Pulling Things Together

The last fellowship night at the lodge before a stated meeting is always an interesting one as I try to figure out the last few things that need to be done. This is also the night when I double check to make sure that I have all the supplied needed for the meeting and that everything is in place. While I am doing this the steward and some of the officers are going through the same process and making sure that they are prepared for the meeting.

As I was running through the list and sifting through the mail that I had just pulled from the post office, there were a couple of items that remained on my list that I was certain I wouldn’t be able to get done in the next couple of days… at least, I wouldn’t be able to get them done myself. Time and distance were both deterrents in these instances but there were brothers at the lodge that had a little more flexibility. So I was finally able to coordinate with a couple of the brothers in attendance last night to finish off a couple last minute errands for the lodge. It is a rarity that I ever ask and I am always grateful that the assistance is there when I need it.

Hopefully everything will continue progressing as planned and all the pieces will be in place when I arrive at the lodge tomorrow night. I would have liked to have seen more people at the lodge last night, a couple that I was expecting to see didn’t walk through the door, but we always seem to have enough brothers together to make sure that things get done. Lately I have been the one missing these meetings and when I am occasionally there I miss the weekly fellowship all over again.

One more day to go and things are coming together. It should be a busy meeting this month and there has been a lot of work that has been put in to make sure that things got done. Thankfully, there have been many people both at Grand Lodge and brothers from my lodge that have been willing to put in the effort to cover a few of the things that I simply haven’t had time to do. Every meeting is a collective effort by every brother… this is a fact that is too often overlooked. Without each of the brothers in attendance last night (as well as other not in attendance), these meetings would be difficult, if not impossible, to pull together.

One Meeting Or Two?

The more you know the harder you laugh!

Since our usual stated meeting was postponed and a degree already scheduled for the evening, last night was an interesting and condensed meeting. As if the scheduling wasn’t enough of a concern, I also had to make a point to have discussions with the Worshipful Master and the Trustees. Some extra fun that I really wasn’t looking forward to but, in the end, everything seemed to smooth out… hopefully my phone will stop ringing now.

Of course, as is the nature of my office, this was not the end of the discussions for the night. There were a number of behind the scenes things that needed to be addressed in order to keep things running smoothly. They were actually great conversations with a lot of progress made to hopefully take care a number of things that have been quite the headache as of late. It simply came down to making sure that everything was communicated and everyone knew what was expected of them. It happens.

Something that I hope to change one of these months is bin able to sit down and enjoy dinner with my brothers. At this point I can’t remember the last time that I was able to grab a plate and sit at a table before a stated meeting. It has been so long that the Steward was ready to make a plate for me to take home after the night was over. He is just one of the many brothers that has taken the time and gone out of there was to make things just a little bit easier for me month after month.

Before and after the meeting, in-between conversations and other duties, I was also turning to many of the brothers in attendance asking for their dues which were now long overdue. And, not surprisingly, the requests continued from various brothers for a variety of reasons which added a number of things to my Masonic to do list. This is something I both dread and look forward to as it allows me to look into some of the things in freemasonry that I may have previously neglected.

Because of all the aforementioned reasons, and the fact that he attended the Secretary’s Seminar last month, my assistant is still astounded that I am able to juggle all of these things. However, I do agree with him that the pay could be better. But no one takes on the responsibilities of this office for financial gain… we enjoy the work and take pride in the role we play in the history of our lodge and the Masonic lives of our fellow brothers.

The meeting itself was the quickest that I have ever experienced and while we may have postponed a lot of the usual business, it was still amazing how fast we were able to move through the night and how much we were able to accomplish. By the time the lodge was closed, I was heading back home as if we had only had one meeting rather than two. My wife still wasn’t happy (mostly because my son insists on waiting up for me) but it could have been a lot worse.