Auto Added by WPeMatico

District Traveling Gavel makes the rounds and a tour of duty

The Gavel in operative and speculative Freemasonry has a similar meaning and varies in its use. The Masonic gavel is an emblem of authority used by the Master of the lodge to show his executive power over the assemblage by punctuating its actions.

In this capacity, order is maintained and a structured outcome to the proceedings is achieved.  The common gavel is also one of the working tools of the Entered Apprentice.

Operative Gavel

In the operative stonemason era, the common gavel was a tool used to hew (break) the rough edges from the stones (ashlars) so that they would fit perfectly into place.

English Masonic Gavel

Speculative Gavel

In speculative Freemasonry, the Masonic Gavel is used to symbolically divest the heart and consciousness of all the vices and superfluities (excesses) of life in order to ready ourselves as if we were living stones, open to be shaped into a spiritual being that is pleasing to our Creator.

Not An Auctioneer’s or Judge’s Gavel

The lightweight, rounded-end gavels, such as the one below, commonly used by auctioneers and presiding judges, are inappropriate for use in a Masonic lodge.

 

Auctioneers Gavel

A Masonic gavel should not be confused with the Setting Maul, which is one of the working tools of the Fellowcraft.  The setting maul is a heavy wooden hammer with which the operative mason set (knocked) the polished stones into proper alignment.

Traveling Gavel

Many jurisdictions and/or districts have a Traveling gavel program to promote visitation and a bit of friendly competition. The rules are somewhat similar from place to place. In general, the visiting Lodge, who wish to take the gavel, need to have a certain number of brothers and come to a stated communication of the possessing lodge and notify the Master that they are there for the gavel in advance of the meeting. etc., etc.

The Suffolk District Traveling Gavel has its rules as well. The last changes to the rules were to ‘simplify’ them a bit. In years past it was a requirement that most if not all the elected and appointed officers are present at the meeting to take possession. This could be sometimes difficult for a lodge to do in more recent times. The ‘rules’ are changed now and then and last time by the Masters, Wardens & Deacons Association. If you are unfamiliar with the current rules you should head on over to the Traveling Gavel Page right here > Suffolk District Traveling Gavel

On this page you can also learn some addition history and check-out the leaderboard. Each ‘season’ begins in September and Runs through April and recognition of the most possessions at the District Dinner.

If you are planning on attending the Suffolk District Dinner, make sure you have your tickets as they will not be selling any at the door. You can get those here > 2025 Suffolk District Dinner

As of this writing Potunk Lodge #1071 has possession of the Suffolk District Traveling Gavel and the District Dinner is quickly approaching. As it tradition it’s a lot more fun if the gavel has pictures of its travel. Below are the travels of the Suffolk District Traveling Gavel currently.

Brothers have fun and DO travel and attend meetings of other lodges as your cable tow allows.





LIPMA hosts Masters, Wardens & Deacons of the District

Attending the meeting held last night, January 29th, 2025, was a pleasure at Riverhead Lodge of the Long Island Past Masters Assoc. (LIPMA). The Suffolk District Team, led by R:.W:. Robert J. Licata, DDGM, brought together the Masters, Wardens, and Deacons of the Suffolk Masonic District for a discussion about reconstituting the Masters, Wardens, and Deacons Assoc. (MWDA).

W:. Terry Maccarone and V:.W:. Jerimiah Campbell did a fantastic job in putting the presentation together and I believe all in attendance took away valuable and actionable advice and guidance.

W:. Dominick Peppaceno and W:. Kevin Geiger whipped up a delicious meal for all attending and there was very little left over.

It is the hope of the LIPMA and the District team that this organization take up the mantle and work together as a whole in the Suffolk Masonic District to improve themselves as well as improve the District. All line officers that expect to be raised to the East, work as a group and not as an island unto themselves. We can depend on each other to cooperate and assist each other in our endeavors. We can all succeed and grow together.

As the current future leaders of the Craft, you should always remember that there is a wealth of knowledge in the District that is always available to offer advice and guidance. From the District Deputy Grand Master and the District Advisor, R:.W:. Bill McCauley to the rest of the District team and Past Masters of the District and of your Lodges.

Cowans, Eavesdroppers and Scammers, Oh my!

Brothers,

Over the last few weeks, several messages have come down to the brothers about possible scams, and most recently, a cowan, eavesdropper, or worse, who has been trying to sit in meetings in other states. It’s important to keep our brothers safe from scams and our Lodges free from cowans and eavesdroppers.

