What Come You Here To Do?

"According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder. I have laid the foundation and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward".  1 Corinthians 3:10-14

To the Right Worshipful Eli M. Carter, District Deputy Grand Master, Right Worshipful Russell B. Jordan, Sr., District Grand Lecturer, Right Worshipful Charles L. Brown, Junior Grand Warden, Right Worshipful Thomas R. Hughes, Deputy Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New Jersey, all Right Worshipful Brothers, Worshipful Brothers, visiting Brothers and Brothers of the mighty, mighty, mighty King David Lodge No. 15. First in the Fifth, Second to none in the State. Good evening

First giving Praise to God from whom all my strength comes from. For if it was not for him I would not be here on this evening.

Secondly I would like to thank the Brothers of King David Lodge No. 15, for electing me to serve you and this great Lodge as the Worshipful Master for the Masonic Year of 2008-2009. The foundation of this great Lodge has already been established by some great men before me. As Worshipful Master I will do my best to build onto the foundation of King David Lodge No. 15.

Last but not least I would like to thank my petitioner, Brother Aaron Tim Watson for petitioning me. It only seems like it was on yesterday that I came to your house at 6:30 in the morning asking for you to get me a petition to become a member of this great and historic Lodge. I hope and pray that I have made you proud thus far and that I continue to make you proud. I will always remember the words that you told me. "Do not disappoint me for I have vouched for you that you were an upright man and that you would be a good brother for membership into King David Lodge No. 15". I hope that I have proven you to be correct.

Brothers I have sworn that I will stand to and abide by the bylaws, rules and regulations of this and any Lodge of which I shall become a member, also the constitution, bylaws and general regulations and edicts of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge. I stand before you on this evening to inform you that we will be governed and guided by five books. They are the Holy Bible, The Constitution of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge State of New Jersey, the Prince Hall Ritual, the Prince Hall Masonic Monitor and the Bylaws of King David Lodge No. 15.

We were all first supposed to be prepared to be made a Mason in our hearts. As an Entered Apprentice Mason we are asked the question. What come you here to do? We have all answered saying. "To learn to subdue my passions and improve myself in Masonry". We should now ask ourselves have we really learned to subdue our passions and have we improved ourselves as men since we have become Masons. We were asked if this was an act of our own free will and accord. We were all vouched for by the Senior Deacon, that we were men, free born, of lawful age, and coming under the tongue of true Masonic repute. We were then asked in whom we put our trust. We all answered in God. In the mode and manner we are told that you were neither naked nor clothed because Masonry regards no man for his worldly wealth or honors, it is the internal qualifications, not the external, of man which recommend him to Masonry. What come you here to do?

In my short time as a Mason I have seen a lot of brothers come and go and I have often asked myself why? In 1978-1979 under the administration of the late Payton Tolifero we had 256 brothers on the roll. Today we have approximately 145 on the roll. What has happened to our membership? We are bringing in more brothers, but yet our membership is on the constant decline. I have often heard RW Thomas Hughes talk about the sages of Masonry in the Fifth Masonic District and the State and what they stood for as Men and Masons and that we should get back to basics. He often has asked the question what happened and what is Masonry coming to in our State. If we live by and practice the Foundation on which this great Fraternity was built upon and live by the oaths and obligations that we all take at our altar on our bended knees, then just maybe we could bring our Fraternity back to the way that it once was. I do not mean or is it my intent to trifle with anyone feelings, but I do not believe in sugar coating certain things but if we look into the mirror we will see why our fraternity and its members are failing. We are Prince Hall Masons so if Masonry fails in our State it is our fault. I say that to say this we petition brothers to come into our organization that we say that we really know. If you say that you really know a brother and are going to vouch for him. Then why is it that when we stand on the floor and ask for a petition we have to read his information from a piece of paper? Do you really know him? If we really know a brother and know that he is an upright man this information should be embedded in our hearts and minds.

We are asked the question, What come you here to do? But as an Entered Apprentice Mason we have no idea of what our Fraternity is about. It is our responsibility as Masons to teach the Entered Apprentice Mason correctly about our foundation and what we are all about. From the time that a brother receives his Entered Apprentice Degree we should not be talking about or threatening him about his raising we should be making him work and learn about the foundation of our fraternity. We must remember that one day this brother may become the Worshipful Master of the Lodge, so if we give him a weak foundation then we all know what will happen to the building. Just in case that you don't know it will lean or fall.

