Master’s Letter | June 2011
Greetings to all Brethren and Friends!
June for most Lodges means the last month before a break in the Masonic year. Our growing and thriving Lodge will continue to be active throughout the upcoming months - particularly with Master Mason degrees in June and July. Please also note there will be a Regular Communication on the evening of July 6, 2011 - making up for the meeting cancelled in February, due to inclement weather.
In May, we were privileged to have visiting Brothers from Windsor Lodge No. 403 of the Grand Lodge A.F & A.M. of Canada in the Province of Ontario. It was an honor to be able to show them the workings of our Master Mason degree. It was a particularly heartfelt and memorable evening, as we also watched a father raise a son. Truly, an evening to remember, for many reasons.
Our Lodge has been honored in an incredible way. W. Bro. Art Davidge, PM has been named as the Grand Lodge of Michigan’s “State Mason of the Year”. Art’s dedication to our own Lodge and Masonry as a whole is selfless and steadfast. I can think of no other man more worthy of such an honor, and am incredibly pleased this has been bestowed on our Worshipful Brother Art. He was presented this award at the Grand Lodge of Michigan’s Annual Communication on May 24, 2011. Please extend your well wishes to W. Bro. Art the next time you communicate with him.
We continue to build the bonds of fellowship outside of Lodge. Our monthly Family Game Night has been a success, and we recently had a lovely dinner at the Gandy Dancer with our Brothers and their wives and partners. The first meeting of our Book Club will be on June 7th. Next month’s Master’s Table dinner will be at the Sidetrack in Ypsilanti. It is open to all Brothers - and please feel free to bring anyone you know who has been curious about Freemasonry - or interested in joining us.
Please keep our Brethren who are far away or ailing in your thoughts. In particular, W. Bro. Jimmy Green and W. Bro. Paul Contos - both who have dealt with serious health issues recently.
In conclusion - this year is amazingly already half over. We have been working hard, and have accomplished many things - with more work to be done and fellowship to be had. Never hesitate to contact me if you would like to discuss what is happening in your Lodge. I’d love to talk.
From our Lodge to you and your families, we wish you the very best of health and happiness.
Warmest fraternal regards,
Brian Cors
Worshipful Master
Festive Board - St. John’s Celebration | June 23, 2010
Ann Arbor Fraternity Lodge #262 and Golden Rule #159 will be hosting a festive board on Wednesday June 23rd, 2010 to celebrate St. John’s Day. This event will be be from 7:00 PM-10:00 PM and will be held at the Zal Gaz Grotto (2070 West Stadium Blvd, Ann Arbor, MI, 48103).
This is not a tiled event. Business casual attire is recommended for this evening of fellowship, celebration and education.
Following dinner, but before desert, Worshipful Brother Justin Krasnoff will be giving a fantastic presentation centered on the Battle of Gettysburg and emphasizing the many Freemasons on both sides who participated in and led the battle. Those that have previously heard Justin present some of this material say that he is an amazingly knowledgeable and enjoyable speaker. We look forward to his presentation.
Here is the menu as it currently stands. We will start out the night with an appetizer of humus and pita bread and veggies and dip. The first course will be either soup or salad. The salad will a lettuce wedge with tomatoes with blue cheese crumbles and your choice of dressing. The soup will Passato di Ceci which is made of pureed chickpea and rosemary. There will be three choices for the main entree. The first choice will be a strip steak served with baked potato and vegetable. The second choice is chicken parmesan and cannelloni with marinara sauce served with vegetables. For our vegetarian brothers we will additionally serve a large portion cannelloni with vegetables. For desert we will be serving strawberry rhubarb pie and strawberry pie and ice cream. To accompany our meal we will be serving wine and a non-alcoholic beverage.
This is open to all Freemasons - so please make sure all EAs and FCs are invited to this event.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Because of the need to coordinate food and service, we will require all brothers who wish to attend to RSVP. The cutoff for RSVP will be June 14th. This can be done by contacting either Clinton Bartholomew or Jim Larkin by phone or email. The total cost for the event will be $20 per person.
