Newsletter from the Grand Secretary
Hollis G. Dixon, Grand Secretary
July 2009
Although many of our lodges are dark (at recess) during the summer months, I believe that all of our Secretaries still read these Newsletters. They are written primarily for the Secretaries and hopefully contain information that is useful for them.
Applications for Affiliation: The Secretary of one of our lodges informed me that a member of his lodge had moved two years ago and did not leave a forwarding address. Then recently, another Brother ran into him and the missing Brother told him that he had taken a Demit and affiliated with another lodge. In fact, he had not taken a Demit but was about to be suspended for non-payment of dues by his home (Primary) lodge. It is quite possible that the missing Brother did not understand that there is a formal process by which a Mason can demit from his Primary lodge. (Section 134, pg. 1-46)
The bottom line is that a Secretary of a Lodge should not allow a Mason to affiliate unless he actually produces a Demit, if he wishes to give up his membership in his Primary lodge, or a Certificate of Good Standing if he wishes to belong to two lodges as a plural member.
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.
Application for Reinstatement: 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 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, pg. 1-27)
I.R.S. Form 990 N: I would like to remind you that your lodge must file a 990N Form electronically with the IRS each year, within four and one half months of the end of your Masonic year. It would appear that many of our lodges have not filed that form this year. If you do not file that form with the IRS for three consecutive years, your lodge will be in danger of losing its non-profit status.
Fraternally,
Hollis G. Dixon
Grand Secretary
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