IMPORTANT INFORMATION CONCERNING YOUR MASONIC BENEFITS

Did you know?

As a Pennsylvania Mason, you and your loved ones have priority access to Masonic Village’s highly regarded nursing facilities on a first-come firstserved basis without regard to the ability to pay.

Due to staffing shortages in the wake of COVID-19, Masonic Village has reduced the number of residents it can serve in skilled nursing. You should begin the application process as soon as possible to reduce admission delays as much as possible.

It costs Masonic Villages more than $300 per day over the amount reimbursed by Medical Assistance to care for each resident on Medical Assistance.

In 2022, Masonic Village provided $48.5 million of charitable care and services to Pennsylvania Masons and their loved ones, including $36.9 million (at cost) of care and services above the amount reimbursed by Medical Assistance.

To be eligible for admission to Masonic Village nursing care facilities, applicants must be eligible for Medical Assistance upon admission or after admission upon their assets declining to $2,400 for an individual or $3,200 for a couple (2023 criteria).

Except as specifically authorized by the Medical Assistance rules, to qualify for Medical Assistance, persons must not have gifted assets within five years of application (this is referred to as the “look-back period”).

Be careful! The Medical Assistance rules are complicated. Take the time to understand them and be sure to carefully document expenses to avoid disqualification.

In addition to skilled nursing care, as a Pennsylvania Mason, you and your loved ones also have priority access to a limited number of independent living accommodations in Elizabethtown and personal care accommodations in Warminster, Lafayette Hill, Elizabethtown and Sewickley, all on a first-come, first-served basis without regard to the ability to pay. Although Medical Assistance does not reimburse Masonic Village for these services, the Fraternal Care Program is able to provide generous grants to subsidize the personal funds of qualifying residents.

In 2022, Masonic Village provided approximately $11.6 million (at cost) of subsidies to Pennsylvania Masons and their loved ones in need.

In addition, Masonic Charities Outreach provides financial assistance, scholarships and many other benefits to qualifying Pennsylvania Masons and their loved ones.

Learn more about your Masonic Village benefits by contacting Masonic Charities Outreach at 1-800-462-7664.

To help ensure Masonic Village only uses its funds for those truly in need, Masonic Village may disqualify applicants if they intentionally depleted resources available for their care, even if the transfers were made outside of the look-back period and do not disqualify the applicant from receiving Medical Assistance.

Criteria

All artwork entries must display a visual interpretation of some aspect of Freemasonry in Pennsylvania, whether it be philosophical, historical, scientific, social, fraternal, charitable, architectural, etc. Selected artwork will be exhibited at the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia.

Eligibility

Any amateur or professional artist or college art student may enter, but all will be judged as equals for competition purposes. Artists must be at least 18 years of age. All submissions must be original; they may have been created within the past two years and may have been previously exhibited. No work previously produced on a commission will be accepted.

Categories

Oil, Three-dimensional, Drawing and Print-making, Water-based Medium, Digital Imagery

Call for Entries for the Grand Exhibition

An Open Art Competition: Embodying Masonic Values

Sponsored by The Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania

Awards

$200 Prize per winner, per category

$500 Grand Master’s Prize

$1,000 Best in Show Prize

Jurors

Brother Travis Simpkins, Artist John McDaniel, Artist Elaine Erne, Artist/Teacher

Auction

If the artists in the Grand Exhibition choose to participate, their entered works may be auctioned off at the Exhibition Gala, with 80% of the auction value going to them and 20% to The Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania.

The artist may set a reserve price, as well as a direct purchase price, for the original work.

Calendar

Entry Deadline: Thursday, Aug. 10, by midnight, E.S.T. Submissions must be made through CallForEntry.org

Jury selection announced: Friday, Aug. 25.

Opening Reception: The Grand Exhibition Gala will be held at the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia on Friday, Oct. 6, featuring a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception, music, announcement of winners and a silent auction of selected artwork.

Exhibition: The Grand Exhibition will be open to the public to view starting on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Tuesdays - Saturdays, until Nov. 11.

Masonic Temple, One N. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19107-2598

For more information, visit PaGrandLodge.org/news.

Christine and Brandon Glover first learned about the Help for Our Heroes military baby shower from the Family Readiness Group at Biddle Air National Guard Base in Horsham, PA, where the couple is currently stationed while Brandon serves in the Army National Guard.

“We heard we’d get a gift and meet other momsto-be, but we had no idea of the scope of the event and the generosity [of the organizers],” said Christine. [This event] was a huge blessing and got us all excited. We are so thankful.”

The baby shower is part of the Help for Our Heroes program sponsored by Pennsylvania Freemasons. Brother and Col. Harris Brooks, Richard Vaux Brotherhood Lodge No. 126, Philadelphia, and USAF (Ret.), developed the military shower concept more than 15 years ago. As part of the most recent event, held April 29 at Masonic Village at Lafayette Hill, moms-to-be who are in the military or whose partners are in the military were treated like “Queens for the Day,” receiving prizes and surprise gifts during a beautiful luncheon.

“I am an Air Force Colonel and a Masonic brother, but today, I’m here as a dad and a grandfather,” Col. Brooks