ach
month St. John’s Lodge No. 9 has a dinner previous to the Stated
Communication. Seating at these dinners is informal so everyone is
free to mingle and visit where they please. Tables are set for
seven and we manage to fill the room with happy Masons having a good
time. We try to make sure that the fare is suitable for all and
that there is plenty to eat.
Following the meal we arrange to have
some type of entertainment or presentation for education and
enjoyment. This program is presented between dinner and the 7:30
Lodge opening. This is the standard that everyone knows and expects
from St. John’s. We take great pride in making sure that this
happens.
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For the past few years, however, we have
been occasionally doing things a little differently. March is such
a time. In March we dust off the Table Lodge ritual and set the
tables for a good old fashioned Table Lodge.
Guess what? It’s March again! We will
have bar-b-que beef ribs, baked beans, and all the fixings. There
will be the formal Table Lodge ritual opening followed by good food,
toasts, and fellowship. Brethren, bring your Firing Glasses!
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This year we are pleased to have our own
Junior Grand Warden, RWBro. Gale H. Kenney as our featured speaker
at the Table Lodge. We know that RWBro. Gale will have a strong
message for those assembled and all will come away with something
worthy to remember. |
On a different subject – On our website
we have many of the “Old Tiler’s Talks.” These are contained under
the index heading “Masonic Stories.” These stories have lessons
that are as real to Freemasonry today as they were when they were
written over eighty years ago.
Two of these stories are titled “The
Disliked Petitioner” and "Keepers of the Door." I wish that every member of St. John’s Lodge
No. 9 would read these tales. After reading these stories I would wish
that everyone who has read them would think about what they have to say.
Sometimes we let our differences get in
the way of our working to become better men and better Freemasons.
Let us stop, regroup, look at one another and remember that we are
in a lifetime fraternity where we must find that cement that binds
us together. Remember that we have taken an obligation which makes
the duty incumbent upon us to act as one common band where brotherly
love prevails and every moral and social virtue cements us.
See you at the
Table Lodge.
WELCOME TO ST. JOHN’S
The Master welcomes all to St.
John’s for our Stated Meeting of March 21. Dinner begins at
6:30. Please let the Secretary know you and a guest will be
attending so we can give the chef an accurate count! Masons
only, this month!
FABulous Family
Brunch
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Plans are underway for our annual
FABulous Family Brunch, targeted for 8:00 Sunday morning, May 6.
Again this year we have an exclusive engagement at Ivar’s Salmon
House at the north end of Lake Union. You’ll want to make your
reservations early for this one! Invitations and reservation cards
for our members and widows will be included in the April
Trestleboard. |
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GRAND MASTER OF MISSISSIPPI VISITS ST. JOHN’S
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At
our March stated communication DeMolays of Merle E. Luther Chapter
demonstrated their precision work with the Arch of Steel,
culminating with the Grand Master of Mississippi MWBro. Jimmie L.
Windham entering through the Arch and being presented at the altar.
He received volumes I & II of the lodge history, a St. John’s pen
and letter opener set, and a lapel pin. He presented Worshipful
Master Tupper with a beautiful commemorative pocket knife. |
Worshipful Master Tupper has donated this beautiful knife, serial number 009, to the Lodge to be laid up in the archives and displayed on convenient occasions in our display cabinet. Everyone can now look at this keepsake as it is now prominently displayed in the case.
| CALENDAR | |  | |
·
March 15 (7pm):
Fellowcraft degree
March 21 (6:15pm):
St. John’s 9 Stated
Table Lodge – RWBro. Gale Kenney, JGW – speaker
·
March 23-25: Warden’s
Seminar
·
March 28 (7pm):
Officers meeting
·
April 12 (7pm):
degree
·
April 18
(6:15pm) 7:30pm: St. John’s 9 (dinner)
Stated
·
May 6 (8am – 10am:
FABulous Family Brunch – Ivar’s Salmon House
Junior Grand Warden Featured Speaker
MARCH STATED OPENS
WITH ANNUAL TABLE LODGE
Worshipful Master WBro. Charles Tupper
invites all brothers to attend our annual table lodge festivities
this month. Dinner will be served at 6:30pm, opening with
traditional ceremonies befitting the festive boards of old. Plenty
of ribs, baked beans, corn on the cob and wet-naps aplenty to match
the most voracious of appetites and sticky fingers.
For
those who have them – bring your firing cannons!
RWBro. Gale Kenney will be the featured
speaker. RWBro. Kenney is a member of St. John’s and will likely be
the Grand Master of Washington leading up to our lodge’s
sesquicentennial year in 2010.
A full business meeting to consider two
changes in our by-laws and a
resolution to authorize funding to
assist in the repair of the Masonic Park will be on the agenda
following the table lodge.
