From the East
Brethren,
Our busy Spring time is about to ratchet up the heat toward summer and we congratulate Brothers Eric Flanigan, Winston Sheppard and Dan Wendelborn, three new Master Masons who were raised Saturday morning May 21st.
There was a lot of hard work on their, and WB Bob Braswell’s parts in preparing them so quickly for the Sublime degree. Breakfast from Brother Chris Lueck was excellent, Brother Chris is also strong at the Junior Deacon’s post. Thank you to WB Bill Goodyear who aptly handled the west for both sections of the degree, WB James Howell (King Solomon 704) WB Clayton Wright (Temple 676 ) joined us in the second section, as did Brother Wendelborn’s grandfather, Brother Arthur Griffin a 50-year member of Infinity Lodge #546 in Penn Hill, PA, who was honored to raise his grandson. One of our newest Master Masons, Brother Robby Saye, took part in his first degree conferral by giving the working tools lecture closing out the first section. WB Glenn Sigmon flexed his acting chops as well, bringing an entirely new depth to the role(s) he took on, while WB Secretary Mike Hamrick was splendid as Senior Deacon. Among the crowd was longtime Brother Roscoe Lindsay (Brigadier General, ret.).
What a great morning for all who attended. The first of two awards presentation dinners this year is near – WB Mike Hamrick will have more on that in his comments.
See you in lodge!
Fraternally,
John Harder – Worshipful Master, PM
From the West
Brothers,
Greetings from West! As I write this, we are going into the Memorial Day weekend. People are looking forward to the three day weekend that marks the beginning of summer. There will be parties and picnics. Families will get together. The weather begins to allow us to enjoy the outdoors more than during the earlier months.
In his album, “America – Why I Love Her,” 1977, John Wayne stated: Senior Warden
Face the Flag, son, and face reality. Our strengths and our freedoms are based in unity.
The flag is but a symbol, son, of the world’s greatest nation, And as long as it keeps flying, there’s cause for celebration.
So do what you’ve got to do, but always keep in mind, A lot of people believe in peace … but there are the other kind.
If we want to keep these freedoms, we may have to fight again. God forbid, but if we do, let’s always fight to win, For the fate of a loser is futile and it’s bare: No love, no peace … just misery and despair.
Face the Flag, son … and thank God it’s still there.
As we go about our holiday weekend, let us never forget what it is truly about. Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in our country’s armed forces. Their lives were cut short so that ours would not be – so that we could live in freedom and with liberty and justice.
Cherish and honor their memory. Never let their sacrifice be in vain.
Fraternally,
Bill Stout, SW
From the Secretary
Brothers,
I will simply re-post last month’s note about our Service
Awards presentation evening:
Please note the Tuesday, May 31 Service Awards will be a fairly compact evening with fellowship and dinner, followed by the first of our two Service Awards scheduled this year. Please consider joining us as we honor our Brothers who have reached 25, 50 or 60 years in good standing in our fraternity. I will remind you that the Lodge will not be tiled that evening, except for just a brief 10-15 minute period. This is a great opportunity to perhaps invite family, or even a friend who might one day ask about Masonry.
Should you have family or friends who still wonder what you do when you come to Lodge, this evening is really a great but brief introduction to the fellowship that we enjoy, as well as the structure and depth of our degrees. Please join us if you are able, and bring someone with you.
At this time, we expect two 25-year recipients, two 50-year recipients and one of our 60-year recipients.
Fraternally,
Mike Hamrick, PM
Secretary