This weekend I had a great conversation with a lady who spent many years, not as a Freemason of course, but working for Freemasonry. She made a great point, and followed it up with a suggestion.
Her point was that a great many of our Lodges do at least one really cool or interesting thing, but that since each Lodge is largely its own little world, other Lodges don’t find out about it, so don’t have the opportunity to consider doing something similar themselves.
Her suggestion was that I figure out a way to get Brothers to tell me about something really great that their Lodge does, and get that information shared out to others.
I think that her idea was truly superb.
Because if Lodge A does one really neat thing a year, and Lodge B does some little interesting thing every meeting, and Lodge C does some unique charitable thing, and Lodge D has figured out some great way to reach out to its elderly members and widows, well if Lodge E added those things to its own really good thing, well, we would see Lodge E making a great improvement.
So let’s talk about it. What is one, (or more of course) really great thing that your Lodge does? Or a neighboring Lodge does?
I think my lodge does Bikes for Books very well. We work with 8 schools and the local library. We provide bikes at the schools twice a year, fall and spring and for the library’s summer reading program. This past fall we didn’t need to provide bikes because the spring bikes hadn’t been awarded so we provided school supplies and “occupational” toys/equipment to a special needs class. The head of our program is WB Gary Key. He has worked with the community to receive donations, making our program self-sufficient. We’ve also developed a great relationship with our local Pipefitters Union who supply bikes to several local lodges and the community as well. I’m very proud of our program.
You already have a vehicle for telling good stories and sharing best practices; the Masonic Tribune and Grand Lodge Messenger. In addition to the usual proclamations and messages from the grand line, you can do a roundup of best practices.
Port Orchard - John Paul Jones #98 - We do a few of the normal things other lodges do, like bikes for books. We march in the annual "Fathoms O' Fun" parade here in town, although I am highly disappointed in the last time we marched, there was just myself and another brother, I felt like a fool. We do the annual Pirate degree, although I don't know, due to Covid, if we're going to hold one this year, it takes a lot of work to practice and put on and a month or two won't cut it.
There is one thing I think we do that is unique and impacts the community quite a bit. We hold a scholarship awards night, that also features a "teacher(s) of the year award". The entire school district participates, probably something like 20+ K-12 schools. Each school picks a teacher to get awarded, and we host the event at the lodge. We also on that same night award a number of scholarships to deserving Juniors at three local High Schools (our eastern star chapter awards one for a Sr at one HS). Our scholarship program usually gives out over $5,000+ dollars, depending on how our investments do each year.
The nice thing about the teacher of the year award is that it is basically self running, we do very little other than work with the district to pick a date, host it at our lodge, and have a little cake and punch afterwards. It's well attended, we'll have around 200 people there celebrating, and it's probably the single thing I really look forward to each year.
At Peninsular 95, we do many of the usual things such as Bikes for Book and we walk in the Everett 4th of July Parade. But one thing we have been doing over the past few years is the "Chilly Cook Off" with Rainbow Assembly 9. The young ladies made the play on the spelling to grab some attention bit we've completed 4 years of fun competition and has attracted more people than just outside our 2 groups. We hold this on our Special Communication night in January, anyone can come to eat or enter a chili. The SLOC passes out flyers to the District so they know about the event.. It is a great fund raiser for the Assembly to help support trips or for Worthy Advisor's charity. We get more people each year and are considering moving to a Saturday to aid in allowing more attendance. In 2019, we ate, voted for the winner, tossed in a small fortune for the dessert auction then went upstairs for an EA degree.
Our current DDGM does make a good chili, but the WM's wife makes a better one.
I'm a member of three Lodges, so I guess that means that I get to go three times:
Sultan-Monroe 160.
The Fellowship of the Brothers is a huge standout to me. Camping, parties, excellent and involved mentoring, every bit of it is geared towards Brothers enjoying each other. That in my view is just superb.
Skykomish 259.
The funny 'rail road' shirts that all of us wear. Influential Masons like Andrew Hammer have tried to convince us for years that doing things like all dressing the same way builds Brotherhood. Skykomish proves that. Their shirts are not the white tie that some advocate for, indeed they are the opposite of that, but it builds an esprit de corps just the same.
