Last Extra Meeting Before The Break

With the conferral of degrees now having been completed for the month, the summer has now officially started at the lodge. Two new master masons will now have the opportunity to spend the next couple of months reflecting on the life changing process that they have just experienced. It has honestly been too long since I have been able to write those words but I am glad to be able to commit them to this blog once again.

While there are still a number of events that are on the calendar throughout the sweltering season including the final district visitation of the year, the Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, and a month of instructional classes just to name a few, this is the time of year that I try to dedicate to masonic reflection. A practice that I encourage all brothers to undertake during these months absent of meetings. It is this season when we make the personal decisions that determine the path we will take on our masonic journey.

Three years ago these were the months when I had to give serious consideration to run for the office of Secretary. The following year was all about making the additional efforts to bring the lodge a few steps forward. Last year, I dedicated a lot of deliberation as to whether I wanted to continue as Secretary or if I would remain and see things through a difficult and stressful time, personally and fraternally. This year, there thankfully has been a change from the thoughts that lingered with me last summer.  

This time around I am focusing on what I can do better as Secretary. Basically, there are a lot of ideas that float in and out of my head that I would like to give greater consideration rather than the limited attention they have received as fleeting thoughts. While doing this, I would like to focus on planning out the remainder of the year not just with regard to meetings and the routine tasks that are required of me but also so that I can meet the requirements for the Master Craftsman Award. Heck, if I can earn the Master Builder Award, I can earn this one too.

Lastly, I want to take the time to reach out to many of the brethren that have parted ways with the lodge for one reason or another. Whether it is simply someone that I haven’t seen in a while or those that have been suspended in recent years. I want to make sure that all my brothers have the same opportunity to enjoy the progress that we have made as a lodge and experience what the fraternity has to offer them. Most importantly, I want all my brothers to know that they are welcome anytime no matter how long they have been absent.

A Shared Journey

As I sat at my desk and opened my lodge folder, I couldn’t believe that it had been over a year since I found myself participating in a degree conferral. At the same time, I was excited at the prospect of being able to attend extra meetings throughout the remainder of the year. There have been some good men who have already entered the fraternity and a number of other men who have demonstrated interest. Additionally, we have already had some great brothers transfer to our lodge. It is quite the interesting group that we have brought together but also a group of brothers passionate in their own ways about the freemasonry and eager to do their part to improve the fraternity.

I have always enjoyed extra meetings as it is a time when we all come together to continue someone on their masonic journey but it is also a time when we are a little more relaxed when beyond the outer doors. The same can be said about fellowship nights but there is something about the purpose and importance of degree nights that resonates on a much deeper level for me. The simple fact of the matter is that we are all choosing to be at the lodge and participate in these important occasions not just because we believe it to be expected of us but because we enjoy the company of our brothers.

Throughout the night there was a welcoming atmosphere felt by all, newly passed brothers and all others sitting in chairs and on the sidelines. To my recollection, this is a completely different feeling than that which I experienced during the last conferral for which I was in attendance. And it was a great mix of masons from those who are approaching 50 years in the fraternity to those who upon which the last bestowed. All of us present for a singular purpose… to further our collective progress on our respective masonic journeys.

These are the nights when I walk back to the car and drive home feeling as though I have helped to accomplish something… I have participated in something much great than myself. While this is certainly part of stated meetings as well, it is a much more pronounced emotion following the conferral of degrees. What is additionally satisfying about these nights is that soon the men whom I witnesses advancing to the next degree may be the ones conferring those degrees in the future. After all, while I wasn’t present for the meeting, I know that it has already happened once during my short time as a mason.

Welcome Back Extra Meetings

It has been too long since we had an extra meeting. Thanks to the work of many brothers at the lodge, we resumed degree conferrals last night for the first time in over a year. While we have had a few transfers and reinstatements since the last extra meeting, I hate to admit it but it has been that long since we welcomed a new brother to the lodge. Things are changing once again for the better and it really is a credit to many of the brothers who have taken a leadership role in the lodge.

While these are my favorite kinds of meetings to attend I was, unfortunately, unable to attend once again due to family commitments. It has been one of those periods when other unavoidable occurrences seem to be part of the regular routine. Actually, I haven’t been able to get completely caught up from the last stated so I now find myself two meeting behind with an official visitation looming in the near future. It is going to be a trying remainder of the month for sure but I am confident that I can, with the continued support of the lodge, make it through these tenuous weeks.

Even though I wasn’t able to attend the meeting, I did manage to stop by the lodge before the meeting and make sure that the candidates were present and that everything was relatively in order for the night. It may have been the most relaxed that I had seen the brethren before a degree conferral in a long time and I hope that this pattern continues as more and more petitions are received and read. Seeing this also reassured me that I was making the right decision to be with my family last night as my only concerns were at home.

