En: Masonic Service Association of North America
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Masonic Service Association of North America
Source: Masonic Service Association of North America website
About
The Masonic Service Association of the United States was created in 1918 by the Grand Lodges in the United States. The name was changed to the Masonic Service Association of North America in 1995, when the organization became truly representative of the whole continent.
Purpose and aim
The initial reason for MSA's formation was so U.S. Freemasonry could provide aide to our military servicemen near the end of World War I. The War Department (now Defense Department) refused to work with 49 (at that time) different Grand Lodges, but the government department agreed to work with just one agency. So Grand Masters gathered in Cedar Rapids in 1918 to discuss and formulate the concept of MSA, and again in 1919 to formally give birth to the new organization. MSA's goal from the start was to provide services to the Grand Lodges that they could not perform as easily individually.
MSA was given the charge to provide services to our military, create informational and educational materials, and to issue disaster relief appeals and distribute funds collected for that purpose.
Development
In the years after its creation MSA established service centers in numerous cities in the United States and a few overseas. During the World War II years, with the formation of Veterans Administration Hospitals, MSA's role changed to provide services at the VA Medical Centers. Now called the MSA Hospital Visitation Program, this duty continues today, with MSA volunteers at some 150 VA sites, providing more than 100,000 hours of volunteer service annually.
Educational material
Informational and educational items began to be published by MSA almost from the start, including newsletters. The Short Talk Bulletin was first printed in January, 1923, and has been published monthly since. Over the years, many books, brochures, digests, and other materials have been created and distributed throughout the Masonic community, with its online offerings, including this web page and a Facebook presence, have been added to its offering.
Disaster relief and donations
The first Disaster Relief Appeal was issued in 1923 for the Grand Lodge of Japan, and since then, more than S10 million in relief donations have been received and distributed by MSA.
Links
- Masonic Service Association of North America http://www.msana.com/index.asp
