Friday, August 21, 2009

Restoration of a Member Previously Suspended for Nonpayment of Dues

How does a former member who was dropped for nonpayment of dues get reinstated as a member in good standing?

The general procedure for restoration is that the Brother completes a petition for restoration in his former lodge (Petition form for Affiliation, Dual Membership or Restoration, http://www.mn-masons.org/sites/mn-masons.org/files/Petition%20for%20Affiliation.pdf) and attaches his check for the current year’s dues and the total of the dues that caused him to be dropped for NPD. So if a man was dropped in 1980, he would probably owe two or three years from 1978-1980 and the current year’s dues. He does not need to pay for all intervening years while he was suspended. Then the petition follows the normal course, being read at one stated meeting for the first time and balloted on at a subsequent stated meeting. The decision as to whether or not to have the petition investigated is up to the lodge.
Should a Brother wish to be restored just so that he can affiliate with a different lodge than the one from which he was suspended, then the process can be simplified by the use of a certificate of nonaffiliation. The certificate of nonaffiliation can be obtained by the brother upon payment of the dues which caused him to be dropped from the lodge. Then with that certificate in hand, he is free to petition a new lodge for affiliation, just as any member currently in good standing would do.
Doug

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Per capita? Raising fees?

From a new lodge Secretary:
What is the amount per brother raised for the per capita we owe Grand Lodge?

We may be talking about two different things. The per capita for every lodge member is $29.00 per year regardless of when the member was raised. The per capita is calculated on the annual report form, due next January 15th. A new member shows up on the annual report one year and then the following year is the first time the per capita is paid on him.
But there are also two one time only special assessments for every new member, $5.00 for the support of the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia and $12.50 for the Help, Aid and Assist Fund, part of our Grand Lodge Benevolence Fund. These two fees, totaling $17.50 are generally referred to as the "raising fees" and are due in the Grand Lodge office two weeks after the new member is raised to the Master Mason Degree.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Minnesota Mason Newspaper Schedule

As the Minnesota Mason Newspaper is published through the Grand Lodge office, we get quite a few inquiries about the paper's schedule and the deadlines to get a story or photo into the paper.
The Minnesota Mason Newspaper is published six times a year:
January - February
March - April
May - June
July - August
September - October
November - December
The deadlines for submitting stories and photos do not change from one issue to the next but rather they always follow this general schedule:
The general deadline for a given issue is the 1st of the odd numbered months and the absolute drop dead date is the tenth of the odd month. If the paper is full with the material submitted by the first, then it gets ready to go to the printer. If it is not full then we go looking for articles and photos to get it completed by the tenth. Then with editing time and getting it ready to go to the printer, we should have it on the press between the 20th and the 25th, thereby having the finished paper in your mailbox no later than the last day of the odd numbered months.
If you have a story or photo that you would like to submit, please send it to the Grand Lodge office via e-mail and we will do our best to get it into an upcoming issue.