Greetings Brothers and a belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.  I hope the holiday season was enjoyable and safe for you and your families.

For those of you who attended our Installation you experienced an especially memorable event. Right Worshipful Brother William R. Finkel, Grand Senior Warden of Masons in Michigan installed all of our officers totally from memory. Right Worshipful Brother Bill brought his own team with him which gave our hard working traveling installation team a much deserved night off. 

As I reflect back to my first time as Worshipful Master the seat in the East seemed to be a hot seat but the second time around it feels pretty cool. I am looking forward to identifying goals for the year and working with the officers and Brothers to achieve them.

One significant goal is to sell the 1,000 raffle tickets for the first fund raising activity we have undertaken in many years. To date 600 tickets have been distributed for sale. 400 tickets must be sold to cover the prize money. If you would like to sell tickets please contact the Junior Past Master, Rick Shea at 517-414-2757 for a packet. Individual tickets can be also purchased from him.

For those who missed my short talk during the December regular communication I combined two previous talks. The common gavel, symbol of authority of the Worshipful Master and the Acacia, symbol of immortality of the soul. As promised, I revealed the connection of these two topics at our December installation. If you weren't able to attend, here it is. We as Free and Accepted Masons are taught that the Acacia is a symbol of the immortality of the soul. The acacia is an evergreen and, due to the density, the wood is long lasting, making it a perfect symbol for immortality. Ancient Egyptians fabricated mummy cases from the wood of the Acacia. Moses chose the wood of the acacia, with its longevity and beauty of the fine grain, for several wood working projects (the Tabernacle, the Arch of the Covenant, a table and an altar) documented in the Book of Exodus.

For all of these reasons I fabricated the head of my gavel from the wood of the Acacia. The hardness and grain of the wood challenged my planner and carbide saw blade. 

I look forward to seeing each of you at the January regular communication. If you cannot attend the regular communication, come for dinner. If you cannot attend the dinner, come for the regular communication. 

Fraternally,

Let's Go To Lodge Tonight

(author unknown)

My brother, let's go to Lodge tonight;
You haven't been for years.
Let's don our Lambskin Apron white
And sit among our peers.

I feel a kind of longing, see,
to climb those creaky stairs;
I know it'll be a thrill for me
to lay aside my cares.

We'll meet the Tyler at the door
and though he'll hesitate,
we'll hear him say just as before,
"Come in or you'll be late."

I'd like to get out on the floor--
Come on, let's get in line;
I want to face the East once more
And give the same old sign.

I want to hear the gavel rap
the Craftsmen to attention
and see the Master don his cap; 
a night without dissention.

So come!  Pass up that picture show,
or your wrestling bout or fight;
Switch off that TV set! Let's go!
Let's go to Lodge tonight.

 

Deputy Master - Dale D. Brown PTIM

Pr. Conductor of the Work - Marcus U. Blue, Jr., PTIM 

Treasurer - Thomas E. Royce, PTIM

Recorder - Stephen D. Vining, PTIM
Captain of the Guard - Michael E. Hicks, PTIM
Conductor of Council - Thomas E. Royce, PTIM
Steward - Eric J. Cole
Sentinel - Frank W. Lutze
Chaplain - Dale D. Brown, PTIM
Marshall - Vacant