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Worshipful Master
Lawrence "Skip" Nielsen
December
2, 2009
Brethren:
What a great month November has
been! On the front of membership we made
two new master masons.
Congratulations to Brothers Chad Bowie and John Lambert – a courtesy
degree we performed for Bremerton 117. We also made a new Fellowcraft Mason; congratulations go out to Bro Kyle Quashnick. We
accepted a new candidate in Mr. Jeremiah Doehne, his initiation to
our fraternity will occur in December.
Both degrees were conducted in a
most admirable manner. I was moved to see the sidelines full for
the third degree. When the brethren lined up along the altar it was
quite an inspiring sight. There were brothers from four different
lodges and two states in attendance and fraternalism abounded.
As discussed at the November stated
we are planning on increasing our fraternalism. One of my goals –
along with reducing spending, increasing membership and attendance
at lodge meetings, and providing education and discussion at every
meeting – will be to earn the Grand Lodge Pillar of Progress in
Fraternalism this year. One of the ways I plan on increasing
fraternalism is to bring back visitation of other lodges. I hope
that you will join me in attending the different lodges in the
tri-county area. It will be fun and educational.
Our November stated included
learning about a piece of Masonic history, the William Morgan
affair. We also discussed the idea that becoming a Mason should be
harder and not easier in these times of decreasing membership. I
hoped you enjoyed this part of the meeting as I plan on including
education and discussion in every meeting. I firmly believe that
every member should get something out of every meeting.
Speaking of balloting on a
potential candidate, how do we know who is right for our
fraternity? Simply put, we investigate him. Our three-man
committee is charged with investigating the applicant and providing
a recommendation to the lodge. As you will learn in lodge there is
a process to investigating a candidate. Once we get the report of
the investigating committee we ballot on the candidate. How you
vote is up to your conscience and is done with your best view of the
fraternity as a whole in mind. Your vote is, and always should be,
private.
December looks to be busy. The
Christmas party will be on December 5th this year. We
also have a First Degree and practice this month. Please come to
the stated and buy a pie to support the 4-H riding group. As always
the meal is free but the pies are based on what you can donate.
Please do not forget our Rainbow Girls. Their breakfast is
scheduled for December 20th – it might be nice to let
somebody else cook breakfast before we make that final push to buy
the perfect gift for our loved ones.
In closing, I want to wish everyone
a happy and blessed Thanksgiving. May we all share in the thanks
for the many blessings our Supreme Architect has given us this last
year.
I look forward to seeing you in
lodge and at other Masonic events.
Fraternally,
WB
Skip Nielsen
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