masons who know us will judge each of us, and Masonry itself, by the way in which we conduct ourselves. We have in trust the reputation of Masonry. Let us not betray that trust! Masonry will flourish, if we follow these precepts.
     Before we can expect to attract good men to the fraternity by our conduct and reputation in public, we must learn to conduct ourselves with propriety in the Lodge. One of our first duties shall be loyalty to the fraternity and obedience to its laws. This is a fundamental requirement. Propriety is not the result of law, but rather of tradition, custom and usage. Like good manners, it has behind it only the force of opinion.  While there (may be) no penalties for breaches, there are tangible rewards for observance of the rules and ceremonies of good manners. 
An ancient philosopher advised when in “Rome, do as the Romans do”. This also applies to your actions when you are visiting another Lodge, particularly in other states / countries.  While the principles and ideals of Masonry are universal; social customs, Masonic traditions, and laws differ from place to place. For example, all Masonic Lodges open with a prayer and it is not surprising that the words of the prayer may vary from place to place. When we go to other states in our country we find that the attitude of prayer is not the same everywhere and in other countries the name of Deity may even be different. Likewise we find that the customs concerning such things as the proper way to address a Brother or a lodge officer, the appropriate dress for a lodge meeting, proper topics of conversation, and even the working tools and the Grand Masonic Word change as we go around the world. But wherever you may be, you can be sure that respect and honesty toward Masons and Masonry, as taught by the square and compass, will be the fundamental guide for your conduct.”
I would like to thank you in advance for your continued support in the upcoming year. January will be starting off busy, conferring five Fellow Craft to Master Masons. Our other activities can be found in your trestle board and soon on our updated web-site.

Sincerely and fraternally,
David J. Lane Sr, WM

Continue reading »]]> Brethren:

I am writing this, my last master’s message, with feelings of joy and sadness. As one thing comes to an end others are just beginning. The next several weeks will be very eventful. We will be holding an open house on black Friday to help the public better understand what Free Masonry is all about. We will be holding a Ladies night to show our gratitude to our ladies for the sacrifices they have made over the past year. We will be electing and installing the new officer line during an open installation. We will be having a Christmas Party in cooperation with Collingswood Cloud Lodge #101. And finally, I will be transferring the gavel to Brother Lane should the lodge see fit to elect him.

I, myself, look forward to continuing to serve the lodge in any manner that the membership deems appropriate. It is incumbent on all of us to remember that the blue lodge is or should be your primary Masonic entity. Without blue lodge, the appendant and co-ordinate bodies could not exist. First and foremost you must become a Master Mason before you can join any of those other bodies. This is not to say that the work of these bodies is not important but do not leave your blue lodge behind. Find time to come back to your lodge. Attend a regular or emergent communication, a lodge activity, or in some other way reconnect with your lodge.

We miss you and hope to see you soon.

When the new Masonic year begins, we can all look forward to the new master’s messages. Thank you all for your help and support this year. Live in peace and may the God of love and peace delight to dwell with and bless you.

Your most humble and obedient servant,

George W. Niessner
Worshipful Master

Continue reading »]]> Brethern:

“The strength of the Fraternity is each individual member…the strength of each member is the Fraternity”. These are words that I believe in strongly. In the month of October, we initiated seven new brothers, each of whom will strengthen the lodge and the fraternity and in turn will be strengthened by the lodge and fraternity. We have seen the return to lodge of brothers who have been absent and have seen a rejuvenation of our ritual and a strengthening of our lodge in general. We still have a way to go. I recently received a phone call from one of our past masters. He asked “ what can I do for the lodge”. We welcome this communication and encourage each and every one of our members to ask themselves the same question. The most obvious answer is to come out to lodge and see what is happening. Get reacquainted with the brethren and support our efforts.

We held an EA degree during our emergent meeting in October during which we initiated the last 2 of our candidates. There were more than 25 brothers on the sideline including 2 sitting masters, a number of fellowcrafts, 4 of our newly initiated brothers and several members of our lodge. The degree work was among the best that I have seen. Those of you who missed it, missed a great experience. There are still many great experiences on the way. Come see these EAs become FCs.

By the time you have read this we will have had a Hayride/October Fest, and a movie night. You can join us in November for our regular communication, our FC degree, our Grand Lodge of Instruction, our Ladies Night and our Square and Compass Day. In December we will have our annual elections and our open installation. As you can see we have many things planned. Come out and be part of it. I look forward to seeing you..