Due to the uniqueness of this festive table, everyone is urged
to make reservations. Please make your reservations with
the secretary at 206 623-0261 or email stjohns9@seattlemasons.org
by Friday, March 16, prior to the March 21 meeting.
Sorry, no ladies or non-Masonic guests this month,
please.
GRANITE FALLS MASONIC PARK
The storm of November 6, 2006 has wrecked
major flood damage to the Granite Falls Masonic Park. Usually mild
mannered Canyon Creek became a raging torrent of water that destroyed
many of the areas throughout the park, causing an estimated $75,000 to
$85,000 dollars of damage.
Extensive damage occurred to the open air
amphitheater, in which all stations of the lodge were washed away
leaving a mire of mud. The three
fishponds were washed away with the
flood. Some of the culverts under the roads connecting the different
camping areas of the park are gone completely and others have been
damaged extensively, but are repairable.
Several of the shelters along the creek have
been undermined by the high water and shelter No. 12 in camping area No.
1 was completely destroyed along with the road. Other roads throughout
the park are impassable and must be restored before the 2007 camping
season.
The rebuilding of the park will take an
unprecedented outpouring of both volunteer labor, along with financial
assistance.
The following resolution was read at the
February stated communication and will be acted upon in March:
Whereas the Granite Falls
Masonic Park has been devastated by floods and wind storms and
Whereas the Master Masons Club
of Snohomish and Island Counties does not have the funds estimated at
$95,000 to repair the damage and
Whereas St. John’s Lodge No. 9
has a desire to help our Fraternal Brethren in times of need and
Whereas this is such a time,
Therefore Be it Resolved that
St. John’s Lodge No. 9 will increase its 2007
charity budget by $25,000 and will create a budget line item in this
amount to help toward expenses incurred in rebuilding the Granite Falls
Masonic Park, to be distributed in installments. The first
installment of $15,000 shall be stipulated to repair heavy equipment and
for beginning all phases of the rebuilding process. The second
installment of $10,000 to be distributed two months later for use as
park rebuilding funds.
Volunteer
work parties have been assembling to assist in repairs. Several lodges,
concordant bodies, and individuals have contributed money toward the
repairs, but falling way short of the funds needed for this major
effort.
St. John's Lodge No. 9 will be conducting
the Master Mason degree in the open-air lodge room the summer of 2008.
The
open-air lodge room, filled with sand and mud, is one of the many
features in the Masonic Park in need of manpower and costly repair.
DeMOLAY, RAINBOW, JOB’S DAUGHTERS PERFORM
Fifty-six young people took part in the
youth program last month, joined by parents and advisors. VWBro. David
Campbell, co-chair of the youth committee, expressed how proud he is of
their efforts and congratulated the lodge on its continued support.
LODGE BY-LAWS CHANGES PROPOSED
Two proposed changes to the lodge by-laws
will be acted upon at the next communication:
ARTICLE VII - Financial Records and
Regulations
Section 7. The books and
records of the Secretary and of the Treasurer shall be submitted to the
Board of Trustees once each year not later then March 1st, or
more often when requested by the Trustees, and the Board shall
thereupon cause to be executed an audit or review of the books, records
and vouchers, including investments and securities owned by or to which
the Lodge is entitled. Such audit or review shall be made by a
recognized firm of Certified Public Accountants
when deemed necessary by the Board of Trustee. An
internal Lodge audit committee will perform an audit during all years
not done by a recognized firm of Certified Public Accountants in
accordance with Washington Masonic Code.
ARTICLE VIII- Masonic Funeral Services
Section 1. The Worshipful Master, or
his designated alternate, shall conduct all funeral or memorial
services for departed members, except when the service is to be
conducted outside our local area.
MASONIC
FIRING GLASS
“Whereupon the Worshipful Master gave the toast and the cannons were
duly fired, the empty glasses being brought down with a resounding bang
upon the board (table), emphasizing the fact that the cannons had not
misfired.” This custom obviously necessitated the production of special
glasses with very substantial bases to withstand the shock of the
explosions. Hence the expression, a Firing Glass, and as all glasses
used at Masonic banquets were invariably engraved - some most
elaborately - with emblems of the Craft, they became known as Masonic
Firing Glasses.
In
Operative Masonry the challenge was to build a great structure from
rough stone. The challenge progressed from one building to another
throughout the life of the Mason. He had a purpose and worked diligently
with his brothers to fulfill that purpose.
In
Speculative Masonry the challenge is to build a better person through
instruction, deeds, and example. The purpose is no less noble than our
operative brothers’ purpose, just more challenging.
−
William
“Ray’ Fisher