The Pillars and appointed line have implemented several programs for the ensuing year and years to come for we know that the work can not be completed in one year but that it will take dedication, time, patience and application. Therefore we have established a five year plan to build onto this great foundation. We have established the Brother Sister Connection wherein the Brothers of King David Lodge No.15 and the Sisters of Zipporah Chapter No.11 have come together for the betterment of our home which we call King David Lodge. We have established and published a website which has been approved by the Grand Lodge and has been linked to the Grand Lodge Website, the address is www.kingdavidlodgeno15.org. We will be having School of Instructions and Line Officers Training on the first Wednesday of every month at 7:00 pm all are invited to attend. The Masonic Curriculum will be implemented for the new brothers coming into the fraternity and anyone who wishes to attend. Right Worshipful Jeffrey M. Perry will be the Class Instructor. We have established a building fund/investment account fundraiser. Which we are calling "A Dollar a Day to be a Mason", we are asking that every member of King David Lodge No.15 give a dollar a day to this much needed cause. If we do this it will give the Lodge an umbrella and cushion in case of an emergency, in addition it will help us to implement our five year plan and goals. Most of us spend more than a dollar a day on a cup of coffee and a newspaper. What come you here to do? I will be sending everyone additional information on this within the week.

For this Masonic year I will be using the emblem of the bee hive as my motto. For we as Masons should be striving to be as industrious as the honey bee in the building of the Brotherhood, the Fraternity, Masonry and King David Lodge No. 15.

The beehive is an emblem of industry and recommends the practice of virtue to all created beings. From its busy inmates men may profitably take an example of thrift. Contemplating humanity we behold man in his infancy, more helpless than brute creation. He is incapable of providing for himself with sustenance, of guarding himself against danger, or of sheltering himself from the inclemencies of the weather. It may have pleased the great Creator of heaven and earth to make man dependent of all other beings, but as dependence is one of the strongest bonds of society, men were made dependent on one another for protection and security, and they thereby enjoy better opportunities of fulfilling the duties of reciprocal love and friendship. Thus man was formed for active and social life and he who will not endeavor to add to the common stock of knowledge and understanding may be deemed a drone in the hive of nature, a useless member of society, and unworthy of the care and protection of masons.

The honey bee is known the world over for its industrious production of honey. It is the symbol of work, creative activity, busyness, cooperation, obedience, orderliness, employees and diligence. The phrase "as busy as a bee" is commonly heard. The honey that the bee produces is a symbol of wisdom, rebirth and positive changes in spiritual or moral direction and temperament. The bees are faithful and diligent to their cause and represent peaceful, wisely ruled communities and nations which are governed by a single head.

Our identity as Masons should be that as a bee working in a bee hive. We as Masons should live by the bee hive. In the bee hive it can be seen that the bees (Masons) are harmoniously working together of many units to a single end and reciprocal love and friendship in the fact that in the most crowded hive, bees (Masons) live in peace and harmony with their fellow bees (Masons). A bee (Mason) is a timeless worker, not for himself but for the swarm (the brotherhood, the lodge and the fraternity). The bee (Mason) works in complete cooperation and does so without dissension and lives in a society ruled by order. We as Masons, must imitate the bee, be industrious, work with others and for others, take pride in our vocations, live by our oaths that we took at our altar, obey the rules of society and strive to add to our body of knowledge and understanding.

The trowel spreads the cement which unites us into one sacred band or society of friends and brothers, among whom no contention should ever exist, but that noble contention or rather emulation, of who can best work and best agree.

We must work as a TEAM. Together Everyone Achieves More.

As your Worshipful Master for the Masonic Year of 2008-2009, I ask the Brothers of this great Lodge to imitate the bee and let us do the work that is expected of us in the Bee Hive of King David Lodge No. 15 and as Prince Hall Masons.

In closing I ask you to ask yourself. What come you here to do?

As a Master Mason and the Worshipful Master of King David Lodge No. 15. I have come to learn to subdue my passions, improve myself in masonry, and be a brother to all and to serve this Great Lodge and the Greatest Fraternity on earth.

Fraternally submitted,

Larry D. Cotton

Worshipful Master

2008-2009