Difference between revisions of "MAGLRPBush"

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==== [http://masonicgenealogy.com/MediaWiki/index.php?title=StarBethlehem#50TH_ANNIVERSARY_HISTORY.2C_NOVEMBER_1893 ADDRESS] AT 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF STAR OF BETHLEHEM LODGE, NOVEMBER 1893 ====
 
==== [http://masonicgenealogy.com/MediaWiki/index.php?title=StarBethlehem#50TH_ANNIVERSARY_HISTORY.2C_NOVEMBER_1893 ADDRESS] AT 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF STAR OF BETHLEHEM LODGE, NOVEMBER 1893 ====
 +
 +
==== AT HALL DEDICATION IN CHELSEA, JANUARY 1912 ====
 +
 +
''From Proceedings, Page 1912-4:''
 +
 +
''Most Worshipful Grand Master, Officers, Members, and Friends of the Masonic Fraternity in Chelsea:''
 +
 +
You will allow me as my first word of the hour, to express my appreciation of the honor of being designated to voice in this presence and upon this auspicious occasion the felicitations of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and to set before you as best I may, something of the spirit and genius of the great Institution of which we are a part, and to whose welfare we are seeking to contribute by the dedication of this beautiful and splendidly equipped temple.
 +
 +
There is an old proverb which we find in Holy Writ that "a man is not without honor save in his own country and among his own people," but if its truth is oftentimes brought home to us, I am happy in thinking that in my own case it is certainly a misnomer, for though closely related to many of you since the year '72, I have nowhere met with more of the manifestations of respect and esteem than at the hands of my Brethren of the various Masonic bodies of this city, and it were needless for me to affirm that no one could more heartily or more genuinely bespeak at this time the joy we all feel in witnessing the consummation of effort which makes possible the service of this glad day.
 +
 +
And if it were pertinent for us to consider for a moment and to pay tribute to those who laid in this community the foundations of Freemasonry: if we were to call the roll of honor, it would probably appear that there are to-day but few among us who would even recognize the names of our forebears, but there is abundant testimony to their wisdom and skill. They embodied the best principles of civic virtue — a strength of intellectuality and a high type of manly character, and they put a mark of far more than ordinary efficiency and worth upon the bodies which they instituted, and as they bent the twig, so has the tree been inclined.
 +
 +
There has never been a time when Chelsea might not justly boast of her Masonry and its contribution to public welfare and private charity. Through all the years since that far-away beginning, the Fraternity has called to its ranks the foremost and best of our citizens, and it has not only commanded the respect of this city, but its reputation has extended and it has been held in high regard in the Grand Lodge for its efficiency in ritual and the worthiness of its members; and success has attended its efforts, and up to the time of the great fire of four years ago, we were prosperous and happy.
 +
 +
But what a scene it was that presented itself to our view on the morning of the 13th of April, 1908! Our temple was gone! Our paraphernalia of every sort was gone! The many memorials of members and- of happy occasions in which we had shared — and in some cases even our records had been destroyed! What a picture of desolation we beheld! And with the effects of our terrible calamity upon the financial condition of so many of our members, it was a sad prospect and our hearts sank down within us.
 +
 +
But our discouragement was only temporary, for immediately we were made to feel the generous helpfulness of our Brethren throughout the length and breadth of this great Commonwealth, and the assistance thus afforded was not only as sunshine to those in darkness, but it was as a spur to new courage and endeavor.
 +
 +
The kindly courtesy of our East Boston Fraters afforded us a temporary home, but we had many times desired a temple of our own and had many times meditated upon the possibility of attaining to such a blessing. And now when things were seemingly at their worst, there were those who set themselves to the task and by their indefatigable zeal and persistence the end has been accomplished, and these commodious and richly appointed apartments made ready for occupation.
 +
 +