Let’s start with scams. We are all pretty much aware of the infamous “Nigerian Prince, government or other” scam. However, these scammers have grown and evolved over time, and their tactics have evolved as well. We, as Masons, are usually of the type that wants to help someone in need, especially a brother Mason. The scammers know this and will use it against their targets. They will craft well-written emails and send them to a hacked e-mail list in the hope that someone will reply that seems sympathetic or at least willing to engage in dialog. This is where the social engineering part comes in.

Some things to look for.
  1. If you receive an e-mail from a Brother, even a Brother that you know personally, that requests you help them with some issue, usually financially; Trust but verify is the best way to handle this. If you know the Brother, call him to find out what the issue is and if it is legitimate.
  2. If the requester has a reason he cannot speak on the phone, be wary. Some scammers are very convincing in messages (e-mails, Instant messages, or text), but cannot talk on the phone because you will know the jig is up.
  3. If the person contacting you insists you send money, typically in an odd way, like gift cards to some other untraceable way.  This is a huge red flag.
The way to spot a scam e-mail or text:
  1. Typically, a scam e-mail or text at a glance will look normal, look closer and you will see some serious grammatical or spelling issues. Scammers do this on purpose. Most would immediately discard the message knowing that the sender is a scammer but if the receiver is willing to overlook these minor errors, they may have a better chance of convincing someone they are who they are not.
  2. Look at the actual e-mail address or sender address. It is easy to “spoof” some emails with a name displayed instead of the actual e-mail address. Once you can see the sender, the scam is exposed.
  3. Look for any cc or bcc in the e-mail. If you see the e-mail or message is to you but also to “Undisclosed Recipients”, again a huge red flag.

There are several good websites that will explain how to spot a scam message if you are unsure have someone you trust have a look at it before you hit reply. Remember scammers will always put emphasis or urgency to the message to stop you from checking on the legitimacy of the scam.

Now on the trickier subject of Cowans and Eavesdroppers:

Back in the day, Lodges has to deal with Cowans more often than you think. This was due to the support network that Masons are famous for. if you were a Brother and taking a long or difficult trip and found yourself stranded you could always contact the local Lodge and they would always help out with a place to stay, a meal maybe event help you out of a cash problem and send you on your way. This is where our dues cards came from. Its wasn’t enough just to say you were a member you needed to prove it through lawful Masonic information. The Cowans had maybe read enough exposes to know some or just enough to get over, but no dues card was a no go.

Over the years and with more and more government social services in place it was not really necessary to “get over” on the Masons for a freebie anymore so dealing with Cowans died down. This was much bigger problem in the 1st half of the 20th century in the US.

Jumping to the 21st century, the problem has slightly risen again, this time not for free “hots and a cot” but for another purpose. This time it seems most of the ones in recent years were about pretenders just wanting to get into a Lodge meeting, like those who explore forbidden buildings. The pretender’s motives may be unclear, but dangerous just the same.

These seems to be a growing group of individuals who think since they have read the books on Freemasonry or even joined a clandestine Lodge or got suckered into membership in the thousands of scam Illuminati sites, that they are members worldwide who can visit any Lodge in the world. The most recent warning comes from the Grand Lodge of Alabama who had a member who renounced his membership yet later turns up in other states and attempts to sit in a Lodge.

We have many statements in our obligations and in Masonic law that every brother should know.  Any strange man that comes to your Lodge should be examined. This could mean several things. The first and foremost is to ask for his dues card. We all received permanent dues cards a few years back. These cards have a QR code on them. A quick scan of the QR code on the card using the Amity phone app also available on Google play, will get you his current status as a Mason. Of course, this is only for US Masons and not every jurisdiction uses them, but most do, many are on the same MORI system that the GLoNY is. Travel outside the US is a discussion for another time.

We all encourage our Brothers to travel and it’s one of the best benefits of being a Brother. However just showing up at a Lodge where nobody knows who you are, well you should not be offended if you are challenged before you are allowed to join the meeting.

This is the Brothers doing their due diligence. There have been a few changes to Masonic Law in recent years with regards to opening/closing on any degree. This some have issue with and some welcomed. But has led to a bit of confusion. Once a gentleman is initialed, given the EA degree, does this give this new Brother right to travel? Once they are put in the system by the secretary, they will receive a dues card in short order or at least their GL number. My opinion on this is no, they are still to be treated like EA’s & FC’s were prior to the changes. This means they should not travel to other lodges by themselves. They need to be vouched for and escorted just like before. All Masters of Lodges should instruct their Sr. Deacons at least as such, well that’s his job after all. I have asked this question before and have gotten different answers, so please check with your DDGM if you need clarification. So, when we open a lodge and the Sr. Deacon’s, Jr. Deacon’s & Tyler’s responsibilities are given, do we pay attention?

