Jim Wold, Master
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reetings from the East. One of the goals I had coming into this year,
was to increase our community involvement and to work together with
other neighborhood businesses to make a positive difference in our
Greenwood Community. |
Our
lodge has worked with the Phinney Neighborhood Association
www.phinneycenter.org since last
year. They offer many great programs for seniors all the way down to
toddlers. The City of Seattle has agreed to sell them the buildings
they currently use, (John B. Allen Elementary) so their future is
stable. As is St. John’s, they are like a magnet to the community.
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I am
pleased to announce that St. John’s Lodge will be one of the major
sponsors of their annual fundraising auction on May 3rd.
Last year they netted over $50,000 to support their programs. Our
sponsorship will also allow St. John’s name and logo to be included on
auction invitations sent to 2,500 neighborhood households; to be
included in the Phinney Ridge Review, which is mailed to 14,000
households; to be included on their website and bulletin board, which
has over 3,000 monthly users; and included on the auction banner and
program. We at St. John’s are members of the PNA and as such, are
entitled to discount tickets to their events. I would encourage you to
visit their website and see what they offer that might interest you.
Tickets to their events can also be purchased from their website or you
can talk to me and I can assist you. |
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As
you can see, their network is far reaching. I am proud of the
relationship we have established with them – it can only bring us closer
as neighbors in our community.
Speaking of bringing us closer, the month of March is our annual Table
Lodge where brothers share a “Festive Board” loaded with the fruits of
our labors. We celebrate the Summer and Winter Solstices, represented
by St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist.
The
purpose of the Table Lodge is to promote a greater degree of fellowship
among brothers and to increase the affection we have for our
fraternity. It is also a reminder that we should rededicate ourselves
to the tenets of our fraternity.
Our
Junior Warden has arranged to have WBro. Eric Vogt as our guest
speaker. Eric is an Associate Professor of Spanish language at Seattle
Pacific University. He will be speaking on Masonic research and
writings. It will be a great night and I anticipate a big crowd. Make
sure that you
that you plan to attend. See you
there.
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Coming to Table Lodge at 6:30? RSVP at 206 623-0261
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OKTOBERFEST
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October 4th leaving Northgate Park and Ride at 8:30 AM with a
dinner at Zarthan Lodge (Sauerkraut and Ribs) at 5:30 PM. Leaving
Leavenworth at 7 PM to arrive back in Seattle at about 9:30 PM.
Ten dollars per person must accompany
reservations. Limited to a
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member of the lodge and one guest. Make checks marked
“Leavenworth” payable to Charles Tupper.
ITS
IN THE AIR
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Not to be outdone by Junior Warden Nick
Mitchell, who was engaged last year, our Senior Warden Bro. Chris Carney
announced last month that he has become engaged to be married.
Congratulations, Chris!
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CALENDAR |
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March
17 (7pm): Fellowship Night at Greenwood
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March
18 (6pm): Long Range Planning meeting @ Lane, Sr.
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March
19 (6:30pm): St. John’s 9 Stated Table Lodge – Eric Vogt –
speaker
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March
26 (7pm): Officers meeting/FC degree practice
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March
26 (7pm): District 5 LOMA meeting
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April
9 (7pm): Fellowcraft degree
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April
11-13: Warden’s Seminar (Yakima)
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April
14 (7-9pm): Ritual instruction classes at Greenwood Masonic Center
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April
16 (6:15pm) 7:30pm: St. John’s 9 (dinner)
Stated
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April
23 (7pm): EA degree practice
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POPULAR TABLE
LODGE RETURNS FOR MARCH STATED COMMUNICATION
Worshipful Master Jim Wold invites the brethren to celebrate our annual
table lodge festivities at our stated communication on Wednesday, March
19. Dinner will be served at 6:15pm, opening with traditional
ceremonies befitting the festive boards of old. For those who have them
– bring your firing cannons!
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WBro. Eric Vogt, Past Master of Queen
Anne Lodge No. 242 and an associate professor at Seattle Pacific
University will be the featured speaker. WBro. Vogt’s subject will be
“Envisioning Masonic Scholarship: Raising the Bar.” As a professional
scholar who has published on the subject of Freemasonry internationally,
he will offer some ideas about how to select, research and write topics
of interest to Masonic and non-Masonic audiences about the Craft. |
A full business meeting will be on the
agenda following the table lodge.
History and Protocol of the Table Lodge
Essentially, a table lodge is a Masonic banquet
with toasts, and yet it is much more than that. It is a special lodge
ceremony in itself, very ancient, with a ritual, formalities, and a
special terminology, which is of considerable interest. It was born from
the idea of the feast, and the desire to promote a greater degree of
fellowship and kinship in Masonry. Both the affection of friends and
the love for the fraternity flourished within its walls. Its meetings
were more like a reunion than a regular lodge meeting, and it became a
center of relaxation, celebration, and inspiration in Freemasonry.
The history of table
lodges can be traced back over two hundred and fifty years in English
and French Masonry, even long before the records of organized Masonry.