Too much praise cannot be accorded to those who have labored so long and faithfully and who have brought the work to so successful an issue. The fitness and taste and efficiency here displayed are most admirable, and not only the Masons of this community, but all those under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts are to be congratulated, and the presence of the Grand Master and his officers is in itself a token of the hearty sympathy of the Fraternity throughout the State.
 +
 +
''Brethren of the Chelsea Lodges:''
 +
 +
It is a worthy contribution you are making to the rejuvenated city in which you dwell. He who builds a hospital or a library must be reckoned as a public benefactor, but you have builded, as did Solomon of old, a temple to the Most High God.
 +
 +
He altogether misinterprets Masonry who considers it as simply a social institution, ministering to good fellowship. Its roots reach deep down into the most sacred soil of our human nature, and in the fulfilment of its obligations man will be found to be living at his best.
 +
 +
No institution can endure and flourish through the ages that is not ministering to something more than a momentary fancy or pleasure. It must in some measure further the plan and purpose of the Infinite Artificer of the Universe. It must contribute to the advancement of civilization and the upbuilding of character. Except such be its fundamental concept and influence, it will not survive the wreck of time, but will disintegrate and disappear.
 +
 +
But we may point with pride to our beloved Order as unscathed by the shafts of criticism and invulnerable even when assailed by the anathemas of the church. Its history is the history of man as our race is evolved from the brute beginning to its present worth and attainment. We may not remove the veil of mystery and bespeak, in precise terms the time and place of its commencement, but we shall surely find it interwoven with the mythology of Greece and the story of that first temple on Mt. Moriah or the earliest structures that were reared in the valley of the Nile or by the waters of the Tigris or Euphrates, and it has embraced within its secret circle the most brilliant and the most consecrated of men, and it has lent its aid to civil progress and to the deliverance of multitudes from superstition and religious bigotry.
 +
 +
The Masonic Lodge has been and is a mighty power in preserving the belief in Deity and cultivating a spirit of reverential worship. No atheist or libertine may find a place in our ranks. Through these latest generations, while a pseudo-science has attempted the banishment of God from the realm of human affairs, brightly at our altars has gleamed the proclamation of His presence and the incentive to obedience to His commands. Our temple is His temple, and its dedication to the holy Saint John is but adding the fight and incentive of Christian faith to the law and motive of Sinai.
 +
 +
Even we, who have been long allied with Freemasonry and close students of its influence, cannot begin to measure its worth in its affording of a mutual religious ground where those of every sect meet for mutual improvement, and the dedication of this building in this City of Chelsea is a worthy addition to the moral and spiritual capital of this community.
 +
 +
The lamb-skin is the token of a freewill dedication to manhood. It betokens that we are cemented together in brotherly love, and vowed to aid, support, and protect one another; that we are to embody the virtues of temperance, fortitude, prudence, and justice, and seek always for that wisdom which leads to strength and beauty of character; and that we are to ascend by the rounds of Faith, Hope, and Charity to the starry-decked heaven where our Creator dwells in light ineffable.
 +
 +
Surely ours is a noble institution, ours a matchless aim and purpose! And I congratulate the Masonic bodies of this city that they are to enjoy such beautiful quarters!
 +
 +
In behalf of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, I pay tribute to those who sowed here the seeds of Freemasonry, and, having watered and cultivated the growing plant, were called to more of light in the Celestial Lodge above.
 +
 +
At the feet of those who since the fire have given unstintingly of their time and ability, and made possible this dedication I lay a wreath of praise and gratitude; and for those to whom to-day. and in all times to come shall be entrusted the government of the Craft, and the shaping of the destinies of Freemasonry in Chelsea, I beseech the choicest of blessings.
 +
 +
May the example of the illustrious Tyrian be ever our inspiration, and may we transmit to posterity unimpaired the most excellent tenets of our Institution.
 +
 +
To the Brethren here assembled, to all allied with you, and to your successors in our noble work, the Grand Lodge bids a fraternal and hearty God-speed.
  
