The International - Travelling Gavels

We sincerely hope that by now you have received the proper information.
Yours Sincerely and Fraternally ~ Vic Ramsbottom ~ Tyler
Fax; (403) 255-7479
Going sailing on their ―Luxury Yacht‖
20
Vic and Flo Ramsbottom
8 Gladstone Gardens, S.W.
Calgary, Alberta
T3E 7E4
(403) 242-2031
SOME SYMBOLISM
Let us look for a moment at a lump of pottery clay, it is ugly, without uniform shape or
meaningful purpose, yet in the hands of a master craftsman it can become a thing of
beauty, a work of art and a joy forever to one who appreciates fine things. Let your
imagination for a moment follow the transformation of this lump of clay. The pottera at
the wheel works the clay until it is pliable, until it will readily take and hold a shape. He
carefully places it on his wheel and with sure daft strokes, shapes it into a vase, an
article of useful purpose, with line of beauty. An artist with skill paints upon the vessel,
a design which becomes fixed and permanent when the vase is glazed and baked in the
oven. This vase may be a work of art ----a thing of beauty, yet, if allowed to gather dust
in a darkened corner, its beauty is dimmed and its purpose lost. When one seeks
admission to the Masonic Order, he is like the rough clay made pliable by moral
teachings, moral living and contact with masons.
Once within the lodge room, he is on the potter‘s wheel, in the hands of a master
craftsman, who shapes and directs his course, with assistants, he unfolds a design for
living and a philosophy of life.
It is up to each and every one of us to give performance to this teaching. We can with
diligence bake and glaze the pattern upon our lives.
The practice of a moral life and the studies of the philosophies on which the
Speculative Masonry is based, we give a luster to the work of the Master Craftsman.
On the other hand a lack of diligence is like gathering dust, it dims the Masonic
purpose, and a work of art is lost. That loss is a double one. First of all, the master
craftsman sees his labours come to naught, and secondly the individual has lost some of
his purpose.
Let us give you another illustration. Each of us before we became members of the
Masonic Order was a rough diamond as it comes from the mine. A rough diamond is
examined by the master craftsman, to see what future it has as a jewel. Each of us when
applying for admittance was examined by Master Craftsman to see if we had those
qualities desirable in a Mason. Finding the rough diamond has these qualities necessary
for a fine jewel, master craftsman study its line of cleavage to try and determine how to
bring out its hidden beauties, and then to the best of their ability split the polish until
satisfied with the finished product. Likewise, the Master Craftsman of the Masonic
Lodge when satisfied that the candidate has the necessary qualities, bring him to the
Lodge Room and with skill direct him to his goal. We, like diamonds, must maintain a