The oldest feasts of Masonic origin that are on record, were the feasts
upon being “entered and being passed to a fellow of the craft.” In
fact, the Premier Grand Lodge of the World, the Grand Lodge of England,
was originally organized in the Goose and Gridiron Alehouse at London on
St. John the Baptist’s Festival Day (June 24th) in 1717 in order “to
revive the quarterly communication and hold the Annual Feast.” This was
a means for the members of the four London lodges to come together
socially for the enjoyment of a “Grand Feast.”
The first few Grand
Festivals were held in taverns, but soon moved to the hall of
one of the great livery companies until the first Freemasons’
Hall was completed in 1776. The individual lodges, however, met
in private rooms in taverns or coffeehouses, the community
social and intellectual centers of activity in the 18th century.
During the earlier operative period in the days of the trade
guilds and the livery companies of the 15th century,
ale-drinking, dinner and feasts were an important part of each
operative lodge meeting.
With the
decline of the operative era
during the Reformation, slowly the lodges evolved into social
organizations, which began to admit nobility, gentry, and merchants.
Gradually, the speculative era of Freemasonry emerged. The majority of
Freemasons’ early meetings were held at eating-houses or wine merchants’
premises. The tavern preferred was one whose landlord and waiters were
initiates of the Order.
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The landlord of the tavern
supplied the mugs from which the Brethren drank their ale, while the lodge
supplied glasses for wine. The base, or sole, of these drinking vessels had
an extraordinary thickness (several inches of solid glass), which was
essential to the vogue of “firing” while drinking a toast. The so-called
“fire routine” was a time-immemorial practice of great merriment performed
at Masonic festivals. It developed into a definite sequence of movements
during toasting and drinking, performed jointly by the brethren, with much
pomp, delightful uniformity and perfect timing. It ended with a thunderous
bang as the empty goblets were simultaneously banged down on the table. |
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Similar ceremonies quickly found their way into American
Masonry, and Masonic history informs us that during the American Revolution
Washington regularly attended these feasts during the time he was leading
the Continental Army. In our colonial days, the table lodge was
Freemasonry’s greatest asset. It buoyed up the spirit of the brethren when
the spirit of the colonists was low.
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 14,
prior to the March 19 meeting. Sorry, no ladies or non-Masonic guests
this month, please.
CASCADE
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
February 4th, at the Cascade Symphony Orchestra’s regular
rehearsal, Bro. David Karpilow presented Music Director/Conductor Michael
Miropolsky with the first ever check from St. John’s Lodge No. 9. Bro.
Karpilow plays the violin in the orchestra and brought its child oriented
classical educational programs as well as its regular programming to the
attention of the Lodge.
Founded in 1962, the Cascade Symphony makes
its home in Edmonds, Washington.
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Paddy
was driving down the street
in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn't find a parking
place. Looking up to heaven he said, “Lord take pity on me. If you find me
a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and
give up me Irish Whiskey!”
Miraculously, a parking place
appeared.
Paddy looked up again and said,
“Never mind, I found one.”
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Company Store
Among the many items available in the company
store are new firing glasses available, as well as jackets, vests, and other
nice items with the St. John’s Lodge No. 9 logo.
COMING MEETING PROGRAMS
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March 19: Table
Lodge, WBro. Eric Vogt speaker
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Lodge attire for March: coat & tie, no tuxedos¬
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April 16: Masonic
Youth night; Grand Lodge resolutions discussion
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May 21: Junior
Grand Warden candidates
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June 18:
Scholarship night; business casual
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July 16: Herb’s
Night; casual
FABULOUS
FAMILY APPRECIATION BRUNCH MAY 4
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Mark your calendar now for our annual FABulous Family
Appreciation Brunch, starting at 10am Sunday morning, May 4. New
construction at Ivar’s Salmon House at the north end of Lake Union enables
us to enjoy a room (cap. 150) of our own upstairs with a wonderful view.
Ivar’s Salmon House has treated us to some FABulous brunches in recent years
and offers made-to-order omelets, bacon, sausage, carved roast beef,
delicious |
pastries and of course is well known for its fine
fish, corn bread and native American cuisine.
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 lodge Trestleboard. The
whole family should have a good time again this year!
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St.
John’s was the cheerful(?) recipient of the District 5 Charity Pot at our
February meeting, received from Daylight Lodge No. 232. The Pot is a very
small copy of a spittoon that a lodge fills with $1/day as long as it
retains the Pot. The goal is to visit and pass the pot on to another lodge
and at the end of the year the money collected is used by the District LOMA
for a small charity donation. |
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ORDER of DeMOLAY
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Our Masonic Youth
committee has been informed that a newly re-formed DeMolay Chapter may be
approaching St. John’s to be its sponsoring body. Several brothers of this
lodge and other lodges have indicated their eagerness to help.
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Home
Worshipful Master:
(425)
357-6867
Senior Warden:
(206) 732-1234
Junior Warden:
(206) 390-2173
Secretary:
(206) 623-0261
Webmaster:
(206) 406-8670
