December 2022 Trestleboard

The Trestleboard is an official publication of Twin Peaks Lodge No. 32, which is a legally constituted Masonic Lodge operating under charter granted by the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of Utah. The Trestleboard is published for the sole and exclusive use of the members of Twin Peaks Lodge No. 32, and any other use is expressly forbidden.  The editor of The Trestleboard is Glen Van Steeter.  Submissions of educational articles or other announcements may be sent to the editor at [email protected], and if selected for publication, will be given full attribution. All submissions are subject to the approval of the Worshipful Master of Twin Peaks Lodge No. 32 and the editor of the Trestleboard.

The Lodge Secretary endeavors to keep our roster as accurate as possible. If you are moving, changing your mailing address, phone number or email address, please update your information in GrandView or notify the Secretary so that your information can be kept current.

Twin Peaks Lodge Secretary

December Calendar

• Monday, December 5: Stated Meeting at 7:30 pm. Dinner at 6:30p.m.
• Monday, December 12: Public Installation of Officers. Dinner at 6:00p.m. Cost is $10 for dinner. Installation ceremony starts at 7:15p.m.
• Monday, December 19: Special called meeting to close the lodge of Sorrow and exemplify the fellowcraft catechism.
• Saturday, December 25: Merry Christmas!
• Monday, November 26: No Lodge. Enjoy the holidays and see you next year!

Installation of Officers

Sickness and Distress

• Brother Stephen Sumbot had his procedure done and is recovering well at home. Our best wishes are with him and hope he can return soon.
• W. Bro. Glen Van Steeter is suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis. He has a surgery scheduled for December 22nd.
• Brother Jerry Action was ill with the flu or cold and was unable to join us but plans on next meeting.

Please keep these brethren and their families in your thoughts, and add them to your daily devotions to the Grand Architect.

If you happen to hear about a brother who is in distress, please contact either the Worshipful Master or the Lodge Secretary ASAP so that the Lodge can put itself in a position to assist.

FROM THE EAST

Brethren,

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family. I have so much to be grateful. This past year has been one of my highlights of my journey in Masonry. I am grateful to have served this past year with wonderful officers and brothers. In line with how the past few years have gone… this year didn’t quite go as we imagined either, but we made it work. Thank you to all the brothers who stepped up and served the lodge.

Thank you for your confidence in me in electing me for yet another year. I feel we are on a great trajectory and velocity. We have a number of men interested in learning more or joining, and brothers interested in affiliating. We are doing great work and having fun while doing it.

Last month’s educational was both informative and discussive. We invited a guest speaker to talk about health issues of which men should be aware. As it was an open educational, we had several non-mason guests in attendance.

We have our calendar planned out for next year. Much like this year, we plan to delve into the meanings and applications of the degrees, visit other lodges, and spread the word within our community. We need your help! Please come out and be a part of your lodge.

On the Square,

Ephraim Sng, Worshipful Master

FROM THE SECRETARY’S DESK

Happy Holidays, Brethren!

As some of you are aware, I was on a Mediterranean Cruise from November 1st thru 14th. Unfortunately, I caught a severe cold while I was on the trip that knocked me flat for the following week of my return. As such, I am just now getting back into the swing of things and trying to get caught up, professionally, personally, and Masonically.

I will be undergoing surgery on December 22nd to attempt to fix the carpal tunnel problems that have been giving me so much discomfort since June. If things go as desired, I should be feeling much better by the 25th. This will be great, as handwriting has been particularly painful and even typing is uncomfortable. Oddly, driving my school bus is one of the few times of the day where I don’t really feel much pain since my hands are draped at 10 and 2 on a great big 14″ steering wheel. Odd? Yes? Do I care? No!

For the 20 of you whom have already paid your 2023 dues, thank you very much. I have been having some delays. First, Grandview wouldn’t print the 2023 dues cards for me. We got that finally fixed, but I found that using the Lodge Seal was killing me. So I asked my son Christopher to emboss the dues cards with the Lodge Seal. Well, he broke it. And I mean, BROKE IT. The lower die jaw has a stress fracture and will never emboss anything again. As such, for those first 18 of you or so, you will be getting your 2023 dues cards soon. For the remainder, don’t expect them in the mail until near January, as the new Lodge Seal which was ordered on December 4th will not likely arrive until December 27th. My apologies.

For those who have not yet sent in your 2023 dues, please take some time and get that taken care of before the end of the year. Dues are payable by December 31st, with or without notice. Instructions for dues submission can be found on this page on our website.

Congratulations to all 2023 officers (elected and appointed) and our new 2 and 3-year trustees. I look forward to serving with you in 2023.

Thanks to Ephraim & Savannah Sng, Robert Hartman, Stephen and Heidi Horman, Lyle Miller, Christopher and Laura Van Steeter for your valuable assistance in setting up, cooking, taking and delivering orders, and tear-down during the Veterans / 1st Responders Breakfast. An extra-special thank you to Brother Rush Hotchkiss, who manages “The Market” in Park City, for the donation of the food. As such, the event actually made $140. Without that generous donation of food, we would have had a pretty rough loss. Also, it was great to see David and Tommy Birch, Michael Hartman and his family, and Ed Kordas, all of whom we haven’t seen in Lodge in quite some time. Great conversation was enjoyed over good food.

As the weather worsens, I would ask the following of each Twin Peaks Mason who reads this:

1. Drive extra carefully! Leave much more room between you and the driver in front of you. Drive slower. Keep your fluids full, especially windshield washer fluid and anti-freeze!
2. As I am a school-bus driver (apparently following in a tradition of TP32 secretaries driving for school districts), please watch for kids on the sides of the roads between 6:30-8:45 am and again from 1:30 to 4 pm. Also, since the start of the school year, I have had 17 careless and thoughtless drivers “run through” my deployed stop signs. If red lights are flashing on a bus, STOP!
3. Pay attention to your brethren, brethren! Brothers in financial distress may find it hard to pay the electric or gas bill! Additionally, some of our brothers are physically impaired. Think about visiting them and helping them with snow removal or other winter chores! This is what we, as Masons, do!