Your most humble and obedient servant,

George W. Niessner
Worshipful Master

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To all of you who attended our September regular and emergent communications, I thank you very much as you were instrumental in a very successful transition to our new home. To those of you who have not yet visited our home at Collingswood Cloud Temple, consider this a formal invitation to attend our October regular and emergent communications. In September we voted on the remainder of 8 petitions, which were received over the summer, and five of the candidates received their Entered Apprentice Degree at the Emergent communication. We are looking forward to initiating the rest of our petitioners in October and to seeing to the passing of our newly initiated brothers to the degree of Fellow Craft. Our lodge is growing and your officers are busy strengthening your lodge. We invite everyone to be part of the excitement and support your lodge.

In addition to bringing in new members, we also have some exciting activities planned for October. Brother Todd Mertz is spearheading a hayride and bonfire scheduled for October 22 at the farm of Right Worshipful Brother Buchert. Look for the flyer in this trestleboard. We will be planning the Square and Compass Day activities. We will be conducting a fund raising activity that consists of selling coupon books which offer discounts to local merchants We will be having a movie night with Collingswood Cloud Lodge. We are beginning the planning for our installation and making plans for the elections of next year’s officers. Anyone interested in moving into the line should contact one of the officers. The year is rapidly coming to a close and it is important that we build on the progress that the lodge has made over the past couple of years. We are a work in progress and we are excited about the possibilities before us. Come join us and be part of the process. We need you. There are many opportunities for you to aid in the continued construction of this lodge. Lend us your expertise.
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Your most humble and obedient servant,

George W. Niessner
Worshipful Master

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Hope everyone is enjoying a great summer and that you are well rested and renewed. Though we have not had a regular communication during July and August, your officers have been busy. We have move all of our belongings from the USS New Jersey Temple to the Collingswood Cloud Temple and are ready to conduct our September communication in our new accommodations. We have been rehearsing in advance stations and preparing ourselves for an EA degree in September. Many of us have enjoyed Masonic fellowship by joining Collingswood Cloud Lodge #101 at their picnic and Hermann-Humboldt Lodge # 125 at their annual Ox Roast. Your Master and Wardens participated in a MM degree at Rising Sun Lodge #15 which was very inspiring. Brother Lane and I traveled to Sea Isle City to present a brother with his 55-year pin, as he could not make the district ceremony. So as you can see,the summer was very eventful.

As September approached, it is my hope that we will see all of you back at lodge helping Mozart Lodge to continue to advance. It is our goal to be the equal of any lodge in the 18th district and in the State of New Jersey for that matter. We have many events in the planning stage, all of which need your support to be successful. We are still hopeful to have a fishing trip, a ladies night, an October Fest, and a charity fundraiser. We also hope to raise a large class of new Masons. We continue to need brothers to head committees, step into the officer’s line and support our various endeavors. If you do not have the time or inclination to put in the time needed for the above, we will be very glad to see you on the side lines and to hold Masonic conversation and share fellowship with you. So please make every effort to help us make our first meeting at Collingswood Cloud Temple a memorable event by being on the sidelines and breaking bread with us. It is my sincere hope that this will be one of the best years in the long and storied history of Mozart Lodge and that each successive year will be ever better.

Your most humble and obedient servant,

George W. Niessner
Worshipful Master

Continue reading »]]> Our Second Annual No Tie Table Lodge and Annual Pork and Kraut Supper will be held on Tuesday, June 21st 2011 Opening at 7:30 the cost will be $20 in advance, $25 on Tuesday (if room) See an Officer for tickets, or contact Secretary.

The main course will be Pork and Kraut, kosher options available. Our guest speaker for the evening will be RW David A Dorworth, SGW.

No Tie Table Lodge means at least polo shirt and slacks, not shorts and t-shirts!

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Your officers and lodge members have been through an interesting couple of months. As things have started to come together, I am reminded of a quote by Nietzsche, which states, “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. We have not only sur-vived but I believe that we have become stronger as a lodge. We have firmed up our officer corps, we have raised two new brothers, we have strengthened our finances and we have selected a new meeting place.

In the upcoming months we will be having a table lodge, organizing a picnic, planning a sitting masters ladies night, looking into an Oktoberfest, starting a new class of can-didates and visiting other lodges. This past Friday, we captured the traveling gavel from Laurel Lodge #237 and shared fellowship with those fine masons.

We are now in the process of planning to move our property from the USS New Jersey Lodge #62 to the Collingswood Cloud Lodge #101. This will take some organizing and some manpower. We could certainly use the help of any of our brothers who have moving experience and/or the vehicles and muscles need for such an undertaking..

