A Final Request

On Thursday, in the middle of the push to finish up my week early, I got a call on my cell that I wasn’t expecting. Many times, I have simply get my phone ring when I am in the middle of multiple projects but, for some reason, I picked up the phone this time and answered completely expecting it to be work related. To a certain extent, it was but, at the same time, it really wasn’t.

There are many aspects of the Secretary job that I was fully aware of and have been working on since I took over in late December but there are other aspects that I knew were a possibility but they were kind of pushed to the back of my mind with the hope that they wouldn’t become reality. It was a long shot but I was hopeful. Understand that this unwanted responsibility was not because I was unwilling to work or take on the duties that it entailed, it was because I didn’t want to acknowledge the reality of this part of the job.

When I answered the phone the voice on the other line gave me his name, which I didn’t recognize, and then told me from where he was calling from, which told me everything that I needed to know. The funeral director then went into the details. He informed me of which brother had passed away, the request from the family for a Masonic funeral service, and the current details of the funeral scheduled for Monday.

With details in hand and all the questions I had answered, it was time to make the rounds. Slowly moving from one brother to another, I informed all the members of the lodge that needed to be informed of the details in order to organize the service. Once everything was in motion, I sent a notification to all the brothers via email. While my time was limited this weekend, I was still able to set aside the necessary block in my schedule to get to the lodge, prepare everything needed for the service, and drop those items off at the funeral home.

It wasn’t the easiest weekend to make the time but, in these instances, you have to keep in mind that this is the last request that a brother can make of his brethren. This is one of those times when we all must come together and do what we can to make sure that our brother’s request is fulfilled. While this is may be the worst part of my job this is also the one I take the greatest pride and care in making sure it is seen through. After all, I would want the same thing done for me.