The food, festivities and brotherhood should make this a memorable night and a truly enjoyable way to celebrate St. John’s Day. We look forward to seeing you all there.
Sincerely and Fraternally,
Clinton Bartholomew
juniorwarden@aaf262.org
(734) 389-5317
Jim Lakin
jim.lakin@stork.com
(248) 520-2666
Master’s Letter | June 2010
Well, it’s hard to believe with June my “Sun” as Worshipful Master is at its meridian height. We are half way through the year! It’s amazing what we’ve accomplished so far; we keep moving from success to success. I’m also hearing that the Widow’s Sons motorcycle club is ready to ride with 9 charter members. Great work Bros. Chuck Nagy and Lowell Easton for bringing a new and fun perspective to light in Ann Arbor Masonry.
The month of May saw one of the best attended regular meetings I have seen anywhere. We had 29 brothers present, all from our lodge. It was a busy night that included 8 Fellowcraft examinations. We also enjoyed a presentation by W.Bro. Art Davidge regarding Masonic allusions in two science fiction novels, “The Revolt in 2010” by Robert Heinlein and “The Artifact” by W. Michael Gear. I think this new education component to our regular meetings is a marvelous addition; I hope you all are enjoying it as much as I am.
On May 19, PM Justin Krasnoff conducted our first three Master Mason degrees of the year. “Thank you” to all who assisted while I was at Grand Lodge on May 18 & 19. On May 21, 10 members of our lodge travelled to Windsor No. 403 in Windsor, Canada, to attend a Master Mason degree and enjoy some fellowship with our nearby Canadian brothers. It was particularly enjoyable to witness a ritual so different from our own – and so well executed too. As a token of inter-lodge friendship, our delegation presented Windsor 403 with a beautiful Masonic trowel engraved for the occasion. We were given a tour of their beautiful building, constructed in 1923, and treated to a veritable feast of Vietnamese food by their acting WM Bonn Sotto, PM. We look forward to representatives from Windsor No. 403 visiting us later this year.
Our regular meeting is June 2 and we will be conducting three Master Mason degrees on June 16. Masters’ Table this month will be on June 30th at Sidetrack Bar & Grill in Ypsilanti. June 24 is the Feast of St. John the Baptist. As many of you know, Masons have held this date – which coincides with the Summer Solstice – as a day of particular observance from time immemorial. To acknowledge it, Ann Arbor - Fraternity 262 and Golden Rule 159 are holding a special joint dinner at the Grotto on June 23. The cost for the evening, which includes appetizer, soup, salad, entrée (strip steak, chicken parmesan, or veg. pasta), desert, and toasting beverage, is $20. W. Bro. Justin Krasnoff, our guest speaker, will be presenting a paper on Freemasons and the Battle of Gettysburg. The event is open to all Masons, so feel free to tell brothers at other area lodges. The deadline for RSVPs (we have to pre-order the food) is June 13. For more information, or to make a reservation, please consult our trestle board.
Lastly, I would like to congratulate our scholarship recipients for 2010 – 2011. They are George Lucero, Jr. and Bro. Jonathon Easton. George Lucero, the son of our Junior Deacon, will be starting as a freshman in an engineering program this fall (hopefully here at the University of Michigan!). Bro. Jonathon, as you may recall, will be completing his last year at Indiana University in Journalism and History. Each will receive a check from the lodge and Grand Lodge matching funds totaling $1,500.
As always, hope to see you in lodge brothers.
Sincerely & fraternally,
Robert C. Blackburn, WM
UPCOMING EVENTS
- June 2, 2010
Regular Communication
Hathaway’s Hideaway - June 13, 2010
RSVP DUE! | Festive Board with Golden Rule No. 159 - June 16, 2010
MM Degree
Hathaway’s Hideaway - June 23, 2010
Festive Board with Golden Rule No. 159
W. Bro. Justin Krasnoff | “Freemasons and the Battle of Gettysburg”
Zal Gaz Grotto - June 30, 2010
Masters Table Dinner
Sidetrack Bar & Grill | Ypsilanti, MI