We are please to announce that we have experienced increases in attendance at our regular and emergent communications. This has been gratifying to your officers as well as the candidates we are raising. Our MM degree last month was very well at-tended by our own members and our brothers from the other lodges in the district. We are very grateful for the support and fully intend to reciprocate. It is hoped that you will come to our regular communication in June and our table lodge on June 21st. If we do not see you there, have a great summer and we will see you at our new home at Collingswood Cloud Lodge # 101 in September except in case of emergency, should any such occur you will be given due and timely notice, if possible. Have a great summer and look for information about our picnic.

Your most humble and obedient servant,
George W. Niessner

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The month of April has been a month of opportunity and growth for the lodge. We passed two brothers from the Entered Apprentice degree to the Fellowcraft Degree. We will be raising them to Master Masons during the month of May. We received new petitions and are preparing to begin another class. We are exploring new locations for our lodge to meet and opportunities to strengthen our financial outlook. We have strengthened our degree work and continue to include our newly raised brothers in our ritual. As a result, the outlook for the lodge is very bright at
this time. This does not mean that we do not need the help of every member of this lodge. There are still many challenges ahead of us. Our lodge is a work in progress. The many years of decline for our lodge and all of masonry will not turn around over night. We are about to turn the corner and with the help of all the brethren, we will continue to progress. Our Grand Master has told us that this year to date we have raised more Master Masons than we have lost. This apparently has not happened for many years. We hope to be able to boast the same for our lodge every year for the foreseeable future.
We have many important decisions to make in the coming months. Decisions that will affect the lodge for years to come. The decisions will best be made with the advice and consent of the largest possible number of lodge members. Our regular meeting on May 3rd will include a discussion on our future home that could also affect our meet-ing nights. It is important that we make a decision that will encourage the largest pos-sible number of brethren to attend our meetings and degrees. This lodge belongs to all of us. I am only the caretaker for one year. These
Decisions are too important to be left to only a few people, so come out and join the discussion. If you cannot attend, then call or e-mail me, let me know what you think. With everyone’s help and input, we will make the best possible decision and assure the continued progress and growth of our lodge.
Your most humble and obedient servant,
George W. Niessner
Worshipful Master

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As we begin to emerge from the winter, which this year was particularly rough, we see the signs of spring and the renewal of the earth and its bounty. Sometimes during the dreary winter it is difficult to get yourself motivated.

Motivation implies movement. It means the differences in getting up and doing something rather than just sitting there and doing nothing or letting someone else do it, which is apathy and indifference. Webster defines motivation as “ causing or having the power to cause motion: and impulse from within.

If we feel as we say we do regarding our Fraternity, let’s do something rather than just talk about it and appoint a committee to report back next year and the next…. there are numerous problems facing freemasonry at this time such as declining membership, buildings in need of repair, differences in visions for the future, etc., however, non of these are insurmountable. As it began to feel that the winter would never leave us, we now see a hint of spring. In Masonry, we also begin to see a hint of better days to come. Numbers are starting to increase, members are slowly returning to lodge and the quality of the ritual and meetings in general is on its way up. There is still, however, a long way to go to strengthen the lodge so that we can better serve our community and our fellow man.

Some time ago Chief Justice Warren Burger in addressing the American Bar Association quoted the great Masonic writer and Jurist, Dean Roscoe Pound of the Harvard Law School, as saying in 1906, ‘ ‘ the courts of the 20th Century cannot operate on the laws of the 19th Century.” I believe that this applies equally to Masonry. Our traditions and ritual are extremely important and are what separates us from other organizations; however, our methods of doing business need to be progressive and forward looking. We need an influx of new people and new ideas if we are going to continue to progress.

We will have initiated 3 brothers by the time you read this and raised 2 new master masons last month. It is very important that we keep these brother’ s involved in our lodge and masonry and that we provide them the mentoring they need. Come out and join us in our degree work this month and help to mentor our new members. Have a happy and healthy Easter season and remember you brethren.

Your most humble and obedient servant,

George W. Niessner

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This is a month where we will hopefully be coming out of the doldrums of winter to see signs of spring and life’s renewal. Coincidentally this month we will also have a class of Candidates for the Entered
Apprentice Degree. I hope that all, especially those who have not been to lodge in a while, will heed a regular summons from their lodge to assist us in conferring this degree. Renew your participation
in lodge by accompanying these candidates through their journey of initiation, passing and raising. I believe that you will find that it will be a boon to the candidates and a worthwhile experience for you.

We will also be honored to receive Rite Worshipful District Deputy Grand Master Leonard M. March and Rite Worshipful District Ritual

Instructor John L. Reader, III during our regular communication on their official visit. I would be most gratifying to see many, many brothers on the sideline to welcome our guests and support their lodge.

Your most humble and obedient servant,

George W. Niessner
Worshipful Master