 
<hr>
 
<hr>
  
 
[http://masonicgenealogy.com/MediaWiki/index.php?title=MassachusettsPeople#DISTINGUISHED_BROTHERS Distinguished Brothers]
 
[http://masonicgenealogy.com/MediaWiki/index.php?title=MassachusettsPeople#DISTINGUISHED_BROTHERS Distinguished Brothers]

Revision as of 03:34, 27 November 2014

R. PERRY BUSH 1855-1926

RPerryBush_GrCh.jpg

  • MM 1880, Palestine
  • Grand Chaplain, 1910-1926

MEMORIAL

From Proceedings, Page 1926-232:

Wor. and Rev. R. Perry Bush, D.D., Chaplain of this Grand Lodge since 1908, died April 2, 1926. Rev. Bro. Bush was born in Provincetown June 2, 1855. A descendant of the Mayflower Pilgrims through a line of seafaring ancestors he inherited the sturdy qualities characteristic of that stock. He became a member of Palestine Lodge in 1880 and served it as Chaplain for many years. He was installed as Grand Chaplain of this Grand Lodge at the Feast of St. John in 1908, and his service in that capacity was continuous and active from that time.

Bro. Bush spent his active life in the Ministry of the Universalist Church where a service of nearly forty years was divided between two Pastorates. In his Ministerial capacity he served much larger groups than any Parish could contain. The whole community in which he lived looked up to him as a friend and spiritual adviser. In 1923 he retired from the active work of the Ministry to take charge of the Library of the Grand Lodge. The great and important Lawrence collection had never been incorporated into the Grand Lodge Library. This incorporation involved the re-classification and re-cataloguing of both collections. Bro. Bush had nearly completed this task, and had left memoranda which will be of the greatest service to his successor.

His Masonic activities were very extensive. It the time of his death he was not only Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge, but also Grand Chaplain of the Grand Chapter and Grand Council, and Prelate of the Grand Commandery. His great services to the Craft were rewarded by the conferment upon him of the Henry Price Medal, and by Honorary Membership in the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite for the Northern Jurisdiction, although he had never held office in that Rite.

Bro. Bush was one of the best known and best loved Masons in this jurisdiction. A man of strong convictions, he had a remarkable power for making friends. His whole life was marked by broad sympathy of embracing charity and deep love for his fellow-men. He leaves a place in the hearts of his Brethren which can never be entirely filled.

Note: The list of Grand Chaplains in the Proceedings does not list Brother Bush for 1909.

SPEECHES

ADDRESS AT 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF STAR OF BETHLEHEM LODGE, NOVEMBER 1893

AT HALL DEDICATION IN CHELSEA, JANUARY 1912

From Proceedings, Page 1912-4:

Most Worshipful Grand Master, Officers, Members, and Friends of the Masonic Fraternity in Chelsea:

You will allow me as my first word of the hour, to express my appreciation of the honor of being designated to voice in this presence and upon this auspicious occasion the felicitations of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and to set before you as best I may, something of the spirit and genius of the great Institution of which we are a part, and to whose welfare we are seeking to contribute by the dedication of this beautiful and splendidly equipped temple.

There is an old proverb which we find in Holy Writ that "a man is not without honor save in his own country and among his own people," but if its truth is oftentimes brought home to us, I am happy in thinking that in my own case it is certainly a misnomer, for though closely related to many of you since the year '72, I have nowhere met with more of the manifestations of respect and esteem than at the hands of my Brethren of the various Masonic bodies of this city, and it were needless for me to affirm that no one could more heartily or more genuinely bespeak at this time the joy we all feel in witnessing the consummation of effort which makes possible the service of this glad day.

And if it were pertinent for us to consider for a moment and to pay tribute to those who laid in this community the foundations of Freemasonry: if we were to call the roll of honor, it would probably appear that there are to-day but few among us who would even recognize the names of our forebears, but there is abundant testimony to their wisdom and skill. They embodied the best principles of civic virtue — a strength of intellectuality and a high type of manly character, and they put a mark of far more than ordinary efficiency and worth upon the bodies which they instituted, and as they bent the twig, so has the tree been inclined.

There has never been a time when Chelsea might not justly boast of her Masonry and its contribution to public welfare and private charity. Through all the years since that far-away beginning, the Fraternity has called to its ranks the foremost and best of our citizens, and it has not only commanded the respect of this city, but its reputation has extended and it has been held in high regard in the Grand Lodge for its efficiency in ritual and the worthiness of its members; and success has attended its efforts, and up to the time of the great fire of four years ago, we were prosperous and happy.

But what a scene it was that presented itself to our view on the morning of the 13th of April, 1908! Our temple was gone! Our paraphernalia of every sort was gone! The many memorials of members and- of happy occasions in which we had shared — and in some cases even our records had been destroyed! What a picture of desolation we beheld! And with the effects of our terrible calamity upon the financial condition of so many of our members, it was a sad prospect and our hearts sank down within us.

