LAURINBURG — The Optimist Club of Laurinburg heard from Rotary Club President Paul Tate on Thursday, but instead of speaking on Rotary Club he focused on the Masonic Lodge.
The Masonic Lodge is the oldest and largest fraternity in the world and Tate gave Optimist members a bit of history on the Masons and how it was started — as a safeguard and guild for masons.
It was later that those who were not masons were welcomed into the organization as a way to unite members.
“The objective is to engage and unite good men of all backgrounds,” Tate said. “To help them become better husbands, fathers and citizens … it does only one thing — whatever good it can do for this community.”
We’re like any other organization we’re here to help the community and make the world a better place,” he added.
One thing Tate was aiming to get across was that there are many misconceptions about the Masons, and while the ideas make for good TV and movies they can’t be farther from the truth.
“The secrecy has to do, originally, with the Masonic Lodge of safe-guarding their technical expertise,” Pate said. “There are certain things you don’t want shared because it’s tradition. None of that stuff is against your country or God. It’s a commitment to better.”
Tate also spoke on the Masonic Home for Children at Oxford, the state’s first children’s home. The home’s purpose is to help children who need a stable, caring and loving home without replacing the family. The home has programs that emphasize education, career readiness and personal responsibly.
If a child enters the program, guardians are still able to maintain guardianship. The home also offers two different care programs one for children age birth to 21 and an independent living program for 18 to 22.
“Children need alternative family placement due to a variety of issues,” Tate said. “Those include parent health, fundamental health issues, substance abuse, domestic violence, violent neighborhoods and neighborhoods, homelessness or extreme poverty, kinship care and failed adoptions.”
Tate encouraged Optimist members to not only recommend family units who might need the tools to provide a better future for the child, as well as offering ways to help such as visiting or recommending a couple to be house parents at the home.
For information on the Masonic Home for Children at Oxford, visit mhc-oxford.org
Reach Katelin Gandee at 910-506-3171 or at [email protected]
