From the South

Hello Brethren and greetings from the South,

I am proud to say that we had a very successful 2nd annual community Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 14th. This event’s success was evident by the smiles seen on the children’s faces and the jubilant laughter heard throughout the park. There is no greater joy than to see a smile on a child’s face. The good we provided to the community through this charitable event was obviously noticed by other parents in the crowd, as we had 2 different men approach, ask questions about Masonry, and ultimately asked for petitions! It is nice to know that our light is bright and the community sees what we do. A special thanks to all brothers that donated and helped with this event.

Please know that we have another opportunity to shine for our next upcoming event on May, 20th @ 6:00 p.m. This completely free Spaghetti Dinner for the community will be a first for us, and a great way to give back to the community.

I would like to share a recent experience of mine with you. As a relatively young Mason I had not yet, until recently, had the opportunity to travel to another lodge. Quite frankly, I was a little apprehensive to do so. I have listened to the teachings of Free Masonry by the Past Masters in my lodge, and I have heard their various stories. They taught me that Free Masonry is a brotherhood that reaches the 4 corners of the Earth. That we are all brothers regardless of our lodge. I did indeed believe all this, but as a young Mason I had developed a certain comfort and familiarity with being at my own lodge with my “own brothers”. So there came a time in early March where a group of Past Masters (Joe Mencer, Shane Lowe, and Mark Dixson) strongly urged me to travel with them to visit another lodge. The purpose of the visit was to meet the brother that had the great honor of being the 4th living person raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason on the floor of the Tennessee Grand Lodge. As Rockford Lodge No. 469 hosts this event, meeting with the brother and speaking to his lodge is needed as part of the pre-event planning. It turns out what I had agreed to was not just to travel across town and visit another lodge, but rather to pack my bags and travel across state. Union City Lodge No. 538 is the farthest point from Rockford while still being in the state. On the long drive there, the other brothers seemed calm, but I was more than nervous. I asked myself many questions such as: Would they be nice to us? What would their lodge look like? Would they open the same way as us? Would they say the same things? Etc… It was a long trip, I was tired, I was hungry….but upon arrival, my wants were relieved by a brother who had prepared a wonderful meal for us. We were greeted, fed, talked to, catered to and treated with extreme friendliness. We also had the tremendous honor of meeting and talking at great length with Casey Hood, the about to be installed MWGM of the state of Tennessee.  I felt the same comfort as I did when I was at my own lodge. It was like going to a family reunion where everyone knows you and loves you, but just hadn’t seen you in a few years. I was amazed and relieved……The Past Masters were right. Masonry is a brotherhood that extends past your own lodge. For me, a trip to another lodge solidified this very important lesson. I strongly encourage you to travel to another lodge if able…..and of course, give the same brotherly love to those that travel to our lodge. Your single smile, hand shake, or kind word may be the very thing that helps a visiting brother realize a valuable lesson as I did.