Battle Within Bench to be dedicated at Port Jefferson

On behalf of R:.W:. Robert Licata, DDGM:

Brethren,

Please be advised, that the Suffolk Masonic District, will be dedicating another Battle Within Foundation Bench at the Veterans Memorial Park at 116 West Broadway, Port Jefferson, NY 11777 p December 20th, 2024, at 3:00 PM. Our Grand Master, the Most Worshipful Steven Adam Rubin has confirmed his attendance. If you are able, please consider attending.

 

Learn more here -> Home | The Battle Within

Improvements to the suffolkmasons.com website

Brothers,

Question: is it possible to be “new” and “improved” at the same time? 

Over the last few years, I have gotten feedback from users of the suffolkmasons.com website regarding several things. The one main theme was that it was slow and cumbersome, especially with ticket purchases for events. The hosting for the district website has been updated and migrated to a more powerful server and will more room to grow and expand. I have also trimmed down the site to the essentials and cut the fat and bloat that will sometimes impact speed. While I do not have the speed test from before the changes, that would be embarrassing, I do have the speed test from recent testing.

So, we’re getting a solid B grade on speed and there is a bit more work to do to get to an A. We are also in process of upgrading with significant improvements to Hiram’s Tickets (online ticket sales). This should be ready for use by Mid December or earlier.

Some other highlights we’d mention:

  • Weekly automated announcements email (this are just the latest and greatest of posts and events coming up)
  • Quarterly District Communication email (too many complaints about the number of emails)
  • Email Archive (missed an announcement? need to see it again? now you can in the Archive)
  • Education Page (here you can sign up for District Courses like the RTE or MDC)
  • The Suffolk District Traveling gavel has its own page! Check the location and travel brothers!
  • Complete listing of Suffolk District Lodges with brief history and meeting times, etc.
  • And of course, the Events page. Check out what is happening around the District, who’s doing what and when. This calendar and the calendar on the District BAND are synchronized to keep all events in the District as widely seen as possible.
  • When arriving at the suffolkmasons.com home page, be sure and scroll down for additional information like a brief list of upcoming events, a link to the Craftsmen Online Podcast and more.

Of course we are still looking for content, so if you have a story or information you would like to share, send it to us and we’ll publish it for all to see. The point of all this is communication Brothers and a website is still one of the best ways to efficiently and effectively get the info out to all. A website requires no username or password to find information or get what you need. There is the calendar of events, informational posts, pages to find who to contact and how to contact a brother in the district. Albeit some of the info is behind a secure wall so you would have to register and be approved to access personal info like emails and phone numbers.

We would invite all brothers to have a look and see what is available, suggest improvements with feedback, comments and create content. If we share what we know with each other, we all get better and that is the point Brothers. We hope this page in combination with the Suffolk District BAND serves the District well and keeps all “in the know”. We are a relatively small but diverse group of gentlemen, and we are always there for each other.

P.S. Don’t forget to subscribe to get this awesome information sent to your email inbox. See the sign up to your right on this page -> 

Old Town Lodge captures the district traveling gavel

On Thursday, November 21st, 2024, Old Town Lodge # 908 successfully captured the Suffolk District Traveling Gavel. The R:.W:. Robert Licata, DDGM and R:.W:. William McCauley, Suffolk District Advisor presented the gavel to the WM of Old Town Lodge at Potunk Lodge #1071. 

Old Town Lodge meets on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month. Old Town Lodge #908’s next meeting that the gavel will be up for grabs will be Monday, December 16th ,2024.

Want to know more about the traveling gavel, well it has its own page. Just click here -> Suffolk District Traveling Gavel

 

Travel well Brothers!

Updated DDGM visit list for 2025

Brothers,

As we approach the new year and continue with the official visits of the DDGM to Lodges in the Suffolk Masonic District, we encourage you to support the DDGM and the District in attending the official visits. You can check the dates and any updated information on Official visits of the DDGM on the Suffolk District Band Calendar and right here on the Suffolk Masonic District Website -> EVENTS

The updated Official visits of the DDGM for 2025:

Connetquot Lodge #838 – January 13th, 2025

Amityville Lodge #977 – February 4th, 2025

Smithtown Lodge #1127 – February 12th, 2025

Riverhead Lodge #645 – February 18th, 2025

Dongan Patent Lodge #1134 – March 13th, 2025

Peconic Lodge #349 – March 19th, 2025

Babylon Lodge #793 – April 9th, 2025

Another The Battle Within Foundation Bench dedicated

The Suffolk Masonic District and Suffolk Post 23 MWV dedicate a bench for the Battle Within Foundation at the West Sayville Golf Course and Lt. Michale Murphy Navy Seal Museum.

