Master’s Letter | March 2011
Dearest Brethren and Friends,
March is here! Just as the month of March arrives, the steady march of amazing activity at our Lodge continues.
We were fortunate to bring two new men into Masonry in February, both eager to become part of our Lodge and of our globe- spanning fraternity. Our monthly rehearsals for degree work are bringing further precision and decorum into our ceremonies, coupled with the work of our skilled musician. This month we are going to be holding not one, but two degree ceremonies, both Entered Apprentice Degrees on March 16th and March 30th.
In February, we also had an incredible Masters’ Table event at Bar Louie. Those that dined with us were members, current candidates and men about to begin their journey in Freemasonry. Our next Masters Table dinner will be held on March 23rd at the Asia City restaurant in Ypsilanti.
Speaking of those entering into our Craft – our Lodge is investing much time and energy into our revitalized Intender Program. Our Intenders [mentors] are working with our new initiates from the beginning of their journey through the completion of their Blue Lodge degrees. This program guides the candidate through each degree, allows them to delve deeper, to ask questions and create strong ties with their Lodge Brethren. I want to give special thanks to Bro. Erik Harclerode & W. Bro’s Justin Krasnoff and Rich Wilcox for their work in making this program enriching and successful.
Please join us on March 19th for a visit to the Masonic Pathways in Alma for Junior Deacon Day. It is a great day to learn about what Masonic Pathways does for its residents and what our Lodges can do to ensure its continued success. That day in particular is an excellent opportunity to visit and catch up with Brethren from our Lodge who currently reside there. Click here for details and please RSVP with our Junior Deacon, Bob Hospadaruk.
Remember, one can always find more detail about any of our events our Trestleboard [calendar].
To you and your families, we wish you the very best of health and happiness.
Warmest fraternal regards,
brian cors
Worshipful Master
UPCOMING EVENTS from Our Trestleboard
- March 11
Family Game Night - Zal Gaz Grotto - March 16
Special Communication [EA] - Pittsfield Grange - March 19
Junior Deacon’s Day - Masonic Pathways. Alma, MI - March 23
Masters Table Dinner - Asia City Restaurant, Ypsilanti - March 30
Special Communication [EA] - Pittsfield Grange
Master’s Letter | March 2010
Things continue to clip along at lodge. On January 27 we initiated 4 new brothers into Masonry. Though these were the first degrees of the year and we did not have a chance to practice, everything went smoothly. Thanks to all who assisted. January 29 was the Freemasons’ Haiti Relief Party which we put on jointly with the Grotto. It was a memorable night. We enjoyed great fellowship and fun with brothers from around Washtenaw County and beyond. There was also a great cover band. The event raised more than $1,000 which will be forwarded to the Masonic Service Association, N.A., for Haiti Relief.
On February 10, we held our regular monthly meeting. We covered a lot of ground. The lodge is looking to establish a new building fund and reformatting of our investment portfolio. Bro. Chuck Nagy expressed interest and will move forward with establishing a chapter of the Widow’s Sons Masonic motorcycle club at the lodge. Bro. Luis, who will be leaving us in May for a post doctoral position in Mathematics at the Universite du Quebec in Montreal (congratulations Bro. Luis!), had to postpone his talk on the Grand Lodge of Columbia until next month. Instead, we had a discussion regarding the symbol of “Jacob’s Ladder” in antiquity and as it came to be adopted in Masonry.
At the time of this letter, AAF 262 looks forward to its Awards/Past Master Night on Feb. 19 and to initiating another four brothers on February 24. You might think we are catching up on our E.A. backlog. Far from it; we’ve got several more new petitioners in the pipeline. It is going to be a record year for degree work. After this month, we have 14 Fellowcraft degrees we need to confer. These with either begin next month or we may reserve a room in the Detroit Temple for some special Saturday work. Keep an eye on the trestle board and your email for updates.
Our regular meeting night will change to the 1st Wednesday starting March (degree work will typically be performed on the 3rd Wednesday). W.Bro. Seymour Greenstone will also be leading a new, quarterly Masonic study club at Hathaway’s Hideaway on March 24. As Albert Mackey once noted:
“The brother who…supposes that the only requisite of a skillful Mason consists in repeating with fluency the ordinary lectures, or correctly opening and closing the lodge, or in giving with sufficient accuracy the modes of recognition… has scarcely advanced beyond the rudiments of our science. There is a far nobler series of doctrines with which Freemasonry is connected, and which no student ever began to investigate who did not find himself insensibly led on, from step to step in his researches, love and admiration of the order… It is this which constitutes the science of Freemasonry, and it is this alone which will return the scholar who devotes himself to the task a sevenfold reward for his labor.”
Please give due consideration to this important education opportunity and join W.Bro. Seymour in exploring the deeper layers of Masonry.
Below are some other upcoming events. As always brothers, I hope to see you in lodge.
S & F
Robert Blackburn, WM
UPCOMING EVENTS
- March 13, 2010
Roller Derby Night at the Detroit Masonic Temple
[RSVP and payment due on March 6th!] - March 24, 2010
Study Club: “Masonry and its Place in the World” and - April 23, 2010
Ladies Night at the Huron River Hunting & Fishing Club - May 21, 2010
Official lodge visitation and Master Mason degree presentation, Windsor Lodge No. 403, G.L. of Canada in the Province of Ontario.
