“Happy 308 Birthday!”
Calendar:
June
06/04/25 (Wed) Regular Communication
06/18/25 (Wed) Special: MM Degrees
06/27/25 (Fri) Festive Board, 7:30pm, Saline Lodge
Brothers!
Well, maybe not quite a birthday, it is more like “Exposé”: while Freemasonry secretly existed prior to that, this month 308 years ago, on June 24 1717, the first Grand Lodge in the world was formed. The Premier Grand Lodge was founded, the first of its kind anywhere in the world and the origins of the United Grand Lodge of England. Freemasonry came to light, and the world was better for it.
We are smack dab in the middle of the year: June. My personal favorite as we welcome the warm days of late spring and summer. Our year is a swinging pendulum — from the shortest day of winter solstice to the longest one on June 21st — summer solstice. We as Masons can rejoice this month as our pendulum touches the circumscribing edge side of St. John the Baptist. The world around us opens up and blooms, just like it was closed and dark at the other pendulum extreme. The outer light shines bright just as we prepare to go dark; again — opposite to fall and winter when the outer light decreases while we return to lodge with an ever increasing brightness of the inner light.
Mid-year reflection on our light spreading so far: we brought to light six new Brothers, passed four to Fellowcrafts (three in the Detroit Temple), raised two to the sublime degree of Master Mason, and expect to raise two more this month before going dark. I hope you are as proud as I am in our Lodge.
I would like to share an experience I had this last week.
While in Kansas helping my son move back for the summer, we took the opportunity to visit the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City. Among other areas, they did an exceptional job in conveying the horrific experiences and terrible human cost incurred in the trenches which spanned hundreds of miles from the Alps to the English Channel. One of the display areas was dedicated to “Trench Art”: while confined to the trenches and dugouts and during periods between battles, soldiers produced an array of items made from remnants such as discarded bullets and shell casings.
One particular piece caught my eye:
It really hit me in an unexpected way and I could not stop thinking about that distressed Brother: did he survive? Was he lucky enough to be with fellow Brothers in that time of duress? Was he able to draw some support and inner strength from his Masonic journey in those grotesque surroundings?
It was one of those “I wish I had a time machine” moments (but only if a round trip was guaranteed…)
This is the last Master letter before the summer. No worries - I am NOT going to sing “See You In September”; I know that I will see many of you beforehand. Nevertheless I wish you and yours a joyful and safe summer; Have a good time and remember to keep in the spirit of Friendship, Morality, and Brotherly love
With the same,
Zevi Bareket
Worshipful Master