Greetings from the East!
This year is just flying by! Hard to believe it is September already.
We have a few events upcoming that I want to mention. First, of course, is our Past Master night on Sept. 14th. We will be having a BBQ dinner provided by Busters BBQ. I hope many of you will attend BUT if you are planning on attending, you MUST RSVP to WB John Quiroz @ 971-409-5069 ASAP! We need a head count for the caterers and the deadline is September 1st!
In October, the lodge will be holding a Torchlight class for all Master Masons. Torchlight is an educational tool designed by Grand Lodge to help Master Masons learn the code, Masonic Etiquette, and other information. Through over 100 questions, Master Masons must find the answers among 3 or 4 different sources like the Code, Standard Manual, and other publications. The classes will start on October 19th @ 6:00 pm. Over the course of the next few months, the class will cover all the questions to earn the Torchlight Pin. Personally, I would like to see all new Master Masons take the course as soon as possible after being raised.
Also in October, we will be having WB David Tate give a lecture during our Stated. WB Tate is part of Research Lodge and is the president of The Philalethes Society. We still have to work out a subject but whatever it is, I am sure it will be an educational night. And lastly, we will resume our sit-down dinners. And we go back to our normal stated time of 7:30 pm.
At our August meeting, we read a new Petition and are expecting maybe one or two more in September. This is due in large part to a program we started where we use Facebook to advertise to a very narrow band of potential candidates. We have also changed the procedure for how we reply to inquiries from interested men. This combined with the Facebook ads has generated a lot of interest in the Lodge. We currently have 6 gentlemen who have made inquiries who are in the process of meeting us, and we hope, eventually filling out petitions. This, of course, means that we might be very busy with degrees soon. We always need help so if you would be interested in helping us with a degree, please let myself or the Secretary know.
And finally, we are still awaiting word of a possible merger with Sunnyside Lodge # 163. We are very excited about this possibility and will welcome their members with open arms.
Take care and see you in Lodge!
Jim Van Anda, WM