Greetings and Salutations,
Well, the summer is coming to an end quickly; October is here so don’t forget to make your reservations for the Grand Lodge Session. We have been moving along, so a quick update on recent events seems in order.
At our stated meeting on August 26 we were honored to be visited by Sean McIntosh, of Victoria Lodge #2. Sean is the Grand Senior Warden of the Grand Lodge of Prince Edward Island (Canada). It was great to discuss the differences and similarities between the two jurisdictions, as well as just talk over experiences. Thank you from one and all for the visit and please keep in touch.
On Sept 2, 2008 Berwyn Masonic Lodge held a Second Degree Conferral for Bro. Martinez. This was our first of the New Year and went quite smoothly with the degree being conducted by the Berwyn members themselves. The Berwyn Officers did a great job.
Our stated meeting on September eleventh brought a casual visit from our current DDGM who came to inform us that Berwyn Masonic Lodge #839 will be receiving the Grand Master’s Award of Excellence for the 2007-2008 Masonic Year. It was a good year for Berwyn and each and every Officer should take pride in the accomplishment. Everyone worked very hard and the award is well deserved. We also had the opportunity to elected two new individuals to receive degrees from Berwyn.
Another bit of information to add is that once again Berwyn Masonic Lodge has won the Illinois Knights Templar 2008, 2&5-K-Walk-A-Thon. Berwyn Masonic Lodge No.839 brought in the most pledge sheets and money to win against other Blue Lodges in The Chicago area, and surrounding suburbs. A thank you was received from the Knights stating, “On behalf of our S.K. Jesse L. Johns Sr., Grand Commander of the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of The State Of Illinois and The Grand Commandery Officers, we would like to thank you for your continued support. A special thanks go to all of our Blue Lodge Brothers for coming out to our event and supporting us.” The presentation of the award will be coming up so keep watching for the announcement. The overall totals for the Walk a thon were The Blue Lodge Winners are;1st place The Berwyn Masonic Lodge No.839 -(Plaque), 2nd. Place The Matteson Masonic Lodge No.175 -(Certificate) 3rd. Place The Kelvin Park Willing Masonic Lodge No.1075. Congratulations to all who participated and to the Knight’s for a job well done.
And now a few words from the W.M. David Cruz, “Greetings Brethren, we have begun our Masonic year with a running start. Thanks to Bro. Servando Almazan we have been updating our website: http://web.mac.com/berwynlodge839 .
Be sure to keep an eye on it to view photos of our events and to stay up to date on Berwyn Masonic news.
The Activity Committee has already begun setting up ideas for events for the year with a report coming soon. The Berwyn Lodge Charity Committee is also already working on the year’s plans. Our Greeting Committee has also been established. Thanks to Brothers Adalberto Abrego, Milan Gracanin and Milo Pockrandt we have successfully contacted over a dozen out of contact Brethren to invite them back to Lodge and give them an update of what’s going on. Along with continuously updating our callout list, these Brethren, as the Membership Retention Committee will continue to reach out and let our Brethren know that they are not forgotten and are sorely missed.
Congratulations to Bro. David Pasillas on his new engagement to his Lady. We hope that your new life together will be filled with many blessings and happy memories.
Brethren, we do have new Masonic regalia available for sale, please see Bro. Servando Almazan for details. Any and all profit gained from these sales will be used to balance Lodge Refreshment cost and minimize expense.
We are currently putting together a booklet of restaurant menus in the area to facilitate the job of the JW. This booklet will then be passed down to every Junior Warden following thereafter. If you have any ideas of places that you think we should try or have any extra menus lying around, feel free to forward them to Bro. Secretary the Junior Warden or myself.”
Thank You, David Cruz
From your Editor, the the the that’s all for this month
“Fair weather friends are much like shadows, they are only around when the Sun is shining”