Centralia 63.
This Lodge honors those Masons who have come before us like no other. I'm going to let VW Lavigne jump in on this thread with the details, but I'm going to say that if you were a Freemason, and if you died somewhere around Centralia, last year, or when the first settlers arrived, it doesn't matter, Centralia Lodge will honor you in a tangible and visible way.
A cool distinction of Centralia Lodge No. 63 is their annual tradition of placing Masonic Grave Markers at each of the 3 cemeteries in the Centralia area. We place Markers at the headstones of the Brothers who are interred in those Cemeteries on the Friday before Memorial Day, and pick them back up the Tuesday following. I hadn’t counted the total number of Markers, but I think it might be over 400.
This tradition was started by WB John Benedict, Sr., who presided over Centralia Lodge in 1910, 20 years after the Lodge was chartered. I am uncertain when he actually started it, as he passed away in 1972. WB Francis Newman updated the maps for the Grave Markers in 1970, which held up well for about 35 years until technology enabled us to update the locations of the graves, and also gave us an opportunity to re-number the graves to accommodate those Brothers who had passed away and were interred in the Cemeteries since 1970.
I had been participating in this annual event since the late 1990’s, and I almost have a couple of the Cemetery sections memorized as a result. I knew some of those Past Masters and members who have been interred in the newer sections, and I like to take a newer member of the Lodge with me in those sections, so I can share some stories about these Brothers. It is also really nice when the families stop by to pay their respects and give their appreciation of us giving them recognition of their membership in Freemasonry.
It’s also not restricted to members of Centralia Lodge, either. Members of other Lodges have assisted, as well as members of the local DeMolay and Rainbow Girls.
It’s hard work, but it’s worth it! Check Centralia Lodge’s website for pictures. If you have any questions, let me know!
My new lodge is a young lodge. We stand on a preface. Looking back Monroe 244 brought innovation and great change in the 30s to US Masonry. Likely its influencers brought the greatest since Pike joined the Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish rite. Over the last 20 years it waned, members got old, apathy set in and attrition took its toll. Its influence in the community waned as well, which compounded attrition. Right now through that attrition we have found that it freed us to reinvent our selves and look for ways in include our selves in the community activities. No one is left to tell us we're doing it wrong, that's not the way we did it, etc. We're in the process for transforming our selves back to a functional fraternity with activity in the community and I think that, to me is exciting and part of the good.
I think my lodge does Bikes for Books very well. We work with 8 schools and the local library. We provide bikes at the schools twice a year, fall and spring and for the library’s summer reading program. This past fall we didn’t need to provide bikes because the spring bikes hadn’t been awarded so we provided school supplies and “occupational” toys/equipment to a special needs class. The head of our program is WB Gary Key. He has worked with the community to receive donations, making our program self-sufficient. We’ve also developed a great relationship with our local Pipefitters Union who supply bikes to several local lodges and the community as well. I’m very proud of our program.
You already have a vehicle for telling good stories and sharing best practices; the Masonic Tribune and Grand Lodge Messenger. In addition to the usual proclamations and messages from the grand line, you can do a roundup of best practices.
Port Orchard - John Paul Jones #98 - We do a few of the normal things other lodges do, like bikes for books. We march in the annual "Fathoms O' Fun" parade here in town, although I am highly disappointed in the last time we marched, there was just myself and another brother, I felt like a fool. We do the annual Pirate degree, although I don't know, due to Covid, if we're going to hold one this year, it takes a lot of work to practice and put on and a month or two won't cut it.
There is one thing I think we do that is unique and impacts the community quite a bit. We hold a scholarship awards night, that also features a "teacher(s) of the year award". The entire school district participates, probably something like 20+ K-12 schools. Each school picks a teacher to get awarded, and we host the event at the lodge. We also on that same night award a number of scholarships to deserving Juniors at three local High Schools (our eastern star chapter awards one for a Sr at one HS). Our scholarship program usually gives out over $5,000+ dollars, depending on how our investments do each year.