The bench was placed and dedicated by the Suffolk District teams, led by R:.W:. Robert Licata, DDGM of the Suffolk Masonic District and members of Suffolk Post 23, MWV.

The LT Michael P. Murphy Navy SEAL Museum tells the story, sacrifices, and legacies of the Special Operators of Naval Special Warfare Command from the frogman and Underwater Demolition teams of WWII and Korea to the birth of the SEALs in Vietnam, the War on Terror, Operation Redwings, and an exhibition hall dedicated solely to the SEAL Training program.

The Battle Within Foundation:
In the past 40+ years, since the end of the Vietnam War, we have lost more American heroes due to suicide than all foreign wars and conflicts in that time period combined. Despite the very best efforts of family, friends, the VA, and scores of highly dedicated veteran-based organizations, approximately 20 veterans each day are lost to us due to complications from wounds and injuries we cannot see.

That’s 7200 brave men and women a year who volunteered, stood on the yellow footprints and swore an oath to God to protect and defend our country. They proved this commitment, many seeing and experiencing the unimaginable in our name. Unfortunately, they made it through one war, only to come home to fight another.

 

The Battle Within Foundation has been at the forefront of Veteran PTSD research and assistance to troubled veterans.
Supporting veterans in crisis, educating the public, and honoring our heroes for their service, regardless of where they died.

From the Grand Lodge Staff Officer for the Suffolk District Fall 2024

Greetings my Brothers;

It is a privilege and honor to represent the Suffolk District as the Grand Lodge Staff Officer. I hope to be the brother you look to for educational insight and instruction. Please take advantage of all the many programs and classes we are offering.

The AGLs and I will be working hard to bring you many educational evenings of interesting programs and workshops to aid in your Masonic experience. Schools of Instruction, Masonic Development Courses, and the Road to the East course. I promise to make them lively, entertaining, and thought provoking.

I urge each and every one of my brothers to take advantage of what is available to help you learn more about our gentle craft. These courses are not just for those who wish to advance to the East, but for everyone. Newly made Master Masons, Fellowcrafts, and Entered Apprentice are all welcome and encouraged to participate. The year will be filled with lots of interesting nights and some mornings with great fellowship. Try to be part of a class and enjoy the company of your brothers. We should never stop learning. There is always the by-product of enjoying the company of many brothers from across the district. By the way you know there is always food and fun. I guarantee a good time. Don’t delay sign up today.

I thank everyone for this opportunity to learn with you all.

R:.W:. Bill De Benedetto

Grand Steward

 

Note from the editor: the link to the signups when they become available will always be on the Education page of the District website here -> Educational Services

From the Suffolk District DDGM Sept 2024

Dear Brethren,

I hope this communication finds you well and eager to get back into the Quarries.  Your Suffolk Masonic District Team is very excited to get our term started and thanks to The M:.W:. Steven Adam Rubin, Grand Master of Masons in the State of New York we have some excellent programs for us to get out to our District.

To accomplish this, he has established seven pillars, to serve as the guide during our labors: Our Three Precious Jewels, Grand Lodge Leadership, Masonic Education, Membership Value, Masonic Lodge and Building Governance, Masonic Communication and Social Responsibility and New York Masonic History. The district team is focused on our responsibilities and stands ready to assist our lodges in any way needed. Much more information will be distributed as the year progresses.

 

Below, our District Deputy Grand Masters visits are listed for this year. I encourage you to attend as many visits as your cable toe will allow.

  • Star of the East, October 10th
  • Wamponamon Lodge, October 17th
  • Alcyone Lodge October 22nd
  • The Lodge of Antiquity, November 14th
  • Potunk Lodge, November 21st
  • Old Town Lodge, December 9th
  • Jephtha Lodge, December 9th
  • Suffolk 60, December 19th.

 

Being appointed as the District Deputy Grand Master for the Suffolk Masonic District is very humbling and the Responsibility and Obligation that comes with this appointment is something I will work very hard to accomplish.

 

May the Great Architect of the Universe bless this craft and all our brothers.

 

Fraternally,

R:.W:. Robert J. Licata

DDGM Suffolk District