Newsletter from the Grand Secretary
Hollis G. Dixon, Grand Secretary
December 2006
Maps for Lodge Locations: For some time the Grand Lodge Web Page has included a section with maps showing the location of every Blue Lodge in the state of Maine. Many of those maps were incorrect because they had not been updated. Recently our Web Master redesigned the Web page and, in so doing, he deliberately omitted the map section. He is now preparing to put the maps back on the web site.
We are now requesting that every lodge submit accurate information concerning the location of their lodge building. For those Secretaries that have been authorized to access the Grand Lodge database, you can log on to the Grand Lodge Membership Database and bring up the Lodge Information screen. Then you can fill in the appropriate data for the Building Name; Building Location(name of road or street); City or Town and the Zip Code. When you have entered the information be sure to save it. Once the information has been saved, click on the Map Lodge Link. This should bring up a map showing the relative location of your lodge building. If it is accurate, you are all set. Lodge Secretaries that are not yet authorized to access the Grand Lodge database should email the information to Grand Lodge at grandlodge@mainemason.org and we will enter the data. If you know the GPS Latitude and Longitude please enter that as well.
Answering Basic Questions: Recently we have received questions from a few Lodge Secretaries that pertain to some of the basic matters that come before a lodge. I would like to mention a few that might be of help.
First, if you receive an Application for Affiliation from a member of another Maine lodge, you should check with the Secretary of his home (primary) lodge to ascertain if he is a member in good standing before processing his application.
If the applicant is a member of a Lodge in another Grand Lodge Jurisdiction, you should mail a copy of the application to the Grand Secretary and ask that he request a Certificate of Good Standing and a copy of the Masonic Record from the Grand Secretary of the state where the applicant’s lodge is located. You must also remember that you cannot charge a fee for an Application for Affiliation; nor can you list a fee for the same in your Lodge Bylaws.
If you receive a request from a Brother that previously demitted from your lodge or some other lodge, stating that he wishes to become active again, he must complete an Application for Affiliation. Remember that when he took his demit he actually became an, “Unaffiliated Mason.” Therefore, he must apply for affiliation before he can be reinstated. An application for affiliation must be processed in the same manner as a petition for the degrees. It must be read at a Stated Meeting, referred to a Committee of Inquiry and balloted on at the next Stated Meeting.
If a Brother wishes to be reinstated after having been Suspended for Non-Payment of Dues, he must pay the amount of dues that he owed at the time he was suspended. If he has been suspended for less than three years, then he will be automatically be reinstated. However, if he has been suspended for three or more years, then, in addition to paying the dues owed, he must submit an application for reinstatement. That application must be processed in the same manner as a petition for the degrees. (See Section 51)
Merry Christmas,
Hollis G. Dixon
Grand Secretary
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