| Installation Address
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Most Worshipful, Right Worshipful, Very Worshipful, Worshipful Brethren, Ladies, Guest and Brethren all, welcome. I thank you for coming and being a part of today’s ceremony.
First, there are several people I want to thank for their wonderful support and mentorship throughout the years. RW Brother John Buchanan, whom we all know as “Buck”, for taking time out of his busy schedule to be with us today and serve as my Installing Officer. RW Buck is a personal friend and mentor, while he was Grand Master; I served under his guidance as a DDGM. I believe that both of us grew from the experience.
I also want to thank my very good friend and advisor RW Gerhard W. Severin. Over the past three years we have worked on projects that will make our Grand Lodge and Appending Bodies stronger. We just concluded a monumental task with the Imperial Shrine International to establish a Shrine Temple in Germany for Europe. This is a historic event that every Shriner and Mason in Germany can be proud of. This new Temple will be known as Emirat Shrine. I would like to thank the Nobility in hosting the Grand Master’s reception this evening.
Thanks also to RW Don Maddox for serving as my Installing Chaplin. It means a lot that you could be here and participate in this ceremony with me. Thanks to all of my Installing Team for your outstanding job of installing the new Grand Lodge Officers for the ensuing Masonic year.
I would like to give a special thanks to VW Carl Mueller, Past Deputy Grand Master. VW Carl has been a great friend and mentor during my Masonic Career. If it were not for VW Carl, I would not be a Mason today. We know that he is not doing well with his cancer, so please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
I do not have time to personally thank all who are present here today or have been present and influenced the direction of my life. So to all of you, I say a heartfelt thank you.
I will however take time to thank my lovely wife Marlene, who for 31 years has stood by my side through thick and thin. She supported me through 20 years of military service and upon my retirement was always there for me during my Masonic travels. I can never thank her enough for the wonderful things she has done to make my life easier. I can only say that I love you and look forward to spending another 31 years together.
I would be remiss if I did not thank all of the Brethren who will serve on my team for the ensuing Masonic year. My hope is that with this great team, we can improve and make our Grand Lodge even better.
My Brothers, I have traveled this Grand Jurisdiction for many years and have seen the standards slip not only in degree work, but in the appearance of the Lodges as a whole—not in all Lodges…but in some. My Brothers this needs to change! In the words of our immediate Past Grand Master, RW Grady Adams, may God rest his soul, “A standard lost is hard to regain.” I believe we have lost some standards, and it is up to each and every one of us to invest in the survival of our Lodges.
I am aware that the five elected Grand Lodge Officers and the DDGM’s cannot accomplish this on their own. It will take hard work and dedication of every lodge officer and every member of our Grand Jurisdiction to accomplish this.
There comes a time in each Grand Masters speech when he must lay out his plans for his term.
Membership:
Brethren, we cannot keep doing “business as usual.” We must come up with new and creative ways to get the dedicated Brothers to stay actively involved in Lodge and those that have wandered away to come back to our Lodges. It is incumbent upon each and every one of us to invest in the survival of our Lodges.
This is why I have chosen as my theme for this year “Just One.” I challenge each and every Mason in our Jurisdiction to bring at least one Mason, old or new, to Lodge during this Masonic year and get them to stay actively involved. Imagine the growth we could have if every Mason brought in a new or old member. It does not cost much to call a Brother that we know cannot drive at night or has a hard time seeing and offer him a ride to Lodge. Brethren, this is what Masons are supposed to do.
As an incentive, I have designed a Masonic Tie that I will present to each and every Mason that has taken the challenge and is a first line signer on a petition or brings a long lost Brother back into the fold, details of this will follow.
Degree Work and Personal Appearance:
Degree Work and Lodge Appearance is lacking. We must improve our Degree Work and the appearance in some Lodges during their Stated and Special Called meetings. In the words of our now recently deceased Immediate Past Grand Master, RW Grady M. Adams, “A standard lost is hard to regain.” We have lost some of those standards and it is up to each and every Mason in our jurisdiction to regain them.
The lodges will continue to perform the opening and the first section of the ritual without use of any aids or books. I have charged the DDGM’s to assist and teach the lodges in performing degree work to standard. Remember, “The first impression is a lasting one.” We owe this to the men joining our Lodges and to the Brethren, who have studied hard, been found proficient and then advanced on to the next degree.
Masonic Education:
Masonic education is important to all of our Lodges. All lodges are charged with having at least one lodge education night a month. The evening that the lodge will conduct their education night will be conveyed to the DDGM. Either I or one of my elected officers will make every effort to attend this education night. Our charge is not only to create Masons but also to educate Masons. At the recently held Grand Masters Conference of North America, I attended some excellent Masonic education classes and we can use some of their ideas.