For many religions, the next three weeks are notable. Christmas for Christians, Channukah for the Jewish, Winter Solstice (or Yule) for Wiccans/Neo Pagans, Posadas Navidenas for Hispanic Christians (which commemorates the journey of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem to give birth to Jesus. Take some time not only with your family (which I heartily recommend), but consider doing some research on the traditions of other religions during this time of the year. It will leave you with a deeper impression of the meaning of God and his Children.

May God protect you and bless you and all those you love during this wonderful time of the year and I look foward to seeing you in the coming year.

Glen Van Steeter, PM – Secretary

Elections

Thank you for coming out and supporting the lodge in our election of officers.

Worshipful Master	WBro. Ephraim Sng, PM
Senior Warden	WBro. Robert Hartman, PM
Junior Warden	WBro. Lyle Miller, PM
Treasurer	MW Bro. Frank Baker, PM
Secretary	WBro. Glen Van Steeter, PM
Three-year Trustee	Bro. Frank Glade Keller III
Two-year Trustee	WBro. Stephen Horman, PM

Appointed Officers

Senior Deacon	Bro. Frank Glade Keller III
Junior Deacon	–
Senior Steward	WBro. Ric Wailes, PM
Junior Steward	Bro. Jaysen Roundy
Chaplain	WBro. Steve Horman, PM
Marshall	Bro. Chris Kingsley
Tyler	WBro. Jay Roundy, PM

Masonic Anniversaries

These brethren were raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason in the month of December.

• Brother Trent Norton, raised on December 12, 2011 and has 11 years of service.
• Brother Price Delwyn, raised on December 16, 2013 and has 9 years of service.
• Brother Glen Van Steeter, PM, raised on December 20, 1999 and has 23 years of service.
• Brother Richard Lee, raised on December 26, 2018 and has 4 years of service.

Happy Birthdays!

These brethren were born in December. Make sure and wish them a “Happy Birthday!” when you see them this month!

• Brother Royce Brown, born on December 5.
• Brother James Wadley, born on December 7.
• Brother Leon Crockett, born on December 26.
• Brother John Kaddas, born on December 26.
• Brother Jordan Whitney, born on December 29.

Veteran’s / First Responders Breakfast

We had a wonderful Veteran’s Day & First Responders Appreciation breakfast. The Food was generously donated by The Market at Park City. Thank you to everyone who came out to help, or just enjoy a good breakfast with friends and brothers.

Mark it down on your calendar! We will be having the next one on Veteran’s Day, November 11, 2023.

Meetups

Masonic Education

Tools, Symbols, and Building

Throughout this year, I have loved our meetups and discussing Freemasonry with our guests who come for the first time. Most of them know a little about it, but not sure as there is a lot of information, and misinformation out there. I often think back to my own journey of first learning about the Fraternity and my decision to ultimately join.

First, what is Masonry to you and why does it appeal to you? For me personally, I love the moral foundation it is built upon. The wording we hear in every Entered Apprentice degree, “Our ancient and honorable Fraternity welcomes to its doors and admits to its privileges worthy men of all creeds and of every race, but insists that all men shall stand upon an exact equality, and receive its instructions in a spirit of due humility, emphasizing in demeanor, in conduct, in ceremony and in language the helpless, groping nature of man at his birth and his need of reliance upon Divine guidance through all the transactions of life.”

I have, and always will love that wording. It truly is the foundation that we all need to build upon. I have loved the Chaplain’s messages throughout the year to bring in that extra element of turning our thoughts to the divine.

Masonry is a way of life. In my journey, I thought to myself, “There must be something about this Fraternity that would have appealed to the great men of history.” To Washington, Jefferson, Sam Houston, Mozart, Winston Churchill, Mark Twain, Henry Ford and the list goes on and on. “What is it about this fraternity that made them want to associate with it?” I wondered.

The tools taught us in the various degrees give us a template on how to govern our lives that lead us to success. The first very first tool taught us, the twenty-four inch gauge, teaches time management. The other tools teaches about relationships, behaviors, and actions. All of these are more than just abstract. They are practical. When applied, would you live a happier and healthier life? Absolutely! It is what I love most about this fraternity. I have loved delving more into the practical applications of our symbolic teachings this past year and will continue to do so next year.

On top of that, I love that we associate with one another in that very goal. “No man is and island” as the saying goes. We believe in the “Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of God.” I’ve had the opportunity to travel even more this year attending lodges in Missouri, Montana, Hawaii, and Germany. How awesome is it to have a worldwide fraternity that you can go nearly anywhere in the world a find a friend you’ve never met before and call him “BROTHER” and have a bond and trust? What other organization offers anything of the sort?

As a “Younger Mason” I often hear what “younger people” want and why the fraternity is waning. From my perspective, the world offers a lot of cheap, mass-manufactured products. What the “younger generation” wants, and NEEDS, are experiences and moral grounding. Now is the time to plant ourselves even stronger in our moral foundation and show what we offer. Where else can you find a deeply-rooted historical organization that offers a personalized initiatic experience? A play, rehearsed and performed, for just you individually? How much does it even cost to get nosebleed seats in a modern play? Then, get to spend hours with a brother and mentor to teach you the ritual and the meanings behind it? How much does professional mentorship normally cost? Let’s realize what we have here and not cheapen our experience.

To make more Masons, we need to be better Masons, both in public and private, and I am proud to say Twin Peaks is on a great trajectory.

~Ephraim Sng