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Meeting Minutes
[5 April 1946]
The second meeting of Agape Lodge with Brother Roy Leffingwell presiding was held April 5, 1946 at Brother Burlingame's [Ray Burlingame] home and was opened with the minutes being read and accepted. The Treasurer also read her report.
Brother Roy then went on to say that we need to get our objectives in mind and discuss all these things in the way we plan to run them. He then read a letter from Brother Karl Germer, and emphasized the fact that Brother Karl is our direct Superior in this country and his instructions and guidance are to be followed in all future undertakings.
Brother Roy then brought up the subject of the 9 month limitation of the change-over in Agape Lodge, stating quite frankly that it would be very difficult to carry out any changes and really get things going in such a short period of time, and that it would be unfair to Baphomet, Brother Karl and himself to change the Lodge back at the end of the aforementioned 9 months.
He continued by saying that in the past dues and contributions had not been handled according to the stated wishes of the different members and he wished to make the following points clear:
(1) All contributions designated for Grand Lodge are to go there.
(2) Agape Lodge, under the present conditions, has no right or need for more than 25% of the funds, and that Grand Lodge or Baphomet knows best what is needed or just what should be written or given out at this time and for this reason, 75% of the funds should go to Grand Lodge.
(3) Funds for parties, etc. are to come out of the above mentioned 25% and that we should ascertain beforehand if such funds are available and be guided accordingly. Dues and contributions are to be paid to the Treasurer, Sister Mildred [Mildred Burlingame] only, who will handle direct as per the above, and any and all money transactions of any nature soever are to be handled with her so there will be a central and business-like control over the funds and no monies shall be disbursed without first obtaining the consent of the Lodge head.
All manuscripts received are to be made available to all members alike with the exception, of course, of material dealing with the higher degrees. Copies of any manuscripts sent on from New York will be made and handled as above.
The only lodge material Brother Roy could locate up to now were 1 copy of Equinox of the Gods and a small bunch of the Creed, together with a few copies of the Book of the Law. These are to be inventoried per Brother Karl's request. There is no sale record of any books sold with the exception of 2 recent copies of Equinox of the Gods. Copies of the Rituals do not seem to be available, but an attempt shall be made to gather up same as it seems they have been loaned out to different parties for memorizing. Brother Burlingame mentioned there should be a large amount of the Oriflammes on hand as they were recently printed and paid for by the Lodge. The handling of items and expenses have been very lax in the past, so Brother Roy again emphatically stated that all such transactions and monies in the future will be handled by the Treasurer only to avoid any further misunderstandings. Brother Roy will do his best to get together all the property belonging to the Lodge, but so far has had difficulty in receiving any cooperation in his attempts. It was also decided that thereafter all books are to be stamped with the rubber stamp Sister Mildred is having made, so there will be no doubt as to which are the property of the Lodge.
Regarding a Lodge Hall:
The place at Oxford and Santa Monica which sister Georgia [Georgia Schneider] checked into would be difficult to operate for the First Degree Initiations as the proper facilities are not available; there is no storage room and the hall is far too large for our needs. Brother Roy remarked that Hollywood would be more central for our location and that a further search there should be made to see if we can't find something more suitable. Brother Ray Burlingame and sister Meeka Aldrich volunteered to make a further search this coming week and report back their findings.
Brother also stated if the opportunity arises to reinstate any old members who have dropped out for various reasons, he will abrogate the past dues and ask that they pay them from now on, and suggested that we all try to arouse interest and get them to come back into the Lodge. He also stated very clearly that all dues above the Fourth Degree go directly to Grand Lodge with no deductions, as Agape Lodge is only entitled to dues up to and including the Fourth Degree under the Constitution.
Sister Jane [Jane Wolfe] read a letter from Herbert Schmolke in Germany giving some very interesting accounts of Lodge activities in Germany. She also read a letter from Brother Karl regarding Frederick's [Frederic Mellinger] association with Aleister Crowley which was of interest to all.
After a decision to meet on April 19, the meeting was closed, and we all repaired to the "Toast Room" to commemorate the writing of the Book of the Law which occurs in the next few days.
Secretary
cc: A.C. K.G.
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