As part of the education process we will also go back to the district education program. Every district will hold at least one education day during this year. It will be at the discretion of the DDGM when he will hold this. This education day will not replace the called communication or Semi Annual.
As part of the education process I have directed the Web Master for the ACGL Web Site to set up a portal where education outlines, power point slides and talking papers can be stored and downloaded for your use in preparing classes for your monthly education.
Lodge Visitation:
The last objective I want to achieve is visitation. I will conduct one official visit, per district, during my tenure as Grand Master. Lodges within the visited district will be notified, in ample time, of the Lodge where I will be making my official visit. I would hope that all of the Lodges within the District will attend the Grand Master’s Official Visit in numbers. I hope to be accompanied by the Elected Line and the DDGM. A roll call will be made of all of the lodges within the district. This will be done not only to see if the visitation program is working, but it will also be used as part of the evaluation for Best Lodge in the ACGL or Most Improved Lodge in the ACGL.
These are easy objectives to obtain and we should be doing these in our lodges all the time.
Grand Lodge Hall:
For the past 4-5 years we have been talking about our Grand Lodge Hall and what to do about it. In keeping with the pledge that our deceased immediate Past Grand Master made last year, I will pursue what we are going to do with the Grand Lodge Hall. I have charged the Deputy Grand Master to come up with a viable option to present to all of the Lodges within the next couple of months. My Brothers, this is your Grand Lodge Hall and you must make a decision on what to do about it. I will provide you with this information so that you can make an informed decision, but at the end of the day a decision must be made.
Charities:
My Charities for this year are the Ronald McDonald House and the Grand Lodge Charity Fund known as the Peter M. Rasmussen Charity Fund in honor of our first Grand Master and the MSA Hospital Visitation Program.
Our Immediate Past Grand Master donated money to the Ronald McDonald house so we could sponsor a room in the house. Renewal of the room happens in January of each year. I would like to keep that program alive and do our small part in assisting the children of the Ronald McDonald house.
The Peter M. Rasmussen Charity Fund is our Grand Lodge Fund; I have not heard mention of it in many years. When I first became a Mason in this jurisdiction, it was one of the first things that I heard about and one of the first “donations” that I made. Literally hundreds of ACGL Lodge members are proud recipients of the Charity Jewel and certificate presented by our Grand Lodge. My Brothers, for as little as $150.00 you can purchase this jewel and certificate. When any Brother contributes to the Peter M. Rasmussen Charity Fund and receives the charity jewel and certificate, I will personally present them to the Brother in open Lodge.
The Masonic Service Association of North America Hospital Visitation Program, is a visitation program that renders personal services to all of our sons and brothers, Masons and Non Masons alike, who now need someone to turn to for encouragement. The program is carried on entirely by voluntary contributions received by Grand Lodges and Scottish Rite.
I know that these are trying times for people all over the world, but as the old saying goes, “charity begins at home.”
I also plan on holding Masonic family functions were we can get families involved in what we do. I will have a Grand Masters Picnic later on this year as well as the Grand Masters New Years Reception. I would hope that as many Masons as possible will attend with their families. Our Ladies and children sit at home on the days, nights and weekends that we spend away from home doing Masonic functions. It is time that we give something back to the ladies and show them that they are not forgotten.
Remember Brethren, it is family, work and then Masonry. We must not forget to involve our families in what we are doing.
Before I close I would be remiss if I did not address the loss of our dearly departed Past Grand Master, RW Grady Mack Adams. I know I am not the only one when I say that I personally miss him very much. We will all miss his, mentorship, fellowship and leadership. Grady and I used to talk several times a week about how the Grand Lodge was progressing and the course of action that we wanted to take. Grady’s dream was to get the Grand Lodge back to working and practicing Masonry the way it should be.
So today I have mixed emotions, because I know that Grady would want us to move on, and not to grieve for him too long, also to channel our energies and emotions instead toward continuing to build a stronger and better Grand Lodge. Keep him in your hearts forever by keeping what he would have wanted –a vibrant Grand Lodge.
In closing I would again like to express my gratitude to each and every one of you who have taken time out of your busy schedule to be with me today and help me be installed as the Grand Master of this great Jurisdiction. May the Great Architect of the Universe continue to BLESS our Masonic Fraternity, our families, and our military members who, at this very moment, are in harms way.
Paul M. Curran, Grand Master