But our discouragement was only temporary, for immediately we were made to feel the generous helpfulness of our Brethren throughout the length and breadth of this great Commonwealth, and the assistance thus afforded was not only as sunshine to those in darkness, but it was as a spur to new courage and endeavor.

The kindly courtesy of our East Boston Fraters afforded us a temporary home, but we had many times desired a temple of our own and had many times meditated upon the possibility of attaining to such a blessing. And now when things were seemingly at their worst, there were those who set themselves to the task and by their indefatigable zeal and persistence the end has been accomplished, and these commodious and richly appointed apartments made ready for occupation.

Too much praise cannot be accorded to those who have labored so long and faithfully and who have brought the work to so successful an issue. The fitness and taste and efficiency here displayed are most admirable, and not only the Masons of this community, but all those under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts are to be congratulated, and the presence of the Grand Master and his officers is in itself a token of the hearty sympathy of the Fraternity throughout the State.

Brethren of the Chelsea Lodges:

It is a worthy contribution you are making to the rejuvenated city in which you dwell. He who builds a hospital or a library must be reckoned as a public benefactor, but you have builded, as did Solomon of old, a temple to the Most High God.

He altogether misinterprets Masonry who considers it as simply a social institution, ministering to good fellowship. Its roots reach deep down into the most sacred soil of our human nature, and in the fulfilment of its obligations man will be found to be living at his best.

No institution can endure and flourish through the ages that is not ministering to something more than a momentary fancy or pleasure. It must in some measure further the plan and purpose of the Infinite Artificer of the Universe. It must contribute to the advancement of civilization and the upbuilding of character. Except such be its fundamental concept and influence, it will not survive the wreck of time, but will disintegrate and disappear.

But we may point with pride to our beloved Order as unscathed by the shafts of criticism and invulnerable even when assailed by the anathemas of the church. Its history is the history of man as our race is evolved from the brute beginning to its present worth and attainment. We may not remove the veil of mystery and bespeak, in precise terms the time and place of its commencement, but we shall surely find it interwoven with the mythology of Greece and the story of that first temple on Mt. Moriah or the earliest structures that were reared in the valley of the Nile or by the waters of the Tigris or Euphrates, and it has embraced within its secret circle the most brilliant and the most consecrated of men, and it has lent its aid to civil progress and to the deliverance of multitudes from superstition and religious bigotry.

The Masonic Lodge has been and is a mighty power in preserving the belief in Deity and cultivating a spirit of reverential worship. No atheist or libertine may find a place in our ranks. Through these latest generations, while a pseudo-science has attempted the banishment of God from the realm of human affairs, brightly at our altars has gleamed the proclamation of His presence and the incentive to obedience to His commands. Our temple is His temple, and its dedication to the holy Saint John is but adding the fight and incentive of Christian faith to the law and motive of Sinai.

Even we, who have been long allied with Freemasonry and close students of its influence, cannot begin to measure its worth in its affording of a mutual religious ground where those of every sect meet for mutual improvement, and the dedication of this building in this City of Chelsea is a worthy addition to the moral and spiritual capital of this community.

The lamb-skin is the token of a freewill dedication to manhood. It betokens that we are cemented together in brotherly love, and vowed to aid, support, and protect one another; that we are to embody the virtues of temperance, fortitude, prudence, and justice, and seek always for that wisdom which leads to strength and beauty of character; and that we are to ascend by the rounds of Faith, Hope, and Charity to the starry-decked heaven where our Creator dwells in light ineffable.

Surely ours is a noble institution, ours a matchless aim and purpose! And I congratulate the Masonic bodies of this city that they are to enjoy such beautiful quarters!

In behalf of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, I pay tribute to those who sowed here the seeds of Freemasonry, and, having watered and cultivated the growing plant, were called to more of light in the Celestial Lodge above.

At the feet of those who since the fire have given unstintingly of their time and ability, and made possible this dedication I lay a wreath of praise and gratitude; and for those to whom to-day. and in all times to come shall be entrusted the government of the Craft, and the shaping of the destinies of Freemasonry in Chelsea, I beseech the choicest of blessings.

May the example of the illustrious Tyrian be ever our inspiration, and may we transmit to posterity unimpaired the most excellent tenets of our Institution.

To the Brethren here assembled, to all allied with you, and to your successors in our noble work, the Grand Lodge bids a fraternal and hearty God-speed.


Distinguished Brothers