By the end of the night, before heading off to bed, it was a great feeling adding three brothers to our roles following the transfer of one brother and the initiation of two others. While I don’t expect a drastic increase in membership, I hope that we can repeat our slow and steady growth from 2014 (2015 was an off year) and build upon these additions to the lodge. At the very least, it will be great to see new masons pursuing the Master Builder Award again along with mentors pursuing the newly established Master Craftsman Award (or Master Pillar Award for that matter). It will take time and effort, but we gladly give of ourselves as these meetings and pursuits will certainly pay dividends in the future.

Late To Lodge

As I wrote yesterday, time has not been kind to me and last night was the perfect example of that. For an extra meeting I usually try to get out of the office between 5:30 and 6 but with a major presentation scheduled for Thursday, I was in the midst of a meeting throughout the afternoon and into the early evening. 6 o’clock came and went soon followed by 6:30. When I walked out of the door at 6:40, with a pile of work that needed to get done later that night, I knew that I was going to be cutting it close for the 7:30 meeting so I texted the Worshipful Master and let him know of my delayed arrival time.  

Pulling into the parking lot there was only a minute left before things where scheduled to get started and I still had to get in the door, head downstairs to my office, change, and grab a Bible. I have missed a couple of meetings in the past, only one since becoming Secretary, but this was going to be the first time that I would be arriving late. So I prepared as fast as I could and made my way up the stairs and continued resisting the urge to reply with “land shark” from behind the closed door.

Thankfully, when I knocked into the meeting the candidate had yet to enter and I was granted a few minutes by the Worshipful Master to collect myself and get situated at my desk. As soon as I sat down, we officially started the degree portion of the night. I am glad that my brothers waited a little as the candidate last night is someone that I was looking forward to seeing take the next step. Many of us have been impressed with both his eagerness to learn and his ample participation thus far (even before he officially became a mason). I look forward to seeing him thrive in the lodge and in Freemasonry in general.

The evening came to a close with the brethren converging on the newly raised Mason to congratulate him and sign his Bible. Soon after many sought me out to remind me of a variety of things that needed to be taken care of and ask for my assistance with others. At this point I have pretty much gotten used to this routine after meetings. However, as we walked down the stairs one of my brothers, knowing all that I am juggling at this time, made good on his countless offers and removed one of the small but still time consuming tasks from my list. Yes, I actually took him up on his insistence this time.

We all went our separate ways once we ventured back out in to the bitter cold. A few headed off to the brewery across the street, several went home to enjoy some down time with family, and I made my way back home to tuck my wife and son into bed and get a few hours of work done before passing out. By the time I went to bed it was 2 in the morning which was only made worse by the fact that the week wasn’t even half over. Just one of those weeks but at least I was able to forget all of that for just a little bit last night.

A Hubcap To End The Night

I got an interesting text early yesterday afternoon asking if I was able to fill in as Junior Warden. Having not had any time over the past few months and buried deep in other projects at the office I knew that it would not be possible to learn that chair in a matter of just a few hours. We resolved that it might be a good idea that I do my best to learn the dialogue for future months when we could find ourselves in the same situation. That was the just the first sign that it could be a rather interesting evening at the lodge.

Sometimes things happen and we are left with few brothers that are able to attend lodge especially extra meetings. This month it was a great variety of reasons that caused attendance to dwindle but, as we have many times before, we made it work and still made sure that our new brothers could continue their advancement on schedule. Just like the lodge as a whole, we may be a small group of masons but we get things done and we make sure that the light keeps burning bright.

Given the lead up to the evening, it was a pleasant surprise to find an excess of brethren at the lodge last night. All the chairs were filled and the evening when as smoothly and quickly as possible. Additionally, we had enough brothers present that we were able to have a few planning conversations without having to run around and scramble to ensure our preparedness.

The night was longer than some and shorter than others but that is to be expected when two degrees are being conferred. Of course, there is always plenty on the Secretary’s desk that needs to be taken care of at any given time so part of the night is a bit of a blur. Also not helping is the fact that my mind was elsewhere for much of the evening as there are a number of things beyond the lodge that envelop my daily thoughts.

By the time the night ended, I had caught up on many of the tasks that await my presence at the lodge each week and plans were in place for the next couple of meetings. It was at the end of the night that we also came to find out that we were already well ahead of schedule with regard to our recently increased Change for the Troops goal for the year of $1000. With the meeting having gone so smoothly I was waiting for something to happen to tarnish the night.

Getting drilled by an oncoming hubcap on my way home at 10:30 at night on Route 320 did just the trick. What’s worse is that my car is getting repaired at the dealer so it’s not even my car. I really could have done without it but lately that is the way things have gone.

Dedication Of Time

Don't lose your Masonic marbles thinking about all the time you have put into the lodge!