The nice thing about the teacher of the year award is that it is basically self running, we do very little other than work with the district to pick a date, host it at our lodge, and have a little cake and punch afterwards. It's well attended, we'll have around 200 people there celebrating, and it's probably the single thing I really look forward to each year.
At Peninsular 95, we do many of the usual things such as Bikes for Book and we walk in the Everett 4th of July Parade. But one thing we have been doing over the past few years is the "Chilly Cook Off" with Rainbow Assembly 9. The young ladies made the play on the spelling to grab some attention bit we've completed 4 years of fun competition and has attracted more people than just outside our 2 groups. We hold this on our Special Communication night in January, anyone can come to eat or enter a chili. The SLOC passes out flyers to the District so they know about the event.. It is a great fund raiser for the Assembly to help support trips or for Worthy Advisor's charity. We get more people each year and are considering moving to a Saturday to aid in allowing more attendance. In 2019, we ate, voted for the winner, tossed in a small fortune for the dessert auction then went upstairs for an EA degree.
Our current DDGM does make a good chili, but the WM's wife makes a better one.
I'm a member of three Lodges, so I guess that means that I get to go three times:
Sultan-Monroe 160.
The Fellowship of the Brothers is a huge standout to me. Camping, parties, excellent and involved mentoring, every bit of it is geared towards Brothers enjoying each other. That in my view is just superb.
Skykomish 259.
The funny 'rail road' shirts that all of us wear. Influential Masons like Andrew Hammer have tried to convince us for years that doing things like all dressing the same way builds Brotherhood. Skykomish proves that. Their shirts are not the white tie that some advocate for, indeed they are the opposite of that, but it builds an esprit de corps just the same.
Centralia 63.
This Lodge honors those Masons who have come before us like no other. I'm going to let VW Lavigne jump in on this thread with the details, but I'm going to say that if you were a Freemason, and if you died somewhere around Centralia, last year, or when the first settlers arrived, it doesn't matter, Centralia Lodge will honor you in a tangible and visible way.
A cool distinction of Centralia Lodge No. 63 is their annual tradition of placing Masonic Grave Markers at each of the 3 cemeteries in the Centralia area. We place Markers at the headstones of the Brothers who are interred in those Cemeteries on the Friday before Memorial Day, and pick them back up the Tuesday following. I hadn’t counted the total number of Markers, but I think it might be over 400.
This tradition was started by WB John Benedict, Sr., who presided over Centralia Lodge in 1910, 20 years after the Lodge was chartered. I am uncertain when he actually started it, as he passed away in 1972. WB Francis Newman updated the maps for the Grave Markers in 1970, which held up well for about 35 years until technology enabled us to update the locations of the graves, and also gave us an opportunity to re-number the graves to accommodate those Brothers who had passed away and were interred in the Cemeteries since 1970.
I had been participating in this annual event since the late 1990’s, and I almost have a couple of the Cemetery sections memorized as a result. I knew some of those Past Masters and members who have been interred in the newer sections, and I like to take a newer member of the Lodge with me in those sections, so I can share some stories about these Brothers. It is also really nice when the families stop by to pay their respects and give their appreciation of us giving them recognition of their membership in Freemasonry.
It’s also not restricted to members of Centralia Lodge, either. Members of other Lodges have assisted, as well as members of the local DeMolay and Rainbow Girls.
It’s hard work, but it’s worth it! Check Centralia Lodge’s website for pictures. If you have any questions, let me know!
My new lodge is a young lodge. We stand on a preface. Looking back Monroe 244 brought innovation and great change in the 30s to US Masonry. Likely its influencers brought the greatest since Pike joined the Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish rite. Over the last 20 years it waned, members got old, apathy set in and attrition took its toll. Its influence in the community waned as well, which compounded attrition. Right now through that attrition we have found that it freed us to reinvent our selves and look for ways in include our selves in the community activities. No one is left to tell us we're doing it wrong, that's not the way we did it, etc. We're in the process for transforming our selves back to a functional fraternity with activity in the community and I think that, to me is exciting and part of the good.