Trip Report | Masonic Home, Alma MI
From Michigan Masonic Law (Blue Book):
Ҥ4.16.4.6: It shall be the duty of the Worshipful Master: 
(f) To appoint the following Committees:
1. A Committee on the Masonic Home, consisting of the Junior Deacon and two other interested members of the lodge shall be appointed annually. It shall be the duty of said Committee to inform itself diligently as to all matters pertaining to said Home; to serve as a connecting link between the Home, the Home Board, and the lodge in matters relative to the welfare of the Home and its residents; and to assist in such other lodge and Home activities as the Grand Master may request.”…
On March 19 2011, your intrepid “Committee on the Masonic Home”, Consisting of JD Bob Hospadaruk and PM Bob Blackburn, ventured forth to Alma Michigan to visit our states Masonic Home, called “Masonic Pathways”. Here is our report!
Masonic Pathways is a not-for-profit continuing care retirement community offering skilled nursing services, short-term rehabilitation, assisted living and retirement living services for more than 400 residents.
The campus provides a spectrum of service, from indivudual duplex homes, independent senior living in the Masonic Home, to a 24-hour skilled nursing care section - a continuum of care for the needs of our brothers and sisters. You don’t have to be masonic affiliated to be a resident, but a high percentage of residents are.
Pathways runs as a non-profit and residents pay for services, but Michigan Masons; the wives, widows, mothers and sisters in the Michiagn Eastern Star are given preferred placement status and enjoy a discounted rates for services. Affiliated individuals who otherwise would be unable to afford care at Masonic Pathways may be eligible for financial assistance from the Michigan Masonic Charitable Foundation (MMCF).
When we arrived at Pathways, we were greeted by various staff and volunteers for an orientation. There must ave been a couple hundred other JD’s, brothers and sisters in attendance too.
We were then treated to a lunch and a tour. Our tour guide, Brother Don, took our small group through every area of the facility - so enthusiastic in his duties, he was hard to keep up with! The facility is clean and beautiful, the grounds and the staff friendly and helpful. Our brothers and sisters are well cared for.
A #262 lodge brother of ours, Paul Contos PM, is a resident here. We met up with Paul in the conference room. He shared with us his experience at Masonic Pathways and about his times in Ann Arbor with 262. We really enjoyed our visit an it was agreed that a return visit was in order, perhaps in the summer for a grilling picnic in the excellent shelter on the premises
The Junior Deacon had a favorable impression of Masonic Pathways and left there considering these two points:
- A reminder of our duty to distressed worthy brothers
- The important support given by our Michigan Masonic Charitable Foundation - how can you contribute?