First the first time since I was raised my lodge had to schedule two extra meetings for the month. Last night was the first of these and it was great to see both brothers passed. It was especially nice to sit at my desk again and catch up on a few items after having missed the sated meeting last week. While they will both make fine members of the fraternity they are both completely different thus far in their involvement and, seemingly, their motivation in becoming Masons. One brother is taking every opportunity to learn as much as possible and to be at the lodge while the other needed quite a bit of prompting throughout the evening.

It is interesting to put these meetings and the degree work in perspective as the Worshipful Master did so eloquently last night. With 15 brothers in attendance putting about 2 hours in last night alone, which is 30 man hours that have been committed to these new masons to ensure they received their second degree. That stat alone made a few people pause and think about how much we have all committed to our fellow brothers and the lodge not just last night but throughout the past year.

In general, the December extra meetings are always interesting because you have a mix of outgoing and incoming officers working together for this brief overlapping period of time. Of course, there are also those of us who are staying right were we have been so much of this back and forth is simply observation on our parts. However, with a renewed abundance of brothers that are interested in holding office, it is a great time to see the activity and the interest that is being taken in the lodge and the work being done.

We will only have a few days before our next extra meeting when we will welcome a new brother and raise another. For now, we will be working with the brothers still in the middle of the process and work with them to make sure that they are getting out of this process what we are all putting in. That is really all that we can do and it has worked well this year ensuring that new brothers are welcomed into the lodge and start their masonic journey with that deep connection that we all have with the fraternity and with our fellow brothers.

A Little Extra

As you have rad time and again on this blog, lately I have been trying to push for participation from my fellow brothers and each time they have come through. Last night thy came through again. This should not be a surprise to anyone familiar with freemasonry but

Last night was, in my opinion, the most important of all the meetings and events to ensure that things continued to move forward as scheduled. Last night we welcomed a new brother into the lodge. That’s right, it was another degree conferral and the official beginning of a new brother’s masonic journey. It is the meeting that started us all and that I particularly enjoy being a part of… in many respects this applies to all of the degrees as they are the same each and every time. We all start at the same place regardless of our name, bank account, occupation, etc. It all begins with the same identical step.

Each time I witness a degree conferral I learn a little more. Sometimes it is as simple as retaining some of the information recited while other times I find myself thinking about the reasons I chose to become a mason and the reasons I now enjoy being a masons and being involved in the lodge. Last night, I was reminded, once again, of the fact that we are brothers and we make the time to support one another no matter if we are taking our first steps or we are 65+ years into our journey.

I also found myself glancing at the ring on my finger, my grandfather’s masonic ring. While he wasn’t the most active mason (as I have been told) he did take pride in the fact that he belonged to this fraternity and our lodge. Of course, I feel like I am bringing him with me to every meeting just by wearing his ring. I guess you could say that I am keeping him involved whether he likes it or not.

Overall, these nights are not as well attended as the stated meetings but, when you think about it, these meetings are more critical to the life and future of the lodge. One of the best parts of being secretary is playing a role in the making of a mason. From the initial petition to the degrees to embracing our new brother as a Master Mason. But my role is only a small one as without the rest of the lodge these degrees and meetings would not be possible. The lodge cannot rely on just one brother, the lodge can only operate with the support of the brethren.

Help From Brothers And Family Members

I can see the end to the chaos but it is still a few days away. Thankfully, I have had the help of brothers and family along the way. Together we kept things on track and everything moving forward as scheduled. Thankfully I got a new phone which has been holding up well (with plenty of battery left at the end of the day) to the barrage of calls and text that I have been fielding and the offers to assist have been nonstop over the past several weeks.

With the Worshipful Master slowly recovering and gradually taking things back over and stepping in where and when he can, it has been nice to be able to catch up on a few other items. At the same time, I have spoken with the District Deputy Grand Master a couple of times who has taken the time out of his schedule to make sure that we had everything ready for the next meeting. He has done this both for the meeting last week and he did the same thing earlier this week to make sure everything has been taken care of for the official visitation on Thursday.

Last night a lot of those things came together both in person and over the phone. One brother I was able to call for help also happens to be my cousin. We needed a few shirts made (embroidered) both with a specific budget in mind and a pretty short deadline of approximately a week. No surprise, he came through and last night I was able to see the excellent shirts that he made for us… definitely worthy of presenting during the meeting tomorrow night.

It was during this time with my cousin that I was once again reminded of an important aspect of freemasonry in that is does help bind a family together. The connection that I have with my uncle, a fellow mason, I also felt at that moment with my cousin. It was nice to both talk about our lodges and also show him around my lodge which he had never been to in his 20+ years as a mason (just a few more years than I have been a member).

Hopefully, I will be able to sit in lodge with both of them in the near future. There are a few meetings coming up and I am going to do what I can to make it happen (more schedule shuffling to come). But, until then, I am going to keep pushing forward and doing whatever I can to assist in the continued success of the lodge. There are a lot of things to look forward to in the coming months and all of them are going to require some effort. Effort that is well worth it!